Ayren sat in a lotus position in the middle of his small world, eyes closed. He had lost track of how long he had been sitting like this, but it was clear that it had been hours.
[Cultivation raised to the 2nd stage of 'Body Tempering.']
Receiving the notification, Ayren stood up and stretched.
"Now I can go outside," Ayren remarked, having lost count of how many days he had spent within his world.
Although his hand hadn't fully healed yet, it was sufficient for him to use freely. Ayren decided not to confine himself to his world, where he could only improve certain skills for which he still had materials and cultivate.
Preparing himself, Ayren grabbed his spear, ready to defend himself against any beasts he might encounter outside. If things went south, he could always retreat to the safety zone.
[You have attracted the attention of the ruler of the 'Safe Zone.']
[Attention level towards you is currently at 4.]
[If the attention level reaches 10, you may be eliminated.]
Upon stepping outside, Ayren encountered no one but received another notification about an increase in attention. He was slightly surprised that the level had jumped to 4 immediately.
"Level 4 right away, just as Ace said. The level will keep rising regardless, even though I'm not currently in the safety zone," Ayren noted, feeling like his time was running out faster than he had anticipated.
Pushing aside his unpleasant thoughts, Ayren contemplated his next move.
"I'll climb the mountain and survey the area. Maybe it'll help when I eventually leave this place," Ayren decided, lacking any concrete plans. He set off towards the mountain a few kilometers away.
It took him nearly an hour to reach the summit, encountering large beasts the size of small cars along the way, forcing him to hide and take longer routes. Eventually, he made it.
"Not a bad view," Ayren remarked, surveying the vast forest sprawling around him.
He could even see the river from which he had come, leading into the lake. After inspecting all the interesting spots nearby, Ayren chose the most appealing one next to the safety zone and began his descent.
"What's that?" Ayren heard a strange sound coming from behind a small rock.
Ayren approached closer and noticed two beasts the size of cows fighting near the entrance to a cave. One resembled a saber-toothed panther, while the other resembled a boar with several tusks-like spikes.
The battle between them was so intense that the air around them vibrated with each clash, and rocks scattered dozens of meters around.
"Wow," Ayren was impressed by the spectacle and watched with great interest from the sidelines.
Stolen story; please report.
After nearly half an hour, the battle nearly ended with the panther's victory, although it was difficult to call it a victory with such serious wounds. It had lost a front paw, and a large wound ran almost through its entire body.
When the boar took its last breath, the panther attempted to enter the cave, but it had no strength left and collapsed. Ayren, who was nearby, felt tempted to deliver the final blow, but he restrained himself, remembering his past experiences.
Taking out his spear, he threw it at the panther's body, ready to flee if the panther reacted. However, the spear hit without causing any harm, merely bouncing off as if hitting a wall.
"Very thick skin," Ayren observed that the panther didn't react, giving him more confidence.
Several more throws followed, and although not all spears hit, Ayren's attacks inflicted noticeable damage. The beast lay still, breathing heavily.
Having gained more confidence from what he saw, Ayren approached closer to be more precise. He continued throwing spears one after another, gradually reducing the panther to a state resembling a hedgehog, yet it still breathed.
Ayren moved even closer until he was just a few meters away, taking out his best spear made during his time.
"It's time to end this quickly," Ayren thought, feeling a bit sorry for the panther. He decided to finish it with one powerful blow.
Gripping the spear with both hands, he thrust it with all his might into the panther's eye.
Roarrrrr...
The panther roared and began to wriggle in pain, causing Ayren, who was holding the spear, to be thrown against the cave wall. This continued for several minutes until Ayren received a notification.
[Killed saber-toothed panther, gained 4568 experiences.]
[Received 200 skill points in 'Spear Mastery' and 20 experience.]
[Reached the skill point limit in 'Spear Mastery.' To increase skill level, use attribute points or find inspiration in the 'Spear Mastery' skill.]
[Reached the experience limit, level raised to 14.]
[Received 12 attribute points.]
[Outdoor stay time increased by 4 hours.]
"Holy sh…," Ayren was shocked by such notifications.
"Four levels at once," Ayren remarked, looking at the notifications.
Getting up, Ayren approached the panther's body and retrieved all his spears. He was very glad that he remained and was able to seize such a bounty, gathering everything Ayren looked at the cave.
"There might be something valuable," Ayren reasoned with himself.
Without much thought, Ayren entered the cave, walking in the darkness for several minutes. Apart from the bones of various animals, he did not come across anything valuable.
When he was about to turn back, he noticed a plant with dark leaves growing in an inconspicuous corner.
"At least something," Ayren approached the plant.
[Name: Dark Azalea
Type: Plant
Characteristics: Suitable for feeding wounds to animals, poisonous to humans without processing, very rare
Price: 100 Spirit Stones.]
Seeing the price, Ayren rejoiced at such a pleasant find.
Ayren used his skill of observation for unknown plants, although the skill was useful, the radius of action was only one meter, which made it difficult to use.
Using the spear, Ayren carefully cut the stem of the plant to avoid touching it with his hands. He neatly transferred the plant into his inventory and was about to leave the cave when his eyes caught sight of peculiar bones.
"This looks like a human skeleton," Ayren frowned slightly and examined it closely.
The skeleton was missing the lower half, and in its hands was a broken spearhead, covered with small cracks.
"What's this skeleton doing here?" Ayren, though becoming a bit grim, indicated that humans shouldn't be too far away.
[Name: Dark Metal Spearhead
Type: Weapon
Characteristics: 30 damage
Durability: 30/100 units.]
"This will come in handy," Ayren took the spearhead to try to repair it later.
Exiting the cave, Ayren headed towards the safe zone. Although he was lucky today, he was a bit scared that one wrong move could easily lead to his demise, just like that skeleton.
Ayren felt that his time for relatively safe staying was decreasing, and today's encounter with mighty beasts made him feel uncertain about his future journey. Therefore, he needed to prepare as quickly as possible.