I woke up, but I didn't expect to be warm. I knew the stone floor was cold, but I wasn't affected by it.

I decided to meditate on that thought and found out that the wolf's spirit was keeping me warm by providing continous mana supply from it's last reserves.

As a token of gratitude, I shifted the spirit from my soul center into my right hand and placed it ontop of the magic stones in the pond. This way, I was able to gather mana into the wolf's soul and using it whilst not having my own mana storage.

'The center of the soul is most likely the place where mana is absorbed through. For the wolf, it was near the chest. But for humans, it is most likely near our stomach.' I thought.

After absorbing the wolf, I noticed that I had way more soul space than the wolf. My mana capacity was eight times larger.

I also gained knowledge of the wolf's skill, the one that was used on me. If I coated my hand with sharp mana edges, I would be able to take away a creature's soul in an instant.

'This is incredible...' I thought. I completely forgot about the injuries I received thanks to the overwhelming victory of the wolf.

My body was also beginning to get compatible with the wolf's spirit. Sight, touch, taste, sound and smell. My five senses improved greatly. If I was able to absorb ten more wolf spirits, I would certainly be the strongest human from Earth.

I figured that it would be best if I was cautious, there might be a nest around here. Either that or, if I am lucky, it was just a lone wolf.

After the spirit was done absorbing mana from the stones, I stood up and looked at the only tunnel leading forward. I took towards that direction with silent steps while crouching. Since my sight improved, I was able to see farther than 10 meters across the dark.

After a few minutes of slowly walking, I reached a stop. I sensed another tunneling leading to the right with my hand. It would be a tricky decision to choose, but using my sixth sense and my sense of smell, I was able to determine that the way forward is more dangerous. Multiple mana targets and smell of rotting corpses were a good warning not to keep walking forward, so I took the right turn.

There wasn't much of a difference in taking a turn, until I felt it. The muddy soil and grass were starting to appear more frequently with each step I took. A sweet smell invaded my nostrils aswell.

It didn't take long for light to appear, yet it was not as bright or blinding as I thought. It was neither the sun nor the mana stones.

As I walked closer, I saw it. It was the moon's light that shined on my path. The wolf's spirit started to respond on it. I quenched it's will to howl, but it was strange. My instincts were not believing this lie of the moonlight.

I reached the end of the tunnel, and infront of me, thousands of trees resting on the ground quietly as the starry sky and the moon lit up the place and gave vision to any creature still awake.

'Artificial nature?' I thought.

The place was too small, I could still see the cavern walls surrounding all the trees and the roof was simply a mirage of the true sky.

Nonetheless, the lush forest and the fragrant natural smell was pleasing enough.

Since the tunnel was high off the ground from the forest chamber, I was debating whether to jump down or not.

Using my sixth sense, I observed if there were any threats. How could I be able to categorize mana sources as threats? Well, I was able to also see the quantities of the mana now aswell. The only problem was distance. If I concentrated hard enough I would be able to detect mana as far as 500 meters away from my position.

A couple sources popped up as I looked throughout the forest with my sixth sense. The mana they carried was less than that of the wolf.

Ensuring myself that it would be safe, I jumped down. It wasn't much of a fall, just a few meters.

After jumping down, I looked around to see any abnormalities. The mana sources were far away and made no movement, so I didn't nerve about that.

I touched the ground. The grass and the mud felt real enough whilst I grabbed with my hand. The mana around felt more... green.

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

I used the wolf's spirit to absorb mana and found out that exerting the 'green' energy had more of an effect in the forest. More movement and more freedom overall.

I glanced around again after playing with my mana and sixth sense. There were fruits on some trees. One of the trees even had apples growing!

Unsure if the apples were truly edible, I grabbed one and cracked it open. It didn't look any different compared to an apple from Earth. I grabbed a bite, chewed a bit, and swallowed.

It was extremely tasty since I was actually hungry for a long time now. I plucked out a couple more apples from the tree and went back near the tunnel entrance, even though it was high up. Atleast the assurance of escape being near me was comforting.

After I was done eating 7 apples, I ventured further into the forest. Carefully looking around for any dangerous features, I crouched towards the unmoving mana sources in curiosity. If the mana sources were coming from a creature, and if the creature was asleep, wouldn't I be able to easily get a hold of their soul?

It was all about survival here in another world, so it didn't matter to me if I was killing a human or an animal. Although it would be sweet if I got some guidance from a human like me.

'Hm..?'

There was a mana source near me. I feared that it was something dangerous, but to my surprise, it was only a small bush with lots of leaves on it. Not only was it safe to approach, it was also glowing blue.

It's brightness was actually quite impressive, possibly even having higher concentrations of mana than the wolf's soul gathered.

I looked around it to spot anything out of place, but there wasn't much to see. I was wondering what mana smelt like so I put my nose near it and took a deep breath.

I felt small bits of dust enter my nostrils so I retracted my head. Suddenly, I felt how I became extremely unstable, yet stable at the same time.

My vision became crystal clear, hearing became ultrasonic, smell became extremely delicate, touch became hyper sensitive, but taste remained the same.

My mind was fuzzled, yet it was as clear as day. I began moving without giving the command for it.

I was looking for something fun. For a fight.

My subconscious took control over my body and started moving towards the mana sources.

I lost the authority I had and could simply watch as I ran at incredible speeds, avoiding all the obstacles along the way. Roots, tree trunks, thick bushes - none of them mattered in the vicinity of my subconscious body. I figured that the wolf's spirit had some kind of a part in my subconscious, seeing as how a human wouldn't be so proficient in such feats.

On the way to the largest mana source, I encountered small mana sources that were stored inside slightly overgrown rats and birds. My instincts were in frenzy and slaughtered everything in the way with the skill obtained from the wolf, soul steal. Since I was able to fully kill the prey in one strike, I absorbed the soul as a whole.

My mana, that was borrowed from the wolf's spirit, slowly dispersed as I kept using the skill. Soon enough, my mana ran out right before I reached the final mana source.

Pushing the branches full of vigor leaves away, I saw it. A huge beige belly covered with the moonlight and the shadows of the leaves. Legs as large as a fat human, hands big enough to handle tons of wood logs in just one go.

'An ogre, fuck!'

I tried to back off with all my might, but my body wasn't listening to me. Physical energy filled me, and a sour taste of apple filled my mouth.

After calculating the surroundings, my subconscious started moving and immediately went for the neck with a straight hand. Even with all my bodily enhancements, I wasn't able to penetrate through the giant creature's skin.

*ROAAR*

It woke up alarmingly fast, but I was already hiding behind a tree nearby. My subconscious was as swift as lightning, utilizing every part of my body to it's maximum.

The ogre started smashing trees in one hit with it's formidable strength. It was the fiercest power I've seen yet. As frightening as it was, I gathered up my determination and said to myself:

'If we are to win this battle, we oughta work together!'

I activated my sixth sense and transferred the information I received to my body. I was able to move whilst sensing mana and other oddities since me as myself and my subconscious were on another level. Also, prior to the encounter with the ogre, I was absorbing mana with the newly collected soul. With all the time I had, I was able to get half my mana capacity.

The ogre punched the tree trunk that I was standing behind and it broke from the center. I was ontop of the upper part of the tree as it flew overhead the ogre. Jumping off and landing on the ogre's neck, I grabbed it and squeezed.

It startled struggling and repeatedly tried to grab ahold of me, but I evaded his clutch everytime with my legs that were faster than his hands.

I wasn't able to do any damage to the neck either, it was huge!

'I haven't fully brought out the usage of mana, the elements!'

I put almost all my mana into my hands, and in a single moment, transferred it all to the ogre's neck. What happens when so much energy is released in an instant? Explosion!

*BOOM*

A quarter of the ogre's neck exploded and it's flesh splattered all over my naked self.

"I'm not finished yet!" I yelled. Coating my hands in mana, I cut the rest of it's neck and seperated the ogre's head from it's body, whilst also absorbing the ogre's soul.

While the head went flying, the rest of the body fell flat on the ground and shook the fallen and standing trees alike.

I cancelled out everything. My subconscious was itching for a fight, but I kept it under control with rage. Why was I raging? Because it was hard to tame the soul with my subconscious going around moving too much. My mana was almost completely empty aswell.

It's only due to the exterior green mana of the nature that I was able to keep down the ogre spirit's uprising.

With all my willpower and the last bits of mana I was able to squeeze out of the gathered spirits, I quenched the ogre's wrath and tamed it's soul.

"Haaaaa...!" I released my worries and relaxed. The moment I let down my guard, my subconscious took over in an instant and continued it's antics.