Northeast in Akarba Forest.
12:15 PM
Lenora and Caesar were each making their way through the thick jungle. The air was dry owing to the extreme heat, but little sunlight was reaching the ground because of the dense forest of trees. The sun was in the centre of the sky. In the forest, there was occasionally rumbling and echoing. With a sword hanging from his left side of the waist and a dagger in his right hand, Caesar was moving through thick bushes while wearing the outfit in which he had been kidnapped by Serina.
Lenora made up her mind and then went and got all the necessities for the travel and also checked on Caesar. They both set off for the Akarba woodland's northeastern region, where forest elves lives. Lenora quickly gathered all the items needed for the three-week expedition.
Lenora had established certain guidelines before they left; upon hearing them, Caesar was cursing his bad luck. Lenora, for instance, planned to cook the animals that Caesar hunted. He must go to bed hungry if he is unable to hunt any creatures or monsters. Caesar would not have received any healing magic from Lenora during the entire journey unless it was a life-or-death circumstance. She was planning to stay undercover and only show up when he really needed her help.
Knowing this, Caesar found himself alone in a forest of towering bushes and enormous trees, armed only with a sword, a dagger, and a little bag containing a water pouch that could hold countless litres of water.
He initially found it extremely creepy that Lenora would always talk about the correct direction in his head, but he eventually became accustomed to it.
He travelled for the first two hours in silence and tranquilly. Caesar travelled quite a distance while exerting a minimal of energy, but soon hunger pangs began to attack him. He now felt bad about skipping breakfast this morning.
Thankfully, he still had his water pouch. Caesar filled his stomach with water for the time being since, fortunately, the pouch can contain a lot of water. His pace steadily slowed after a while. Although he had not yet run out of energy, he was aware that he would not be able to walk after a few hours.
The quest for nourishment began. Up until this point, Caesar had avoided any evidence of wildlife; he had chosen a different route, being careful not to interact with any monsters; nevertheless, at this point, he was actively looking for little creatures and beasts to hunt.
Caesar soon located four blue bunnies and started attempting to grab them after beginning to avoid any tiny prey that could come his way.
The first rabbit was shown Caesar's presence directly, and to to anyone's amazement, the rabbit immediately bolted away upon seeing Caesar. Caesar was a little more circumspect, the second time; he made sure that no disturbance was made before he began to gently approach the second rabbit. Caesar was effective in cutting down the gap. He charged the rabbit while holding his sword, but the animal was too quick and escaped.
Caesar modified his strategy after locating the third rabbit. Like before, he drew closer without making a sound, but this time he had a dagger rather than a sword. Caesar telekinetically launched his blade. He could only move the dagger in range of 3 metres using psychokinesis, but the dagger had gain enough momentum, speed and force within 3 meter that it flies, threatening to stab the rabbit but sadly the rabbit just got a small cut on its limb and ran away sensing danger.
The fourth time Caesar was very careful slowly covering the distance, Caesar was about to kill the fourth rabbit when a wolf suddenly came clawed the rabbit, killing it.
Caesar was surprised and let out a tiny groan as he saw the black wolf appear out of nowhere. He quickly realise what he had done wrong and quickly covered his lips with his fingers, but it was already too late. Caesar's voice causes the wolf to turn to face him. They locked gaze.
Caesar's anxiousness and fear were visible to the wolf in his eyes. The wolf began to approach Caesar after spotting the shaken human. As soon as Caesar noticed the wolf, he hastily reached for his sword and readied himself by adopting a suitable stance.
The wolf sprinted in its motion. The wolf was able to accelerate quickly because there was about 15 yards between them. With a howl the wolf sprang at Caesar, threatening to kill him with a single strike as his claws were stained with rabbit blood.
Caesar defended himself by swinging his sword; claw met sword. There was a 'Clank' and shrieking sounds. Caesar was pushed four steps behind while the Wolf retreated one step. The direct hit of the wolf's strike had left his palm and hand numb.
Once again charging in, the wolf clawed Caesar and occasionally hinted at biting him with its pointed fangs. Caesar repelled every assault while bearing the brunt of it; his hands were now trembling, and his sword was on the verge of falling.
'I can't take any more attacks,' he thought as he tightened his grasp on his blade. 'I will be rendered helpless, therefore I must divert his attack.'
The wolf started attacking once more, but this time, instead of only defending, Caesar began to deflect the wolf's blows in order to avoid taking the full weight of its blows.
The wolf had taken full advantage of Caesar's vulnerability during his clumsy redirection, scratching him many times in the course of a few exchange of attacks.
Caesar was waiting for a chance, an opportunity where the wolf faltered, just as the wolf was waiting for a larger opening. He didn't have to wait long; it occurred quickly. Being in control of battle this increased the wolf's self-assurance. The wolf jumped high in an attempt to strike a lethal blow. Seeing his chance, Caesar hurried in the direction of the wolf and knelt down. now that the wolf was now hovering in the air, with Caesar close by. He stabbed with all of his might and concentration. Caesar pierced the stomach of the wolf.
Unfortunately, Caesar's hold slipped, and the sword continued to be caught within the wolf's stomach long after it had landed. The sword was buried deep inside its stomach. Caesar quickly pulled out his dagger and regarded the beast suspiciously.
The wolf whirled around and gave Caesar a wary glance. The wolf's movements were becoming uncomfortable, and blood was spilling everywhere.
Despite feeling a sense of success, Caesar considered utilizing psychokinesis after seeing the wolf, which was still standing but had shaky legs. He struggled to concentrate since the dagger kept slipping from his hands.
The wolf just avoided the blow as the dagger advanced in an attempt to puncture its eyes. Caesar attempted to stab the wolf repeatedly with the dagger, but it was always evaded.
Caesar made an effort to wear down the wolf after seeing that his plan was failing. After a few minutes, the wolf's movement slowed down significantly as a result of the steady flow of blood, and Caesar struck the wolf in the neck with a clean blow, killing him at that point.
Wolf was already dead when Caesar and Wolf both collapsed, and Caesar was also psychologically and physically exhausted. Caesar was bleeding from the wolf's wounds as well.
Clap clap clap.
Lenora emerged from beyond the woods. "How was your first fight?"
Caesar didn't say anything, other than to smile triumphantly at Lenora.
As soon as the adrenaline surge subsided, Caesar began to experience agony all throughout his body. The cuts hurt, searing like something was burning, and his hands were trembling while his legs had turned chilly.
He reached into his tiny backpack, pulled out the water pouch, and slowly drank a large amount of water. He also cleaned his wounds by running water over them.
As soon as Lenora offered him some ointment, Caesar seized it and rubbed it all over his wounds.
The wolf's body was carried over by Lenora and placed in front of Caesar.
"Now, Caesar, let's get you up to speed. Let's begin with your errors. Your first anxiousness and fear in front of the wolf caused him to seize the initiative in your duel. Second, you battled too cautiously; there were several opportunities, but all you did was defend.. Third, after defending, you didn't launch a counterattack." Soon after, Lenora began listing all of Caesar's errors.
After some time Lenora began dissecting the wolf after taking out the blade and dagger from its body. She seemed to have been doing this her entire life because of how skilled she was.
Caesar felt queasy as he watched her dissect the wolf, but he kept his mouth shut and continued to observe.
Lenora soon began describing wolf anatomy to Caesar. Caesar was appalled, but it was obvious that his expression didn't reflect it. Lenora also provided him with information on the wolf's critical areas, its assault range, and its habits.
Since wolves often live in packs, Caesar felt fortunate that this particular wolf was living alone for some unknown reason.
Lenora fired up the cooker that appeared out of nowhere with a huge table. All culinary tools, utensils, veggies, and spices were available on the table. Grilling and cooking lasted about forty minutes. Soon, Caesar was served grilled steak and vegetable soup on the table.
He stood up, but his shaking continue. After some time Lenora gave the command to proceed again after Caesar had slept for some time. Caesar found the concept travel again to be exceedingly repulsive, yet he nonetheless rose to his feet and began his voyage.
He did not travel too far the rest of the way till night.
While Caesar himself avoided huge creatures, whether they were herbivorous or man-eaters, he came across certain tiny animals that simply fled when they sensed his approach.
Night fell quickly. Caesar's legs hurt after the lengthy travel, and his clothing was damaged in several places. The temperature has drastically decreased. It was really chilly.
When the expedition began, the tiny bag was almost empty but now it included some fruits, herbs, seeds, ointment from Lenora, and a pouch of water.
Caesar learned about several plants and trees along the route, some of which were dangerous while others had therapeutic properties. He learned about a variety of berries, mushrooms, and edible and inedible fruits. He now has a little better understanding of the forest Terran.
Lenora also revealed to him the kinds of creatures that might be located in various parts of the forest. Lenora gave the command for Caesar to pick up some animal feces and smell them. Since he now possessed skill 'perfect memory', he wouldn't be able to forget the colour, consistency, or smell of excrement for the rest of his life, allowing him to recognise the animal(s) that had travelled the same road as him in the past.
In the midst of Caesar's distress, Lenora located a little clearing in the forest and began frying the wolf's leftover flesh for Caesar to eat.
Caesar was looking at himself. He detested his appearance. He detested getting sweat and grime on himself He was feeling nauseated from the perspiration and grime on him. In order to avoid having to go through all of this again, he made a mental note to get some fresh clothing and a portable restroom in near future.
He was completely spent for the day; his energy level was now low, and he was feeling tired.
__________________
Early in the morning, 5:00
"Caesar, wake up, it's time." He was sound asleep despite Lenora's efforts to wake him up because of how exhausted he was from the previous night. Despite repeated calls to his name, he didn't wake up.
In a fit of rage, Lenora projected lightning into her palm and zapped Caesar with it. This unexpected change of events caused Caesar to awaken and leap.
As he scans the area with wet eyes, Caesar was looking about and then turned to look at Lenora with tearful eyes. "Why did you do that?"
"What? You just jumped in your sleep after experiencing a nightmare; I did nothing." Lenora lied without any remorse and was even grinning.
"You, you." Caesar attempted to respond, but all of a sudden he recalled something crucial. He was berating himself for having overlooked something so crucial.
After switching from an irritated to a serious tone, Caesar began to describe the nightmares he had the day before his waking ceremony and the day Serina abducted him.
Lenora's expression changed to one of confusion as she listened to Caesar explain everything, but she soon smiled warmly at Caesar. "Don't worry; everything will be fine; it's just a dream; don't think too much about it,"
Caesar relaxed when he heard Lenora speak in a casual manner, but Lenora herself was concerned and perplexed. Such dreams were frequent, but when she thought about Caesar, she had several hypotheses.
She put those ideas to the side as she stared at Caesar. Later in the day, she planned to reflect on the subject, but for now, she needed to train Caesar a little.
"Caesar, grab your sword and begin practising for an hour. Then, practise psychokinesis for an additional hour. Following your training, we shall resume our adventure." Lenora left after saying this to search for some veggies in the forest.
Caesar began training against his will.