Chapter 13: Beginning of the impossible journey.
Looking at the number of points needed to rise to the next level, Luke felt like the twenty-two points were just like a drop in the ocean, but he was taught to be appreciative of the little things in life.
"978 soul cores isn't that much, it will be complete before I know it."
Once again he felt the need to leave the area before more beasts arrived, however, he knew leaving here in his current condition would be a mistake. With the blood of the beasts littered all over him, it won't be difficult for a beast to detect and track him down even after he left the area.
Luke decided to use the fur of the dead beast to clean himself up. Rubbing his bloodied body on the fur of the deceased bear-type beast, Luke was able to remove most of the blood stains on his skin.
While this method could only clean so much and when he was done, he began rubbing dirt on his body to help mask the scent of blood.
While this was inconvenient and disturbing, it was what he needed to do to survive.
'I need to be soaked in a bath of warm water for 2 days.' Luke let out a helpless sigh as he imagined taking a hot bath.
As soon as this was done, Luke made his wat back into the forest. He followed the narrow route he came from and returned to the tall tree he had hidden in previously.
Luke nimbly climbed the tree and settled on a sturdy branch at the top. At this moment, his eyes were extremely heavy, and his body felt sore.
With the final drops of energy left in him, Luke stood on the branch to get a better view of everything as he surveyed the area. After confirming the area was safe, Luke sat down on the branch and let out a sigh of relief.
He finally felt that the danger had passed, and the tiredness seemed to creep in. While sitting, he leaned forward, laying on the rough branch, but he didn't seem to care. The moment his head touched the branch, he slept off without noticing and drifted into a word of peace and relaxation.
…
Luke's closed eyes tightened before loosening up and finally opening. Looking around, he realized the forest was no longer dark, allowing him to see things clearly.
Instinctively, Luke began yawning and stretching, messing with his balance, and causing his body to tip over to the right.
"Fuck!" Luke yelped as his quick reflexes enabled him to wrap his hands around the branch, hugging it tightly.
Getting a clear view of the leaves and the branches around, Luke was reminded of where he was. This was not the warm, comfy bed in his village, instead, it was the dangerous wasteland surrounding the Nexeria empire.
"Imagine killing a powerful bear, only to die from falling from a tree the next day." Luke chucked as he was recovering from the shock.
He thanked the heavens that he had slept with only his upper body lying down. If his legs were not covering both sides of the branch, he doubted he would have been able to regain his balance quickly enough to save himself.
Not willing to dwell on this thought anymore, Luke began contemplating his next course of action. According to his plan to get revenge, he needed to move to the Arcanoria empire.
"Today is going to be a long day," Luke let out a sigh.
He stood on the branch once again and began surveying the area. After determining it was safe, Luke descended the tree with the thought of his journey to the Arcanoria empire in his mind.
Luke looked toward the sky as he used the direction of the sun rising to determine which way was north. After confirming the direction, Luke began moving in that direction.
Cautiously!
He refused to let his guard down, especially since he was still in the forest and although most of the deadly beasts were mostly active at night, the morning shift came with its own horrors.
With his senses on high alert, Luke quietly made his way through the forest and even though this slowed him down terribly, it was better to be safe than dead.
…
Six hours slowly trickled by as Luke travelled in one direction, North. His determination and flames of revenge that could burn even the Gods remained unwavering during these six hours. However, his physical body couldn't keep up with their intensity.
He was tired!
Although his body was enhanced and granted him inhuman stamina and mental fortitude, the act of keeping his senses on high alert for so long was just too exhausting mentally.
To make matters worse, he hadn't eaten anything throughout the day, and it was already well past noon!
Right when he was making out his plans, Luke had the mindset that "food would be abundant since the forest was full of beasts that he could absorb their nutrients. However, he was beginning to understand that the forest only operated in extremes.
It was either it was totally safe or it was completely dangerous.
Just like what happened the previous day, Luke was able to gain a deep understanding of how things worked in the jungle. Fighting one beast and spilling blood could only lead to the interference of the beast's clansmen or enemies that could attempt to devour two of them.
On the other hand, when the forest was safe and quiet, it was extremely difficult to spot beasts and this was because they were excellent at concealing themselves.
"Show yourselves god damnit!" Luke cursed as hunger was getting to him.
If someone who knew too little about the laws of the jungle was in Luke's position, they may end up believing that beasts didn't reside in this forest.
For hours now, Luke has only been able to spot a few beasts. However, those beasts he saw were considerably weak compared to the ones he saw a day ago, and they were very quick to escape.
It felt like they all knew the dangers lurking in the shadows, so they all chose to flee over fighting.
After a few more encounters, Luke was left frustrated by his current predicament.
"I need a ranged weapon!" He admitted. "Or even a normal weapon." He added after considering how much easier the battle against the bear would have been if only he had a weapon he could use.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone