A few days had passed since I started doing the true body training I was supposed to do, and I was currently regretting not taking my time with the normal training.
"1–3–4… 1–3–5… 1–3–6…"
I was currently hanging from a branch of a very tall tree and doing pull-ups like I did in my previous training, but this time a small boulder was attached to my feet with a rope.
Each pull-up was a struggle. The weight of the boulder almost dragged me down, making my hands nearly slip and causing me to almost fall to the ground, but I still forced myself to lift up, fearing for my life.
"1–3–8… 1–3–9… 1–4–0…"
'This is insane!'
The previous training was already intense on its own, but with the added weights, the intensity became tenfold, making the training even more difficult and outright dangerous.
Back when I was finally deemed ready to use weights, the moment the weight was added, I swear it almost became a repeat of the first time I trained. Still, with great difficulty, I managed to handle it.
"1–4–3… 1–4–4… 1–4–5…"
Of course, adding weights also had stages that determined the different levels of difficulty I had to eventually reach as I grew stronger, all the way up to the maximum difficulty.
Since only a few days had passed, I had only ascended one stage in difficulty. Still, it wasn't all bad, as the results of my body training had caught up to the point where I was already as strong as I had been after years of training in my previous life.
"1–4–8… 1–4–9… 1–5–0!!"
I finished my last set of pull-ups, and once I did, I let go of the branch and fell from the height of the tall tree, the weight of the boulder accelerating my fall.
But I wasn't all that worried. I had done this a couple of times before, so I simply prepared myself for the landing and landed safely although the first time I did this, I definitely fell face-first into the ground and knocked myself out.
"Phew… with that finally done, time to do 'that.'"
I had finished all my workouts, and since this was the last one, it was time to move on to what came next. Normally, I would proceed with the enhancement exercises, which had become far more difficult.
However, this time, I had to deal with a task that had been assigned to me today, which would cut my training short. Honestly, I was quite glad to take this as a break from training.
'Taking a break like this might be wasting precious time, but even so I have to do it since it's my turn.'
After recovering using the Qi Body Recovery technique, I proceeded to walk back to the cave, where a couple of sharp wooden spears carved by Geonu were laid beside the cave walls.
I picked up the wooden spears and checked how sturdy and sharp they were, making sure they were prepared and capable of handling it's task.
'It's time to hunt.'
****
I walked deep into the forest carrying the wooden spears, where many wild animals resided. This was where I would begin hunting for food, as it was now my turn to do so.
Geonu and I had an agreement to take turns hunting and deciding what would be for dinner while the other dealt with other matters. Luckily, after doing this a few times, I had regained my previous life's hunting skills, allowing me to hunt confidently on my own.
'This place is filled with all kinds of wild animals… I don't know which one to choose.'
As I went deeper and deeper into the forest, more wild animals appeared with some small, some large and that also meant predators could be present in this place.
This made the situation dangerous, as one of them could suddenly charge at me and attack. Because of that, I became extremely alert to my surroundings while looking for a suitable prey.
'With my current strength, I doubt any simple beast could pose a threat to me.'
As a result of my body training, my body was approaching the limits of what a normal human could achieve. With my strength alone, I could overpower a simple beast without much struggle.
In my previous life, I would have struggled immensely against even a single beast and would likely have been fatally wounded. But there was no point comparing myself to the past as I had grown stronger than ever before.
'Hmm… what should I hunt for dinner? A boar? Fish? Or maybe a duck… duck meat sounds and taste good.'
When I thought about duck meat, I realized I would have to travel all the way back to the river, which would waste the effort it took to come this far. So, I decided to hunt something else.
I focused on finding a nearby suitable prey within the limits of my capabilities. Just because I was strong didn't mean I could take on any beast as there could always be beasts stronger than the current me.
'I hope I'm not unlucky enough to encounter 'those' kinds of beasts… but I doubt they'd be in this area.'
I continued walking deeper into the forest, but no wild animals appeared, which felt very odd. The longer it went on, the more a sense of dread crept in. I stayed quiet, thinking maybe I had scared them off with my presence.
However, no matter what I did or where I looked, there was nothing, not even birds in the sky making the area feel completely desolate. Then, I heard something in the distance.
Rustling.
'There!'
After hearing rustling from the bushes in the distance, I hurried over, making sure to stay quiet so I wouldn't scare it off and end up losing the only prey I had found.
When I arrived, I saw a deer burst out of the bushes in a panic. It looked like it was running away from something that had been chasing it all the way here, desperately searching for somewhere to escape.
'A single deer? Well, it's the only prey I've seen this whole time. I can't be picky and lose what might be the only thing I catch today.'
I didn't particularly like deer meat, but given the strange situation, I had no choice but to make do. I carefully hid behind a bush while readying my wooden spear and aiming at the deer.
I slowly approached to get a better shot, confident that even with just a wooden spear, my newfound strength would allow me to easily pierce its body. Then I heard something else coming from the bushes.
Rustling.
'Hmm? Are there more coming out?'
At first, I thought it might be the deer's family following it. The deer looked old which could possibly a mother so the ones inside could be its children, which I couldn't kill.
Killing the children would be meaningless and unwise. It would yield little meat and destroy their future if done repeatedly. Fortunately, it turned out I didn't have to worry about that.
Burst! Swoosh! Chomp!
'Wait! That's a—!'
What came out of the bushes wasn't what I expected. Instead of a baby deer, a gray wolf burst out and sank its fangs into the poor deer's neck. It was clearly the one that had been chasing it. No wonder the deer had been shaking in fear and panic.
Now I had something even worse to deal with as a gray wolf was taking the only prey I had seen this whole time, and I wasn't going to let it take it away from me.
'If you think you're taking that from me, you've got another thing coming.'
While the gray wolf bit down fiercely to make sure its prey was dead, I slowly approached while aiming my wooden spear, making sure I had a clear shot.
I was fully focused. A single mistake like missing the target would allow the wolf to either escape with the prey or turn me into its next target. But because I was so focused on the wolf, I didn't realize I was about to make a mistake.
Snap!
'!!!'
'Sh*t!'
A sudden sound rang out as I stepped forward. When I looked down, I realized I had stepped on a dead branch. I couldn't help but curse internally.
The gray wolf hearing the sound came to notice my presence and dropped the deer which had bled to death from its mouth, and charged at me.
Since it was already close, I raised my wooden spear to block its charge. It bit down on the spear, its fangs became dangerously close to my face.
"Get away from me, you damn beast!"
I quickly shoved the gray wolf away, sending it flying a fair distance, then took a stance with my wooden spear. Bite marks were clearly visible on the handle.
After landing cleanly, the gray wolf didn't charge again. Instead, it began circling me, wary after seeing my strength, carefully watching my movements for an opening like a true beast.
'Surprised by how strong I am? Honestly… I'm surprised too.'
While keeping my eyes on the wolf's movements, I couldn't help but feel shocked. Pushing it back that far was something I hadn't expected.
This wasn't my first time encountering a gray wolf during a hunt, but never before had I managed to make one hesitate like this.
'Come on… make a move. Once you do, you're dead.'
I glared straight into the gray wolf's eyes, showing no fear. Any sign of weakness would only invite its desire to attack.
Still, remaining in a stalemate for too long would be unwise. I lowered my spear slightly, creating a false opening. The gray wolf, growing impatient, took the bait.
Swoosh!
'Here we go!'
The gray wolf charged straight at me. I stayed calm as panicking in a situation in front of a beast was an invitation to death.
As it leapt into the air, getting so close that it was barely a meter from my face, I knew the moment to strike back had come.
'Got you.'
I thrust my wooden spear upward, piercing through the wolf's jaw and all the way to the top of its head. Blood splattered across my face as I lifted the skewered wolf into the air.
To make sure it was dead, I slammed it headfirst into the ground, crushing its skull. Blood and fragments of its brain splattered across the forest floor.
'Phew… no matter how many times I do this, it's still terrifying.'
I had experienced situations like this many times where prey resisting or predators appearing suddenly, but no matter how experienced I became, the fear never completely disappeared.
My face was covered in the gray wolf's blood, which I wiped away casually. I had long since grown used to dealing with this during hunts.
'Let's hurry and get the deer before another animal takes it.'
I pulled my wooden spear from the wolf's corpse and left it behind to rot or be eaten by other beasts, then focused on retrieving the deer as today's catch and dinner.
Rustling.
Before I could reach the deer's corpse which had been killed cleanly without much damage I heard another rustling from the same bushes the deer and wolf had come from.
'Huh?! Seriously… another one?!'
I immediately became wary, raising my bloodstained spear toward the bushes awaiting the arrival of whatever's within.
Burst! Swoosh!
Just as I suspected, another gray wolf emerged. The deer's corpse now lay between us, forcing me to potentially fight again.
However, instead of charging, it froze. Seeing the dead wolf, the blood on my spear, and me standing there, it connected the pieces and became wary.
'Another gray wolf, huh? Just because I dealt with one easily doesn't mean I won't deal with you too.'
I steadied myself, showing no fear, repeating the same tactics as before and waiting for it to make a move where I would exploit it.
But unlike the first wolf, it didn't circle me which confused me for a bit. Instead, it stared before tilting its head upward and letting out a long howl.
"Aawwoooooo!"
'What is it doing?'
The howl echoed throughout the empty forest. As I listened, a shiver ran down my spine. An overwhelming sense of dread washed over me.
I knew that if I didn't silence it soon, I would regret not doing so when I had the chance presented in front of me due to my own ignorance.
Rustling.
'Huh? There's more?'
The sound came again, and my caution skyrocketed. Fighting two wolves at once would be dangerous and arrogant to think I can handle them.
Rustling. Rustling. Rustling.
Bushes shook repeatedly as the wolf continued howling. That was when it finally began to sink in realizing what's actually happening.
Burst! Swoosh!
Burst! Swoosh!
Burst! Swoosh!
The moment the howling stopped, another gray wolf emerged and then another, and another I realized the mistake I made and what I forgot that lead to this situation.
The second wolf wasn't howling for no reason or to intimidate me. It was calling its pack to this very location and I now remember that Gray wolves typically traveled in packs.
Rustling.
Burst! Swoosh!
"There's no way this is happening…"
More gray wolves arrived, forming a group of hungry beasts staring at me as their prey. Sweat dripped down my face as I realized the severity of the situation.
Seeing the large pack of gray wolves and more to come I knew just a single wooden spear wasn't going to be enough to deal with all of them.
'There no way I can run from this I have to fight back.'
I thought of running away hoping that I can somehow get away but that was entirely unrealistic considering how fast the average gray wolf are.
So there was only one option to fight back but with my current capabilities there wasn't a guarantee I can as I haven't even started learning actual martial arts.
'it doesn't matter, if I don't know martial arts just because I don't doesn't mean I can't fight.'
I saw my blood stained wooden spear and gripped it tightly, just seeing it reminds me that I was able to kill a gray wolf without martial arts so I'll just have to do it a couple more times.
I take one of the spare wooden spears attached to my back on my other hand and prepared to fight as the grey wolves has just now completed their pack.
"Come and get me you bunch of beasts!!"
I shout out load to boost my fighting spirit in order to fight against the whole pack of gray wolves who have now started charging at me one by one.
****