When he awoke, the sun was high in the sky and reflecting in the wellspring, giving it a reddish color. Rested, Eldi could appreciate the beauty of those crystalline waters, those of the tops of the majestic trees that rose above him or that of the thick and mysterious forest, whose fragrance was brought by a soft breeze.

He let himself get absorbed by the splendor of that wild nature, forgetting for a while his strange situation or what had happened the previous day. And it wasn’t until after a breakfast of juicy fruits that were supposed to give mana regeneration at level 100 and some cookies that should provide extra strength, that he began to think about what he had to do from now on, where should he go or what should he try to investigate about his situation and his abilities.

The first thing he did was to create a Gate Mark on the ground whose creation took him five minutes and that consumed 50 mana, which he would recover with the water from the spring. He didn’t know if someone else would come by and damage the mark, but it was the safest place he knew to create it.

Then he did some tests with the water that were a complete failure, because if he saved it, it lost its effect. So, unfortunately, he could not take such convenient a potion with him.

The experiments with the inventory were more curious. Eldi could soil and stain any object, that when it was saved in the inventory, everything outside the object disappeared, unless he wanted to keep it.

He also realized that he could see the state of the objects, with his tunic at 75%, the spear at 5%, the axe at 90% or the hammer at 80%. Soon, he would need to find new weapons or a way of repairing them. As for the stats of the weapons, Eldi was not sure if they were high for those of that level, since he hardly remembered the ones he wielded in the game while newbie.

About his plan of action, he wanted to reach the first village, a place where there was no native population but where artisans, merchants and, above all, players met. There, they could learn all the secondary professions, like furrier, tailor, blacksmith, carpenter... Eldi had learned almost all of them at the time, because it was one of the aspects of the game that he liked the most, something shared by very few players. He had learned and trained them to the very top, no matter how much effort he needed.

Goldmi and Gjaki had laughed at him, but that didn’t stop them from helping him get the most difficult ingredients. In fact, his companions had only risen two professions to the maximum, two he wasn’t interested in, and now he regretted it, mainly the cooking one. Having a portable kitchen like Goldmi and knowing how to make the most of all the strange ingredients, like the abyssal wolf meat, would now be very convenient. But in the game it was not particularly appealing, since the bonuses it gave were no better than the food that could be bought at reasonable prices and large quantities.

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He had also considered going to a small town that was a bit further, maybe three or four days away, but for now, not only he wasn’t confident about crossing the forest that far, but he was not sure if he should meet the inhabitants of that world. His level was still low, and he couldn’t be sure if they were friendly, since sometimes they weren’t, in the game.

The village was a humbler and closer target, and with a much smaller population. However, he would try to study it from a distance, before approaching. An adventurer, hunter, bandit or low-ranking soldier was right now much more powerful than him.

So, he decided to explore the surroundings first, in order to become familiar with the forest and without going too far from the wellspring. And then, little by little, he would approach his place of destination. Eldi hoped to get some kind of protection or armor there, something that after the battle with the wolves he understood he needed, as well as some more clothes and weapons.

He wanted at least one spear, although it would be good to have some more in reserve. Arrows too, since many were a bit worn-out and, although their damage was less than the spear, their distance was greater and much cheaper and faster. And he also wanted to know where to get weapons of a higher level, although it was not urgent.

The apparent calm of the forest made it difficult to stay vigilant, but he only had to think of the wolves to regain his alertness. He hoped that there would be no higher level beings in that area, at least not hostile, because it seemed logical to think that the wolves were at the top of the trophic chain. But he couldn’t be sure or know what other dangers could be hidden.

At first, he ordered to collect everything which looked useful, but soon he only marked some of them, because he didn’t want to disturb the balance of the system too much, if in a place with magic it makes any sense. Also, it was surprising how simple it was to send his assistant even to pick up big branches.

It ended up being a relatively peaceful day, but only if you compare it with the previous one, because he had to face some snakes of levels 5 and 6, besides returning quickly to the wellspring while healing himself and praying it would cure the venom, as it did. In the end it was just a scare, but he didn’t lean on a tree again without inspecting it carefully. He didn’t find other animals, but there were some large footprints that worried him, even though they didn’t seem recent.

His map had cleared the areas he had traveled and, from the tests he had done with the hourglass while walking, he estimated that he was about six hours from the village. He wanted to arrive the next day, although he would retrace his steps before any danger. He wanted to be cautious about a world he knew through the game, knowledge that may not be trustworthy.

The compatibility with Steel Body and Rabbit Spirit hadn’t risen too much, supposedly because he had barely been hit, and he didn’t run too much, nor did it seem to be very efficient to train Feline Response if he didn’t dodge something. Earthen Wall didn’t need so many conditions and was now in level 7. He would probably rise it up to 10 if he kept using it whenever he recovered his mana.

Once again he slept beside the spring’s water, but this time he did it outside the tent and without being able to recognize any of the constellations that were clearly seen among the clearings of the foliage, despite the two moons shining in the sky.