"What do we do?" said Serph. "We're stuck here."

"No were not," said Akiza. "We just survive until the fog lifts and the next Gate is open."

"How do we do that?" said Serph. "We barely beat the golem and there are much more powerful creatures out there now that the fog is back."

"We have to do it one step at a time," said Akiza. "First, we need to find a safe place to stay."

"Do you even understand how much danger we are in?!?" said Serph. "You are too calm."

"I survived for half a year in a forest by myself," said Akiza. "Now I just have to do it for one year with you."

"..." Serph had no words to express what he just heard. Akiza had been living by herself for half a year. Serph could barely live by himself at West Wind Academy and still found times where he was sleepwalking at night.

"There must be a hollowed out tree or a cave somewhere," said Akiza.

"Okay," said Serph. He had to rely on Akiza. She had more experience and was calm despite knowing how much danger they were in. With her ability to sense Internal Energy, they should be able to avoid most danger.

"Let's go," said Akiza.

Serph had trouble seeing very far. The fog was getting thicker. "I can barely see you," said Serph.

Akiza grabbed his hand. "I'll lead, you follow," she said.

"Thank you," said Serph. That calmed him. This was something that his older sister used to do for him whenever he was worried. Now Akiza was doing the same thing.

HOWL. That was a loud howl, something was nearby. BOOM. Something was fighting nearby. Akiza and Serph stood still hidden in the shadows. It was a giant blue wolf. It was fighting a griffin. SCREE.

The blue wolf fired a blast of ice at the griffin. "It has special skills!" said Serph.

The griffin flew up into the sky and went for a dive. HOWL. The wolf waited and when the griffin was close enough to grab the wolf, the griffin was frozen in a ball of ice. The wolf had frozen the griffin solid. "Incredible," said Serph.

The two waited for the wolf to leave. Akiza walked out of the cover. "What are you doing?" said Serph.

"Surviving," said Akiza as she took out a knife from her Dantian. She punched the ball of ice and the whole thing shattered to the floor. The griffon was already frozen solid and broken into pieces. Akiza start cutting off pieces of meat and the talons of the griffon.

Serph watched as Akiza took pieces of griffon meat and stored it away. Akiza also gave some to him. "What is this for?" Serph asked.

"Dinner," said Akiza.

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"We're eating this?!?" said Serph with shock.

"Yes," said Akiza. "But if you want to eat, you need to read this first," she said as she handed a small book to him."

"What is this?" Serph asked.

"Book of Foodies, a skill to digest food and absorb it into your Dantian," explained Akiza.

"Okay," said Serph. He opened the book and started to read. If he was going to be able to eat meat with that much power, he needed to master the skill. He observed as Akiza harvested most of the meat off of the griffon.

"Done," said Akiza. "Let's go."

The two went back under the cover of the trees, looking for a place where they could stay. As they moved, they saw other dangerous creatures. There was a lion with a snake for tail walking around. In the sky, there was a fox that flew. There was even a lizard with a chicken head. All of them possessed a very strong Internal Energy.

The scariest one for Serph was a humanoid one. It appeared to be a man with its arms stretched out and greenish white skin. It only moved around by hopping, but it possessed an extremely powerful Internal Energy.

Eventually, they took a break. They have been wandering around for a while and were feeling tired. The sky continued to remain grey. There was no way to tell how long they have been walking around.

"Get some sleep," said Akiza.

"But we haven't found a place to stay," said Serph.

"We can't go if we're tired, if we run into something, we're dead," said Akiza.

"I understand," said Serph. "But I'm going to finish reading this first, I think I almost got it." He was still reading the Book of Foodies and nearing the end.

Akiza took out a small piece of griffon meat and started heating it with the fire on her finger tips. "When you're done reading, eat this."

"So useful," said Serph.

Akiza ate some of the griffon meat too. She felt an intense rush as the immense amount of Internal Energy from it rushed throughout her body and meditated to absorb as much of it as she could. Serph did the same when he finished reading, but as he ate. He fell to the floor.

"Hey are you okay?" asked Akiza.

"So painful," said Serph.

"The Internal Energy is a little too much for you to handle, but it will get easier as you eat more," said Akiza.

"Did this ever happen to you?" asked Serph.

"Three times," said Akiza. "And yours is not too bad."

"Not too bad?" Serph thought to himself. She must an incredible tolerance for pain.