The man let out a grunt as he rolled beneath the wolf, his hand clutching a rock. He quickly sprang up and turned to face the beast, which had also pivoted towards him. At this point, the wolf usually hesitated, and the man was well-versed in exploiting that moment.

With a sinister smile, the man spread his arms wide, taunting the wolf with his laughter. The beast was now forced to either attack or back away, and the man was confident in his ability to dodge any incoming blows.

Just as the wolf lunged towards him, the man shifted his weight onto his right heel and spun out of the way. The man liked it when the beast lunged. Easier to dodge than when it kept trying to maul him repeatedly, and it opened all sorts of opportunities for him too. Like this one.

The wolf's momentum carried it between two trees, stopping the beast momentarily, but that brief respite was all the man needed. A giant snake, previously hidden in one of the trees, quickly wrapped around the wolf and began to squeeze.

The wolf growled as it bit and slashed at its attacker, desperately trying to shake it off. However, its efforts were in vain as the giant snake refused to release its grip even as the wolf's claws left deep wounds on its scales. The growls turned to whimpers and then yelps as the snake choked the life out of its prey.

The man watched as the wolf took its last breaths, and then he closed in on the snake, dispatching it with a swift strike while it was distracted.

He took a moment to catch his breath. He was lucky. He could have killed the wolf on his own, but that would have drained his energy and made it harder for him to escape from the giant lizard. Now he had more energy and time. The large creature wasn't interested in the scent of the snake, so he could relax for a moment. He pulled the makeshift dagger out of the snake's skull, causing a surge of dark ichor to spill onto his chest. This was okay. He had discovered during his many encounters that his body quickly absorbed the blood of beasts, making him stronger. He didn't know why, but he always took advantage of the opportunity to absorb as much blood as he could.

After the stream stopped, he slung the beast over his shoulders. It would be useful in the future. However, there was one more thing he needed to do before he left. Scores of opportunistic predators were most likely on their way, attracted by the smell of the snake's ichor. He couldn't escape in his current state as he still wasn't strong enough to hunt them. Although the opportunistic predators were slower and weaker than the lone wolf, they often traveled in packs that could easily overwhelm him. Additionally, even though he did get quieter, his own persistent giggling would eventually give him away.

Luckily he had just the alarm to scare all those opportunists away. He swiftly inserted his dagger into one of the wolf's arteries and withdrew it, causing a stream of ichor to flow out.

A loud roar echoed in the distance. It was his lizard friend claiming ownership of the prey. The man could only hear the heavy footsteps of the Goliath approaching, but he knew that any animals within a few miles had either fled or taken refuge in the deepest hole they could find. He also knew that he still had some time. He started counting. The monster was expected to arrive in about one minute. If the man left within 30 seconds, it would not bother chasing after him. He made the most of these precious seconds, absorbing every bit of ichor he could. The outcome of the rest of the cycle would depend on how much strength he could gain from this encounter.

29... 30 and now he too ran as far as he could from the clearing.

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.

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The small pond was hidden behind a dense cluster of trees, serving as a convenient spot for the man to recover from a recent battle. Describing it as a refuge was putting it nicely, with its collection of muddy water being more accurately described as a large puddle and the surrounding trees only offered limited protection from both sight and sound. Despite this, the pond served its purpose as it was far enough from the lizard to go unnoticed yet close enough to temporarily scare off the local wildlife. The man was aware that the creatures would eventually return and knew it was best to leave before they did.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He only had a couple of hours to prepare, so he quickly got to work. Although there were many plants and types of trees surrounding the oasis, he knew that most of them either wouldn't be useful or he wasn't aware of their use. Yet, there were still some items of use that he could gather. First, he checked the trees. There was a fallen tree near one of the entrances to the oasis, likely snapped by one of the forest's inhabitants. He had a use for the tree stump, so he grabbed it and pulled with all his might. The thing was likely over 50 kilograms by itself and the fact that most of the roots were still connected to the ground didn't help. Before, he wouldn't have been able to lift it no matter how much he tried. Even now, with his ability boosted, it took him a good chunk of his strength to pull it out of the ground.

Next, the man focused his attention on two nearby trees with the same ashen color and appearance. However, he knew differences lay beneath. One of them was soft to the touch, and he easily tore off its bark to reveal a green sludge. The other, however, felt cold and was hard like iron. Peeling its bark off was significantly more challenging, but he was able to reveal the orange sap flowing down it using his weapon. He also cut out a branch from this tree and set it near his other gathered items. Lastly, he collected a bright red flower seemingly floating in the middle of the pond.

Now it was time to build the fireplace. The man created a hole in the center of the log and placed its roots in it. The log wasn't flammable, but its roots were. Then, he placed the red flower on top of the roots and smashed it with his dagger. Upon impact, the petals of the flower caught on fire, producing just a small flame, but large enough to light the fireplace.

Next, he proceeded to dismantle the snake. He had come a long way from when he first tried it. He felt that he had never attempted anything like this in his past life, and it showed in his initial attempts. The skin was a mess, cut and torn to such an extent that it was rendered unusable. A lot of the meat was wasted in the process, not that it mattered too much since its quantity was bountiful. Now, while still not perfect, the skin was usable and waste was minimal.

When he was done he placed the meat over the fire. Then, he smeared some of the orange sap he collected over both the scales and the soft underbelly skin of the snake and arranged them over the fire in a way that would block the smoke from escaping. "Tanning" - this was the term that came to mind as the man observed the process. Although he was familiar with the term, he had absolutely no idea if he was doing it correctly. The only thing he knew was that the sap he collected helped to harden the scales and leather, and the smoke accelerated the process. In the past, the hardening had proven useful, as it made the snake skin able to offer some protection to even the claws of wolves, something the normal snake scales couldn't do.

While the tanning process was underway, he turned his attention to the last materials he collected: a large branch and the green sap. The branch was heavy and appeared to be extremely durable. Despite his enhanced strength, the man knew that even he would have trouble breaking it, although it was not as strong as rock. He used the rock to shape the branch into a straight ebony shaft by removing all imperfections. Then, he applied the sap to the back of the rock and attached it to the stick. The sap seemed to have a strong adhesive effect, allowing the man to create a rudimentary spear. It wasn't perfect. Far from it. The shaft could break against the force of a creature at the middle of the food chain and the tip may sometimes disconnect if too much force was applied. Still it was better than just using a sharp rock.

The next step was to eat and prepare the tanned leather. He separated the hard scales and the soft underbelly skin. The scales were plentiful enough to craft makeshift shirt, pants, and bracers with the aid of the green sludge while the soft skin was used to create pouches of different sizes, which he filled with water and the remaining meat.

With the size of the snake, he had enough food to last him for the entire journey. His next destination was two days and a lot of fights away.