8. Water & Trouble

After waking up the next day... No no cut that. After somehow making it alive to the next day, I was walking deep into the forest in search of water and better shelter. 

As I was walking in the forest, I started to think about last night.

Man, it was no joke spending the night in a deadly jungle. Fuck, It was not just about monsters and other humans, even the night in the forest was chilly enough to freeze you to death.

I had no idea it would get so chilly at night. Okay, I'll admit that I had a sneaking suspicion that the night would be chilly, but it exceeded my expectations in every way. Last night, I felt like the whole damn forest was submerged in a bucket of cold water. It was so freaking cold.

The clothing I was wearing did very little to warm my body throughout the extremely chilly night. If not properly equipped, the night alone might kill someone.

I couldn't sleep a wink last night as a result of that. The night was a true nightmare with the addition of a piercing cold and the sporadic roar of various monsters across the forest. Even the most courageous warriors would have shuddered at the sight.

I was just waiting for the night to pass by.

Damn, this gave me even more justification to move on to find a better place to stay.

 Once again, I was reminded of the fact why the tutorial task was survival?..

Here, even the most trivial of things that you may not even think twice about becomes a nightmare. 

Though thanks to all of this, I was able to level up my Mana enhancement skill to lvl3.

[Mana enhancement(common)]- You can coat your weapons with mana to make them more powerful. The more mana you put into a weapon, the greater its power. This does not change the strength of the weapon itself. Mana can also be applied as an armor coating which makes one resistant to some effects of magic. 

Skill mana enhancement has reached level3-

Now you can use your mana more easily and efficiently.

How was I able to achieve this result?

Don't even ask!!

To keep myself warm last night, I attempted to channel my mana and transform it into a second layer of skin. It was difficult, but I made it. At least something positive came out of this.

Another thing I've observed is that, despite the fact that I didn't get any sleep last night, I didn't feel restless or uncomfortable; instead, I felt completely normal. I assume it must be related to the improved stats.

I was jolted out of my reverie by the faint sound of stream following in the distance. As I walked ahead looking for it's sign. This time I clearly heard the distinct sound of flowing water ahead of me. Looking around, I saw some sort of waterfall. A stream of clear, fresh water rushed down from a high place in the mountains behind it. The waterfall cascaded off into a narrow channel where it split up into several streams which flowed down to join together before joining back with the river below. 

As I splashed around in the water, it felt cool against my skin. As I splashed the water on my face, I felt content. It was crisp and energising.

I couldn't help but feel the want to just drink the water straight from the river. Since yesterday, I hadn't drank anything, and the burning in my throat was becoming worse.

But I was aware that would be a bad idea. Despite how fresh the water appears to be, it is not safe to drink directly from the river. It is advisable to first cleanse them because they can contain bacteria.

Since you can't use the logic of Earth in this new magical world, my concerns may come across as a bit excessive, but I didn't want to take any chances.

Instead, I undressed and gave myself a good wash. Blood, sweat, and grime were everywhere on my back. Rinsing all that mud away was satisfying. After I had finished washing, I changed back into my clothes and then left to look for a safe place for shelter.

I was extra cautious while looking for shelter near the riverbank because I didn't think I was the only one in need of water. Many wild animals come to drink from the river, and I'd be foolish to have any encounter with a terrifying beast that I couldn't handle.

After some searching, I came across a small cave near the base of a hill. It appeared that I was the first human there; perhaps an animal had previously used it as a den? If that's the case, whoever used the space wouldn't be back anytime soon, which meant I could use it for my own purposes! I immediately went inside and began collecting wood for a fire.

Since I had nothing to store the water in, I also made a container out of wood to hold the water. I returned to the river later to fill the container. As I walked back, I abruptly came to a stop as I heard the nearby bushes rustling.

I became aware and drew an arrow from my quiver. I moved forward slowly to investigate the problem. The forest around me was deafeningly quiet. There were no animals, and nothing moved except me. I approached the source of the noise. Something came out of the bush without warning, and I shot the arrow, easily hitting it.

"Is that a white rabbit?" I said, surprised, as I looked up at it with interest. I relaxed after realising it was just a rabbit.

Wait, why didn't the system notify me after I killed it? As soon as the thought entered my mind, I felt a strong sense of danger right behind me...

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Three men were walking together near the river. The two in front were dressed in leather armour, with one carrying a sword and the other a war-axe. They both appeared to be warriors.

The third man in the back, trailing them, wore a cloak that covered his head and face, hiding everything except his eyes. He kept looking around, as if he'd noticed something suspicious. He was holding a bow and carrying an arrow quiver on his back.

The two warriors in front seemed to be arguing about something as they walked.

"Ha! Bastard, didn't I tell you to go easy on her, if she was stiil alive than we could have had more fun with her in the night." Said the warrior with the sword.

"Hehe, you can't blame me brother. Can you? Didn't you see the poor bastard's face while I was fucking his wife in front of him?.. haha it made me so excited that I couldn't control myself. haha!" said the other man, laughing loudly.

"Well, you are not wrong, hehe". The other man began to laugh as well.

"Quiet down, you two." From behind them, the hooded person muttered.

As they turned back, they noticed the hooded man standing there, glancing down at the ground and pointing at something.

There were footprints and from the looks of it , it was not that old. One of them commented, "Looks like we are not alone in here."