Before Chuck left, Valentina eventually gave in, but forced him to take his phone—a tool that still provided instant communication on the deserted island—and made him swear to inform her immediately if he encountered danger.
This way, Valentina would rush to save him at the first opportunity.
Seeing Chuck's message, both she and the other women breathed a sigh of relief, the anxiety hanging since early morning finally dissipating.
As long as he was safe.
The tense atmosphere vanished. The women returned to the residence, cleaning up the mess from last night's crazy party, arranging breakfast, and preparing for the day's routine work.
The sudden anomaly in the morning and Chuck's disappearance had indeed panicked them. But seeing the message in Chuck's style, as if he were comforting them personally, they remembered... Chuck was a man who always kept his word.
There was no problem he couldn't solve.
...
The tunnel behind the stone door was straight and long. Chuck moved cautiously towards the faint light ahead.
After a while, the light grew, finally turning into a new exit.
This cave, or tunnel, indeed pierced through the volcano's waist.
But this meant stepping out would likely place him back in the volcanic zone, the giant bird's territory...
Thinking this, Chuck's relaxed nerves tightened again.
As long as the bird remained, the volcanic zone was a ticking poison circle for Chuck. Every second exposed to sunlight could invite deadly danger.
But now it seemed this volcano was not only the island's water source but also the necessary passage connecting the south and north. Its strategic importance was unquestionable; it was a territory Chuck had to occupy.
"..."
Chuck moved slowly along the narrow tunnel. Before stepping back into the sunlight, he took a deep breath, concentrating his mind and gathering blood in his legs.
As Chuck consumed potions, although the effect of single potions weakened after stats maxed out, the three exclusive evolutions felt increasingly powerful and broken.
Especially the Red Potion evolution—Bloodlust Control.
After upgrading it to LV.3, strengthening a specific part not only increased the boost magnitude but also expanded the range with each level!
Initially, boosting speed only strengthened calf muscles. Now, triggering the boost enhanced tendons around the calves and part of the lower thigh muscles simultaneously.
Looking at the light outside, Chuck held his breath, crouched, and assumed a starting runner's pose.
Outside the cave, a slope seemed to lead downhill. But even Chuck could only see the immediate surroundings from the dark cave. He couldn't predict what lay beyond the slope and had to adapt mid-sprint.
Regardless, hiding in the cave wasn't a solution. Since he intended to explore the north, he had to face the danger eventually. Better to get it over with quickly.
"Phew..."
Chuck exhaled, eyes narrowing sharply. Leg muscles exploded with power, launching his body like an arrow from a bow.
Thanks to the blinding orange light earlier, stepping out didn't blur his vision with sudden brightness.
His view cleared instantly.
The scenery of the northern island, once blocked by the volcano, finally unfolded before Chuck.
The slope outside indeed wound down the volcano. Ahead lay scattered black rocks, but further on, a wide river valley appeared. A stream meandered through the valley floor, extending outward into a dense palm forest.
Through the trees, he could faintly see golden beaches and the deep blue sea beyond.
That was the northern beach!
Thanks to his high mental stats and the high vantage point, the northern volcanic scenery was branded into Chuck's mind in an instant.
Then he focused solely on the slope beneath his feet, sprinting downhill without slowing down.
As expected, since he exited a different hole than he entered, the bird didn't spot him immediately.
But about fifteen seconds later, the bird, circling angrily after losing its prey, detected his movement. With another piercing screech, it dove towards Chuck with unprecedented killing intent.
Downhill gave a speed advantage. Chuck felt like a human motorcycle. His legs moved faster than his peak frequency while pounding Janet at night.
Air resistance pulled his facial skin and hair backward. His body leaned forward at an impossible angle to fight the drag—a running posture he'd seen in anime but never thought he'd use.
But facts proved it was fast. Really fast.
With the element of surprise, enhanced body, and downhill momentum, even the winged beast fell a step behind in this chase.
The ground underfoot changed from black rock to hills. Gravel decreased; weeds thickened. The slope leveled out. As he plunged into the lush jungle outskirts, the bird screeched in frustration from behind and above. Chuck rejoiced.
Outran it!
Although the tiger chased him to the cave, Chuck had deduced the island beasts' rules over time. Two basic principles applied.
Normally, beasts couldn't leave their territory, or only briefly and not far.
Only when attacked would they ignore this rule for long-distance pursuit. But even then, due to the rookie protection mechanism, they couldn't enter beach areas.
So, merely crossing the volcano without attacking the bird meant it couldn't chase him beyond its territory.
Escaping the threat, Chuck slowed down. Leaning against a tree to adjust his breathing, he looked up at the jungle before him.
The northern jungle wasn't visibly different from the south, perhaps sparser vegetation and cooler temperature due to being on the shaded side.
But as his breathing calmed, his frown deepened.
Something was wrong...
Chuck straightened up, hairs on his arm standing on end. A bad premonition built up.
This river valley jungle looked normal, but it was... eerily quiet.
No animal sounds, barely any insect chirps. As if every creature here dared not expose its existence...
Just as Chuck became alert, a roar that chilled his spine erupted without warning.
"ROAR!!!"
Low and hoarse, coming from not far ahead—roughly where he saw the stream from the cave exit!
Though terrifying, the roar wasn't attacking, just threatening—like the tiger's first roar at him.
Chuck tensed, but a strange familiarity rose in his heart.
Cold sweat dripped. He looked at the dark jungle ahead, then back at the volcano. Carefully retreating slightly, he changed direction, moving quickly along the boundary of the two zones, hiding his figure.
Monster ahead, bird behind. Without planning a confrontation now, the only choice was finding a path between them.
He had a rough orientation. West was likely the cliff north of the redwood and tropical jungles, passable only by winged creatures. East was unknown.
The main northern area was undoubtedly this river valley jungle, leading to the beach further north. But with a strong enemy ahead, going straight was impossible. East of the jungle was his only option.
Slowing down, staying alert. Occasional massive shadows passed overhead; threatening growls rumbled from the jungle depths.
Heading east, distancing himself from danger, a natural rock slope similar to the stone platform appeared ahead.
Faint sounds of waves followed, finally relaxing Chuck.
Sea meant beach.
Should be safe here.
Chuck found a broken log, dusted off his pants, and sat down to rest. Looking up, the sky was bright; the sun was high.
Checking his phone: 9 AM.
What a rollercoaster morning...
From Red Stone Hills to the volcano, finding the hot spring, chased into the glowing cave by the bird, discovering the weird pedestal and stone doors, traversing the cave, sprinting, and nearly stumbling into another monster's lair.
The familiar roar... Chuck pondered all the way and finally recalled the source.
The black bear he killed outside the western jungle!
Bear roars were muffled and eerie. But the roar he just heard was more terrifying than the black bear's, exuding ferocity and bloodlust. Combined with the vast river valley...
The owner of that roar and this valley wasn't hard to guess.
The other apex predator, far exceeding the black bear in size and weight—the Brown Bear!
If the black bear represented a large predator threat, the brown bear represented crushing, terrifying oppression.
Black bears were large but relied partly on speed and agility, climbing trees easily. Still terrifying.
But brown bears were far more exaggerated...
Adult brown bears could weigh double a black bear—over 600kg. Standing up to three meters tall, they were moving walls of meat. Humped shoulders, stacked muscles, covered in heavy fur and fat armor, yet possessing arguably the greatest strength and explosive power among land animals!
Thinking this, Chuck flashed back to killing the black bear.
He forged weapons and armor, used javelins and traps, fought with everything he had, even engaging in melee, yet barely survived.
Using the same tactics on a brown bear...
Chuck's scalp tingled.
High attack, high defense, massive HP, and not slow either.
Warrior or tank didn't cover it. It was a BOSS.
Undoubtedly, if it was a brown bear, it must be a Lord-Class beast too.
Chuck looked back at the river valley jungle.
Brown bear or tiger, which was scarier?
Given a choice, he'd face neither. But surviving meant conquering. No reason to fight now didn't mean never.
After killing the tiger, Lord-Class beasts were no longer unbeatable, provided meticulous planning and preparation.
Tiger, bird, brown bear, and the existence under the shallow sea.
If Chuck was right, four of the five keys for the pedestal had clues.
Only one remained unknown.
If in the future, he defeated all these bosses, conquered every area, and inserted all five crystals into the volcanic cave pedestal...
What scenery lay behind the second massive stone door?