After digging all the traps and making marks, not to mention the psychological pressure, Alex was dead tired. He was about to take a nap when he remembered the Yellow fruits he picked up on his way back.
Alex picked up the fruit. It's like an apple but yellow in color. He can confirm it's not poisonous as the monkeys ate them. So after washing it, he cut a small piece and ate it.
Alex immediately felt refreshing, like drinking a cool beverage on a hot day. Without a second thought, he ate the remaining fruit.
Alex felt all his tiredness disappear, and warm energy flowed through him, covering his whole body. His body crazily absorbed the energy.
Soon, the warm energy overflowed, and his whole body became hot.
He had to do something, release the energy that was building up, but there was nothing to do.
In the end, he remembered the High-intensity training his uncle made him do as punishment. He quickly changed into shorts and started working out. He did all kinds of exercises like push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, mountain climbing,.. without any break. After 30minutes of intense workout, his body absorbed the energy and returned to normal.
Alex felt strong. This must be the effect of the Yellow fruit. Before eating it, he was exhausted, but now the strange energy from the fruit made him as energetic as a bull. Alex was puzzled at first but soon understood few things.
This magical energy must be the reason why the animals in this world are much stronger, Alex concluded.
Is this the legendary 'Mana' from the video games and movies? If Mana exists in this world, the Night wolves as black as night, the vines as tall as mountains can all be explained.
Alex looked at the remaining fruits and clenched his fist. He had to get strong, no matter what. The Night wolves alone made him scurry like a rat, and who knows what kind of terrifying beasts are there outside the crater.
Alex looked at his watch. There was still some time before the dark, and he must use this time prudently. He completely changed his previous plan. The new plan was to increase his strength by being as lowkey as possible.
First, he had to store water for bathing. All the sweat from the workouts may attract unwanted attention from the beasts.
Alex searched for soft dirt inside the cave and started digging with the shovel. He made a large hole. He poured all the water he had in it.
He took a napkin, made it wet, and wiped himself. He was willing to waste the water cause the lake was much safer than he expected. So he just had to make few more trips.
Second, he had to gather the yellow fruits and bring some water. He put on the camouflage and the weapons, ready for his next adventure.
Alex set off for the lake again. He smoothly climbed down the vines and carefully went through the previous route.
On his way, he also checked the traps he set. It was just an hour ago, but he still tried his luck.
To his surprise, there was a catch. He saw a brown hamster, as big as a football, stuck in the trap. He saw that the wooden spikes that he placed at the bottom were of not much use. This big guy's hide was very thick.
Alex picked it up, the hamster struggled and tried to bite him. After being unsuccessful, the hamster showed his fang. This guy used to be cute and cuddly in the previous world, it's still cuddly, but it will bite your neck off if you cuddle. In this world, even a rat cannot be looked down upon.
Anyway, it's going to be his lunch for tomorrow. Alex tied it up and continued on his trip.
After a trip, he bought enough water for two days, 3 fruits, and a hamster. He tightly tied the hamster in a corner.
After a small break, he took a bite off the yellow fruit. The familiar warm energy flowed through him. This time he observed the Mana carefully. The Mana was slowly absorbed by the body. The whole process was slow. He can feel the excess energy building up, nowhere to vent.
The excess Mana was like a ticking time bomb. If the energy was not absorbed soon, it might burst out, and it's not going to be pretty. Without any extra thoughts, he started his high-intensity training.
He ate two fruits before the sunset, training for one hour. He can feel the rise in strength and punched the air in excitement.
Slowly the sun disappeared on the horizon. The crater became deadly silent.
Alex's excitement did not diminish until he heard a wolf's howl. He quickly cleaned up and got ready for the night.
Tonight, he wanted to observe the activities of the wolves and gather intelligence about their hunting tactics.
Alex took his binoculars, took a sleeping position at the cave entrance but did not start observing. The Night wolves can only be seen in the heat vision, and he had a limited battery. So, Alex waited patiently for all the wolves to come out.
After few hours, he heard all kinds of howls echoing in the crater.
Noticing the howls got closer, Alex started the heat vision mode and observed. If anybody were to see in Alex's direction, nothing was visible except for the lenses.
Using the heat vision mode, Alex saw five wolves as big as tigers in the distance. Probably the same ones from yesterday. But this time, instead of stopping, he kept watching and saw a weird scene.
Behind the five wolves, there were smaller wolves, probably cubs, tiptoeing and sniffing the plants.
The heck! Alex almost shouted.
As he kept watching, it got weirder. The big bad wolves did not hunt any animals, but they watched from a distance as the little ones kept hunting small animals, mainly those poor hamsters.
Alex also checked other areas and only found these wolves. He quickly grasped the situation and came to an uncanny judgment.
This is a Daycare for wolf cubs! Nope. It's a Night-care. The whole crater was a Night-care. No wonder he did not hear any animal cries during last night. Only those poor hamsters are the ones sacrificed.
Alex turned his head and saw the tied-up hamster in the corner of the cave. Alex was probably as strong as the cubs. He sighed in disgrace.
All his pride in the new gain strength disappeared. He still had to work hard and get stronger. However, he felt much more relaxed now, knowing that the wolves were not actively hunting inside the crater.
Alex kept watching until the wolves disappeared from his binoculars range, at which point he went to his (grass) bed.