Jon and Avahni devoured much of their dinner from the previous day.

Despite Jon's apprehension, the remainder of the delicious peacock-creature was wrapped in layers of large, almost tropical-like leaves which Avahni and her summon had foraged shortly after their meal. Jon had been given the task of washing them, which he took quite seriously, not knowing whether these plants were poisonous, or covered in some strange foreign bacteria.

In order to keep the leftover meat fresh, Avahni had shown Jon how to bury the leaf-wrapped meat underneath several inches of sand. The wet sands would keep things buried inside at a relatively low temperature and considering neither of them had access to an Ice Mana Core, or a Fragment Of Freezing, it was perhaps the next best thing.

While it would not last them weeks, the pair had at least enough food to last them another day. Jon had already planned to go hunting, allowing Avahni to take the first watch. Avahni had been somewhat surprised when Jon pulled out his sleeping bag, handing her his only blanket and letting her wrap it around her shoulders. Even with the presence of a fire, it might get cold within the small realm, especially if there was a seasonal cycle.

While Jon did feel the need to conceal his stored fragments from Avahni, he merely let them sit at the bottom of his bag, realizing that she already knew about their existence. While Avahni had some sort of ability that allowed her to move past his [Monstrous Intuition], Jon was quite sure that Avahni would not try such a thing.

Perhaps it was his [Monstrous Intuition] working as it should, but just not producing the effect that he thought it would give him.

The human felt his head hit the makeshift pillow he had made from his spare clothes, falling asleep within a matter of moments. The faint crackling of fire, and the soft trickling of water lulling Jon into a deep, motionless slumber.

The lutin behind him merely smiled, muttering words in her native language, occasionally giggling or smiling whenever her summon nodded its head or waved its arm in disagreement.

By the time Jon was awoken to the faint nudging of Avahni, he had found that the sky had almost gone completely dark, with the exception, of the faintest traces of light scattered across the starless sky. Jon initially thought that there was something flying through the air of the small realm, floating between each side of the self-contained world.

After swapping places with Avahni, Jon continued to gaze up at the starless sky, eventually coming to the realization that these flickers of light were in fact the other participants of the System Introduction. Glancing up towards the opposite end of the small realm, Jon saw the flickers of civilization scattered across the night sky.

'There are so many people within the small realm. I wonder how many of us there are left. I wonder how many humans were also placed here. They might not even speak English, but someone from my own Race shouldn't be inherently antagonist towards me in a place like this right?' Jon hoped.

With the introduction of a day-and-night cycle within the small realm, Jon couldn't help but glance at the amount of time remaining within the System Introduction. His brows pushed inwards as a slight yearning filled his chest.

Time remaining: 999 days 4 hours 34 minutes 7 seconds…

A full day had yet to pass within the small realm, causing Jon to sigh as he sat up, taking off the blanket from his shoulder, and putting on his only hooded sweatshirt and strolling down closer towards the river.

Dipping his hand into the water, Jon could feel the difference between its current temperature and what it had been several hours ago. The water had gained an icy quality to it, leaving Jon's hand devoid of heat, swiftly moving back towards the fire to regain his lost warmth.

Jon stood there, hands extended towards the flame, the image of his Wood Mana Core brought to the forefront of his mind. The natural rotation of the Mana Core gradually increased, releasing a steady stream of spiritual energy into his passive ability. His ability [Green Is The Flesh, As Red Is The Blood] soaked up this excess spiritual energy, using it to fuel the regeneration of his arm.

While Jon could only give a rough estimate, he felt he used roughly half of the spiritual energy within his Wood Mana Core before stopping. While he could have kept going until he emptied his Mana Core, Jon felt it was the right decision to keep some in reserve.

While strolling up and down the riverbank, keeping the light of his campfire within the limits of his vision, Jon held his spear in one hand, casting [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits], for no longer than ten seconds at a time.

The Spell stated that "Knowledge relating to concepts of war, violence and combat become easier to comprehend while under the effects of this Spell". While Jon felt as though obtaining wisdom would have been better instead, he could feel himself become upset with certain actions, or the placement of his feet after performing a slash or thrust.

His shadow stretched down the length of the riverbank, stepping and thrusting out wildly, as if the surrounding shadows were the images of enemies within his mind. The faint crackling of fire was the sound of Jon shattering the bones of his targets, occasionally drowned out through the faint trickling of water.

Stolen story; please report.

It was as if a voice in the back of his mind was telling Jon where he was going wrong. There was no sense of affirmation or guidance towards the right motion, only a sense of wrongness whenever he made an incorrect decision.

The spear was a weapon primarily used for thrusting, over slashes or cuts. The shape of Jon's wooden spear was sharpened to a point, rather than into a flat blade. If Jon was being perfectly honest, he would have preferred his wooden spear to possess such an edge, allowing himself to add far more versatility in his strikes, rather than just a standard thrust.

With his preternatural flexibility and range of motion, Jon felt himself almost bounce on the balls of his feet. His knees had never felt stronger, and the strength contained within his calf and thighs felt significantly more powerful, allowing for greater bursts of movement, even without the enhancement of [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits].

While Jon did not possess unnaturally long limbs, the length of his arms allowed him just a few centimetres more reach, even with the shortened length of his spear.

The effects of his physical enhancement Spell did not extend towards his flexibility or dexterity, so Jon felt the need to practice his strikes with and without the effects of [Cometh They Red Horse Awaits]. If he could get the timing down of his chant down, Jon knew that he could activate the Spell for just three seconds within combat, increasing the force of just a single strike before enduring the weakening effect of the Spell.

While three seconds felt like quite a bit of time during combat, if Jon could kill his opponent in a single blow, he would not need to worry about the drawbacks of his physical enhancement.

'That or obtain a fragment that can passively increase my physical qualities. I don't particularly see the synergy between such a fragment and my Knowledge Mana Core, although a Fragment Of Constitution or a Fragment Of Physique combined with my Wood Mana Core sounds quite a bit more compatible.'

Jon did consider the possibility but felt as though waiting for another Mana Core would be the better option.

Unless it was life-or-death, Jon knew that he would not make such a rash decision. If he did such a thing, and then obtained a Behemoth Mana Core, or even something like a Strength Mana Core, he would not be able to forgive himself.

Jon practiced with his wooden spear, occasionally grinding down an uneven groove down the length of the polearm. While he felt that having some grooves allowed him to keep a better grip on his spear, Jon occasionally gripped it on a slight angle during one of his practice thrusts, resulting in an imperfect strike.

Jon wiped a bead of sweat off his brow, watching as his breath stretched through the cold air. Jon felt his cheeks flush against the cold night air before immediately turning his head, feeling an unfamiliar gaze linger on his body.

A shadow flickered across the tree line.

Jon raised his spear reflexively, placing his injured arm up while resting the length of his spear on said arm. While the action would have worked better with a shield, Jon felt confident in the limits of his ability to regenerate from wounds or injuries with [Green Is The Flesh, As Red Is The Blood].

Pain was not the end. Not so long as he could continue to stand.

Narrowing his eyes towards the tree line, Jon unconsciously glanced back towards his campsite, seeing the surrounding area illuminated through his campfire. While he was unsure if Avahni's summon had any sort of combat ability, Jon was sure that the lutin would not go down without a fight.

While Jon's five senses had been enhanced through his [Monstrous Instinct] ability, it did not quite allow him to see in the dark. If anything, Jon felt as though his hearing and sense of smell had gone through the greatest enhancement, allowing him to unconsciously rely on it more.

Sniffing the air, Jon could smell what he thought was the faintest traces of blood. The scent was somewhat metallic, but somewhat earthy at the same time. Memories of running outside in his raincoat as a child flashed through his mind. A somewhat similar scent filling his nostrils.

Jon raised his spear to cover his mouth, muttering something underneath his breath.

"Hark! Mine is the shadow of knowledge, the sweet ignorance within thou ambitious daydream. Hitherto, and awaken from thou fantasy, lest your eyes become mine own, your fingers, feet and heart all too".

Jon felt his shadow ripple, before collapsing in on itself, being drawn underneath the bottoms of his feet. Extending his shadow forward, a more perceptive eye would have noticed Jon's shadow stretch forward in one specific direction, without being cast with a light or through the movements of his own body.

It looked as though his shadow was simply walking forward but simultaneously stretching beyond the constraints of what Jon's form suggested.

He had yet to further experiment with this ability but knew that it possessed a range of thirty feet. Despite this however, Jon felt himself touch upon the limits of [Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself] after reaching a mere fifteen feet, causing him to unconsciously open his eyes, cancelling the effects of his Spell.

'Shit! What the hell?! The Spell has a range of thirty feet, why the hell did I feel the boundary so soon!?'

'Something either interfered with the confines of my Spell, or I just discovered another limitation that was not stated within the effect description' Jon suppressed a grimace, not feeling any traces of spiritual energy around himself.

The eighteen-year-old human narrowed his eyes as he heard the faint sounds of twigs crackling underfoot, and laboured breathing emanating from the tree line. While the distance between him and the creature lurking within the forest was barely enough for Jon to hear them, the other party was not being subtle with their movements in the slightest.

In fact, it occurred to Jon that given the heavy breathing, and the scent of blood, that it might not be a predator at all. It might just be the opposite.

Jon heard a not-so-quite muttering echo throughout the forest, as a small figure pushed through the tree line, groaning as their eyes landed on the slow flowing river in front of them. Trails of white coloured fog emanated from their mouth, flushing the tint of their cheeks a strange purplish colour.

Jon could see their eyes move left and right up the length of the riverbank, before eventually landing on his figure standing there motionlessly, spear raised upright at the ready.

Jon could see their eyes widen in realization before they pointed back towards the forest, shouting something in a language Jon did not at all understand. There was a clear expression of fear on their face, their tone indicating that Jon's attention should be focused on moving away, rather than just standing there.

His brows narrowed in thought, before a sense of understanding flooded his mind.

'Oh shit, this guy is trying to run away from some-.' Jon felt his thought immediately come to a halt, as his eyes moved back towards the tree line. His breath hitched as a strange, foreboding silence filled the air.

It was swiftly shattered, as the roars of a beast echoed throughout the forest.

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