Morning sunlight filtered through the cracks of the tree hollow, warm rays falling on my face.
I groggily opened my eyes and instinctively stretched—then realized I nearly rolled right out of the hollow.
"Whoa!" I quickly grabbed the edge with my claws, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Almost forgot—I was a squirrel now, sleeping in a tree.
"Phew..." I patted my chest, finally fully awake.
I'd slept pretty well last night. Though the hollow was a bit hard, the physical exhaustion had completely faded. I retrieved a fruit from my Cheek Pouch Space and sat at the hollow's entrance, eating while looking out at the forest.
The forest was beautiful in the morning light, with thin mist drifting between the trees and birdsong rising and falling.
If I ignored the magic beasts that could kill me at any moment, this place was actually pretty nice.
[Gained 1 Experience]
[Experience: 12/100]
After finishing breakfast, I began planning for the day.
"First, I need to find more food sources..." I looked into the distance. "And continue familiarizing myself with this area."
Most importantly, I needed to find a way to gain experience more steadily.
If I only relied on eating fruit, I'd need to eat 88 fruits to reach level 10. That efficiency was way too low.
"If only I could find more Stone Beetles..." I thought of that unfortunate beetle yesterday. It had given me 5 experience points—much more than fruit.
With that in mind, I decided to check out the rotting wood pile I'd seen yesterday. It was covered in mushrooms—maybe Stone Beetles would appear there.
I climbed out of the hollow and moved along the branches in that direction.
After jumping through the canopy for about ten minutes, I arrived near the rotting wood pile.
This was a fairly open area where several fallen old trees lay on the ground, their trunks already decayed and covered with mushrooms and moss of various colors.
I carefully climbed down the tree, looked around to confirm there was no danger, then approached the rotting wood.
Sure enough, I quickly spotted two Stone Beetles under a piece of decayed wood.
[Stone Beetle]
[Level 1/1]
They were munching on fungi on the wood, seemingly completely unaware of me.
I quietly approached one, preparing to deal with it like yesterday—
"Squeak! Squeak squeak!"
Suddenly, a series of urgent cries came from above.
Startled, I immediately looked up.
A Tree Sprite Mouse stood on a branch, squeaking frantically toward the distance.
[Tree Sprite Mouse]
[Level 2/10]
It was the one from yesterday! I recognized its light brown fur.
But it wasn't squeaking at me—it was giving a warning in another direction.
I followed its line of sight—
A Vine Serpent was silently approaching from the grass!
[Vine Serpent]
[Level 6/20]
My heart seized up.
Damn it, I'd been too focused on the Stone Beetles and completely failed to notice my surroundings!
"Hsss—" The Vine Serpent had obviously spotted me too, speeding up as it slithered toward me.
No time to think—I turned and ran.
"Squeak!" The Tree Sprite Mouse in the tree cried out again, seemingly showing me the way.
I saw it jump to another tree, in that direction... away from the snake!
I ran desperately, my four limbs kicking madly against the ground. Behind me came the "swish-swish" sound of the snake's pursuit, getting closer and closer.
There was a tree ahead!
I leaped up, claws gripping the bark, climbing frantically.
"Hsss—" The Vine Serpent climbed the tree too, and faster than I'd imagined!
"Squeak squeak squeak!" The Tree Sprite Mouse was leaping ahead in the trees, seemingly urging me to keep up.
I gritted my teeth and jumped from this tree to the one where it perched.
The Tree Sprite Mouse immediately climbed higher, and I followed close behind.
We leaped through the canopy, from tree to tree, the Vine Serpent in hot pursuit.
But gradually, the snake's speed decreased—in the high canopy, it was clearly less agile than us.
After a few more jumps, we finally completely lost the snake.
"Squeak..." I collapsed on a branch, gasping for air, my heart feeling like it would burst out.
"Squeak squeak..." The Tree Sprite Mouse was also panting on a nearby branch, but its breathing was clearly much steadier than mine.
After resting for quite a while, I finally recovered.
"Squeak squeak." I looked at the Tree Sprite Mouse and tentatively made a sound.
Huh?
Wait.
What I just said was...
I realized with surprise that "squeaks" had come out of my mouth!
But in my own perception, I'd clearly wanted to say "thank you."
What was going on?
"Squeak?" The Tree Sprite Mouse tilted its head, seemingly asking "what did you say?"
I froze.
It... it understood?
No, rather, my "squeak" just now had conveyed the meaning of "thank you"?
I tried speaking again: "You saved me..."
"Squeak squeak squeak..." What came out was still "squeaks," but the Tree Sprite Mouse clearly understood my meaning and nodded.
"Squeak squeak." It said, meaning roughly "you're welcome."
I see.
I thought I was speaking, but I was actually making magic beast sounds. And these sounds could convey basic meanings between magic beasts.
Like... some kind of instinct.
"Squeak squeak?" The Tree Sprite Mouse looked at me, seemingly asking, "Are you okay?"
"Squeak." I nodded. (I'm fine, thanks to you.)
It looked at me for a while, then pointed down at the rotting wood pile.
"Squeak squeak squeak." (There are many Stone Beetles there, but also snakes.)
"Squeak..." I smiled wryly. (I know now...)
"Squeak squeak squeak?" It hesitated, seemingly thinking about something, then said, (You're a Cheek Pouch Squirrel, right?)
"Squeak." (Yes.)
"Squeak squeak squeak squeak." It said, (I've seen your kind of squirrel before, you put things in your cheeks. Are you new here?)
"Squeak..." (Sort of.)
Though specific complex meanings couldn't be expressed, simple concepts—like "food," "danger," "over there"—could be accurately conveyed.
The Tree Sprite Mouse fell silent for a moment.
"Squeak squeak." It suddenly said, (That snake should be far away by now. If you still want to find Stone Beetles...)
"Squeak?" (Hm?)
"Squeak squeak squeak." It said somewhat bashfully, (I can keep watch for you, but in exchange, you have to share half of any Stone Beetles you catch.)
I paused, then nodded.
"Squeak!" (Okay!)
Though this Tree Sprite Mouse had been wary when it saw me yesterday, it was willing to help me now. Probably because we were both small magic beasts—in this dangerous forest, helping each other would make survival easier.
And it had just saved me, after all.
We carefully returned near the rotting wood pile.
The Tree Sprite Mouse climbed high up to observe the surroundings for me, while I searched for Stone Beetles on the ground.
With its help, I could focus more on hunting without constantly worrying about a snake suddenly appearing.
Soon, I found several Stone Beetles.
[Defeated Stone Beetle]
[Gained 3 Experience]
[Defeated Stone Beetle]
[Gained 3 Experience]
[Defeated Stone Beetle]
[Gained 3 Experience]
[Defeated Stone Beetle]
[Gained 3 Experience]
[Experience: 24/100]
My experience had increased quite a bit!
As agreed, I left half the Stone Beetle corpses for the Tree Sprite Mouse.
"Squeak squeak!" It happily jumped down and began eating those Stone Beetles.
At the same time, I quickly ate the remaining beetles.
[Gained 2 Experience]
[Gained 2 Experience]
[Experience: 28/100]
I sat nearby, watching this companion I'd just met.
"Squeak squeak?" (By the way, do you have a name?)
"Squeak?" It tilted its head, seemingly not quite understanding the concept of "name."
It seemed magic beasts didn't have the custom of names.
"Squeak squeak." I thought for a moment. (Then I'll call you Brownie, because your fur is brown.)
"Squeak?" Brownie seemed a bit confused but still nodded. (Name... Brownie... okay.)
"Squeak squeak?" It asked back, (What about you?)
"Squeak..." I froze.
What was my name again?
My human name couldn't be said here at all—those complex syllables couldn't be expressed with "squeaks."
"Squeak squeak." I said offhandedly, (Call me Gray.)
"Squeak squeak." Brownie nodded thoughtfully and repeated, (Gray...)
We searched around the rotting wood pile for a while longer but didn't find any more Stone Beetles.
The sun had risen overhead and the weather was getting hot.
"Squeak squeak." Brownie suddenly said, (I need to go back. There's a fruit tree over there, and the fruit is ripe right now. If I go too late, other magic beasts will take it all.)
"Squeak." (Okay, you go ahead.)
"Squeak squeak?" It hesitated, then asked, (Come back here tomorrow?)
"Squeak!" (Yes!)
"Squeak squeak." Brownie's tail swayed, seemingly a bit happy. (See you tomorrow then, Gray.)
With that, it leaped away along the branches, quickly disappearing into the canopy.
I didn't linger at the rotting wood pile either—that snake from earlier might still be lurking nearby.
After returning to my tree hollow, I checked my Cheek Pouch Space and found I still had enough fruit, so I decided not to go out looking for food.
I pulled up the system panel.
[Cheek Pouch Squirrel]
[Level 1/10]
[Experience: 28/100]
[A small magic beast that generates space with its cheek pouches, non-threatening, agile movements, highly alert]
[Traits: Cheek Pouch Space, High Sensitivity]
[Skills: Leap, Bite]
"Still need 72 more experience to reach level 2..." I looked at the numbers on the panel.