The deadline for Anaxa's bonus objective was today- he had to consume a prey with at least 0.1 spirit or… well, Anaxa did not know quite what would happen if he failed.
The system had entirely removed the penalty text after issuing the loan.
However that in itself was a subtle yet very ominous sign, because it certainly did not mean the system had forgiven the debt. Rather given how heavy just the interest payment was, it could only be imagined what the consequences would be if Anaxa failed to deliver even the principal amount.
Thus when he set out to hunt that morning, he made sure to constantly keep his eye out for any suitable prey. He came across all kinds of birds, ants, spiders, locusts, grasshoppers, lizards, and other fauna on his way… until his eyes finally landed on one particular frog- Lithobates clamitans, or more commonly known as the green frog.
Male, healthy and about 10 cm from spout to tail, this emerald frog was currently sitting by the shore of a small puddle, its eyes solely focused on the water. It was likely 'fishing' for the insects or bugs that were taking a bath there.
Thus the poor prey remained completely oblivious as the system brought up its stats in front of Anaxa, and by the will of the heavens, the large specimen was found to perfectly fit the latter's bill.
"Great!" The tiny lizard instantly curled his scaly lips at the sight, "This frog is perfect! Not too big, not that fast, not too ferocious.. but still very fat and meaty. The perfect meal! I spotted these species many times before, but lacked the confidence to hunt them."
"If I failed to kill them quickly and they got to turn around…. the headbutts they give are no joke. One good hit on me and the best case scenaio, I would break a few bones and become a cripple. The most likely scenario…" Anaxa ominously swung his tail at the macabre thought, a tiny flash of fear appearing as he looked at those tough neck muscles.
Out of that fear, he was even cautious when approaching the target, making sure not to give himself away by stepping on any fallen leaves or tiny twigs and keeping his tail very low to the ground.
15 meters… 10 meters…. 7 meters…
To make sure he hit, Anaxa tried to close the distance as much as possible, crossing well into his comfort zone, until he could almost see his reflection on the frog's large black pupils.
He finally stopped at a distance he figured he would be able to hit for sure and with maximum force.
Shoo!
And then without any warning, Anaxa raised his tail for only a split second and performed what appeared to be a simple flick, thus launching the pebble he held with all his might.
The deadly projectile streaked across the air like a bolt of lightning, and
Thud!
It hit its target just as predicted, smashing into the frog's eye with deadly precision and absolutely wrecking the organs and muscles there.
Crooakkk!
The poor animal lacked the senses to even understand what had hit him and could only let out a giant cry of pain as it feel down, the pain nearly crippling it.
It was unknown whether the frog had detected Anaxa's presence before, or had, but simply did not consider it a threat from such 'huge' distances.
But whichever the case, that was a deadly mistake, as red began to ooze out of its deadly wound, quickly sapping away its life.
However that did not mean the creature was out of the fight yet.
Acting out of sheer instinct to live, the grievously injured frog still tried to get up and run away, seeking cover around the reed that grew along the banks of the small puddle
The sight made Anaxa thump his heart with both excitement and alarm. The excitement was from the live battle damage assessment he just received- the frog's limping movement proved his hit had indeed caused massive damage.
While the alarm was from the fear of letting the prey escape or worse, becoming another's meal.
Given how much Anaxa's stomach was rumbling, he would not have any tears to shed if the injured frog barged into another predator's territory and let all his efforts end up in its belly.
So Anaxa quickly dropped the extra pebble he was carrying in his mouth and 'reloaded' his tail with it.
Then started to give chase.
Thankfully the injured frog was quite slow, so Anaxa did not need to put too much effort. He only had to keep the limping creature in his eyesight as it darted from one bush to another, running around almost blindly.
Croakk… Croaakk..
The poor creature let out cries of pain and alarm as it ran, unsure of what had even attacked it.
It certainly did not remember seeing any attacker. And even if it had, how could the poor animal figure out Anaxa's anomality? Even a human would have a hard time coming to that conclusion from just one instance.
Hence, for all that the not so bright creature knew, it was just the wind that hit it.
The wounded animal finally stopped running after a while!
Perhaps it was too injured to go on and needed to rest.
Or perhaps it thought he was out of danger, so decided to catch its breath.
Whichever the case, it decided to take a pause, taking refuge within some tall grass, hoping that its green body would mesh into the surrounding green foliage, thus producing an effective camouflage.
Anaxa was frankly impressed seeing this.
The frog might be a foolish creature compared to a human, but that did not mean it was dumb. Even when hurt and bleeding from the eye, it knew it had to hide before resting.
And its camouflage was none too shabby either.
In fact, it was quite decent, to the point Anaxa figured he would have had to search quite hard to spot it if he did not know what to look for.
It was just the poor frog's bad luck that it had met a monstrous anomaly like Anaxa.
Thus the slight pause it took became its last.
Confirming his prey had stopped, Anaxa quickly positioned himself, placing himself within the injured blind spot, before…
Show…
The deadly pebble struck the exact place for a second time.
And if the previous hit had smashed the eye, this one went deeper, smashing into the skull and causing countless micro shrapnels to shred into the delicate grey matter inside.
The poor frog began to hemorrhage massively, falling down with its body and thrashing out of instinct and sheer trauma. Blood gushed out of its wound like an overflowing lake and it began to let a very sad, low, groaning croaking.
From the other side, this same macabre sight sought to only excite Anaxa, his heart filling up with unbound glee. He did not feel the slightest sorry over the life he had taken, but immediately shot forward at the fastest speed, determined to secure his prize.
His stomach was almost bursting with hunger and he was afraid that some other predator lurking around might snatch his meal right from his mouth.
Those two were the only thoughts currently inside Anaxa's mind, nothing else.
Now he was not always this cold blooded.
When he first transmigrated, such gory details had indeed repulsed him. But over time, his lizard instinct took over. This was the norm for the species and disliking was going against the natural way of things.
Combine that with the maddening hunger pangs that assaulted his stomach every time it was denied its meal and Anaxa was basically forced to shed any such humane qualities.
Thus Anaxa sped over to his meal within seconds and upon reaching him, began to immediately dig in!
He did not even bother confirming whether the frog was dead or not- such was his hunger- that 'small' detail did not matter.
Due to the same reason, Anaxa also did not bother to move the prey to a safer location, a thing he almost always did as he found he was very vulnerable when eating. But the frog was almost as big and heavy as him, and Anaxa feared he might really die out of hunger by the time he had dragged the massive thing to his nest.
The traumatized animal thus let out horrified, pained cries as it felt its back and stomach being literally torn open with sharp, serrated teeth and its guts pulled out and eaten right in front.
Mercifully, the frog died quickly from such massive trauma, ending its suffering.
"Ding! Prey successfully hunted!"
That familiar, slightly feminine mechanical voice had never sounded so alluring to Anaxa, and he felt like a huge stone had been lifted from his heart.
He felt so light!
"Ding! Curse increased to- 'Great Hunger'! Host will get hungry even more quickly!"