As the sun rose, indicating the start of a new day, a cool morning breeze passed through the leaves, rustling them.
The sun cast a warm glow across the forest, illuminating its beauty.
Exiting his tent, Bellator admired the view. The forest beamed with life as a multitude of sounds, from the chirping of birds to the buzzing of bees, filled the air.
Packing his tent and storing it in his storage ring, Bellator nervously entered the forest, holding his trustworthy Jian sword.
Bellator's lack of experience was evident as he gripped his sword tightly.
"According to the novel, the cave should be located northeast of the entrance," he thought, using the compass on his Z-Watch.
Venturing into the forest, the once sparse landscape had turned into a dense forest with no clear pathway, covered in leaves and foliage.
"Why the heck is there no pathway here?" Bellator thought as he walked, carving out his own path. Sweat ran down his face as he swung his sword left and right, cutting through the foliage.
There was a pathway available within the forest that humans normally used. The problem with that path was it led nowhere near the cave.
"Well, I guess if there was a pathway to the cave, someone would've found the item much sooner," he thought as he continued walking.
Venturing deeper into the forest, a rustling sound could be heard.
*Rustle*
*Rustle*
*Rustle*
Tightly gripping his Jian swords, Bellator prepared for a confrontation.
Yet even with his preparation, a small creature with white fur dashed past his leg, causing a small cut. Blood could be seen leaking from the wound.
"Aagh," letting out a small grunt of pain, Bellator immediately prepared himself for another assault.
"It's fine. Stay calm," Bellator repeated, trying to compose himself.
Hearing the sound of shuffling feet behind him, Bellator immediately dodged as the small creature missed him, hitting a tree ahead.
Yet before he could celebrate, the small creature used the tree as support, catapulting itself towards him again.
As the creature dashed towards him, Bellator dodged to the side, attempting to slice the creature. Just as the Jian sword was about to make contact with its body, the creature changed the direction of its body mid-air, making the sword hit its horn.
As the creature got pushed back, its small body could be seen crashing into a thick tree, blood appearing on its body.
Catching a glimpse of what the creature was, Bellator was surprised.
"I seriously struggled that much over a rabbit."
Laying there was a small white rabbit, on its head was a purple horn, at the tip of the horn, scarlet red could be seen.
"That's probably my blood," Bellator thought as he approached the rabbit.
"A mutated beast. I wonder what type it is."
In this world, there were two kinds of beasts. The first was a mutated beast, normal animals whose bodies evolved due to mana, causing them to revert to their most basic instincts. Mutated beasts followed their instincts.
The second type was monsters, monsters found in dungeons. Once thought to be fiction, these monsters, including goblins and others, came to life. Unlike mutated beasts, monsters had intelligence, varying degrees of it. Monsters also had a mana core, essentially their heart and the weakness of all monsters.
As Bellator got closer to the rabbit, it started standing up again, its determination to survive visible as it tried to run away. Yet, with the blood loss, it ultimately collapsed as it breathed its final breath.
Looking at the corpse, Bellator immediately regretted how he killed it.
"Shit, its carcass could've been worth money. Why did I damage it so much?" Bellator thought as he inwardly cursed himself for wasting money.
Looking at his wounds, none of them were serious, so he continued his journey, delving deeper into the forest.
After about six hours of walking, he was puffing and panting for breath as he gulped down the water. Quenching his thirst, Bellator could see his legs wobbling as he sat down, tired.
Unknowingly to Bellator, two wolves with dark purple fur, each the size of a car, were currently sniffing the dead carcass of a rabbit.
Smelling the scent of a human, the wolves howled, signaling for backup as they started following the human's scent. As the wolves ran, a trail of death followed, turning the once green grass into a dark shade of black as the wolves passed.
"Where the hell is this cave?" he thought as he took out some beef jerky from his storage ring.
"I need to find that cave before nightfall," Bellator thought as he continued walking.
As he continued walking, doubt started creeping into his mind.
"What if I'm walking in the wrong direction? But I'm sure the novel said northeast. Could there be a mistake? Have I been relying too much on the novel? I mean, this is reality now. There's no way things will go the same way it went in the novel."
"Calm down and continue walking," Bellator said to himself, trying to motivate himself.
After another 30 minutes of walking, Bellator immediately caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a cave.
"Yes!" Bellator accidentally screamed aloud, scaring some birds as they flew away.
Reaching the entrance of the cave, Bellator immediately collapsed as he caught his breath.
"I finally made it," he thought with a smile on his face.
Unaware of the dangers heading his way.