Alden sat near the now lifeless body of the tortoise. The forest around him was silent, almost eerily quiet, as if acknowledging the death of its ruler.
Alden's body was a complete mess, as most of his bones were broken and his skin was covered by countless wounds from the brutal fight.
His mana pool had been completely exhausted.
He struggled trying to get up from the ground as his body was heavy due to all the fatigue. He wanted to do nothing more than sleep right now.
But that was the luxury he couldn't afford currently as he felt many stares in his direction.
The forest, although silent, was brimming with wild beasts.
The beasts were a lot weaker than the tortoise but were still deadly to him in his current condition.
If he showed even the slightest weakness. The beasts lurking in the shadows would jump in to strike him without any hesitation.
For now, the beast seemed to think that he was someone strong, not daring to attack him. They were waiting for him to leave so they could claim the body of the tortoise.
As most of the beasts were only interested in the body of the tortoise and not him. But he knew if he didn't go back soon, they would attack him regardless, and in his current condition he would be just a sitting duck.
So, Alden got up, and this time, without even stumbling, he couldn't afford to falter…not yet.
He started walking toward the ancient tree. Every step sent sharp waves of pain through his battered body, but Alden kept his face impassive.
He kept walking without stopping, without turning back, his expression resolute.
Before long, Alden reached the ancient tree, as it was near to where the battle took place.
He was just a few steps away from the tree now, but just as he was going to enter the hidden cave, his instinct screamed at him as he felt something moving from the corner of his eyes.
A panther-like beast attacked him, its claws stretched toward Alden's back.
Alden's body moved on pure adrenaline as he pushed himself through the cave's entrance.
Alden barely managed to dive into the cave, but not unscathed, as the panther's claws had left a gash on his back.
Breathing heavily, Alden quickly turned around, looking to see if the beast had followed him inside.
But instead of following him, the beast was looking around with confusion as if it couldn't even see the ancient tree. It couldn't comprehend where he had vanished.
Alden quickly realised that it was just an unawakened beast not even at Novice level, as it did not seem to have any intelligence.
"Thankfully the injury isn't that deep," Alden muttered as he inspected his wound. The wound was painful but not fatal.
He quickened his pace, heading deeper into the cavern.
After walking for a while, he finally arrived at the familiar cavern filled with strange glowing plants.
He immediately made his way to the calm lake in its centre where the spirits were floating peacefully.
The spirits looked at him for a moment and continued their peaceful floating.
As soon as Alden arrived in front of the lake, he jumped in it without any hesitation, forming a huge ripple.on the surface of water.
He felt a refreshing feeling spread throughout his body as soon as his body touched the shimmering blue water of the lake.
The lake's light-attributed mana seeped into his body, healing his injuries, mending his bones, and washing away all his fatigue.
He had found out about the healing effect of this lake coincidentally while he was training one day.
His quick improvement was all due to this lake, as he could train his body to the limit and heal it afterwards.
He just rested in the lake for a while.
Following the example of spirits just floating around without thinking about anything.
He only got out when all his body was healed completely. He inspected his body, seeing all his injuries closed and bones mended. His physical exhaustion had also vanished completely.
As Alden got out of the lake, he thought about his battle.
"I was too arrogant… rash and overconfident," Alden spoke, his jaw tightening as the memory of his battle flashed in his mind.
He kept replaying the battle again and again in his mind, analysing all his mistakes.
"If the tortoise hadn't been so overconfident... I'd be dead by now," Alden admitted, shaking his head.
But this battle had taught him something...something important. It was his shortcomings.
It was a brutal lesson, but he understood its importance.
Mistakes were something inevitable, but what mattered most was learning from them.
"I would be a fool if I repeated the same mistakes," he whispered, his fist clenched as his eyes now flashed with a newfound resolve "Never again."
Despite the harsh reality, a small smile was present on his face. The battle had pushed him beyond his limits, and he had managed to survive, to emerge stronger.
Alden felt excited over his growth, but he understood he was still not strong. Most of the people would have already completed their trial while he was stuck.
They would have also improved in this time. Especially those with high potential and good family backgrounds. They might even have reached the Advanced Novice rank with their talent and various portions available in the market.
But Alden soon pushed that thought aside. He knew comparing himself to others was pointless as he could only control his own path.
Instead of being distracted by pointless thoughts, he decided to focus on his current situation as he summoned the system window showing him the time remaining for the trial to end.
[TIME REMAINING- 24 HOURS]
"I have 24 hours… to complete the hidden quest." He spoke, his voice barely above a whisper as he looked at the remaining time.
He wanted to jump in right now, but he knew he couldn't, as although his body fatigue had vanished due to the magical effect of the lake. His mind was still tired.
He just wanted to sleep as he looked at the golden door for a moment before deciding to start the hidden trial only after he was well rested.
His eyes were too heavy to remain open anymore as his exhaustion caught up with him, and he fell asleep.