Once I got to the moors it took me a while to find the cave cause there were many becks at the edges, I had to use my nature manipulation to locate the cave sensing through the ground cracks and crevices. Once I'd found the entrance I ventured inside squeezing through small gaps between rock wasn't very comfortable, I banged my head a few times but eventually found a cavity that would work for experiments.
I started a fire with some wood and kindling id accumulated on my travels, can never have enough firewood. Back when I was with the druids I made a permanent backpack with the skin I had from the Zinogre. I created a better rune array for the extension giving me enough space for a lot of goods. It had 3 sections set apart by the scales, I used one for gathered materials like wood and precious stones and metals, another for food and small animals I hunted the Isa rune kept them frozen and the last for my belongings like spare clothes and cookware. I always kept my weapons on me just in case I needed them, my wand was in the strap I held while carrying my pack but if I didn't have it on me it was in a sheath on my belt.
With the leftover bits of the pelt, I even made Ratatoskr a small satchel just large enough to fit in an acorn with a tiny extension rune carved into a small crystal fragment on its flap and filled it with nuts and berries I had with me. He seemed to be happy wearing it, he even ventured off on our travels and collected more food for himself. I thought about making him some armour but decided not to, for now, he could avoid danger with his stealthy abilities.
After starting the fire and cooking some rabbits id gathered I made a rudimentary bed on a flat surface, it was enough for a time but if I wanted to stay longer is have to gather more materials and make something better. Anyway, luckily enough there was a slight stream of water coming through a crack that I could use as drinking water without having to worry about becoming sick. I even formed a makeshift toilet by shaping rocks over a hole is formed, it would eventually begin to smell but I would cover any waste with rock and dirt. I kept it as far from my water source as possible, wasn't going to even think about that.
After getting settled in I went to sleep for the night before beginning my experiments in the daybreak. Even without sunlight, I could still practice I could see in the dark so that wasn't a problem. The problem was a cave-in from spells hitting the walls. I had to strengthen them with my nature manipulation. I knew I could call for metals and crystals throughout the earth surrounding me but I hadn't really carried on trying it out after first testing my manipulation over nature. So I tried compressing the stone walls in the space and thickened them, to test it out I punched them while adding a bit of strength each time.
This lead me to realise my "full control" was just that I could control everything about my abilities, my strength I could adjust to human or my peak strength in slight increments. Even my senses, I could dull them down to the point of going sightless which I wouldn't do again, it scared me shitless. In a cave with many jagged rocks and not so stable footing wasn't someplace a blind man should be at all.
So I began testing my strength at a human level with basic exercises, the results were what I imagined I could do thousands of push-ups, sit-ups and squats and not feel anything. My healing countered any muscle fatigue or tears making them dense and more defined as I kept doing them. I hadn't ever really trained just my muscles but they developed with my combat training with Ubbe all those years ago. I didn't want a bulky figure more of the physique of a fighter, flexible and solid.
I gathered a dense boulder from the earth kept condensing it while manipulating more stone to increase its weight, I lifted it every so often while at a basic strength but it was light, so continued wanting to get to the point of my maximum strength to know at least what I could lift. As the stones darkened my strength went up a notch until it was a glossy black and I was at my max. I couldn't really calculate how much it weighed but if I had to guess it was about 5000kg or 5 ton, I stopped at this point any more and if begin building bulkier muscles.
Next, I wondered about my stamina so instead of running for miles and miles I tried something different, I attempted holding my breath for as long as possible, I knew it would have been better underwater because humans can hold their breath longer than on land but I didn't really have any deep water around. My record ended up around 40 minutes if I estimated right with the drops of water as seconds.
Holding your breath wasn't really accurate reading of someone's stamina because more oxygen to the muscles allowed them to work for longer but with my healing factor that doesn't really count for me so withholding my brain and muscles of oxygen and doing some light work out would have to do. At least now I know I can swim underwater for about an hour.
I was not going to attempt these experiences in my transformed state I already knew it would be higher and I wanted to get on with my magic experiments, so I sat down and meditated for a while sensing my magic core and the ambient magic around me if I could begin to sense magic while not meditating it would give me another advantage over wizards, as I could sense them building it for spells.
I spent hours just sensing the flow of magic in my body and how it interacted with me trying different veins around my body and comparing the efficiency of them. I eventually found a few that we're shortcuts to the limbs but felt unnatural and gave me a feeling of queasiness. Like my stomach was doing flips, and no matter how much I tried it didn't go away so I left it and tried different approaches to different parts of my body the one to my eyes actually had some improvements they had become more refined and had an ease of use allowing me to keep my magic sight on with less energy to fuel them.
After that, I had something else to eat and then began going over my spells wandless, hoping that I didn't get too dependent on my wand and neglect wandless magic. The effects hadn't changed, but as I kept duplicating the same spell while forgoing reciting the incantation rather saying them in my mind, their efficiency improved I noticed I didn't need as much magic to use them and the speed of each cast went up slightly, I didn't even need to wave my hand for the "kljúfa" I could just point my finger and a slash would appear in its direction. Even with less magical power, their strength stayed the same.
So I moved on to my wand and repeated the same thing, the strength increased with each cast but the efficiency of them was the same as wandless casting. This even further proved that a wand was just a focus, it directed the use of magic energy without as much dispersion. I did notice that some spells needed the waving though or the effects would lessen. For example, the "kljúfa" when just pointed with a wand was more of a pierce than a slash or cleave, the wand just focused the slashing power in a straight line leaving a hole instead of a slice. I couldn't figure out how a cleaving charm ended up stabbing something, even as I kept trying to visualise the method it didn't make sense at all. Well, I guess that's just magic.
After hours of experiments, I was going to bed and noticed Ratatoskr was missing he had scurried off somewhere, I knew he would come back but I was a bit worried about him. Thinking about the little critter and I realised he was my best friend pretty much, We had been together nearly 10 years now. I met him on my 13th year and I'm nearly 23 we had been through a lot, he used me as a boat as I swam, the battles we had been through all while staying safe, meeting the Fae and the druids who both loved him, even the Ravens and that black cat he had galloped like a horse and now our travels in England. All up to this cave, I wanted him to be my companion for a long time and with him being a magical creature hopefully, he would even if he is a kleptomaniac.