The afternoon in the Shadowless Forest is not much different than its nighttime. Dark, quiet, and gloomy. Even the sunlight struggles to pass through a blockage of giant tree leaves that cover its surface. Indeed a genuine wilderness.
Survival of the fittest is the only rule that applies here. Every creature that lurks inside it hunts in silence, careful not to fall prey to the higher beings. That's why the only thing that accompanied Jack that afternoon was silence.
Amid the silent jungle, Jack, who just finished his level advancement, lay his back against the main trunk and drank from a bamboo tumbler until his thirst quenched.
After exhaling lots of air, he starts pondering about what he had gone through during the advancement.
'It seems that getting stronger in this world also means evolving. I can feel every part of my body get stronger after the process. Rather than leveling up, this is more akin to advancement in a cultivation world.'
In cultivation, someone needs to absorb an external source of power before advancing to a higher cultivation level. That source is called a spirit stone. A spirit stone can be obtained from a spirit well or spirit vein. Then after reaching a certain threshold, he will digest the accumulated power to advance.
A quite similar process occurred when Jack advanced to level-2 a moment ago. The only difference is the source of power he uses. In this world, someone will get a portion of strength from monsters that he kills, or in his case, they are referred to as experience points.
It also means that his system is more inclined to a game system than a cultivation system.
That day Jack didn't wander too far and spent his remaining day-time adjusting to his superior self. After absorbing the stats points and becoming a true level-2, he could feel a tremendous boost in strength. He can punch harder, run faster, and even climb with more ease.
It is because his advancement to level-2 almost made his physical stats doubled. After this, the feeling of increased strength would become less and lesser as his levels went up to a higher digit.
A week passes in a blink of an eye. During that time, Jack discovers many mystical phenomena that he never saw on Earth before. Such as glowing trees, lightning-speed rabbits, floating mushrooms, and the blue moon.
Every night Jack admires its bright radiance in silence. But he never notices any change in appearance or even its shape. As though the moon was always in her permanent full mode.
Under its illumination, Jack puts together a grand plan of using this world mechanic to his advantage, then visualizing himself becoming a cool Dragon Knight. Jack was so motivated. He wants to test all the tricks he obtained from novels and shock the whole world with his leveling speed.
The plan starts with finding a steady source of income and experience. But of course, money comes first.
Judging from weapons and clothes that this world used, Jack estimates that the technology used to make them is similar to the Early Middle Ages on Earth. That means he has tons of knowledge that he can use to make money.
Establishing a tech company with a bitten pear logo would be nice. He thinks.
With enough money, he could build a secret place designed solely to support him grinding his level. He can use the remaining time to learn about blacksmithing and alchemy.
After mastering all of them, he could finally begin his legendary quest of creating a bridge to Earth while conquering the whole world in the process.
A well-thought plan. Safe and effective.
With an overflowing idea in his mind, Jack closes his eyes and ends the day.
---
*Pant Pant
A man wearing brown hunting clothes seemed to be struggling to catch a breath while running like crazy in the middle of a forest. His long brown hair that tied back with leather-like string was fluttering in the air as he ran. His slightly wrinkled face looked a little pale, like being chased by a monster.
In fact, he was indeed being chased by a monster.
The man kept running even though his face was injured by sharp thorns from the bush he just walked through. But something is odd about him. He was carrying a quiver full of arrows, yet his hand didn't hold a bow to shoot it.
"How did a Fenris appear in this region! Their hunting territory should be deep within the Shadowless Forest." Said the man wearing hunting clothes before he suddenly stopped and turned his head to see if the monster was still chasing him.
Finding that nothing was behind him, he sighed in relief before muttering, "It seems that the plan worked. Using my bow to snare its leg was a good move."
Suddenly, a 1.8 Meter tall wolf monster with gray fur emerged from a shrub and ruined the man's premature celebration. His plan failed!
So the man cursed, "Sh*t!"
But after seeing one of its legs is injured, he immediately ran toward a river not far from his position.
The wolf couldn't match his speed, but it didn't give up either. Being a monster with superior stamina, it knew that eventually, his prey would be exhausted and become his lunch.
When arriving on the river bank, he jumped without hesitation. The man knew that Fernis is a species that couldn't swim, even afraid of water.
A good hunter always has a backup plan! He thought.
Not long after, he was able to cross that river easily. That man smirked when seeing the wolf growling in anger, then celebrated when the monster finally left.
After resting until his stamina fully restored, that man decided to return home even though the sun was barely racing its highest point. With a ferocious monster around, hunting will be too dangerous.
Fifteen-minute later, the same wolf that he thought had given up suddenly reappeared in front of him.
The corner of his mouth twitched before said, "You don't give up easily, do you?"
Before the monster could answer, the hunter hurriedly ran in the opposite direction.