Not Easy

The next thing Lu saw was a scene entirely different than the one before. Well, it wasn't entirely different. It was the middle of a forest with low light, and he was still in a beam of moonlight. However, the most significant aspect of the previous scenery, the bloodthirsty fox, was nowhere to be seen.

Lu sighed in relief before hearing an angry howl some distance away. It wasn't too close, but it also wasn't far enough away for Lu to rest.

'Gosh darn it.'

Lu panted heavily but pulled himself up by the bootstraps and continued running.

He had done it. He had reached Deeper Insight into his Blessing. He can Stroll wherever there is Moonlight.

But it was exhausting!

Even with all the stamina training that Lu had gotten by making full use of his First Insight, jumping with the ability from Deeper Insight left him ragged. It also drained his world essence like all his training had been for naught.

'Hmm. I can't tell yet whether it works…That's a shame.'

Lu paused for a moment to catch his breath, let his body relax, and see if he could see if his idea worked as he hoped it would. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell if the increased strain from reaching Deeper Insight helped purify his world essence even further.

Lu's world essence needed to recover on its own before he could determine that. As he began moving again, despite his aching muscles, Lu also realized he would have to repeat it since his world essence was already so dense and pure that it would take a while before he could notice a difference.

Fortunately, he was lost. Lu would have all the time in the world to experiment with his Blessing, train, and read through the essence arts he had taken from Count Yennet's treasure room.

Lu looked around. It didn't seem like the fox was close or after him anymore. But he had no idea where he was. It would take some time before he found his way back to civilization. Hopefully, that civilization would be Raiva Bahsi's place.

Although Lu hadn't gotten far in his plans to improve her reputation, he knew he at least had to get her and her daughter's cooperation if he wanted to make steady progress.

'Maybe their permission, too.'

Lu remembered an incident back home when Margie had tried to get people to stop bullying him for being an orphan with white hair and mysterious origins, which backfired since Lu had no idea what was going on.

Lu doubted Raiva's reputation could get any worse. But he had to show consideration, especially if he wanted more than a flimsy alliance or acquaintance with her.

'I wonder if she likes flowers?'

With resolve and determination overtaking his mind, Lu set out into the forest for a trial by fire that would forge the foundations of his growth. His encounter with the fox had already shown him that the forests in the Bahsi Duchy were dangerous.

But that encounter and the subsequent enlightenment that led to his Deeper Insight also showed Lu that he could find the steps to greater strength and higher places in areas of danger.

Lu's desire for strength wasn't as great as his desire for taking what, according to others, didn't belong to him. But if he wanted to get to the good stuff, he would have to possess the requisite strength and skill to break through defenses and techniques others employed to keep their things safe.

After all, if Raiva or someone else close to her in strength showed him hostility, there wasn't much Lu could do to resist. And if someone, at whatever grade Raiva was, protected something he wanted, he could mostly forget about getting his hands on it.

Being strong would also make it easier to travel. Lu wouldn't have to worry about getting attacked by some silly fox with too many legs and an interest in midnight snacks.

But that wasn't it. Even at his current physical strength, Lu couldn't snap the chain of his necklace, nor could he bend the medallion. It was sturdier than he had expected. It hinted at the fact that whoever made it or owned it before him was pretty strong.

Lu couldn't know the details. But he knew that being strong would make it easier to find out more about his past before he got dropped off at Bika. 

However, he wouldn't find out much about his past in this gloomy forest, so he set that aside and focused on his training and on finding his path toward Raiva.

It wasn't easy, especially at first.

Lu was continuously tired, exhausted, and hungry from all the running he did. The beasts deeper in the forest didn't have any qualms about attacking a poor, sleeping, defenseless young man, no matter what time of the day it was. It was miserable since all Lu could do was run away.

His daggers weren't sharp enough to even give most beasts a haircut, much less kill them. His only weapon was his world essence. But, while it was pure, his world essence wasn't overly powerful.

Lu had to rely on fruits, berries, roots, and leaves to survive, which was a mess. He was far from home, and many of the edible plants around Bika and Mura were local specialties. 

However, if there was anything Lu was good at, it was running away. It was a skill he had honed since he could crawl. His Blessing at Deeper Insight made it impossible for most beasts to get a whiff of him.

That was, of course, unless it was daytime or cloudy.

During those times, Lu hid in caves, up in trees, inside trees, or in pits that he dug. While hiding, he studied and practiced the essence arts he pilfered.

Lu didn't forget to look for signs of human life, either. And eventually, after picking up a few things, such as scars or essence arts, he found a road!