Wilderness Survival
As the sun set, Yan Guang began to comprehend his priciest purchases, the 2 yellow-level inferior martial arts.
The first one was called Raging Tiger Fists, a set of fist techniques that increased utilization of the upper and lower arm muscles as well as guided the internal force through the arms into the fist, to deliver a fist that was amplified in power many times over.
Right now, Yan Guang was still a newbie to martial arts, so he could barely use it to multiply his power by a factor of 2.
His second martial art was called Flowing River Step, a type of footwork that utilized momentum to multiply movement speed. Using it, one could move like a flowing river. That was the namesake of the technique.
With his inkling of martial arts expertise, he was able to use it to double his speed as well.
The main reason he was able to achieve even beginner status in martial arts was that the system had engraved the knowledge of the stances and movements into his mind, so he remembered everything he needed to know to execute the martial art. It was unlike the experience of the average martial artist, having to memorize every stance and movement by themself, which could take weeks or even months.
As time passed, the sky began darkening. Yan Guang knew that his time was running out. He needed to find a safe place to rest so that he could recover from his exhaustion to hopefully venture out and either find civilization or be ready to fight more beasts.
Using his Flowing River Step, he quickly traversed the plains as he scoured the land to find any kind of cave he could use as shelter. It was like killing two birds with one stone since he was both searching for shelter and increasing his proficiency in Flowing River Step.
Along the way, he picked up any dry wood he saw. He thought it would be useful to eventually make a fire to keep him warm.
Finally, after an hour or so of searching, he found a small cavern that would be able to serve as his shelter.
Yan Guang entered the cavern warily, making sure there were no beasts or other critters inside that could harm him. As he retreated into the shadows, he finally felt a feeling of slight safety. It would be hard for any powerful beasts to find him in the dark crevices of a cave, he thought.
He sat down on the rough rock surface beneath him, and let out a sigh of relief. This was the first moment he had to wind down since he was transported to this world. It had been a long day, from being transported to another world, getting chased by boars, to now having to find a way to survive in the wilderness.
He reminisced on his old world and all the comforts of modern society. He would miss them greatly. Perhaps, he would one day be able to recreate all the technology he loved here in this world, as long as the laws of physics weren't too different.
He thought about his parents, his friends, people he had sworn to support and stay with. Now, he had abandoned them, and gone to a place where they could never find him. Would they be alright without him? Would anyone even miss him at all? The answers to those questions were impossible to know, at least for now.
Yan Guang never thought that he, a transmigrator, would be feeling homesick. That was not how it went down in the novels at all. After a few moments of silent reflection, he quickly set his feelings aside for the moment and resolved to start a fire.
He put the dry wood he'd gathered in a pile before trying to use some rocks he'd found in the cave to ignite a spark. It took him many rocks and even more attempts, but eventually, he managed to light a flame. It brought him an immense rush of joy as he saw the fire rise higher and higher. He had taken the first step in his survival, establishing a kind of shelter.
Yan Guang lamented his situation; no modern man would ever want to return to being a cave-dweller. He began to realize that igniting a bonfire might alert beasts to his presence, so he decided to extinguish the flame as it had already warmed up the cave quite a bit.
He decided to sleep for today, as he was quite tired and it was too dangerous to go out at night. The best move was to get some rest and to scavenge for more resources tomorrow. Survival was not an immediate issue as humans can survive without water for up to 3 days and without food for up to a month, but it was still incredibly uncomfortable. His body wasn't used to running on an empty tank.
Yan Guang slowly slipped into unconsciousness, unaware of the dangers of tomorrow. He dreamed of a swarm of beasts chasing him through the woods, ending with him eventually being mauled before he woke up in a cold sweat.
His body ached all over, and his mouth was drier than the desert, but he had a mission. He quickly exited the cave and began his search for some source of water, maybe a river. With water came animals that would drink that water, so finding water could also lead to finding food.
As he used his Flowing River Step to traverse the plains, he gained an understanding of the landscape. He even thought of creating a map of sorts, but he had no paper or pen, so that was unfortunately impossible. A few hours quickly went by before his ears picked up the sound of rushing water. Yan Guang approached the place the sound came from with cautious optimism, and luckily he was right. It was a river.
Yan Guang quickly drank from the river to quench his thirst. At that moment, the water might as well have been ambrosia. Truly, water was the basis for life. He walked across the riverbed, trying to find a place where he could establish a shelter. Although the cave allowed him to avoid being spotted, it would be more convenient if he didn't have to travel for hours every time he needed water.
That was the same reason why most cities and human settlements were always established along rivers, as a combination of ample water and fertile land made them the best place to live by far.
While walking across the riverbed, he finally came across another animal. It was a white bunny, sitting there innocently. Yan Guang could not be bothered by its cuteness, however. Neither cuteness nor innocence would fill his stomach, so it had to go.
Yan Guang's legs burst into action as he dashed straight at the bunny, but it managed to easily escape its hunter. He lunged at it again and again, but each time the bunny hopped out of the way right in time. The end result was simply him getting more and more fatigued, while it sat there, staring at him.
Yan Guang grimaced before saying, "Damn you, bunny! If I wasn't starving, you would be on my plate by now!"
He took a moment to calm himself before he got into a stance. He was going to get that bunny, no matter what it took.
Yan Guang thought back to all of the martial arts stances he had learned and decided on his next plan of action. Everything was quiet for a moment before he launched himself forward suddenly, punching the rabbit with all of his might, and in that instant, its fate was decided.
Finally, Yan Guang was victorious. The rabbit lay dead at his feet, its head a bloody mess. Perhaps he had used too much force this time. He had infused his feet with internal force and executed the Flowing River Step and Raging Tiger fists simultaneously, allowing him to easily catch up to the rabbit and kill it in one hit.
Yan Guang felt like gagging, but he knew that this was simply the way life was in the wilderness. Every meal came at a cost. He picked up a stick off the ground and skewered the corpse before carrying it with him.
Once again, he gathered enough dry wood before igniting another fire to cook the rabbit.
As he slowly let the rabbit cook, the fragrance began to spread across the entire area. He had set up this fire near the river because that was where he planned to create his shelter.
Despite him not seasoning the rabbit at all, it somehow still smelled delicious. After some time, he took the rabbit off the skewer and began to eat it.
To his surprise, the rabbit tasted delicious too. It had a unique otherworldly taste, which was probably accurate considering he was in another world. He theorized that it was probably due to the rabbit accumulating internal force throughout its lifetime before it was killed.
Its internal force must have been dispersed into its flesh, causing it to taste better and perhaps even perform as an elixir of sorts for martial artists, he thought.
He thoroughly enjoyed his meal before putting out the fire and beginning to train his martial arts. After eating the rabbit, he seemed full of energy so training was the perfect way to expend some of it.
After he finished training, he decided to return to the cave to sleep because of its stealthier location. Despite the uncomfortable sleeping situation, he managed to fall asleep instantly. It had been a long day, after all.