Chapter 31: The Aftermath

(Sam's POV)

The fight was over, but I wasn't feeling victorious.

My body trembled, each muscle twitching painfully as I dragged myself through the forest. Blood seeped from the gashes in my side, and every movement sent a fresh wave of pain rippling through me. I could feel the warm buzz of Basic Regeneration kicking in, but it was sluggish. Healing wasn't exactly instant, and it certainly wasn't pleasant.

'I swear, this world is out to kill me. If it's not wolves with magic wind blades, it's… what? Bears with flame throwers next?'

I winced at the thought, finally finding a small cluster of bushes to coil beneath. The soft dirt felt like heaven under my battered scales, and I let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't safe, but it was the best I could do for now.

That message had popped up when I defeated the Wind Wolf, but honestly, it wasn't helping me much right now. The cuts and bruises were healing, sure, but it felt like watching grass grow—agonizingly slow and painful. I could feel my Pain Resistance trait working too, dulling the sharper edges of the pain, but it still hurt like hell.

'Great, so now I can feel myself bleed to death at a slightly slower pace. Yay me.'

My eyes fluttered shut for a moment as I focused on breathing, trying to ignore the throbbing in my side. The forest around me was eerily quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and distant calls of night creatures. It felt… too peaceful, given everything that had just happened.

'You'd think after all that, the forest would at least give me a break. But noooo, let's keep the tension going.'

System Notification:

[Wind Slash Lv 1 gained.]

[Wind Affinity (Basic) gained.]

That had been the highlight of the day—gaining Wind Affinity and a new skill. I'd used Wind Slash a couple of times already, but I quickly realized how much of a drain it was on my magic power. Magic wasn't unlimited, as it turned out, and each time I tried using a magical skill, I could feel the strain in my body.

'So much for becoming the ultimate wind-slicing predator. Guess I'll have to conserve it like a damn phone battery.'

I flicked my tongue, tasting the air around me. There was nothing immediate, nothing dangerous… for now. My instincts told me that the fight had scared off most of the smaller predators, at least for the time being.

I glanced at my Status Window, feeling both pride and frustration at my progress. On one hand, I was getting stronger. On the other, I was still so far from being the apex predator I needed to be.

Status Window:

[Name: Unnamed]

[Species: Predator Snake]

[Level: 22]

[Rank: F]

[Skills:]

– [Bite Lv 9]

– [Venom Lv 9]

– [Slither Lv 4]

– [Stealth Lv 5]

– [Status Inspection Lv 3]

– [Devour Lv 1]

– [Harden Lv 2]

– [Burrow Lv 4]

– [Frenzy Lv 1]

– [Fire Breath Lv 1]

– [Tail Whip Lv 3]

– [Charge Lv 1]

– [Enhanced Fangs Lv 1]

– [Quick Dash Lv 1]

– [Water Jet Lv 1]

– [Wind Slash Lv 1]

[Traits:]

– [Cold-Blooded]

– [Predator's Intuition]

– [Enhanced Sensory (Advanced)]

– [Enhanced Physical Strength (Basic)]

– [Heat Resistance (Basic)]

– [Basic Regeneration]

– [Poison Resistance(Basic)]

– [Pain Resistance(Basic)]

– [Water Affinity (Basic)]

– [Night Vision]

– [Wind Affinity (Basic)]

[Status: Wounded]

[Hunger: 60%]

'It's impressive, really. If you ignore the fact that every other creature around here could probably kill me, I've got a decent skill set.'

I shifted slightly, wincing as another pulse of pain radiated from the wound in my side. My Pain Resistance was doing its job, sure, but it didn't mean I was invincible. Far from it.

'If only there were a skill for turning pain into cookies. Then we'd be talking.'

For a moment, I let myself relax. Not fully, of course—relaxing too much in a forest like this was a quick way to get eaten. But enough to catch my breath and let Basic Regeneration do its thing.

'This world runs on a simple rule: the strong eat the weak. The weak become food, and the strong get to stick around a little longer. If I want to survive, I can't stay on the bottom rung of the food chain. I need to get stronger, fast. I need to be able to hunt things like the Wind Wolf without feeling like I'm going to die every second.'

I glanced at my skills again. Wind Slash had been useful, but my magic power drained too quickly. I didn't have the endurance to keep it up for long. If I was going to rely on magic, I'd need more than just basic spells. Maybe an evolution could help with that, or some rare item. This world seemed to love handing out weird, magical boosts at random.

'Yeah, maybe next time I'll get lucky and stumble across a fruit that gives me infinite magic. That'd be nice.'

But I couldn't rely on luck. If I wanted to survive, I had to be smart about my hunts. Pick my battles. Find the right prey and devour it to gain the skills I needed.

As I lay there, I caught the faint scent of something on the wind. It wasn't close, but it was there—just on the edge of my senses. Something big. Strong.

'Fantastic. Probably another E-Rank beast just waiting to tear me apart.'

I wasn't ready to fight again. Not yet. I needed to recover more, to let my regeneration do its job. But that scent was… tempting. Like a challenge I couldn't ignore.

'It's not like I have a death wish. But… if I want to get stronger, I can't avoid the big fights forever.'

My instincts were at war with each other—one telling me to rest, the other pushing me to hunt, to face whatever was out there. For now, though, common sense won out. I needed to heal, even if it meant passing up on whatever that thing was.

'Rest now, hunt later. Simple plan. Hopefully, nothing comes along and eats me in the meantime.'

I coiled tighter under the bushes, my body finally starting to relax. The forest around me seemed to breathe with life—distant sounds of creatures moving, hunting, surviving. But for now, I was safe.

Safe enough, at least.