Loot Stolen and New Loot Acquired

As Hendrix searched, he quickly discovered that small bushes were the only source of wood since no trees grew in these mountains.

'Ackalon, are the biomass from the Wall of Bones and the Harbringer in your realm?' Hendrix thought while pulling off bush branches and placing them in a pile.

{Yes, they are Hendrix. May I know why you asked?}

'Well, I'm thinking about making another creature. Is it possible to create one with only two varmints biomass?' Hendrix thought while he struggled to pull off a large branch.

{No, it's not. You need three biomass from different varmints to create a creature.}

'Can I send one of the Jerboa's into your realm to count as biomass?'

{You could. However, you can't remove it unless you create a creature. And mixing varmints with high rarity with inferior ones will result in a weaker creature. Hence I suggest you don't do this.}

'Alright, I'll search for another Scarlet rarity varmint to use instead. However, I doubt I'll find one here. And Scarlet-ranked varmints seem so strong that I have to use the environment to kill them. Since their strength is too strong to face head-on, or even with hit and run tactics.' Hendrix thought before pulling the large branch off and placing it in a pile.

{That is true}

Afterward, Hendrix spent another hour grabbing enough firewood. Subsequently, he began moving some back to the Jerboa varmints. However, when he arrived where the carcasses were, a group of blue Vulture varmints was eating them.

"Hey, get away from my kills!" Hendrix yelled before picking up a small rock and throwing it at one of their wings with all his strength.

[You have dealt 1 damage]

The Vulture varmint didn't react in time, and the rock hit its wing spot on. However, Hendrix's attack only caused a slight bump on its wing. However, all the other Vulture varmints quickly flew upwards.

"Caw!" The Vulture varmint yelled before trying to fly. However, when it got airborne, its movement was slightly slower than the others.

Together the Vulture varmints flapped their wings at Hendrix, resulting in two long feathers flying out of each one's wings. These feathers flew at Hendrix with high speed and seemed to glow dimly.

Hendrix's eyes narrowed while he began dodging each feather by sidestepping. Afterward, he looked where the feathers landed, and his pupils constricted.

There were small gullies in the rock, following the trajectory of each feather. At the end of them, the feathers were seemingly still intact.

'I underestimated my foe's capabilities. I shouldn't become complacent or arrogant, or that will be my downfall.' Hendrix thought in self-reflection.

While Hendrix was engrossed in his thoughts, more feathers flew at him, breaking his concentration. Afterward, he barely dodged the first few feathers while he took glancing blows from others, causing minor cuts on his arms and legs.

[You have taken 0.1 damage]

[You have taken 0.1 damage]

[You have...]

'The feathers they're shooting at me seem to be stronger than when they are attached to them. Perhaps I can use each feather as a material for future inventions or sell them for some money In Okria.' Hendrix thought before his body tensed up and awaited the next attack.

Hendrix didn't have to wait long before more feathers flew at him. However, this time he was prepared and easily dodged all of them.

Hendrix continued to dodge feathers for about fifteen minutes before he changed his strategy. Knowing he only lasted this long due to using the least amount of energy possible to dodge.

'I need to kill these Vulture varmints now before I run out of stamina and my curse kicks in.' Hendrix thought while furrowing his brows, picking up more rocks, and throwing them at the Vulture varmints.

Hendrix's plans, however, failed, as the Vulture varmints dodged the rocks he threw while cawing at him, seemingly to mock him.

'I guess I need to retreat. I'll return and grab the feathers when the Vulture varmints are gone.' Hendrix thought, backing away, knowing the vulture varmints beat him this time.

The Vulture varmints watched Hendrix leave. However, they didn't land until he was out of sight. Afterward, they landed on the ground and began to eat once again.

***

'Without my equipment, I'm much weaker, and my throwing skills are atrocious. It seems my strength is dependent on the equipment I make as of now. However, I don't think it has a rank if that exists. Guide, do equipment have ranks?' Hendrix thought while sitting down on a rock further down the path.

[Classified Information]

'I need to find more information once I enter the Okrian portal.'

{I agree as well, Hendrix}

'Do you think the varmints finished eating the carcasses?'

{Personally, no, I don't. However, I believe it's best if you watch them from behind a bush. So you can grab the feathers right when they take off and fly out of sight.}

Hendrix nodded and quickly approached again while staying close to the ground and trying to lower the amount of noise he made. After about ten minutes of crawling, he returned to the vicinity of the carcasses. Once he saw them, he hid behind a bush with blueish flowers and stayed still, spying on the varmints.

Meanwhile, the varmints in question remained clueless about Hendrix's return and continued to eat the corpses with relish. After fifteen minutes passed, they ate everything but the bones and took off looking for another source of food.

Hendrix waited four more minutes before finally coming out of hiding and surveying his surroundings.

'Now I must do a treasure hunt for all the shot feathers. Hopefully, they kept their durability, or their value will drop.' Hendrix believed before he began searching for the first feather.

Hendrix chose the closet feather to find first, and after a minute, he saw it embedded in the ground. Before approaching it and picking it up off the ground, and trying to tear it, testing its durability.

'This feather is very durable as I can't rip it apart. I should collect all of them and weave a basket to hold them.' Hendrix thought before he began searching for the others.

Subsequently, Hendrix searched for the other feathers, and after thirty minutes, he acquired one hundred and twenty-three of them. However, his constant activity made him sleepy as he yawned.

'I'm so tired. I need to bury all the feathers and find a place to sleep for an hour.'

{Yes, you should. I can't wait to see you in my realm Hendrix}

'Likewise, Ackalon.' Hendrix thought before digging a hole in the ground, and after finishing, he buried all the feathers inside.

After his action, Hendrix smiled and dug another hole nearby beside a bush and made sure it was big enough to accommodate him, before placing himself inside and covering himself in a layer of dirt, except his head.

{Hendrix, why are you sleeping in a hole?}

'I have no choice. I must sleep every three hours, or all my bodily functions will become less efficient. And I didn't see any other varmints which had fur to make a comfortable bed out of.' Hendrix thought before looking at the sun above from his hole and part of the bush blocking some of the light.

{Alright then, goodnight Hendrix.}

'Goodnight, Ackalon.' Hendrix thought before falling asleep.