Klein didn't confirm Xin's observation, but it was the truth. He was really far from home.

The daunting reality settled upon him. He could very well find himself in an entirely different galaxy, millions of light-years away from everything he knew. The prospect of finding his way back home seemed increasingly impossible, if that were the case.

Well, it was still nearly impossible if he was stranded in an uncharted civilization in an unknown world in the Milky Way, let alone millions of light-years away.

As far as he knew, only a couple of thousand solar systems had been charted by Telemetry. He could be one of those, but he had no concrete proof.

Klein let out a weary breath. He would have been more pragmatic about his situation if his immortality project hadn't gone awry, leaving him stranded in an unknown jungle that could very well be an entire galaxy away. To make matters worse, his mana, his vital source of power, had been taken hostage, intensifying his helplessness.

Klein made a fist and punched the grass with all his strength. The earth barely dug beneath his palm.

"I think I'm going to sleep now," Xin's voice echoed in his mind. "Hopefully, you'll be able to charge me up after dealing with your issues. If you can't, then you'll have only—"

Then he was all alone in the wilderness.

Not for long. Soon he heard cries of wild beasts echoing, jolting him awake from his daze.

His heart skipped a beat as he leapt to his feet, eyes wandering around to seek refuge. The howls of animals grew louder, closing the distance between them. Even though he couldn't see them, he couldn't shake the feeling that danger loomed just beyond his sight, ready to pounce.

Klein hid in the bushes, almost impenetrable from outsiders' sight, but the unrest in his heart didn't rest. The stabbing pain only boosted a groaning sense of anxiety.

As he waited, a mix of anticipation and anxiety coursed through him. The rhythm of his heartbeat quickened, thumping almost painfully in his temples. His mind raced, conjuring countless scenarios of how to handle whatever awaited him. He survived hellish environments that killed most people, but that was when he still had his mana.

Soon, the approaching danger revealed itself. It was a ravenous hyena, though it stood chest-high and appeared fiercer than most wolves in the wilderness.

But the most unsettling fact about the creature was that, somehow, it managed to locate exactly where Klein was hiding, its predatory gaze locked onto him, its jaws dripping with saliva in anticipation of its next meal.

Honestly, a hyena wasn't supposed to scare him, no matter how savage it appeared. He was a Fifth Circle Mage, for heaven's sake. The hyena seemed to be a category-four magical beast at best. His expertise and power should have made him impervious to such threats.

Unfortunately, his immortality plan had gone awry and sent him to another dimension, stealing all his power. All the infuriating events left him lost, frustrated, and overwhelmingly furious. Worse, it left him completely vulnerable.

"Goddamn it!" Klein shouted, his apprehension growing as he continued to run, still naked and defenseless, with the ravenous beast hot on his heels.

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In his panic, Klein could only turn to his mana, now sealed within the obscure black sphere. Moreover, that black sphere was transforming his mana into something else altogether.

An unsettling feeling gnawed at him as he tried to draw his energy. Klein willed his mana, imagining it gushing out of the dimensional orb, trying to break free from its confinement.

He felt the terrible restriction again, writhing inside him, but he persisted, as he had no other option. The black orb pulsed, contorted, and twisted, defending itself from Klein's desperate will.

The savage animal stood about thirty yards away when it discovered him. It could cover the distance in no time. No matter how much distance Klein covered, it would catch up eventually. The realization urged him to give it his all and more.

Klein's mind trembled as wisps of energy pulsed through his channels. He pulled more, wisp after wisp. Through sheer persistence, Klein gathered enough energy to form at least one [Mana Bolt]. It wasn't his most potent spell, but it would have to do. The hyena, despite its menacing appearance, didn't seem that strong.

Klein visualized his energy emerging out of him, shaping itself into his will, taking the form of a sharp spike with accelerating energy pulsating behind it. Almost prepared, he spun around, facing the growling animal that was merely a dozen paces away.

"Bugger off!" he shouted, shooting the [Mana Bolt] in its direction with precision and intent. Relief washed over him as he believed his shot was true, aimed directly at the head of the savage creature.

Unfortunately, the outcome was not as he expected. His bolt missed the hyena, only by a small margin, a couple of inches at most. The animal hadn't moved away at the peak of the moment, nor was his aim wrong.

It was just that he forgot it wasn't mana he was working with anymore. Not entirely. It didn't function the same as it once had. Before it could slam into the hyena's head, the condensed energy disintegrated, merely grazing the creature's head.

"Goddamnit!" Klein cursed. Frustration and fear clawed at him as he drew energy once again, hoping not to make the same mistake.

The hyena seemed to hesitate for a moment, its predatory instincts conflicting with its sense of self-preservation. It watched him cautiously, uncertain whether to continue the chase. The brief pause allowed Klein to gather his wits. Sadly, his opportunity to catch his breath vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Without warning, the hyena lunged at him, closing the distance with astonishing agility.

Klein clenched his fists, bracing himself for a close-quarters confrontation, while simultaneously drawing more energy from the black sphere. He needed to be ready for whatever came next.

With two gigantic leaps, the hyena pounced on him, growling menacingly. Klein's instinct screamed, and he managed to dodge the initial attack, jumping to his right. However, his evasion was short-lived, as the creature plunged into him, its savage maw opening to take a bite of his neck.

Klein barely blocked the hyena's paws with his arms, momentarily halting its attack. For the first time in the confrontation, it was his turn to deal a blow, and Klein dealt a well-placed one as well, ramming his knee into its midsection. The hyena screamed in a painful howl, causing its disgusting saliva to spray onto his face.

Now, Klein might only be a Fifth Circle Mage; his body was fragile compared to those knights or enforcers, but he was no pushover. His rigorous training had elevated his physical abilities to the standard of a category-four body enforcer. His current body was no worse than it had been. While this hyena was unnaturally strong, it wasn't impossible for him to stop its movement for some time.

Klein didn't stop ramming his knee. His chaotic movement, however, led the animal to free one of its paws, and it plunged it straight into his chest, causing red-hot blood to streak up in three parallel lines of scars.

Klein ignored the pain. He endured worse in training and practice. He had managed to grasp enough of the energy in the meantime. Now all that was left was to shape it into a [Mana Bolt]. The creature was close enough. It wouldn't matter whether his aim was precise or not.

As the creature's menacing maw drew dangerously close to him, saliva dripping, Klein channeled the energy into a transparent, pulsating force. It shot forth and plunged into the hyena.

The sensation of warm, crimson blood showering over him was visceral, accompanied by the creature's last howl.

[Essence Harvested.]

Even without Xin, he still received a notification.

[You have comprehended the Law of Force.]

[Seed of Force (Early): Other than knowing F = Ma, you have dabbled in the natures of force.

+10% Efficiency to Will.

+5% Efficiency to Spirit.]