When Vern regained control over his senses, the sun had already moved far to the west.

He blinked and slowly opened his eyes, trying to remember where he was and, more importantly, who. In a few hours, he had just relived several years of his life, though it also felt like somebody else's.

›Fox, are you there?‹, he asked in his mind.

›My name is Velvet. Since I'll be with you in your body from now on, you better remember it well.‹

›Did you see all of that?‹ He slowly stood up and stretched his body. ›Was that really my life?‹

›Hmm, yes, so it seemed. I am still wondering, how you did that.‹

›Damn, I don't know. I don't even know who I am anymore. All the things that happened, but actually didn't happen? Yet? So confusing …‹

Vern picked up the sword and walked in the direction of the camp. ›So what exactly did you do?‹, he asked.

›I just made sure that your older soul united with your newer one. Something was blocking that from fully happening, so I didn't do much.‹

›Oh well, thanks, I guess. And how do I get rid of you now?‹

›Hmph, I was helping you out and now you want to break our deal?‹

›I didn't know we actually made a deal.‹

Velvet didn't answer him anymore, but Vern could tell he was not very pleased.

›I was just joking, of course.‹ Vern tried to cheer him up again.

›Well, I sure hope so. But I will be resting for now. That was quite taxing for me, to see all these memories. I mean literally all of them. Every single thing that happened in these seven years …‹

His voice grew quieter and vanished completely, leaving Vern alone with the realization, that Velvet had just seen everything he had done in detail in those years.

It felt uncomfortable, considering all the intimate things, but at the same time, it didn't feel like something he had actually done himself. These memories didn't feel like his.

As he returned to camp, he was absorbed in thoughts, trying to process everything. He lay down for a while, and when the sun was soon to set, he felt refreshed again.

Since he remembered the last time he was in this situation – well not exactly the same, as some things had already changed – he knew the others would arrive back at camp around noon the following day.

Therefore, he had plenty of time left to test how well he could put his newly acquired skills to use. He felt more confident in his abilities to fight with his sword and use mana than before. After all, he had done it so many times in the past – or future.

So he picked up his sword and entered the forest again. It was quite a bit darker now, but he didn't know when he would get such an opportunity again.

›Are you there?‹, he asked in his mind, but he didn't get an answer.

He wanted to ask Velvet more questions, but it seemed he had to be patient.

As he walked towards the border, he picked up some stones from a nearby ditch and pocketed them.

Finally, he felt the tingling sensation as he hit the invisible border and stepped through it without hesitation.

After unsheathing his sword, he moved further into the bailiwick.

There were screams of birds periodically filling the air before another wave of silence hit. Only the twigs breaking under his feet were constantly accompanying him.

Suddenly, something else made itself known, as a bush rustled nearby. Vern turned towards it, holding his sword between him and the threat.

A pair of red, glowing eyes peered at him, just before the whole body appeared.

It was one of the boar-like creatures he had seen before.

»Oh? You've been hanging around the border, waiting for me all this time?«, Vern said, and a smile formed on his face. Surprisingly, it looked like the boar was listening – at least it wasn't attacking him yet.

It just slowly walked towards him and bewildered Vern with its strange demeanor.

»Aren't you supposed to come at me straight away?«

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Of course, it didn't answer and just stared back. Therefore, Vern decided to be the aggressor himself and ran towards it.

Abruptly, as if a switch had flipped, the boar started screeching in rage, severely hurting Vern's ears.

Now it also rushed forward, wobbling its body around without much coordination and just pure force.

When the both of them were about to crash into each other, Vern changed his trajectory with the help of mana, narrowly avoiding a frontal collision, and he moved the sword in his place instead.

Unlike earlier with his attack on Velvet, his sword sliced through the skin of the boar, and he almost dropped it. The pull was stronger than he had expected, and his grip wasn't as rigid as he thought.

The boar's scream of rage was now also one of pain, as it had a deep cut on its flank. Vern had stopped a good distance away and took out a stone from his pocket.

While the boar was still too discombobulated to attack again, he concentrated his mana in his arm and flung it at the boar's head.

The stone traveled much faster than he was used to, but it still seemed off compared to the memories he had obtained.

As the stone passed the boar's fangs and slammed directly into his front head, the boar stopped disturbing the forest's tranquility and fell on its belly, not moving at all.

Vern came closer to inspect the damage. He was proud that he could one-shot it like that, but he knew there was still a lot of work to be done. The boar was a bulky monster for sure, but there were much more dangerous ones that could also use mana.

Some noise behind him made Vern spin around. Something small flew at him like a cannonball, its mouth open and its teeth sharp.

Vern could barely react in time. He jumped back and swung his sword cutting the attacker's head off. However, his feet hit a large root sticking out of the ground, not allowing him to balance properly. He fell and grabbed a branch with his free hand to not hit the ground back first.

There was not enough time to take one breath as his surroundings grew busier by the second as monsters appeared from all directions.

Really?

Vern hadn't expected them to just roam about near the border like this, bunched up in a pack. He quickly pulled himself back up and moved all his mana to his feet. As two boars came at him, he jumped up and landed on the tree next to him, about 15 meters above the ground.

Now he had a better view of the area and saw dozens of monsters stare back at him from the dark thicket below. The air was filled with the frenzied screams of different animals, almost making his ears bleed.

Several small martins had already started to climb the tree Vern was hiding on.

He didn't have any time to further assess the situation and instead jumped over to the next tree. The monsters followed him without hesitation, and while boars started to slam into the trunk below, making the whole tree shake, Vern couldn't see a spot on the ground that wasn't next to a monster.

And at the same time, there were still more coming.

What the hell was happening? He had never seen something like this. Was this bailiwick cursed or was he the reason for their behavior?

Vern switched the tree again and checked on his mana. He couldn't fight these ever-increasing numbers in the first place, so he was mainly concerned about his ability to dodge them. As suspected, his mana reserves were low. Mainly because he hadn't fully recovered from his earlier training session.

Oh, how he wished to have at least one mana ring to draw from.

He slashed at one of the martens closing in before he gained some speed by running on a thick branch. The next jump was far, and he barely managed to make it without falling to the ground.

He franticly looked around for open space, but the monsters below were hard to spot and constantly moving like waves of the stormy sea.

Suddenly he saw a white shimmer moving out of his body and heard a familiar voice in his head. ›Follow me!‹

Velvet manifested in an area on the ground that seemed currently unoccupied, and Vern jumped off the tree towards it.

As he landed, the monsters started to close in, and Velvet continued to lead while Vern followed him. They circled the monsters as if Velvet knew beforehand where they would appear from the shrubbery. Nevertheless, Vern had to fight his way through, swinging his sword left and right while trying to avoid attacks.

›Can you go any faster?‹ asked Vern as a boar charged at them from behind.

Without an answer, Velvet increased its speed, and Vern used the rest of his remaining mana to keep up.

Just as he protected his face from a bird that tried to pick his eyes out, he felt a change in his body. He had passed the barrier, and his pursuer watched disdainfully when Vern fell exhausted on his knees.

After a few breaths, Vern pulled himself up again and looked at Velvet, who was casually licking its paw.

›Thanks a lot.‹

›Wow, I thought you had more skill from what I saw in memories‹, commented Velvet and looked at him.

›Well, I don't have the same equipment, do I? But you're not entirely wrong. It seems I can't just rely on being able to perform the same without training.‹

In the meantime, the monsters continued to line up along the barrier like an army battalion.

Vern took a look at them in discontent and left the border quickly.

Velvet's form blurred before a white shimmer entered Vern's body again.

›Why did they focus on me like that? Is it because you are in my body?‹, asked Vern.

›Hmph, now you're blaming me for that? After I saved you?‹

›Well, it's just behavior I've never seen before, but … well … forget it. By the way, how did you know where they were? Do you have good night vision?‹

›No, not really. As I told you before, I can see the souls of other beings, meaning I can essentially see souls through the darkness and other objects to a certain extent.‹

›Oh, that's really useful. So you can help me scout for enemies?‹

›I suppose I could do that. But you still have to fight them on your own. Better you train harder to make that happen.‹

›Yeah, yeah, I know. I will. By the way, what happens to you when I die? I've wondered about that for some time.‹

›Well, since I am now bound to your body, I will die when you die. So you better not kill yourself too soon.‹

Vern spotted the camp in the distance and took his walking speed up a notch.

›So … I don't know how to articulate it …‹, Vern paused a moment. ›Did you commit delayed suicide by entering my body, considering you could've been living forever in the forest? Or am I wrong about this?‹

›I suppose you're technically correct. However, roaming the same area for such a long time … I've wanted some change no matter the cost. So now that you understand, you better show me some good stuff before you kick the bucket.‹

Vern couldn't say anything to that. He didn't know how he would feel being in the fox's shoes, so he stopped thinking about it.

At the camp, he hastily made some lunch before he called it a night and cure his exhaustion.