Only after 10 minutes I stopped running. A mountain lion was the second worst to find in this forest. Well, third. An Eater is always the worst option but they are on a different scale of problem. Still, aside from a bear, there was nothing worse than a mountain lion to be chasing after me. Then again, it wasn’t chasing me, was it?

Glancing back, there was nothing to be seen, only the forest. However, I was far away from my cave now, and in order to get there, I would have to cross path with that monster again. To make matters worse, it was mutated, and what the hell was that name? Finding a tree that had branches high and thick enough to hold me, I climbed up and took a moment to breathe.

‘System, why did you say that the mountain lion was saturated? Was that the word you used?’ I asked in my mind, making sure not to speak up and make more noise than I already had.

[Correct. Once a being has been filled with SP, it will be marked as Saturated.]

‘So that means that mountain lion was at max level already? For tier 0 I mean.’

[Correct. However, that is only the case for beings on tier 0. Once they grow to Tier 1, being saturated does not equate to being at max level.]

I rubbed my eyes, ‘Ok, ok. Let’s not go there now. I need to focus on what is going on not in trying to understand you.’

[Inquiry: Does user have a plan to deal with the mutated mountain lion?]

‘Not in the slightest. But I don’t know if I can just run away from it. It should have my scent, and even if it doesn’t, It’s been a while since I took a shower. It shouldn’t be hard for it to find me.’

[What about hunting it?]

‘A mutated mountain lion?! Are you crazy? How the fuck am I supposed to kill something like that. It would take a dozen hunters to take one down and even then we were likely to lose people. Unless someone made a really good trap. I’m not strong enough to deal with that.’

[User hunted mutated boars before.]

‘So? I hunted others on my own before. That was nothing new.’

[User currently has System. With that, user is several times more powerful than before integration.]

‘Are you saying we could kill that thing?’

[With the help of System, user can perform tasks that were impossible before integration. Defeating an adversary that was unbeatable before is among such tasks. However, System is unable to calculate the odds of success. User will be required to make that decision without System assistance.]

‘Right… hang on. Let’s think for a moment. If I ignore it and leave, there is a decent chance that it will come after me later. It might happen later today, in the middle of the night, or tomorrow. Or it could just leave. If the boar and the deer were enough for its meal, then there is no reason why it would chase after me, right?’

[That may not be the case.]

I frowned, looking to the side as if there was someone there to talk to, ‘What do you mean? Are you going to do something to mess this up?’

[System will not do anything against user’s best interest. However, it is possible that the system particles present on mutated mountain lion are capable of replicating the effect of hunger but direct it to large agglomerations of SP.]

After hearing that, the only thing to do was take a deep breath before confirming, ‘Are you telling me that, because I have you, the System, and a large concentration of SP, mutated animals will come after me?’

[Correct. However, that should not happen with every creature that possess SP. Only those who already have a predisposition to hunt for sustenance. SP is unable to create a new instinct without the help of System.]

‘So predators? Animals that hunt, those are the ones that are now seeing me as a tasty snack full of SP?’

[That is an apt approximation. Although System is unaware if animals have a preference for taste to consider user a snack.]

‘Fuck me. Ok I guess we are hunting,’ looking around, I searched for something, anything that could give me an edge in that fight.

On the ground were bushes, small rocks, leaves, and that was it. Nothing that could be used to kill the mountain lion. There was one thing that caught my eye. A small hole in the ground. In this mountainous terrain, some places had openings that led to caves. It wasn’t a full network of underground tunnels, despite everything, I wasn’t in a place that was tall or large enough for that kind of thing. And if memory served me right, there was a considerably large hole nearby. One that the hunters used as a spike trap to capture prey.

Quickly coming down the tree, I continued running, trying to remember the location of what could save me. Unfortunately, it was closer to where the mountain lion was, but there was no other option. It was hard to tell how long that creature would take to finish its meal, and if it decided to hunt for a different kind of prey as it was done, I was fucked.

About 15 minutes later, the spike trap came into view. Some of the wooden stakes were broken, but the majority still stood strong and stained with the blood of their last kill. Quickly rummaging through the area, I grabbed as many long sticks and bushes I could to cover the hole. That took another 10 minutes, but by the end, an animal shouldn’t be able to recognize the trap, even if it was more or less obvious to a human.

The reason for not doing a better job was the same as the reason for the rush. Preparing a trap required focus, and right now, half of my attention was pointed at my surroundings. If the mountain lion arrived while I was distracted, there was no trap that could save me.

Once my preparation was over, I quickly climbed on top of a nearby tree and positioned myself in a branch. The main problem with this setup was the lack of bait, but hunting something else might be a problem. It would take too long to find an animal large enough and then bring it here. Not to mention having to hoist it up on top of the trap, since leaving it on the ground would make the camouflage collapse. Maybe my shirt could be enough to attract the mountain lion. And of course, there was still the chance that it wouldn’t even come after me.

The other issue was the environment. This was a deep part of the forest and the sun was hidden by the trees. The shadows that covered the space swallowed the scarce light shining from above. Even sounds couldn’t be trusted, as tiny cave systems were sprawled around the place. Any noise had the chance of entering those passages and being amplified through a unique geological structure that distorted it in unexpected ways.