Stepping forward, it was very bright outside the cave, Aureum eyes squinting to try and see through the light, "It must be daytime outside." Waiting a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the daylight, Aureum could finally lay eyes on his surroundings, and was surprised, as it wasn't what he was expecting to see.
Aureum assumed when he stepped out of the cave, he would see a dense, and lush forest ahead of him, but it wasn't as dense or lush as Aureum was expecting. Looking around, it seemed a disaster had recently occurred in the surroundings. Slowly making his way out of the cave, Aureum scanned for any threats, and after seeing nothing in the area, he continued to walk.
Aureum came to notice there were alot of trees that were dead, while others seemed to be fine, and after pondering on what could have happened for a while and coming up with nothing he gave up on it. Wondering around aimlessly for a while, Aureum found a clearing where the trees seemed to have been cut cleanly at the base in one strike.
Aureum surveyed the clearing and saw no potential threats, and decided to rest and come up with some sort of plan, rather than continue wandering around with no goals. His top priority was obviously surviving, he wouldn't be able to achieve anything dead. Second on the list, Aureum was determined to increase his strength, to become strong enough to protect himself, to never be held captive in any way ever again.
Thinking along these lines Aureum came up with an outline of what he should be doing. First he would find somewhere to use as his base of operations, maybe a thick tree, or a small cave where he could hide when he was resting. Aureum stood up and began to scout out the environment.
Walking for a while, Aureum came upon a tree with a hole towards the top, but avoided it due to a strange smell emanating off of it. After about an hour of exploring, Aureum found a small cave hidden partly by a large tree, and covered by vines. Aureum decided to check out the inside, and if he didn't find anything inside, this would temporarily be his home. Walking up to it, Aureum sniffed around the entrance to make sure there was no strange smells like the tree he passed earlier.
Detecting nothing, Aureum carefully pushed his way past the vines, ready for an attack. His head pushing through, he saw nothing inside except for a very old looking pile of bones. Walking in further for a closer look, the small cave was large enough for him to fit inside and be comfortable, but if he got any bigger than he currently was he would have to find somewhere else, as it would be too tight of a fit for him.
Inspecting the bones, it appeared to be some sort of rodent that had died a long time ago. After burying the bones away from the cave, Aureum mulled over the things he had seen while surveying for a temporary base. He had seen a few rodent like creatures which had quickly scurried out of sight when they noticed him, along with finding a river about two kilometers away. At one point he had also hidden after seeing a large boar-like creature foraging for food nearby.
After contemplating his next move, Aureum decided to go hunt for food, deciding to go after one of the small rodents he had seen on the way here. Pushing his way through the vines, Aureum headed in the direction of where he had last seen one.
After walking for around 10 minutes, Aureum spotted something small moving through the undergrowth. Slowing down and dropping his body close to the ground he stalked the little rodent foraging for food. Watching it look around for food, Aureum noticed it had stopped in place to eat a seed it had found. Deciding this was the perfect time, Aureum slowly snuck up on it, before pouncing!
He used [Heavy Strike] on the rodent, the little creature failing to notice him until the last second. Trying to dodge away, it was too late and it took the full brunt of Aureum's attack, dying on the spot! [You have slain LVL 3 Wood Mouse, gained 15 EXP] after receiving the notification, Aureum knew it was dead and walked over to pick it up. Bending down and grabbing it in his mouth, Aureum walked back to the cave and ate the mouse before lying down to rest.
It had been a few hours, and after experiencing many emotional rollercoasters, Aureum was tired. Aureum closed his eyes and slept.