The next morning, when the alarm rang at 6 Am, Alex was more tired than the previous night. He barely slept with constant howling echoing in the crater.
The three people who intruded yesterday were long gone, but the wolves decided to punish him by keeping him awake the whole night.
With nothing to do, Alex experimented with his Eagle vision the whole night. To his surprise, he can see through the Demonic wolves' dark haze without heat vision. Alex can also view the lake through the gaps between the trees. He estimated without obstacles he can observe around 7Km.
Alex was satisfied with his ability. He was anticipating the improved version of this ability in the future.
After a nap, Alex finally woke up and got ready for the big day. Today will be his final day in the crater. He had many things to do before he leaves this place.
First, he had to prepare enough food for their journey. Alex estimated it would take him two days to traverse the forest and find the town. Alex cooked a good amount of meat for Varis and himself.
Second, Alex planned to take at least six Blueberry plants with him. But, there was not much space left in his backpack. So, Alex had to get creative.
He made a rucksack using the Redhog's leather and some vines. It took him an hour to make this shabby rucksack. But this should hold on for two days.
Alex packed the food and other necessities. As he was about to exit the cave, he heard a chirp, and then a childish voice sounded in his head.
[Alex.]
Alex changed his plan once Varis woke up. Alex wanted to practice with Varis but did not wake him since the little guy also barely slept last night.
"Ah, you are finally awake, huh. Let's eat first before we practice our new abilities," said Alex.
[what are we going to practice?]
"Well, we are going to practice some tactics and improve our coordination."
[Ok.]
Both Alex and the little bird ate their breakfast. Alex climbed down the cave while the little bird flew off to the lake.
As he landed, Alex felt the difference in his vision. It's as if every little thing was observed through a magnifying glass.
He observed the four-handed monkeys on the distant trees while several hamsters are scurrying in the shadows. He also saw a 1-meter camouflaged lizard on a tree. A grey vulture perched on a tree was staring at him with its cruel eyes.
Alex froze due to the huge amount of information that flooded his mind. He adjusted for few seconds before he ran into the forest.
Alex was pleasantly surprised to find that his agility, balance, and reaction speed also improved.
It's like a part of his brain was calculating the speed, direction, reaction, and finding the accurate way to dodge the obstacle.
'It must also be another one of the benefits from the magic contract,' Alex concluded. Alex became delighted to get the second ability. This ability also compliments his Eagle vision.
Previously, Alex was cornered by the Redhog, not because he was slow, but cause he was not agile enough. Now there won't be any such issues. He mastered his speed.
Alex ran faster while dodging all the obstacles on his way and reached the lake in 20 breaths. He covered a distance of 1km in less than 40seconds.
That was very encouraging. Alex was now more confident to traverse through the forthcoming forest.
Alex filled water for their journey while waiting for the little bird. Soon, the little Redbird arrived and landed on his shoulder.
Alex took out his Redbook and explained some basic concepts to the little bird.
"Let's start with the basics. We are a two-man team. Your position is scout, and I am the Leader. Do you understand?"
[Yes... What is a scout?]
Alex looked at his innocent face and could not say anything. In the end, he explained.
"Ok, a scout's job is to explore the area ahead for enemies and relay it back to the leader."
[I think I got it.]
"Ok, now let us observe the simplest tactic. This tactic is called the Single File tactics. We march in a single line towards the destination, you will be flying in the front, and I will be in the back. If you see any danger, you inform me three things: the type of danger, the direction, and the distance. Got it?"
[I understand.]
"Then let's practice. Our goal now is to go to the other side of the lake. You move 50 meters in front of me and call out the powerful beasts you observe."
The Redbird took off and conveyed the information to him.
[Yellow Monkey, left side, 30meters]
[Ok. good job, Keep it up.] Alex said while he decided to teach him the direction based on the clock position. It might be a little hard as Varis never saw a clock.
Alex and the bird proceeded to the other side of the lake. The bird landed on Alex's shoulder.
[How did I do?]
"Good, You are very smart," said Alex, as he took out his self-made map.
"Let's continue. It is called a Map. It portrays the territory and the landmarks. One of the important tasks of the scout is to create an accurate Map. Of course, you can tell me, and I will draw it for you." said Alex.
Alex went to the locations marked on the map and unearthed five Blueberry plants. He put all of them in a plastic bag. One of the plants still had some blueberries on them. He kept it for future emergencies.
Alex and Varis also trained the coordination in fighting and navigation. Varis was smart for his age and already grasped most of it.
It was already 11 0'clock in the morning. Alex packed all his belongings and was about to leave. Of course, He did not forget to inform Ms.Aretha.
Soon, a huge Sky eagle appeared outside of the cave and then morphed into a beautiful woman in a long blue dress. She looked at Alex with her sharp blue eyes and said:
"I have prepared you the farewell gifts."
"Ms. Aretha, you shouldn't have," said Alex politely but was piqued.
"Here this is for you, Alex," said Aretha while giving a silver bracer (wrist guard), with a purple gem inlaid at the center.
"You are very kind, Ms. Aretha," said Alex, as he wore it on his left wrist. It did not hinder his movement, which made him relax.
Alex infused the silver bracer with mana, and strange symbols glowed on the surface. Soon, a purple energy shield of 1-meter diameter appeared in the front.
Alex was pleasantly surprised. This gadget will be an immense help to him in a crisis.
"Thank you, Ms. Aretha. This shield is very useful to me," said Alex sincerely.
"This is called Purple wing bracer. It is a part of the Purple wing soldier set. If you can, then collect the whole set." said Ms.Aretha.
"I will," said Alex, as he memorized the Purple wing soldier set in his mind.
Ms. Aretha then gave a blue feather to Varis as a farewell gift. Alex saw the blue feather seamlessly merge into the little guy's body. In the end, he cannot notice any difference.
"Stay safe, Varis," said Ms. Aretha as she kissed the little bird on his head.
"Farewell," said Ms. Aretha to the both of them and flew off.
Alex took one last glance at the cave and started his journey.