After spending some time quietly sensing the energy flowing within his body, Alex finally let out a slow breath.
His cultivation had clearly advanced again. The strength inside him felt steadier, more responsive than before. Even small movements carried a faint sense of power that hadn't been there previously.
He lowered his gaze to his hands, clenching them lightly.
'I'll go to the forest tomorrow.' he decided.
The thought settled firmly in his mind.
Until now, he had mostly focused on gathering knowledge and stabilizing his cultivation. But if he truly wanted to grow stronger, he couldn't remain inside the city forever.
This time, however, his purpose would be different.
He would not go there just to collect herbs.
'After this breakthrough… I'm confident I can handle at least few beasts.' He thaught.
The idea didn't fill him with reckless excitement. Instead, it brought a quiet determination. Fighting beasts was dangerous, but cultivation itself was a dangerous path.
If he wanted to advance faster, he would have to take risks.
'If I want to become stronger… this step is necessary.' Alex thought as he lay down to rest.
With that decision made, sleep soon took him.
The next morning, Alex woke early.
After quickly washing and preparing himself, he stepped out of the inn without wasting any time. His mind was already focused on the forest outside Greenheart City.
However, he didn't know that someone was quietly watching him from a distance.
Mei Lin.
She had been instructed to keep an eye on him, and as soon as she noticed him leaving the inn, she began following him discreetly.
'Where is he going?' she wondered.
Her brows slightly furrowed as she observed the direction he was walking.
'He's not heading toward the library today…' she thought as she observes Alex.
For the past few days, Alex's routine had been simple. He would leave in the morning, spend most of the day buried in books, and return at night.
But today was different.
He was walking in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, Alex continued moving through the city streets.
On the way, he stopped briefly at a small shop and bought a simple bag. The memory of his previous trip to the forest had taught him a small but important lesson.
Last time, when he had found herbs, he hadn't had anything to store them in. He had been forced to carry them in his hands the entire time.
It had been inconvenient.
'This will make things easier.' he thought while adjusting the bag over his shoulder.
Not far behind him, Mei Lin continued to follow quietly.
'Where Is he going?... guess I'll find out soon.' she thought.
Before long, she realized exactly where Alex was heading.
The city gate.
Her expression changed slightly.
'He's going to the forest…'
Alex passed through the large gateway that marked the exit of Greenheart City. Once outside, the towering trees of the forest stretched endlessly before him.
For a moment, he stood there and looked ahead.
This place was where his first real battle in this world would take place.
Then he stepped forward.
The moment he entered the forest, the sounds of the city faded behind him. The air became cooler, and the thick canopy above filtered the sunlight into scattered patches across the ground.
Alex walked deeper into the forest while keeping his eyes open for herbs.
'Who knows when fortune might appear.' he thought.
The books he had read in the library had already changed the way he saw the forest. Plants that once looked like ordinary grass now caught his attention.
Several times he crouched down to examine small herbs growing near tree roots or hidden between stones.
Many of them looked completely ordinary.
So ordinary that most people would probably step on them without a second thought.
Yet Alex now knew their value.
As time passed, the bag on his shoulder slowly began to fill.
Then, after walking a little farther into the forest, he suddenly stopped.
Something moved within the nearby bushes.
A faint rustling sound broke the quiet.
A creature slowly slithered out.
At first glance, it resembled a snake. But its body was thicker, and along its sides were numerous small legs, similar to those of a centipede. Its dark body glistened slightly in the filtered sunlight.
It was larger than Alex expected.
"Ah… a Burrow Serpent," Alex muttered under his breath.
He recognized it immediately from the descriptions in the books he had studied.
The creature's body shifted slowly across the ground as its small legs moved in a disturbing rhythm.
Alex's eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled the information he had memorized.
'Burrow Serpents are highly proficient with poison.' he thought.
They also use the earth to their advantage.
'These creatures could dig into the ground at surprising speed, often attacking prey from below without warning.
However, they had one clear weakness.
Once they are above ground, their movement becomes much slower.'
Alex took a quiet breath.
He didn't rush forward immediately. Instead, he carefully observed the creature while recalling everything he had learned about it.
Strangely enough, he did not feel afraid.
His heart remained calm.
The situation felt oddly familiar, as if he had already accepted that dangers like this would eventually come.
Perhaps it was because of the countless novels he had read in his previous life.
Or perhaps it was simply because he had prepared himself well. The hours he had spent studying beasts and their weaknesses in the library had already removed much of the uncertainty.
'Well doesn't matter.' Alex said as he prepared himself to fight it.