Navigating through the forest proved to be a bigger challenge than expected, the tall trees covered most of the sky, not that the two suns helped as I was constantly getting confused by them.
Thankfully the trail of corpses that brute created kept me from getting utterly lost and also served as a path to return to my starting point.
Carefully avoiding stepping on the brutalized bodies, I noticed a sharp hunting knife inside a nice leather sheath in one of the corpse's tool belt, which significantly increased my interest in the goblins craftsmanship.
While examining my newly acquired weapon I felt a burning sensation coming from my wrist and a message appeared before me.
[Rift energy has fused with the challenger's body, creating vessel]
A white lifeless crystal the size of a pebble had formed below my wrist.
I tried supplying some of my magi into it and after a brief moment of inactivity glowed faintly and its color became light blue, with a number of messages being engraved to it.
-Stats
Vitality: 0.6
Endurance: 0.5
Strength: 1.1
Agility: 1.6
Sense: 1.9
Magi: 1.4
???: 0
???: 0%
[Eliminate the goblins. Progress 74.5%]
-So is this like a status viewer?
After viewing my stats I started pondering how frail my physique is, doubting I could last in a prolonged battle.
-I can't even predict how high that fucker's combat stats are...
Continuing on my mission to find edible food, I enlisted the help of my sixth-sense and tried to focus on my surroundings.
The breathing of the moist plants, the roots of the towering trees, and the constant movement of a buzzing mosquito ... I could "see" the color of the soul coming from all living things around me, as well as the distinctive soulless aura covering the lifeless objects.
Although I could only perceive up to a 5-meters radius, I tried to increase my focus by circulating my partially recovered energy to my eyes and ears.
The range and detail of my spatial awareness exponentially increased, although the strain it put on my mind also increased and also drained a lot of my magi capacity.
Through my focused senses, I noticed a purple sinister aura coming from the vines of a tree.
-They are probably venomous, better take a sample of it.
Since the tree and the bugs residing on it had a healthy white color surrounding them I concluded that it either needed to come in contact with the target's blood or orally consumed in order to take any effect, and as such, I was in no direct danger from touching it.
I got excited with the possibility of coating my blade with the extract I could acquire after grinding it ... that is if it proves to be a fast-acting poison, otherwise I will be long dead before it takes any effect.
After reaching a small lake, I noticed a chicken resting on the other side of it, or so I thought, reconsidering after it tilted it's head, revealing a second one growing on its cheek.
Well past the point of being surprised by the otherworldly creatures I saw, I started to circle around the lake and silently approached it.
Startled, the two-headed chicken raised it's head, well ... both heads and looked in my direction with its four eyes.
Surprised by the fact that it noticed me despite not having made a single sound, I barely manage to hide in a nearby bush.
I recalled how my sixth sense worked and deducted that most creatures also have a similar ability.
Apparently, it sensed my killing intent and was on the lookout for any potential danger.
I used my enhanced senses and carefully analyzed the situation ... I was dumbfounded by how my red hostile aura was leaking out and spreading to my surroundings, feeling extremely blessed at the same time that my prey hadn't fled despite being aware of the existence of a predator nearby.
Being able to perceive my aura, I tried clearing my murderous thoughts and started covering myself with magi trying to match the color that the environment had.
After a few seconds of trial and error, I was confident in fooling both brains of that chicken with my camouflage and so, like a stealthy jaguar, I moved in for the kill.
Upon returning to the outskirts of the village, proudly carrying the creature I had hunted, a familiar smell entered my nose.
-Meat, no ... cooked meat?
I quickly rushed to the location the smell was coming from, only to be mind blown by the ridiculous situation that was taking place in front of me.
The same muscle freak that seemed to have muscle instead of brains, had caught a huge boar, brutally ripped the skin from its body and after lighting a fire by borrowing a primitive torch and some firewood, was feasting on the juicy meat of the dead animal.
"But how did you catch it ?", it was impossible for a muscle head like him to have actually concealed his aura and ambush his prey.
"As I was doing a breathing exercise, the boar suddenly appeared and charged me ... Of course it didn't live to regret its decision, HA HA HA "
-Of course ... the food came to him.
Annoyed by his loud laughing and his inexplicable luck I sighed ...
"Anyway, it appears you managed to catch prey as well...", and with that, he continued his thunderous laughing.
Looking at the huge difference in the size of our prey, I approached the fire while inwardly cursing his lucky star and used my hunting knife to peel of the chicken's skin.
"By the way, the name is Julius Armstrong", his last sentence was definitely out of my expectations ... he didn't seem like the social type.
"Jay ...", I pondered for a moment.
"Jay Riemman"
....