Jin awoke with a throbbing pain in his head, as though a thousand drums were beating against his skull. He groaned, his vision blurry as he struggled to sit up. The cold, damp floor of the cave pressed against his palms, and the metallic tang of blood filled his nostrils. His body felt heavy, yet strangely... different.
As he blinked away the haze, a voice echoed in his mind, clear and mechanical:
[SOUL STABILIZATION IS COMPLETE.]
[You are no longer in danger of soul corruption.]
[You are no longer in danger of soul separation.]
[PHYSICAL CONDITION NO LONGER CRITICAL.]
Jin froze, his breath catching in his throat. The voice was neither human nor familiar, yet it carried an authority that sent a shiver down his spine. He didn't understand what it meant, but he could feel it—his body was no longer the same. The aches and pains that had plagued him were gone, replaced by a strange, almost unnatural vitality.
His eyes darted to the blood pool beside him, and his stomach churned. The pool, once filled to the brim with dark, viscous blood, was now completely dry. Not a single drop remained.
"What the hell…?" Jin muttered, his voice hoarse.
The blood pool had been massive—ten square meters in size, containing enough blood to weigh several tons. Even an elephant couldn't hold that much liquid inside its body! Yet, somehow, all of it had vanished. Into him.
Panic surged through him as he scrambled to his feet, his hands frantically patting down his body. He expected to feel bloated, swollen, or even deformed. But what he found was far more shocking.
His body was... skinny. No, not just skinny—emaciated. His once-fitted clothes hung loosely on his frame, as though they belonged to someone twice his size. His arms and legs were little more than skin and bones, and when he touched his face, he felt the sharp edges of his cheekbones. He looked like a withered mummy, a shadow of his former self.
"What… what happened to me?" Jin whispered, his voice trembling.
He had hoped the blood pool would send him back to his previous world, but instead, it had done something unthinkable. Something irreversible.
Before he could process the horror of his situation, a loud growl erupted from his stomach.
"Guru~ Guru~!!"
The sound was deafening in the silence of the cave. Jin clutched his abdomen, his hunger suddenly overwhelming. It felt as though he hadn't eaten in weeks, no, months. He could almost imagine devouring an entire elephant in one sitting.
But the cave offered no relief. The dry blood pool mocked him, a grim reminder that he was trapped in this strange, unforgiving world.
Desperate, Jin turned his attention to the weapons scattered around the cave. He remembered the escorts who had fought here, their blades clashing in a deadly dance. But as he examined the weapons, his hope dwindled. They were either rusted beyond use or shattered into useless fragments.
"Damn it!" Jin cursed, kicking a broken sword across the cave.
With no other options, he took a deep breath and steadied himself. The cave was no longer safe, and staying here would only lead to starvation. He had to leave, even if it meant facing the unknown.
As he stepped out of the cave, the dim light of the outside world greeted him. Jin squinted, his eyes adjusting to the brightness. The forest stretched out before him, vast and foreboding. Somewhere out there, he would find answers. Or die trying.
-
The moist air was warm and carried with it the sound of water running in the distance. Ancient trees blocked the sun like a giant umbrella. Only a few spots of sunlight could be seen on the wetland.
The Forbour woods! Jin recalled this place with the help of the memory of his new body once he got out of the cave.
The Forbour woods covered a large area, where the trees were too thick to let the sunlight in. The reason why it was called the Forbour Woods was because it was damp and dark even in the daytime.
The Forbour woods was far from the human settlements.
Demon beasts always made their appearance in the Forbour woods, some of which even reached the 6th or 7th level. As the trade caravans, soldiers, and warriors crossed the Forbour woods now and then, they knew that high-level demon beasts only appeared in special areas, and low-level ones were usually vagrants.
In general, trade caravans wouldn't come across high-level demon beasts as long as they travelled along their usual routes. Only soldiers and warriors, who often ventured into the beast-infested areas looking for fights, would easily come face to face with high-level demon beasts and eventually suffer great losses.
Great risk yields great benefits. Once a soldier killed a demon beast of the 6th or 7th level, he would immediately obtain many crystal coins. Demon beasts above level 6 each had a monster core inside their bodies. This monster core was of great use to warriors, alchemists, and blacksmiths.
Apart from the monster core, its fur, fangs, bones, flesh, and poison were all very valuable. The body of a high-grade demon beast was full of treasures.
This attracted bold soldiers and warriors to venture into the Forbour woods. However, only a few people achieved their goals and gained some benefits. The majority of them underestimated the wisdom and strength of a demon beast and thus paid for it with their lives.
Jin observed his surroundings for a while and heard the sound of water in the distance, combined with the sound of women talking.
As Jin was hesitating, he noticed a slight rustling sound from the bushes not far away, as if someone was fiddling with the leaves.
Jin subconsciously looked towards that direction.
He slowly pushed away the leaves to see where the sound was coming from and he froze, seeing the scene in front of him.