To my surprise, I could track the bat with little difficulty. Now that I thought about it, my peripheral vision was off the charts. I just needed to pay attention above as well.

  There were multiple bats, they were enormous creatures. If only I had access to ice magic, then those flying rats would get what was coming to them.

  As if to answer my question, a prompt appeared.

  Reach level 10 to unlock class abilities.

  I blinked away the notification. These screens were odd. It was like I was receiving text messages directly in my brain. Pushing the thought aside, I thought about my next move.

  I couldn’t just stay in this crack. Below, there were rocky outcrops and those large mushrooms I could hide under. But I needed to find a way out of this place. That was the quest, after all.

  The cavern was too large to tell which way was the exit. And it seemed I would just have to explore. If I remembered correctly, bats had poor eyesight but excellent hearing.

  While looking the cavern over for other threats, I ever so silently made my way out of the crack and began down the wall. I also kept an eye on the cluster of bats. At the moment, they were all just hanging on the ceiling.

  Everything was going just fine till my claws slipped on a rock, causing a sound like nails on a chalkboard to echo out through the entire cavern. Several bats took flight. “Ugh, twisted tree dung sniffer!”

  Giving up on stealth, I scurried down the wall. I was still about fifteen feet from the cavern floor when a bat tried to pluck me from the wall. I leapt from the wall towards the water below while praying that another bat wouldn’t swoop down and stanch me out of the air.

  To my relief, I landed in the water. However, the current was ridiculously strong, and it turned out I was not a very great swimmer.

  I was pushed under the water by the current multiple times. Not only that, the water was icy cold, and I felt my body began to slow. If only I had my class unlocked, I would have an eighty percent resistance to the cold. However, I was too busy choking on water to give this any thought.

  I used every muscle in my body to reach the surface and gasp for air before the current pushed me back down. Over and over, I would reach the top just to be sucked back underneath the water by the current.

  I noticed a prompt appear, but I paid it no mind, and it quickly vanished. It felt like an eternity passed as I struggled to just survive. My arms and legs felt like flubber and at any moment, I expected them to give out.

  I had to stop swimming after getting a short breath of air to let my limbs rest for just a moment, only to fight my way back to the surface to get air. Suddenly I felt myself falling and I was able to get several gulps of air while choking on water. Then there was blackness.

  When I woke up, I was on the river bank. Standing up on all fours, my legs felt shaky and were sore like nothing I had ever felt before. My body was bruised and beat all over and I was cold and wet. “Never again will I get in water.”

  My tail was heavy and was likely the main reason I kept getting sucked under. It was just dead weight in the water.

  Taking I my surroundings, the first thing I noticed was the darkness. The moonlight, barely visible through heavy clouds, was the only illumination.

  Looking back down, I saw the waterfall. It was pouring from a hole in the side of a truly massive mountain. All I could do was shake my head. I was lucky to be alive.

  Then I noticed the most beautiful thing I had seen since coming to this world. Trees, an entire forest of them. I forced my exhausted body to move, and I climbed the first one I came to. Another prompt filled my vision, but I blinked it away. I would look at those later.

  It felt as strength surged into me as soon as I touched the tree. I quickly realized I wasn’t actually climbing so much as I was leaping up the tree. It felt natural, so I just continued till I found a large limb to collapse on.

  I was exhausted. I would just lay here for a bit, then I would find something to eat. Now that I was safe, I felt a burning empty sensation in my stomach.

  My over exhausted body quickly passed out while I dreamed of blueberry muffins.

  I woke up with a start, jerking this way and that. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. It had to be dangerous to just sleep out in the open like this. I nearly fell off the branch I was on, but quickly caught my balance.

  A dim, blinking blue light was visible at the edge of my peripheral vision. For whatever reason, I knew these were the notifications that I dismissed.

  Glancing around, I noticed the sun was just beginning to peek over the mountain. Deciding now was as good a time as any, I focused on the blinking light.

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  Congratulations: You have learned the skill Swim.

  8% to swimming speed.

  6% less stamina consumption when swimming.

  6% increase to time holding breath under water.

  I had no intentions of ever using this skill but I wouldn’t complain. Closing this prompt with only a thought, another prompt appeared.

  You have discovered 1 of 3 Racial Gifts.

  1) Racial Gift- Natural habitat: 15% boost to all stats while in a forest, or in contact with a still living tree.

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Blinking away this prompt, another appeared.

  Congratulations: You have completed the Quest: Escape Dark Wolf Cavern.

  Reward: Spell- Ice Touch

  (Note: Come in contact with Mother Tree to access spells.)

  This prompt vanished and one more appeared.

  New Quest: Come in contact with Mother Tree.

  Quest Type: Unique.

  Time limit: None.

  Failure to complete: Anger the Mother Tree.

  Reward: Access spell page.

  I had no idea what would happen if I angered this Mother Tree, but I had every intention of completing this quest. It was apparently the only way to access magic.

  Thinking about leveling up had me realize I would need to fight monsters, or maybe there was another way to gain this essence. I needed two hundred and fifty to reach level two. I wasn’t sure what all this comprised of, but I knew I wanted to level up.

  Also, I couldn’t access my class till I reached level ten and magic was a must.

  As for now, I was absolutely ravenous! I had to find something to eat. No sooner than I had this thought the sent of something wonderful hit my nose. Scurrying down the tree, I realized I was no longer sore, though I gave this little thought as I took in my surroundings while looking for threats.

  I would not make the same mistake as before. Now that it was daytime, I could see without issue. I twisted my head this way and that, taking in everything at once. A smile formed on my face. My eyes were amazing. I could see everything so clearly! Then I realized I was a squirrel, and the smile vanished.

  It was odd having a natural instinct to climb. Though If I didn’t, I would have been eaten by the wolves as soon as I arrived in this world. My claws gripped the tree harder as I thought of my mad dash from the wolves. That’s when I noticed my back ankles were twisted, strange like.

  I turned around and, to my surprise, saw they pointed the wrong way. I continued down the tree and examined them once on the ground, but they looked completely normal.

  “This body is strange.” I felt as I should be freaking out more, but pushed that thought from my mind. I let my nose lead the way as I sniffed the air and searched all around for threats and food.

  My nose lead me deeper into the forest, but I didn’t mind. I felt at ease with so many trees everywhere. It gave me plenty of places to escape from things that would want to eat me.

  The sweet scent was getting closer and my stomach grumbled at the thought of eating. I couldn’t wait to dig into whatever it was I was smelling.

  Several nuts on the ground also smelled nice, but they couldn’t compare to the sweet and savory scent that captivated my nose. It wasn’t much further till I was staring at a patch of blue mushrooms growing under a large fallen tree.

  “Mushrooms! Really!” I moved closer and sure enough, it was the mushrooms that were giving off the scent. It smelt like blueberries, chocolate and cheesecake, all wrapped in one. My mouth watered as I looked at the odd blue mushrooms.

  I was unsure if I should eat the mushrooms. They could be poison. Though seeing I was now a squirrel, it would probably be okay. If it smelt good, it should be fine, right?

  I moved closer while continuing to look every which way for threats. I was about twenty feet away from the nearest tree and felt vulnerable. It was much safer when I was next to a tree.

  My first instinct was to grab one of the smaller blue mushrooms and take it up the tree to eat, but I would need my hands to climb. My only choice was to grab it with my mouth.

  I was so hungry, and this mushroom smelt so good! Hearing something in the woods, I quickly made my decision. I snatched one of the mushrooms with my mouth and darted for a tree.

  I was up the tree within seconds and felt much safer. Setting down my mushroom, I looked around for the noise I heard. From my vantage point, I quickly spotted a white rabbit. “At least I didn’t get turned into that as a race.” As soon as I spoke, the rabbit’s ears perked up, and it began looking around.

  I really had to stop talking aloud. I watched the rabbit for a long moment, however my eyes kept moving back to the mushroom. If it wasn’t for this rabbit being the first life I’ve seen in this forest, then I wouldn’t really care what the rabbit was doing. But this was a forest and there should be lots of wildlife.

  I briefly wondered what I would do when I met other squirrels. My stomach rumbled, and I glanced back at the mushroom. Maybe just a little bite to start with. I didn’t want to get poisoned.

  Picking the mushroom up in both hands… or paws, as I now had, I took a small bite. It tasted just as it smelt, and I let out a small moan of ecstasy as I chewed. Swallowing, I quickly took a larger bite and began chewing with abandon. Suddenly, I received a notification.

  You have ingested: Forest Mana Shroom

  Effects: Boost mana recover by 20%

  (Note: If intelligence attribute is below 19, side effects may occur.)

  I swallowed as I read the prompt, then my eyes grew wide and I quickly closed the prompt while opening my stat page. I couldn’t remember what my intelligence stat was.

  “Oops.”

  Maybe it wouldn’t affect me since my intelligence was eighteen. I did have that racial gift. I needed to figure out how to gain levels. As a squirrel, I didn’t think I would be defeating many beasts to gain essence.

  Shaking my head to clear it, I looked back at the mushroom. It was so delicious and I wanted to eat more. Sighing, I decided I should really find some water and maybe eat some of the nuts I saw on the way here. I probably shouldn’t have eaten the mushroom on an empty stomach.

  I turned to go down the tree when I looked back at the mushroom. I couldn’t just leave it there. Biting into the overly delicious shroom, I began down the tree.

  Hearing a thumping sound, I paused halfway down. To my surprise, I saw the rabbit on its back laying next to the mushrooms thumping its foot on the log.

  It was an odd sight and looked cartoonish. This concerned me as the prompt didn’t say what sort of side effects I would have from the mushroom. I really hoped I wasn’t starting to hallucinate.

  Carrying the mushroom a few trees over while fighting the urge to eat it, I reluctantly began digging. I would bury it and come back for it later. There were a lot of the forest mana shrooms but there was no point in wasting it.

  Besides, I only needed one more point in intelligence before I could eat them without worrying about a side effect.