Leo woke up a few hours later.
"Fuck, why do I keep losing consciousness every time?"
As his eyes adjusted, he could clearly make out his surroundings. It was still night, but the fire he had started had already fizzled out.
[System Notification]
[Gained new skill: Poison Resistance (Lv. 1)]
[Poison Resistance upgraded]
[Poison Resistance (Lv. 1) → Poison Resistance (Lv. 2)]
[+1 Endurance]
A flurry of system pop-ups suddenly assaulted his vision. As he went over the notifications, Leo was pretty happy with the haul.
"A wise man once said, with great pain comes greater power," Leo thought with a chuckle, his smile slightly distorted and his voice a bit creepy.
After checking his stats, Leo first finished the waist rope and then created sheaths for the daggers by tying together vines.
With those made, he stood up and picked up his spear.
He didn't know how to use it at all, and he didn't want to be caught off guard again—especially when he didn't know how to use his own weapons.
The victory against the lizard had been a fluke, really. He'd just gone with his instincts, and his high stats had carried him through the fight. If he had met a much faster and smarter creature, he probably would have been eaten.
Leo stood in a clearing, away from any trees or wolves, and started practicing. He didn't know what he was doing, but he began shadowboxing, using the lizard as a reference in his mind.
However, the more he trained, the more frustrated he became. After an hour, he stopped and caught his breath. His muscles felt sore, but he was still far from exhaustion.
As he replayed everything he had done, Leo couldn't help but frown slightly. No matter how many times he tried, he wasn't able to defeat the lizard in his mind.
"This is harder than I thought."
He had been able to injure it severely, but every time he was about to end it, its tongue got him. This made him realize the biggest flaw with the spear: it was almost useless once something got close, and it was especially bad against fast opponents.
"How do people even use this in fights?"
Leo had also realized something about himself during his training: he liked speed and getting close to opponents.
The spear, he realized, wasn't for him. It required both hands to wield and was very punishing for beginners.
'Although people say it's the best for beginners, I think it's harder to learn compared to one-handed sword fighting and daggers. For one, someone needs to know when to thrust, because if you fully commit and it's dodged, you're wide open. Also, once someone passes the tip, you're essentially helpless. Let's not even talk about how hard it is to target small spots like the eyes and throat.'
At this point, Leo was starting to wonder why he'd even built it.
With a sigh, he put the spear down and picked up his daggers.
He took his time checking for any damage they might have sustained during the fight.
"Hmm, have they gotten brighter?"
As he looked at them closely, he felt even more certain that they had gotten a bit brighter. Not by much, but still noticeable with his increased perception.
"These mysteries just keep piling up."
With another sigh, Leo started training again. He felt better with the daggers in his hands.
"Yeah, I'll just use the daggers. They suit me better."
He trained with them for a while, testing his swings, stabs, and footwork until he adjusted to his new strength and the daggers' weight.
By the time he was finally done, the sun had already risen.
Leo stood there panting. His hands were bleeding, skin split and raw, but he didn't feel much because of Pain Resistance.
The wolves that had gone hunting had brought back what Leo could only describe as a monster.
If the lizard was big, then the creature they dragged back was humongous. They had returned with it a few hours ago, startling him.
It looked like a boar, but it was almost the size of a mini truck. The sight of it had pushed Leo to train even harder.
He still didn't know where he was, but it felt more dangerous the longer he stayed here.
Leo turned to the boar's corpse. Only bones remained now, and even those were being chewed on by some wolves.
'I need to start moving,' he thought as he sat down.
After resting for a while, he felt fully recovered. He tied the vine rope around his waist and attached his daggers on each side. Then he picked up his spear and prepared to leave.
'Are you leaving, Druid?'
The voice startled him, but he remained composed.
'Who are you? And why are you in my head?'
Leo was getting a little irritated by people messing with his brain.
'Don't worry, I'm the leader of this pack. I mean no harm.'
'If that's true, then why are you hiding?'
'I'm not hiding. It's just that I'm preoccupied right now and couldn't be there to see you off.'
'Why did you help me? We haven't met before, so why are you being friendly to me?' That was what Leo was most curious about.
'You must be a newborn Druid to not know that. Well, anyway, the reason I assisted you is because of a promise I made…to your kindness. Anyway, I have to go. Goodbye, Druid. I hope we meet again in the future.'
With that, everything went silent.
'What the hell was that dude talking about? Since when was I a Druid?'
Leo was never really a fan of misunderstandings in novels; they always got out of hand fast, and he didn't want to get involved in any of that bullshit.
'Let's get the fuck out of here before some ancient being descends.'
He didn't waste a second as he took off westward, leaving behind the wolf pack that watched his retreating back.
_____________
In the deep mountains of the north, where cold winds that brought only death and despair ran rampant, a wolf about ten meters high, with silver fur and golden irises, could be seen. Its majesty, however, was ruined by the large wound running across its abdomen.
The wound seemed to be rotting, but at the same time, blood was still flowing out.
The wolf, however, seemed unbothered as it stared straight ahead into the distance.
Suddenly, the ground shook as a pair of eyes opened. They stared at the wolf for a while.
"Are you done running, Fenrir?" The voice was deep and cold, its words carrying an authority that made the very air tremble.
The wolf didn't answer and just kept staring at the eyes, unfazed.
"How disappointing."
The eyes moved forward as the body of the creature became visible. It was a snake. Its head alone was twice as large as the wolf. As it hissed, rows of teeth could be seen lined up in its mouth.
"Let's not waste time, Arora," Fenrir suddenly spoke, making the snake freeze for a moment.
"So you still haven't given up. How cute," Arora hissed, a bit amused.
Fenrir, however, didn't seem to care as his body started expanding rapidly until he was about one hundred meters tall. His body was completely engulfed in flames as he focused his gaze on the snake.
"Well, let's see what you've got," Arora snarled as it suddenly lunged directly at Fenrir.
'I hope you take care of my children, Druid.'
With that last thought, Fenrir also lunged forward toward the snake.
_____________
The man in question was still running through the forest, not knowing he was already involved in some scheme he'd never signed up for.
'Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?'
Leo didn't know why, but ever since he'd talked to the so‑called pack leader, he had been restless.
'Yeah, I'm probably just tired. Right.'
Not wanting to stress himself, Leo chose to completely ignore the feeling and continued searching.
Suddenly, he caught the scent of water.
'Jackpot.'
With renewed hope, Leo increased his pace. The closer he got, the more saturated the air felt.
After running for a while, he started hearing the sound of rushing water.
'A river.'
As he got closer, he slowed down and became more cautious. Accidents happen when you let your guard down. He'd learned that the hard way back in his old world when he attended a horse race with his dad, only for a surfboard to hit him straight in the face.
'Like, who brings a surfboard to a horse race?'
Either way, he didn't want to suddenly get jumped by some man‑eating rabbits or other weird creatures.
As he approached, he made sure to make as little noise as possible, until finally he could see the river's outline.
When he burst through the thick vegetation, his jaw dropped.
The river stretched out far into the distance, a vast, glimmering ribbon cutting through the land.
'The Amazon and Nile don't even compare to this.'
The place was teeming with life. When he looked to his right and left, he could see creatures on the banks drinking from the water—horned deer‑like beasts, scaled boars, and birdlike things with too many eyes.
'This life is pretty fun,' Leo thought as he looked at the scenery, smiling.