He continued his exploration to search for the intoxicating fruit visiting unknown and dangerous territories for the next seven months. In his search, he encountered several different animals and strange fruits and he even fought some powerful animals who stayed alone and appeared less dangerous to him. But these battles were also not easy and he could not win against them.
This led to numerous severe injuries and many near-death experiences but the magical fruits that he stole from their territory further raised his strength. He had long realized that fruits guarded by strong animals have a strong strengthening effect with few after-effects.
He had learned to develop small stone projectiles and low-level traps like pits filled with sharp stones which he incorporated in his attacks. However, he found they only worked on animals with low perception or those having weaker bodies. The stronger animals all had greater perception and powerful bodies which could easily break those sharp stones. The advantage that he got from these traps was that it helped him buy some time which he used to steal several mysterious fruits.
Once he stumbled upon the territory of a wolf when he was searching for a safe place to rest at night.
Under the pale, silvery light of the crescent moon, the grey wolf emerged from the shadows of the ancient forest, its presence as silent as the falling mist. Its body was covered by a thick mantle of smoke and ash which rippled with every measured step, catching the moonlight in a way that made it seem almost spectral. The eyes of the wolf were like twin embers smoldering in the dusk, surveying the world with an intelligence that seemed to be beyond mere animal instinct, as if it carried the weight of ancient wisdom passed down through generations of its kind.
The wolf's form was powerful yet elegant, muscles coiled beneath its fur like the roots of the mighty oaks that surrounded it. Each of its movements was precise, and purposeful, as it glided through the underbrush with a grace that belied its formidable strength. The wind stirred, carrying the scent of a distant prey, and the wolf's nose twitched, nostrils flaring as it inhaled pinpointing the location of its prey.
This was no ordinary wolf. In its wake, the shadows seemed to deepen, and it had a subtle cyan-colored glow around its body and a kingly aura as if the creature's presence commanded natural respect.
Our boy was immediately vigilant upon noticing the strong presence of this wolf. He tried hiding under the cover of trees and bushes without realizing that the wolf had already noticed his smell. He was looking at the wolf keeping his breath and body movement to the minimum. He could also make out the shape of glowing cyan-coloured fruits in the shape of berries a few meters behind the wolf which were distinctly visible in the night.
Suddenly, a cyan-colored glow flashed behind his back and he felt something piercing the back of his skin causing blood to flow and causing him great pain. The unusual thing was that as he turned his body, he did not find any projectile or sharp object that could have caused this injury. It was as if the attack had appeared out of thin air hitting him.
All his instincts screamed for him to immediately escape.
To prevent himself from becoming a sitting duck, he used random and unpredictable movements trying to make use of the surrounding trees as cover as he escaped.
Swish Swish
He felt changes in the wind and heard the sound of branches being sliced behind him. He turned back to find that the branch that he had stepped on just a moment ago was cut as if some sharp object sliced it.
He looked in the direction of the wolf to find that it was standing in the same spot as before but its eyes were sparkling and the glow on his body was deeper than before.
He observed that the wolf's body trembled slightly and …
Swish
A cyan-colored glow suddenly appeared from his side aiming at his shoulder which he was barely able to dodge.
Another injury appeared on his upper left arm which reduced the mobility of his left hand.
This time, he was clearly able to observe the cyan-colored glow that was the cause of all the destruction around him as well as his injury. He also realized that this attack formed only after the body of the wolf moved subtly.
He ran with all his speed without looking back. His initial plan was to move into the territory of another strong animal he had seen before hoping that the animal would deter that wolf from chasing him.
But, after a few minutes, the slicing sounds behind him stopped and no dents or damage could be seen.
He felt the attacks from the wolf had stopped but he still ran far away from this place using the moonlight to navigate the forest to find a safe place to rest.
He eventually took rest between two large rocks which provided some sort of cover for him.
He had a large gash present on his back exposing some of his bones from which blood was spilling out. Fortunately, his skin bag was not damaged though he had lost some fruits due to his rapid movements.
He ate a few normal fruits to replenish his body and provide some energy for him to heal his injury.
He found it difficult to move his body due to the pain. He painfully realized that as long as he moved his body, the blood would flow more from the wound. So, he tried to stay as still as he could until the blood clotted and stopped flowing.
He had suffered far more fatal injuries but the injury this time felt the worst for him. He did not have any knowledge of first-aid and bandages which made him feel very weak due to the blood loss even after the blood stopped flowing.
He wanted to immediately return to his safer territory but the injuries did not allow for him to move too much. He spent this night between the rocks withstanding the painful injury and without any sleep.
The normal fruits were finished very quickly in half a day so the only food that he had was a few glowing fruits on his bag.
He was feeling more and more weak, the nutrition provided by the normal fruits was not enough for him to replenish himself. Furthermore, he had no normal fruits left with him, and the condition of his body was such that he could not go searching for the fruits.
Although he had several bad episodes with the mysterious fruits and their strange effects, he still decided to eat them in his injurious condition.
After eating the glowing fruits, he felt even more excruciating pain in his body. The veins on his forehead bulged and his face started turning red due to the pain. To make matters worse, the injury on his back started feeling as if several ants were crawling in them. He initially wanted to suppress the pain with his willpower but the the experience eventually overtook him.
He started rolling on the ground and screaming in order to relieve some of the pain.
After about 15 minutes of suffering which felt like years for him, the pain reduced in intensity but it was still unbearable for him. Suddenly, he heard some sounds of movement coming from far away. He determined that his screams and the scent of blood due to his injuries might have attracted some animals in nearby areas. To prevent himself from suffering in the hands of the approaching animal, he dragged his weak and injured body with great struggle moving to another area.
He had eaten those strange fruits several times facing those bizarre side effects but this time the fruit had made him suffer so much, especially when he was deeply injured.
This was the greatest lesson he had till now on the negative effects of the mysterious fruits.
Luckily, he found a source of water and had a rest for some time around the water to fill his thirst.
Then, he continued moving in the direction he remembered to return to safer territory.
It eventually took him four days to return to safer and known territories. These days felt like years for him due to the excruciating pain he felt from eating the strange fruits which still had not subsided.
He eventually reached a cave he was familiar with and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He relied on the normal fruits that grew around the area to nourish himself and recuperate.
It took him a whole month to finally become better. The pain that started from eating the strange fruit had already subsided after making him suffer for 15 days but he still had not come out of the trauma mentally.
He thought of the mysterious wolf which was far stronger than any animal that he had encountered. The wolf did not even use any of its usual abilities like claw and fang attacks and close combat abilities but only attacked him from far away using the bizarre cyan-colored light.
He had also not encountered any other animal that had a subtle glow around its body like that wolf. The subtle glow around the wolf felt similar to the glow around the strange fruits and plants but he could not figure out how the wolf obtained such glow. Also, the aura and presence of that wolf had brought enormous pressure on him even when he was hiding and not confronting the wolf as if the wolf naturally exuded its pressure on its surrounding area.
He even felt that he was able to survive only because the wolf had a proud demeanor and disdained to chase its prey.