It took me a while to calm down, the ominous air of the forest affecting me more than I'd like to admit. 'If it wasn't for Mr. Gibbins beating the shit out of me for hours, I wouldn't even know how to use my staff, how am I expected to survive in that?!?' I thought, about to freak out majorly.
Taking a few deep breaths, I remembered the content of the trial. The whole point of it was to reach the first level of the Storm Tyrant Body while surviving, do I even have to go into the forest? Looking back down the cliff, I could see several cave's, or outcrops that I could comfortably stay on while training. So, all I need to do is find enough food and water, then find a place to hide and cultivate.
Working up my courage, I walked into the forest. My heart pounding, the blood rushing through my body making such a racket that I could barely hear anything else.
*SNAP*
Jumping, I ran out of the forest before I realized that I'd stepped on a twig and snapped it. 'Seriously, I'm so keyed up that I won't be able to do anything.' I thought to myself.
So, I decided to train for a while first, maybe that'd help me. Sitting down near the edge of the cliff, I took a deep breath and started to meditate.
The Air element was so dense that I was amazed I could even breathe. Now that I was meditating, I could feel the excitement, the closeness I felt to the Air. I immediately felt safer, and was finally able to calm down as I began training. Pulling more and more Air elemental energy into my body, I could feel it nourishing and reinforcing my body. Wrapping every part of my body with energy until I felt so full I thought I'd burst at the seems. Stopping my absorption, I used my internal vision, thanks to opening my mindscape I was able to use it before other cultivators would be able too. I watched in fascination as my body absorbed the energy greedily.
According to the manual, the first level would be complete when every part of my body glowed a light blue color signifying that it contained Air Elemental Energy. 'Damn!' I thought to myself while observing my body. I had thought that reaching finishing the first level of body refining within 6 days would be easy, but I was wrong. Almost all the energy was just disappearing, while everything else was being devoured by my skin. At this rate it'd take almost a month to reach the peak of the first level of body refinement.
That was when I felt something biting my left thigh. My eyes flew open as I lost control of the elemental energy, allowing most of it to escape my body. A wolf had left the forest, grabbing my leg and started dragging me towards the forest.
Reaching for my staff, I swung it wildly in a panic. A lucky hit, the wolf was flung to the side as my staff brained it. That was when I heard the most terrifying noise I'd ever heard... the howling of an entire pack of wolves as they left the forest to rush at me.
"How could I have been so stupid as to cultivate in the open!" I yelled at myself, thankfully the first wolf wasn't moving anymore, it seems that they didn't have much in the way of defense. What surprised me the most was that the wound on my leg seemed superficial, and even as I stood up, I could feel the little bit of Air Elemental Energy I had managed to absorb heading to the wound. As more energy gathered it stopped bleeding completely, and I could now move with ease. Unfortunately, that used up almost all of the energy that I'd absorbed.
I never thought I'd be thankful for Mr. Gibbins beating the shit out of me in the training hall, but as I moved into a defensive stance my body acted as if on auto pilot. A wolf jumped at me from my left, while another tried to circle around behind me. *CRACK* I spun the staff in my hand and as took a step back and to the right, smacking the wolf into the one trying to circle behind me. With a miserable howl, the two of them lost their footing, slidding over the edge of the cliff.
Unable to take another step backwards, I lunged forwards jabbing my staff into a wolf's mouth as it lunged at me. Ignoring the wolf's whimpering sounds, I used his body to block another attack coming from my left before flinging it into the group attacking me from the front.
After that, it was all just a blur. If I hadn't been standing at the edge of a massive cliff, I would've run for it without a second thought. If Mr. Gibbins hadn't beaten the basic staff work into me so that it was at an instinctual level, I would've just died. What was most surprising to me though was how weak the wolves were. I've never thought of myself as strong, and it's not like I'm a heartforce cultivator. But, here I am, covered in wounds, surrounded by over twenty wolves almost all of them dead.
*ROOOAAARRRR* I could hear more beasts moving towards me. I grabbed the smallest wolf, then ran for the cliff. About ten meters down, I had seen a ledge. Taking careful aim, I dropped the wolf. Then, looking back my jaw dropping as a massive Tiger lashed out with his claws. A blade of wind slicing through trees and into a panther who was dragging one of the dead wolves away. Without a second thought, I dropped to the ledge. Fortunately, it was large enough that when I stumbled over the wolf's corpse I didn't fall off.
I couldn't believe how lucky I was, as I noticed a cave had been carved out of the cliff by running water and tree roots. Dragging the corpse behind me, I rushed into it. Falling to the ground in exhaustion, I started to meditate. If it hadn't been for the energy I'd absorbed before the fight I would've died for sure I needed to replenish as soon as possible.
As the energy rush towards me, I was amazed to find that my body was absorbing it faster than it had been earlier. Not only that, I could hold more of it. Finally, I passed out while training. The combination of exhaustion from the battle, the pain from my wounds, and the warmth of the energy healing and nourishing my body was just too much.
When I woke up, the cave was glowing. A moss I'd previously ignored releasing energy that it'd stored up during the day. My stomach rumbled insistently, and I realized that I'd fully healed. When I went to grab the wolf corpse I'd drug into the cave with me, it had disappeared leaving behind only bones. As I watched, a giant corpse beetle scuttled from the rib cage of the wolf disappearing into the darkness outside the cave.
There was no way in hell that I was going to climb the cliff at night, then try and hunt for something in that forest. Just, not happening. Also, I couldn't log out here because it wasn't a safe zone so if something happened then I'd die and would automatically fail the trial. That only left the cave, at least I can see in here.
Before, I started exploring I decided to check out my body. Sitting down in a lotus position, I quickly took advantage of my inner vision to scan myself. My jaw nearly dropped in shock as I found that my skin had absorbed enough Air energy and now glowed a light blue color, while my muscles were had just a hint of color developing on them. I remembered reading in the manual that the skin is the largest organ of the body and usually takes several days to refine, maybe I do have a chance to finish this trial in time!
Standing back up, I made my way into the depths of the cave in search of food.