While they were traveling, banter had returned to the group. Kyle was trying to joke while Justin and Greyson helped him walk. The situation's vulnerability seemed like a beacon to the monsters in the forest to attack them.
"Take a bite of this bitch." (Mark)
A large snake, its head large enough to bite through the trunk of a decently sized tree, lunged forward to strike at Mark, who was holding his mashettie with a determined expression. When it lunged, Justin swung his blade forward to chop through the neck of the snake as Mark's blade stabbed through the skull of the snake, punching its brain. The mouth and eyes widened as it howled in pain before its body fell over. The body twitched and coiled around itself, pulling Mark in, but Mark let go of his weapon as the snake curled up, flipping and rolling. It was in the throes of its death before it became still, its body twitching occasionally.
Anna went over and started working on the snake's body, making all of them groan as she worked.
"What?" (Anna)
"You always want to take apart the bodies of animals, you recognize it's kinda creepy." (Kyle)
Kyle was leaning against a tree as he stood, his body looking ready to fall, but much better than when she finished fixing him up.
"Firstly, do you know how unique this is? It most likely is a constrictor snake, so if it had fully gotten hold of any of us, it could have slowly crushed us to death, meaning its tendons would be powerful. I don't have any rope, but if I properly dry out the tendons with this system, it might be even stronger than rope after I braid it." (Anna)
"Kyle, you should give up. By now, we can tell she might be a little insane." (Greyson)
"You wouldn't know or have access to half the things I have or know if I were normal, though." (Anna)
Anna could easily dismantle the snake's body, not bothering with its skin. The scales in the fight seemed susceptible to damage, so to her, there would be no point in attempting to keep them. Its meat was too harsh, but Anna kept some of it as she tossed the tendons as thick as her pointer finger into her inventory before wiping the blood off herself and putting the overalls away.
"At this point, you might as well keep those on." (Mark)
"No way blood could attract even more monsters to us. Also, have you never been inside a butcher shop? If they aren't cleaned and kept at a cooler temperature, things start to stink." (Anna)
"And you have been to a butcher shop." (Mark)
"A few times. I was living on disability paychecks and other government funding from the accident. So there wasn't a lot to keep me entertained." (Anna)
"You were disabled, I thought you were exaggerating. So when you evolved..." (Kyle)
Anna spoke before he could finish talking, knowing what he would say.
"Yes, when I evolved and had access to quick heal, my body restored itself, and now it is like I never was injured in the first place." (Anna)
Kyle shook his head as if he were jealous of her healing ability or thought she was insane.
"You know, I think I count as a prepper, the people who prepare for an apocalypse. Is there a term for people who prepare for an apocalypse after one happens?" (Anna)
"I think you're more of a survivalist since this is in the moment and you're going further than a prepper would, and we are living through the disaster, not before one." (Greyson)
"Oh, yeah, you did say your grandfather was a prepper." (Anna)
Anna moved away from the corpse and nodded, ready to go again.
"Did you not want the fang? It seems sharp." (Justin)
"My level isn't high enough to remove it without something getting damaged. I may have reached level four in my skill, mad butcher from this, but I'm not at the point of perfection needed to dissect a monster without some damage to its parts." (Anna)
"Then why didn't you damage the tendons?" (Mark)
"I used my hands for that part. Tendons, if strong enough, can be pulled out if you can easily separate the meat from them. I tried to aim more for the meat to avoid cutting the tendon. When I could not pull them out by hand, I hope to pull the meat off the tendons while it dries when I have to clean them." (Anna)
"Were any parts usable? You do have a skill that lets you identify body parts." (Justin)
"Yes and no. I decided it wasn't worth it for the parts on the snake. The skin would have made an okay leather armor, but your weapons easily cut through it. There is no point, even though you have a blade skill that increases its ability to cut and deal damage. I want something that can at least lessen the damage from your attacks." (Anna)
"You say that, but our blades can puncture bone." (Mark)
"If you want me to prove a point, then stab it through the top of its skull and tell me if you're still able to stab through it." (Anna)
Mark rolled his eyes and went over to stab the top of the skull of the dead snake. Although the skin held no resistance, the blade stopped once he struck the top of the skull, not even puncturing the already damaged brain again.
"Why do you think in so many movies during a fight they stab up through the jaw to kill someone? It is to have it go into the brain to kill the person they are fighting. Because the front of the skull is usually the thickest, there is more resistance. However, the inner side of the upper jaw is normally thinner. Unless it's humanoid, the temples are also good places to aim." (Anna)
"I never thought you were an action movie fan." (Greyson)
"I prefer a much more gruesome anime without looking like real blood. I only used movie references because I have seen a few. Didnt enjoy it though. A lot of older action movies had explosions. Although I did watch it to train myself not to go into a full panic if something does explode." (Anna)
"Which anime do you prefer? I liked the remake of the Gundam show they recently did before all this." (Mark)
"I prefer the older anime shows rather than the newer ones. Not that the new ones are horrible, but I feel like they decided to remake a lot of the anime classics." (Anna)