Stranger

Chapter 21

As Alex faced the bear, fear crept over him. He tried to regulate his breathing, attempting not to draw the creature's attention. Luckily, bears had poor eyesight, so as long as he kept his distance, Alex wasn't too worried about being spotted.

However, he was cautious of the bear's other heightened senses, particularly its sense of smell. To counter this, Alex quickly wrapped himself in a transparent filament, similar to the ones found inside his ring space.

Unlike the sturdy, iron-like filaments in his ring, this makeshift filament was thin and fragile, as if it could break at any moment. Despite the uncertainty, Alex continued his activities, trying not to make any sudden movements that might arouse the bear's curiosity.

Slowly but surely, Alex's body was enveloped by the filaments emanating from the ring. He continued until he was completely enclosed in a vacuum-like space. To ensure he could breathe, Alex created a small opening in the ring, allowing a steady supply of oxygen.

Alex went to such lengths to avoid danger, as wild animals are incredibly sensitive to their surroundings. Even the breath we exhale can alert them to our presence.

Luckily, Alex had put enough distance between himself and the bear, giving him the time to execute these intricate maneuvers. Fearful of being detected, he carefully opened a tiny gap in the filament, allowing fresh air to escape from the ring and disperse into the outside world. By doing so, Alex hoped to obscure any traces of his breath before employing this clever strategy.

After completing all his preparations, Alex finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only now did he notice the wild animal right in front of him – a bear, approximately 2 meters tall, with a big, fat body covered in dark fur that blended well with the nighttime environment.

With his body wrapped in filaments, Alex crouched low in the bushes, ensuring he didn't disturb the delicate structure. The filaments made his movements nearly silent as if he were a ghost blending seamlessly into the surroundings.

Feeling relatively safe, Alex continued to observe the bear. However, just as he thought he was in the clear, he heard a sudden cracking sound – "Crack!" This unexpected noise caused Alex's pupils to dilate in surprise and fear.

The bear, which had been absorbed in its activities, suddenly became alert and began scanning its surroundings. Alex couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Damn, why does this cliché situation have to happen to me?" It reminded him of the typical scenarios from the novels he had read.

As Alex was contemplating his options, preparing to defend himself if discovered, his body unexpectedly stopped rising due to yet another cracking sound. This puzzled Alex greatly, "Why do I feel like I'm not moving? And why is there a sound, let alone anything broken?" Alex looked under his body and found nothing broken at all. The situation became even more perplexing.

While Alex was still trying to make sense of the situation, a human voice sounded in the distance.

"Heheheh, it seems we are out of luck!"

"Unlucky for what? If you weren't so conspicuous, would this bear have become alert?"

"Hump! What's the difference between whether we were conspicuous or not? We aimed to kill this bear!"

Hearing the arrogant words of the first person, another one among them shook his head helplessly.

"Well, let's get on with it!"

With that, the two men took daggers out of nowhere and displayed their highly proficient melee combat skills against the bear. In less than three minutes, they managed to kill the bear.

Alex, who witnessed this, felt scared. He then realized that the previous clichéd situation was not orchestrated by him but by someone else. Another concern arose in Alex's mind.

"Since when were they there? Have I been discovered? If they did find me, will they let me go without any conflict?"

Alex felt a bit agitated but resolved to be prepared for whatever might happen next. After the bear was completely dead, the two men opened its stomach to take out its contents. After a few moments, the two men extracted a yellow gallbladder and smiled happily as if they had found something valuable. They then looked around warily, making Alex silently shrink himself to avoid being noticed. After a while, the men nodded and quietly left.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief and dared not move for nearly half an hour, thinking that the men had gone far away. "Uhhhh, my legs are cramped!" complained Alex as he finally stood up.

He then looked around again to make sure before finally walking toward the dead bear. Seeing the corpse up close, Alex couldn't help but exclaim in surprise because the cuts and wounds inflicted by the previous person were very neat and clean as if they were done by a high-precision machine.

Alex felt grateful for being so careful beforehand, as it helped him avoid encountering these highly skilled individuals. If he hadn't been cautious, he might have faced an extremely terrifying opponent instead of the bear.

Thinking about this, Alex couldn't help but wonder, "Who are they? Why are they so skilled? And what is their aim?" He asked these questions because he had never seen these people in the village before.

He also didn't recall encountering this person in Russell's memories before he died. The most puzzling thing was why such an expert would come to this place. Alex could admit that he wasn't on the same level as the two individuals who had just been there.

"Are they specialized special soldiers?" Alex wondered to himself, but he found no answer. He decided to pack up the bear's corpse and put it in the space ring. "Even if I don't eat meat, at least I got some soup without having to do anything!" Alex said, feeling content as he continued walking through the forest on the mountain, being more cautious now.

Alex kept walking, collecting whatever green seeds he found to transplant into the ring space. He hoped to find ginseng or some other medicinal plant, but after a while, he felt a bit disappointed. Despite having a plant book, his harvest was not as bountiful as he hoped.

Even so, Alex felt satisfied that the space within the ring was no longer as yellow and barren as before.

As Alex continued walking, he spotted a pig in the distance. Feeling frightened, Alex decided to use the same strategy he used when he encountered the bear earlier. He held his breath and moved slowly, ensuring he remained unnoticed by the pig.

Luckily, the pig seemed completely unbothered by his presence, and Alex was able to stay out of harm's way. Observing the pig from a safe distance, Alex had a bold idea. He decided to follow the pig quietly from behind, curious to see where it was heading.

The pig continued to walk leisurely, unaware of Alex's presence, which delighted him even more. After a while of following, the sound of rushing water reached his ears, and the surroundings became greener and more humid. Not far from where Alex stood, several small animals were drinking water from the river.

Sensing the presence of the pigs, some of the smaller animals became slightly alert, though they continued to drink water. After a while, the pig came to a stop and began drinking from the river.

Alex, who observed this, felt a sense of relief. Using his extended divine senses, Alex gently guided each animal, including the pig, to enter the ring chamber. At first, the animals seemed disoriented, but they quickly adapted and became less agitated.

Satisfied with his actions, Alex nodded and continued to observe the river. The water was incredibly clear, and he could see stones and small creatures swimming in it with great clarity.

Alex approached the river and carefully channeled the water into the ring chamber. He decided to create a hollow in the room, transforming it into a serene lake. Initially, he had hoped for a flowing river, but since it wasn't possible at the moment, he found contentment in having a beautiful lake.

Not one to sit idle, Alex continued upstream, collecting rocks, moss, and aquatic plants to add to the lake's ecosystem. He was mindful not to take too much, as he didn't want to disrupt the natural balance of the area.

After some time, Alex completed his work and admired the transformation inside the space ring. He couldn't help but express his satisfaction, thankful that he had the ability to manipulate space with just a thought. Without this power, creating such a beautiful lake would have required heavy equipment and extensive effort.

Alex felt a sense of contentment as he gazed upon the wide and deep lake he had created. The ring space was vast, almost the size of a soccer field, and the lake stretched out in front of a magnificent mountain spanning an area of one hundred and fifty square meters.

He decided to make a one-meter-wide ditch leading from the lake to an area covering 2/10 of the room, which he planned to turn into a flat plantation. He chuckled to himself, realizing that naming the different areas could be quite a headache. Resolving this, he decided to call them the "Natural Garden" for the larger portion (8/10) and the "Artificial Garden" for the smaller one (2/10).

With the moat now finished, Alex stood at the border between the two gardens, closing his eyes in solemn focus. The familiar transparent filaments began to appear, neatly separating the Natural Garden from the Artificial Garden.

After a while, Alex let out an exhausted sigh. "Ahhh, now I don't have to worry about the Natural Garden anymore! Tomorrow, I'll just throw things at random. This way, I won't be afraid that animals will destroy the Artificial Garden filled with vegetables!"

Alex then controlled the dome above the Tree of Life to create a small hole in front of it. This allowed some of the moisture to leak out, ensuring the proper environment for everything inside the room to thrive. Satisfied with his work, Alex nodded while looking at the Tree of Life floating in the air.

Finally, everything inside the ring room was finished, and Alex was able to step outside. He was met with the familiar sounds of clattering and streaming water. As he was about to leave, he was suddenly startled, and his eyes couldn't help but look in one direction.