Near the lake, this was the same one from where Kiesh caught the fish, and now he could be seen washing his mouth, trying to clear away the vibrant colour present on his face.

Inky fluid cascaded down from his fingers gap, illuminated by the faint evening light of the setting sun.

After washing, Kiesh walked toward the platform where he grilled the last fish eaten, 

Currently a meat chunk could be seen hung upside down These originated from the wild rabbit beast he had killed while plucking out rainbows blossomed flowers and now it was his food.

Grabbing a small piece, Kiesh blew away the rising steam, cooling it down for a while and the next moment  gulped.

Chewy meat of wild rabbits grinded between his teeth Giving an umami flavour to his taste but.

Kiesh did not allow that sensation to last long as he knew there could be a thief hidden in bushes, counting for a perfect  time for an appropriate strike.

The havoc of the quick Thief Monkey was still fresh in his mind, so Kiesh was on vigilance, half expecting its return.

Kiesh's still remembered the hassle he had gone through to generate fire, how these wood sticks were reduced to ashes, and how he had broken a lot of shiny rock to birth a flame—all of this for what? Only for the monkey to sweep in and enjoy the fruits of his hard labor.

In the entire exchange, he pointed out two important things: one was fire and second was his weakness, the lack of reflexes and response.

Fire—yes, he was made aware of how important it is to survive in this wild forest. He couldn't envision himself using stone to generate fire. It took an eternity to even get a single spark.

"Fire problems can be solved with simple skills, but that Thief Monkey…"

Kiesh ate another piece of meat and again murmured, "It's fast."

Yes, the second problem and thorn in his happiness was the presence of this quick Thief Monkey, especially its inherited ability of dash.

"If I want to tackle it, the only option I have is to be in a higher cultivation stage."

Although Kiesh does not know which stage that Thief Monkey is in.

The classification of cultivation stages he knows starts with Spiritual Roots, followed by Foundation Establishment stage, Core Formation stage, Core Refinement stage, and something more like Nascent Soul.

Spiritual Root stage is divided into 7 sub-stages, Foundation Establishment is in three, followed by the rest, which are also divided into three sub-stages of middle, late, and peak.

To properly deal with the monkey, Kiesh needed to know in which cultivation stage it was because its bloodline ability, dash, gives this Thief speed above their cultivation. Kiesh, at least, needed to be a step above it to just see the quick Thief.

Kiesh came up with Some plans to deal with this quick Thief Monkey.

The first one was cultivation!

Yes! He needed to cultivate and reach a higher stage than the monkey itself; he could at least keep up with its speed and see its movement.

To boost his cultivation, he will need a lot of spirit stones.

After all, spirit stones are the only things which have the necessary spirituality stored to burn away these fibers in his roots.

I can select some missions which will give me some spirit stones.

Kiesh only has 10 spirit stones which are not sufficient to elevate the cultivation into the next stage.

The only way for him to gain these spirit stones is by completing the 2-star mission.

"I can probably finish 3 missions a day..."Eyes Closed kiesh whispered leaving a silent for a minute.

"....."

"if they are all about collecting herbs. If it's a battle and fight, probably two missions a day." 

 

"....."

"Other than that, I need to hunt for food,"

"....."

"Prepare a trap for the thief," 

"....."

"—and get a good night's sleep."

"....."

Thinking about all of these things, Kiesh drifted into slumber, leaning against the tree trunk, with one hand holding the handle of the axe and putting it on their chest.

Kiesh had developed a habit of sleeping like that; after all, in the past seven days, he had to rest in that position to recover from the exhaustion given by the demon tree.

Away from Kiesh, figures below the meat stick, the fire flickered, as the little remaining meat pieces from the stick birthed a sweet aroma, attracting wild beasts around it.

A shadow phased out to grab the grilled rabbit and disappeared.

****

Soon, the ray of morning cleans away the darkness of night, presenting a new fresh day.

Kiesh woke up feeling rejuvenated and full of strength. He stretched his limbs for a little while and gazed at the filtering sunray in the bushes.

After that, he turned to the fire. He clearly remembered there was some food left, but now it was not there.

"I see, so that thief did come last night."

"Just wait; it's day one of your freedom."

Saying that, Kiesh moved toward the waterfall and rinsed his mouth. After that, he selected which mission he would do today.

"It will be one which will give him fire; that much was sure."

[Missions: Finding Fire Lily]

< Rank: 2 star >

< Description:** Help! My fiancé ate a frost lily, and now she turned into an ice statue.>

< A low-grade artefact that can make fire once a day>

[Location: Planet Rising Storm and space node Vatika]

Kiesh ignored the mission which was too far away from his location. After all, he can't leave this place, not yet.

After scrolling a little, he found the perfect one.

[Mission: I need a Flame Bug]

<Rank: 3 star>

<Description: Help! My finger accidentally got stuck in a wax statue; I was just admiring its beauty, but now I am stuck.>

< The flame bug will eat and melt away the surroundings eax as a result freeing my finger.>

< Reward: Flame Wisp skill>

Note:* Do it quickly; I can't be seen like this.