Chapter 15

"Beautiful morning"

Jack woke up and did things as normal but instead of going out to hunt he recuperated the mana he needed and went for some more firewood.

" as the saying goes you can't have too much wood" (there is no saying like that)

He went and got some wood. He didn't know if he had to let it dry or wash it and then dry it. So he went to wash the fur in the river.

"The water is getting really cold"

' I wish I could be back home on my bed reading, but you got to do what you got to do '

' I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing. I think Dad might have cried for the second time I've lived. Then there is Dan and the rest of my friends. Welp, there is no use pondering about things I can't check. '

After drying it off as much as possible, Jack left the fur to dry for an additional two days. During that time, he focused on training his mana manipulation skills and increasing his mana levels. However, he found that he could never improve the time it took to increase his mana, despite his efforts. He wondered if it had something to do with the location he was in or if there was some other factor he hadn't considered.

Jack's sole focus was on crafting a mana bow and arrow, but despite his accuracy skill, he struggled to hit the target. The mana bow itself was rigid and didn't bend, which meant he had to control the bowstring. To give the bow and arrow some power, he tightened the string, but if it was too loose, the arrow wouldn't fly straight. Unfortunately, Jack found it difficult to maintain complete focus, which affected the power of the bow and arrow.

Jack used one of the fur pelts from the ratman to patch up the holes in the other ratmen. He made a thin rope from the fur as well. With the remaining fur, he crafted a pair of gloves and a cover for his pillow, which he stuffed with grass. He also made a small blanket and a coat to wear over his shirt, since he had not used his sweater until the previous week. Although the clothes had a slight odor, they were still usable. Jack planned to make a pair of pants as well.

Jack wasn't quite sure how it happened, but he found that things became easier when he had a simple and clear idea of what he wanted to accomplish and the task wasn't complicated.

With the goal of making a larger blanket and a pair of pants, he set out the next day towards the area where the ratmen lived.

…

Jack exclaimed, "Well, that didn't go well," as he noticed a wound on his chest. He knew he needed to let it heal, so he returned to his shelter and lay down, trying to avoid any movement.

If he could he would have stitched himself up with mana, but he wasn't able to make strings that thin. The rope he made would just give him infections and they were too big anyways.

Jack went to check on the cave and was surprised to find that there was iron scattered all over the place, yet no one had mined it. As he surveyed the area, he initially thought that the ratmen had all left the cave. However, suddenly a silhouette appeared out of nowhere and lunged at him with its claws aimed at his chest. Reacting quickly, Jack jumped back and thrust his spear toward the ratman's chest.

Unfortunately, Jack lost his grip on his spear during the struggle and had to quickly grab his second spear while running away. He didn't know if there were more ratmen lurking in the cave, so he had to be cautious and keep his guard up.

'Why did I do that? It was a stupid move from the start,' Jack lamented.

He continued to worry about the wound he had sustained, thinking, "I'll probably get an infection. How am I supposed to disinfect a wound in the wild? I should have watched a video on this, but who am I kidding? I still wouldn't be able to do it."

Although the wound wasn't deep, it had still opened up his skin. For the next two days, Jack stayed in bed, unwilling to take any chances of making it worse and potentially dying. As the wound began to heal, it left behind a scar, but Jack knew that underneath the scar, the tissue was probably still vulnerable and open.

Three days later, Jack went hunting despite the wound on the left side of his chest. Fortunately, it didn't restrict his movement, as long as he refrained from making any sudden or big moves. He had taken the extra three days to ensure his wound was healing properly, but he still managed to make use of the time by increasing his mana capacity.

During his hunt, Jack encountered not only goblins but also rabbits and slimes. However, he found that the goblins were present in large numbers no matter where he went.

Nine days into his exploration, Jack finally discovered where some of the goblins were reproducing. Frustrated, he thought to himself, 'I wish I had fire or wind manipulation. There's so much free experience right here.'

Feeling that he had rested sufficiently, Jack decided to head back to confront the ratmen. Although their fur wasn't the warmest, it would have to suffice for the time being.

Jack decided to hunt down four more ratmen, but this time he was more strategic and waited until he found ones that were slower or had lower stats in speed. He used their fur to make a pair of pants, although he struggled with the sizing and a blanket. He felt he had a knack for creating things.

Although the clothes he had made were not very durable and could easily be torn apart, Jack wasn't too concerned as long as they weren't subjected to rough handling. He only used the gloves for sleeping anyway.

On the third day, after completing his tasks and exploring the area, Jack stumbled upon another cave. 'A cave on this side!'

The cave was located in an area infested with slimes, which seemed to have their own territory and refused to leave.

Jack easily defeated all the slimes surrounding the cave, as well as any that returned to attack him. As expected, he shattered their cores but kept the fragments just in case. Upon entering the cave, he continued to kill any slimes he encountered. As he made his way through, he discovered a passage that sloped downwards slightly. Following the path, he encountered another group of slimes.

Jack wondered why weaker slimes were inside the cave while stronger ones remained outside. Nevertheless, he defeated them and decided against venturing further down the passage. Instead, he retraced his steps and went on to kill some goblins.

(A/N general way of making a torch is out of fat but this is not an exact method)

After killing the goblins, Jack retrieved the fat from their stomachs and put it in a bowl. He heated up the fat and twisted a piece of his clothes around a stick, which he then dipped into the fat. After waiting for it to cool down a bit, he was finally able to light it up. However, as the fat burned, it released a foul odor.

Despite the unpleasant smell, Jack was satisfied with his makeshift torch and used it to explore what he referred to as the second floor of the cave. He continued to make his way down the cave until he reached the fifth floor.