"But... because of that, it will not see the traps we have dug around... brilliant." Terry agreed.
Without wasting any time, Terry pulled out the Axe and started digging. To his surprise, the mud and dirt were getting collected in his material tab too. Each swing was increasing his proficiency, and with each swing, the speed and accuracy were increasing.
The second and third dig didn't take much time in comparison to the first one.
After that, sharp sticks were placed underneath.
"They have soft underneath, so it would hurt them much."
Terry acquired the Blueprint of Sharp Sticks, which made the task finish in seconds.
Kiki wanted to ask more about his abilities, but she stopped herself. It was rude asking others about their talents and secrets.
They quickly finished the traps, layered with easy breakable sticks and leaves and dirt.
After that, Kiki with care tossed all the fish over the quicksand but not more, or else they would sink. Then she created a trail leading to it.
"It's done." Kiki said.
"Now we wait?"
She nodded.
She suggested to climb a tall tree. "You have to be quiet, or else the trap would not work."
Terry nodded, but the mosquitoes and other insects had other plans with him.
"Can't you stay quiet? It's almost night."
"These irritating mosquitoes. Can't help it."
"Let them bite, they just suck some blood, that's it. Bear with it. Also, don't talk loudly." She was kind of annoyed that Terry was acting like a toddler who couldn't even understand the basics of jungle and hunt.
"What if I get some disease? Malaria or Dengue something?" Terry whispered.
She rolled her eyes again, "More weird words and imaginations."
Terry tried to endure, but how can you endure a mosquito who is singing a sweet tune in your ears?
SLAP!
"That's it... go to that tree and do whatever stupid things you want." She pointed at another large tree, far from her position and the trap.
Terry, with a sad face, climbed down and reached for the other tree.
The mosquitoes followed him.
"Come on, ladies... I am so weak, I have no blood in me for myself, why are you all following me?"
Kiki heard his whispering rant, and her eye twitched with weirdness at this guy talking to mosquitoes, negotiating with them?
However, his talk didn't work. "I need something."
On Earth, there were mosquito bats with electricity, Zap, fry, problem solved, but he had none and couldn't make one now.
Burning mosquito repellent coils and mats? That was out of the question too.
Balms?
He was not sure but pulled out the herbs he had collected so far and started rubbing them, which didn't give him any serious vibe or feeling.
However, it made his skin itch more and didn't work.
He hadn't climbed the tree yet... still looking for that magic balm or solution to mosquitoes.
He was grinding herbs between two stones when something clicked in his mind.
Basic Alchemy Unlocked.
Basic Laxative recipe unlocked.
He noticed the herb he was crushing was that same herb which would give diarrhea. He quickly opened the Basic Alchemy section and found he could combine and test various herbs in it and experiment to find out its results without testing on himself.
He quickly immersed in it. Meanwhile, Kiki turned to check on him and found him standing under the tree like a statue while mosquitoes feasted on him.
"Hmph! Couldn't he have done the same here?"
Basic Healing Balm recipe acquired.
Basic Pain Relief Paste recipe acquired.
Basic Herb Glue recipe acquired.
Basic Anti-Burn Ointment recipe acquired.
Basic Bug-Repellent recipe acquired.
"FINALLY!" Terry yelled as he found a bug repellent balm.
SWISH! BAM!
A spear hit the tree near his face out of nowhere. Terry immediately jumped backwards and turned to see who threw that spear and saw death in its red eyes.
It was Kiki. She gestured with her finger that if he opened his mouth again, she would not miss. Terry nodded like a toddler.
Then she gestured for him to bring that spear back. Terry struggled to pull the spear out, but after some effort, he managed to without making any noise.
He climbed back up, gave her her spear, and started to climb down again.
"What are you doing?" She was going mad with Terry's stupidity.
"To my tree?" Terry was utterly confused.
"Stay here and don't make a noise."
He stayed, but so did the mosquitoes. So he pulled out the bug-repellent balm and started rubbing it on his skin. It had a weird smell, not bad, but still like milk about to go bad.
That's because one of the ingredients was squirming grubs, the fat white paste like thick you get after squeezing it.
Terry didn't care about the smell as kept on rubbing it everywhere.
And that worked; the mosquitoes ran away as if Terry was no longer handsome, as if he had just become the ugliest person for the ladies.
However, it backfired. They all found another target: Kiki. She saw Terry used some white paste and mosquitoes were no longer attracted to him, but they were all on her now.
She gritted her teeth to endure, but it was now too much. Her own words were about to backfire on her: "Can't you endure it?"
"Here," Terry whispered, offering the balm.
She wanted to refuse on principle, but that'd just be stupid. She snatched it and rubbed it on quickly. Just like that, the mosquitoes scattered.
"Tha, thanks," she muttered. "And... sorry about earlier."
Terry was not looking at her, but he gave a shushing gesture.
This boy just shushed me? Kiki was considering smacking him but then noticed Terry's eyes focused far away.
She turned to look, and it was their hunt. They had finally found their bait.
Not one, but five of them.
Komodo dragons? To Terry, they looked like Komodo dragons, but these were bigger, as big as a full-grown bull, meaner, with hard, spiky scales that shone in the faint light like stone.