Alex had been warned about the dangers of the forest. Fortunately, he emerged from the cave just as morning light filtered through the canopy, casting a warm glow over the dense woodland. The forest’s edge was visible in the distance, but Alex hesitated. The knowledge he had absorbed from the black book hinted at an opportunity hidden within these woods—one he couldn't afford to ignore.

He understood that leaving the forest would thrust him into a world where he was woefully under-powered. On top of that, he had no money, no belongings, and no means to secure food or shelter. His body may have changed, but he still needed to eat and rest. The opportunity within the forest could provide him with the tools to survive this new reality.

The book's creator had left Alex more than a cultivation technique; it had also imparted general knowledge about this strange world. Included in that knowledge was the location of a hidden bag filled with supplies and some money, left as an incentive to encourage exploration. Alex knew the bag was in a relatively safe area, but getting to it would still require facing some risks.

Following the guidance burned into his memory, Alex found the location quickly. However, the sight that greeted him made his heart sink. A massive bear was sprawled atop the buried bag, as though sensing something valuable beneath it.

For a fleeting moment, Alex instinctively reached for his bear spray—a reflex from his past life of camping trips. But his hand grasped at empty air. His backpack, which he'd been holding when the light engulfed him, had been left behind in his world.

The motion caught the bear's attention. It lifted its head and roared, the sound reverberating through the forest.

“Shit! This is bad!” Alex cursed, his pulse quickening. He had no weapons, no tools, and no backup. Every survival tip he’d learned or seen in movies felt useless. Yet, despite his fear, an inexplicable instinct pushed him forward.

In a movie he’d once seen, a protagonist had punched a bear on the snout to escape. It was absurd, reckless—and yet, his body moved into a stance that felt both foreign and familiar, as though he had spent years mastering martial arts.

The bear charged, a lumbering mass of muscle and fury. Alex focused, instinctively gathering the energy within him. When the bear was close enough, his fist shot out, releasing the concentrated energy in a single strike.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The impact was devastating. The bear stopped mid-charge, collapsing lifelessly to the ground. But the effort left Alex drained, and he crumpled to his knees, gasping for air.

As he caught his breath, another piece of knowledge surfaced in his mind. Ordinary beasts no longer posed a significant threat to him. His newfound strength meant he could kill such creatures with ease—but at a cost. The energy required to defeat the bear had left him utterly depleted. If there had been a second bear, he wouldn’t have survived.

He resolved to improve his control over his energy. With better precision, he could conserve his strength while achieving the same results. For now, though, he was painfully aware of his limitations.

Once he recovered, Alex approached the spot where the bag was buried. Digging with his hands, he unearthed the hidden treasure after half an hour of effort. Inside the bag, he found two items: a glass orb filled with swirling blue fog and a small ring.

As he touched them, fragments of knowledge surfaced in his mind. The ring was a low-rank storage ring—valuable but not rare. To claim it, he pricked his finger on a sharp rock and let his blood bind to the ring. When he checked its contents, he found only a few hundred silver coins.

The orb, however, was something far more extraordinary. It contained the essence of a high-ranking beast—a resource of immense value. Such essence could be used in alchemy or forging, but Alex’s newly acquired knowledge told him it could also be purified and absorbed directly to strengthen himself, and luckily, this orb was purified. This particular orb contained enough energy to help him reach the upper levels of the Bodily Tempering Realm, though it couldn’t push him past it.

Feeling a surge of determination, Alex headed back toward the cave to absorb the orb’s essence in safety. However, when he arrived, the cave was gone. In its place stood a solid boulder, as if the entrance had never existed.

“It must have sealed itself,” Alex muttered, frustrated. He weighed his options: absorb the orb here or leave the forest first. The eerie, inhuman shouts and laughter he had heard upon arriving in this world resurfaced, decided for him. He needed to leave.

Without hesitation, Alex ran toward the forest’s edge, testing his enhanced speed. It was faster than before, but still within human limits. The unnatural sounds grew closer, sending chills down his spine and cold sweat down his back.

As the treeline came into view, Alex concentrated more energy into his legs, pushing himself into a desperate sprint. He burst out of the forest, the sudden sunlight momentarily blinding him. Stumbling forward, he tripped on something soft and fell face-first into the mud.

From behind him, he heard a weak voice groan.

“What... was that?” someone murmured.