"Geez, just how deep in this forest am I?" Muttering under his nose, Sebian attempted to ignore the pain of severe exhaustion. Even though he was trying to alleviate his state by consuming the raw energy, there was a strict limit that he couldn't cross. Because once the mana poisoning would seep into his bones and flesh, his potential would be harmed forever.

"But I'm not that far from the breakthrough. With all those stones in hand," Sebian shook one of the two pouches decorating his wild outfit. After spending the night hiding on a tree, the alchemist still tried to salvage all the scattered spoils. In the end though, once he managed to craft a basic fur outfit, a realization struck him.

'What's the point in amassing more of the spoils? Most of them will be lost once I die either way.' This single thought stopped Sebian from kneeling over yet another corpse. Scratching his chest, uncomfortable under basically the raw fur from an animal corpse, Sebian then decided to drop the idea of salvaging more stones. In the end, even if he were to die from starvation, wouldn't he resurrect all the same?

Using the energy from the stones only once his energy ran out completely, Sebian would then take a break and meditate to hasten the process of assimilating the energy he already consumed. As soon as his power would stabilize even a tiny bit, he would then absorb a tiny bit more, use it to reinvigorate his flesh and keep on running.

Thanks to this arrangement, the alchemist was travelling far quicker than anyone could ever expect. While the rate at which we was moving wasn't the highest, his consistent effort over the long hours more than made up for it.

Soon, even the night wasn't a problem. As torturous as it was, whenever Sebian would get heavily injured by running through the night or due to the attack of a random beast, he would end his life on his own. Initially worried about his own curse working on himself as well, after testing the scenario out, Sebian could hardly see a reason to slow down.

In the end, his endless track continued for three days and three nights. Walking for about an hour, meditating for ten minutes only to absorb a precious, tiny bit of energy and keep on walking. If his death would put a stop to this procedure, Sebian would simply pick it up after reincarnating.

After three full days of this kind of bloody and painful adventure, Sebian finally saw a light of hope. This time, it was a group of buildings and a small crowd of people bustling around their days over in that place.

And after three days of excruciating experience, Sebian could finally slow down. Remaining deep in the forest, the reborn alchemist finally took a moment to properly rest.

The long period of extensive effort would put anyone in bed for months, yet the man awoke after just twenty hours. With the sun long gone to sleep, the peace of the night surrounding him put Sebian in a daze.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

"Just a little bit more and I will make it," speaking to himself, Sebian looked at the starry sky above him. After such a long period of rest, his body finally managed to regain its energy in a natural way.

What's more, after pushing his body to its absolute limits, this period of relaxation helped the alchemist to clear the mana poison from his flesh at a greater rate. In just twenty hours, Sebian turned from a tattered excuse of a human, back to a powerful warrior with skills way above his current power.

"Sadly, I can't cultivate yet…" After inspecting the state of his body, Sebian shook his head. Even though most of the poisonous aura was already gone, it would still take at least two days before he could resume his training.

And as long as he would manage to reach the next cultivation realm before being forced to stop by the mana poisoning again, this annoying feature wouldn't pose any problem for him any longer!

"But first, I need to prepare." Motivating himself with the sound of his own voice, Sebian stood up. Taking a moment to assess his current belongings, he then fully stripped down.

No matter what his intentions were, if the locals would spot someone dressed in the bloody patches of raw fur, a commotion would surely arise. And as little as Sebian could do about it, he still had to do his best to avoid that.

After securing all his belongings on a high branch of a random tree, the alchemist took a dive into the bushes all around. While his knowledge of herbs was of no use in this place, he could still precisely sense the properties of various, local plants.

With this feature working pretty nicely for the former ruler of the world, Sebian quickly gathered what he needed. Returning to his temporary camp, he then hung all the skins he was using for clothes on a low branch, before moving on to his herbs.

The very basic form of alchemy started even before one would need to join the ranks of cultivators. And the most basic technique used by alchemist was manual grinding.

Deprived of all his tools, Sebian took a small piece of exceptionally dry fur, before turning it into a small bowl. Hardening its shape with magic, he then poured most of the herbs inside. With a simple stone yoinked from the ground as a grinding turn, Sebian then proceeded to smash the herbs together.

After nearly an hour of patiently working, Sebian's solution turned from a pile of solid plants into a thick paste. But as simple as the process would look to an outsider, it was actually a process requiring one to reach the apex of the craft.

Recognizing the properties of various herbs with his smell alone, Sebian mixed them in perfect ratios while taking the natural cultivation of those plants in mind as well. Even when he was smashing the herbs together, he would infuse the stone with a tiny amount of his refined magic before each stroke, using his mana to help the ingredients mix better.

And then, without any regard to the insane value of the prepared solution, he started covering the inner side of all his furs with the finished, greenish paste.

"Now, all that's left is to wait." Muttering under his nose, Sebian looked towards the lights of the city in the distance. Even though it was the middle of the night, the alchemist could still spot some sparks of activity going on there.

"Just a little bit more." Spreading his weight all over the branch he was relaxing at, Sebian inspected the simple setup below him. With the intense smell of several repulsive plants, the solution alone should keep all the predators away. And with the intricate mix of various herbs, by morning, all the flesh would be gone in the stomachs of millions of small beings. Those, in turn, would merge with the second layer of the herbs, creating a flexible yet durable material out of the diffused scraps.

If not for the poor quality of the skins, this outfit could already be considered a national treasure back in the times when Sebian started his cultivating journey.

And now, he was going to use it to enter the very first town in this world!