The Red Dragon Fruit, belonging to the Drakonidae plant family, is known to enhance physical strength and boost fire elemental powers. Fire poison? Although his stomach felt like a stormy sea, Felix's mind was elsewhere. After swallowing the fruit, almost instinctively, information about the plant's properties, how to neutralize its fire poison, and its use as a primary ingredient in dragon-slaying potions appeared in his mind.

The collision of elemental powers caused Felix visible discomfort, but his primary concern was not the pain. He was sure he had encountered, even tasted, this exotic fruit before. Only a highly skilled alchemist or potion master would know its medicinal properties and its role in creating dragon-slaying potions.

Dragon-slaying potions, an enigmatic alchemical mixture implied by its very name, were known only to high-level alchemists.

"What was my past?" Felix wondered, with skills comparable to a master hunter, mysterious Frost Power, supreme sculpting skills, and now, profound knowledge of alchemy.

What profession could require such a diverse set of high-level skills?

The fire elemental power within the Red Dragon Fruit was limited. After about three minutes, the fire energy that had entered his body with digestion was completely devoured by the Frost Power, transforming into a basic elemental energy that merged into Felix's body. Once the scorching fire energy was absorbed, a warm energy began to spread from his stomach throughout his body.

This energy was incredibly soothing, not even repelled by the aggressive Frost Power, which seemed to accept it somewhat. The neutral and gentle energy flowed with his blood, slowly integrating into his muscles and bones. The absorption process was slow, taking about half an hour before Felix felt completely invigorated by the fruit's power.

Once the fruit was fully absorbed, Felix opened his eyes. It was noon, but he felt no hunger, only a slight mental fatigue from the initial painful energy surge. Yet, physically, he felt more energetic than ever, even slightly exhilarated.

Packing the remaining ten fruits, Felix continued his journey downstream. The memories suggested that the elemental power of these fruits was stable and could last one to two months, so there was no rush to consume them all at once.

According to the partial information, consuming the fruit directly had limited benefits, especially for professionals, only slightly enhancing their elemental power. The best way to utilize these fruits was to create a highly concentrated and magically catalyzed alchemical mixture.

Remembering more about his past might be necessary to accomplish this. The fruit had largely solved Felix's food problem, as he had traveled for half a day without any hunger. This discovery was a significant relief for Felix, who found cooking in the forest a torturous task, given his complete lack of culinary talent.

When the moon hung high, Felix finally stopped. He had reached the end of the river, which had widened and joined a larger stream. The current became stronger, and animal activity increased, indicating he was leaving Mistwood Forest. By his estimate, he was half a day's journey from the lake, his final hunting destination. If he could successfully hunt the bugbear, he would have enough funds for his travels.

Looking up at the cold moon, Felix climbed a large tree and slowly drifted to sleep. Night was not a time for battle; he would search for the bugbear tomorrow. Such a large target would not be hard to find if it indeed existed.

The next morning, as the first sunlight touched the earth, Felix awoke, refreshed. After wiping the dew from his body and washing his face with river water, he continued toward the lake. Surprisingly, he still didn't feel hungry, a stark contrast to his usual self, who would be ravenous after a day without food.

By midday, Felix reached the lake, only to find it eerily silent and tinged with a faint smell of blood.

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At the lake's edge, he discovered the carcass of a tiger with a fatal sword wound almost severing its head.

Someone had been here.

Someone had been here, and not just one person. A line of footprints was visible in the muddy ground by the lake, with three deep and two light prints, and the last set of prints were so faint as to be almost invisible.

Felix dipped his finger in the tiger's blood and sniffed it. The blood was still fresh, not yet coagulated – it seemed this group hadn’t been gone long.

There was an expert among them!

Felix examined the barely visible footprints with a slight frown. Such light traces were difficult to make, even for him. The person who left these prints was either a petite woman or a top-notch ranger or assassin, as only they could tread so lightly.

A five-person team – the standard adventure group configuration popular across the continent.

Two of the footprints were particularly deep, leaving marks about three fingers deep, suggesting either a tall and robust individual or a warrior in heavy armor. It's worth mentioning that, in the world of Delrano, alchemy is not advanced.

Although the dwarves somewhat mitigate this issue, their temperamental nature and limited trade with other races mean that heavy or plate armor is quite expensive. A basic set of plate armor could cost as much as half a Snowcharm inn.

In the region of Snowcharm, only a few traders doing business with wood elves are seen. Such structured adventure teams are rare. Felix couldn't recall encountering such people in his memories, suggesting they might have bypassed Snowdrift Hollow to enter Mistwood Forest.

Mysterious adventurers!

This lake, about ten kilometers in size, theoretically belongs to the wood elves' territory, but in reality, it's more of a no-man's land. Wood elves prefer Mistwood Forest, with many never leaving their birthplace.

Theoretically, tiger skin should be valuable, as an average adventurer might struggle to kill an adult tiger. But Felix hesitated and decided against skinning it. Proper skinning is a difficult task requiring skill and tools, and it's quite troublesome.

It's important to note the ratio of professionals among adventurers, which is around ten percent. Any intelligent being with basic combat skills can become an adventurer, but becoming a professional is not easy, as it involves mastering elemental powers.

Ordinary adventurers are roughly equivalent to trained soldiers, slightly stronger but not by much. Only those who master elemental powers become recognized professionals.

Ordinary adventurers and mercenaries don't differ much, but teams made up of professionals are considered true adventure groups.

The way this tiger was killed, swiftly and decisively with a single sword strike, indicated an experienced and elite team of adventurers.

The area around the lake wasn't very open due to the rich soil fostering dense vegetation.

The lakeside was lined with reed-like plants, and the dense undergrowth reached waist-high in places, obstructing the view. Without knowing if the adventurers who arrived before him had left or were still in the area, Felix decided to follow their footprints, although unsure of their purpose here.

As Felix moved forward, the faint scent of blood grew stronger, and the silence remained unbroken, not even by insects or birds.

Feeling slightly uneasy about the strange silence, Felix unsheathed his sword, remaining alert to his surroundings.

After following the adventurers' footprints for about half a magical hour, Felix reached his destination: a small hill with a natural cave at its base – the lair of the bugbear!

Could these adventurers have the same target as him?

He pondered, as the value of a bugbear, though significant, seemed insufficient to attract such adventurers. It would make more sense to hunt a low-ranking dragon species for the prestige of 'dragon-slaying,' given the similar strength level to a bugbear.

The footprints near the cave entrance were chaotic, with clear signs of battle. The pervasive blood scent emanated from within. Hesitating only briefly, Felix cautiously entered the bloody cave.

The natural cave was shallow, less than twenty-five meters deep. Around a bend, he found the bugbear's nest, strewn with dry grass, bones from various animals, and even a half-eaten elk.

And there lay the bugbear's body, with fatal wounds, each a deadly strike!

Only highly skilled adventurers, including one or two powerful mages (judging by the residual elemental fluctuations in the air), could have inflicted such wounds on a creature comparable to a low-ranking dragon species.

The bugbear's skull had a hole, brutally smashed open, its brain turned to mush, and the magical core undoubtedly taken. It was clear these adventurers were not only skilled but also wealthy, as ordinary adventurers wouldn't forgo the value of the bear's skin and meat.

Only focusing on the magical core and ignoring the rest of the valuable beast was considered foolish among adventurers.

Felix touched the still wet blood, frowning slightly.

The adventurers had not left long ago. If he chose to pursue, he could certainly catch up.