Leo's walk back was uneventful. After the tentacle incident, he became even more cautious, which proved effective since he escaped multiple death traps.
'What is up with this place? Everything is too strong.'
On his way back, he had observed multiple creatures, and oh boy, was he shocked.
He'd seen a rabbit tear down a panther-looking creature and devour it whole. Those red, emotionless eyes sent shivers down his spine every time he remembered them.
'What even is the prey in this place?'
Leo felt a bit bitter as he kicked a rock in frustration.
The rock bounced a few meters before coming to a stop, then, to Leo's surprise, legs suddenly sprouted from it and sprinted away.
Leo was left stunned as he watched the rock run. He then turned his gaze to the ground and looked at the numerous rocks scattered around.
The rocks, as if sensing his gaze, also stood up and scattered.
Leo just looked at them with a blank face.
'Of course, even rocks are alive.'
He just sighed and continued walking.
With nothing really in mind, he decided to head to the river and observe every creature he came across.
He came to realize that he was highly uninformed about the area, and it was better to scout first before doing anything stupid like fighting a beast extremely more powerful than him and getting himself killed or worse, end up in eternal suffering.
He went around memorizing different plants and trees.
As he walked, he got a good look at the creatures living in the area. He also found different areas that he categorized as dead zones. Those were places where beasts of the same level as the tentacle monster were located.
When he reached the river, he had seen almost all the creatures in the area, at least those visible during the day. It wasn't easy since the beasts had very high senses, especially towards mana. He was even chased by a group of murder boars and only managed to escape by climbing up a tree.
'Finally got here.'
Leo was covered in mud and sweat. His face was anything but happy.
"Those fucking oversized pigs. Don't they have some sense of civility?"
He muttered as he started washing his body.
'Everything here is more powerful than the lizard by far. Where even am l'
That thought was honestly a little disturbing to him.
With how strong these monsters were, he wasn't sure if normal humans could even live in the area.
"Yeah, I'm royally fucked."
Leo muttered as he scrabbed his body harder.
'Now that I think about it l remember I saw those flames on my wounds.'
With how busy he was, he had totally forgotten about that.
'I should probably check my stats when I get back.'He thought as he looked up at the darkening sky.
Night was already approaching, and he didn't wanna find out what other creatures were out during the dark.
He hurriedly cleaned himself, drank some water, and, after looking around for any new beasts, he left.
He didn't encounter any beasts on his way back, so it didn't take him long to reach the cave.
As he walked inside the familiar environment, his nerves calmed down as he looked at the wolves, which were either lying down or sleeping on the ground.
'Home sweet home.'
He took in the fresh air as he moved deeper into the cave.
His spot was at the innermost part of the cave since it had a pretty big open area.
As Leo plopped down onto the hip of bear fur he had dried, he let his body rest as he took a breather.
"This day was pretty exhausting. Don't you think so, Rio?"
He muttered while looking at Rio. His smile was a little distorted, but he was fine, totally normal.
"Anyways l should really make some plans for the next few days."
At this point, Leo didn't realize that he was starting to speak out loud to himself.
"From what I observed, this area has two death zones around it. A swamp region and the molester region. And I don't know if there are others."
Leo rubbed his head in frustration.
"If I'm not wrong, the reason this area is untouched is because of the bear."
He sighed while drawing a general area of the place on the floor.
"The good news is that we don't have to worry about a powerful monster in the area, but at the same time, we signed up for a territorial battle."
He knew it wouldn't be long before the other monsters realized that the bear in this place was dead. At that point, they would almost certainly try expanding inwards.
'This isn't good. If things go on like this, we'll probably die. With how territorial they seem, they will probably test if the monster that killed the bear is strong and if so, retreat, but if not...'
Leo couldn't help but sigh once more.
'But do I even need to be here? I can just escape and move. What's the point of fighting them.'
This thought had been on his mind for a while now.
'But then what are we gonna keep running every time there's trouble?'
He hadn't realized it yet, but Leo had already included the wolves in his plans, whether due to the connection he had with them or the company they provided in his otherwise lonely journey.
'I should talk to Wannabe about this and probably ask for his name.'
With that thought, Leo stood up and started looking around the cave. After searching for a while, he found Wannabe at the entrance of the cave staring up at the moon.
'This reminds me of those alpha male TikTok videos.'
Leo couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as he looked at Wannabe.
"What do you want, druid?"
Wannabe spoke while still staring up at the moon.
Leo could hardly contain a scoff as he looked at the wolf, who seemed to be affected by alpha male syndrome.
"I want us to talk about the monsters occupying the swamp region and the ones in the pink fog."
Leo didn't want to waste time on meaningless talk, which would eventually turn awkward.
There was a beat of silence, then Wannabe turned to look at him.
"What of them?"
When he finally spoke, his voice was dismissive, bordering on disgust.
Leo was a little taken aback by the attitude, but he didn't show it.
"So you do know about them."
Wannabe just looked away as if bored.
"I'll take care of it."
Without waiting for Leo to reply, he walked away.
'Shesh, what a poor communicator.'
Since Wannabe said he was gonna take care of it, Leo wouldn't stress it much since he was pretty weak for now.
With nothing else in mind, Leo went back to his spot.
'Oh, right, I haven't checked my status.'
'status'
[STATUS]
[Name: Leo Redwood]
[Age:25]
[Strength:39]
[Agility:39]
[Intelligence:52]
[Endurance:42]
[Mana: 10400]
(Average human 10)
SKILLS:
[Immortality(Tier 1): You can't die from natural causes like death from old age or diseases, and all wounds heal over time, but only if a piece of you remains; if not, then death awaits you. ]
[Adaptability(Tier 1): You adapt to any condition as long as you are alive]
[Pain resistance(level 1): Increases pain tolerance]
[Fire immunity: No normal flames can burn you]
[Mana Heart(Tier 1): Mana, the source of all life, runs through your entire body, continuously strengthening you]
[ Fire Manipulation: As long as there's heat, you can control it]
SHARDS:
Primordial flames: The first flames that brought about life and destruction]
AUTHORITIES:
[Creation authority(first order): As long as something is a beginning, your will applies. Only applicable to living beings due to low order and can be resisted by higher beings.]