Alex sat alone in the cave, deep in thought. The information dumped on him by Varis's mom made him dizzy.

In the last few days, Alex hid in his cave while constantly fearing he might be discovered by the wolves. But it turned out there was no need for that.

The top predators in the Howling crater already knew about him. Moreover, they already planned his future for him. Alex punched the wall, furious at his own weakness.

Alex decided to go out, get some fresh air, and clear his head. He wore the camouflage suit, picked up his breakfast and backpack.

Alex climbed down the cliff and walked towards the lake. On his way, he saw the four-handed monkeys in the distance.

Usually, Alex would sneak through this area. But now he was curious, did these monkeys also know about him.

There was only one way to find out. Alex stood straight as he waved at them and shouted.

"Yo, stupid monkeys," shouted Alex.

The monkeys who glanced at this side due to the ruckus were alarmed as they saw a humanoid plant waving at them.

The monkeys started shrieking and threw all sorts of things at Alex. Yet those things did not reach him as he was too far away.

'It looks like this disguise still works for low-level beasts.' thought Alex as he slowly walked away.

However, he no longer scurried from bush to bush like before but walked upright observing the interesting plants and animals.

He soon reached his destination, but something felt different.

Alex saw the crystal clear lake reflecting the trees, the cliff in the background, and the blue skies. He was spell bounded at the view. The natural view was breathtaking.

He came here many times but never really appreciated the beauty of it. Sometimes fear clouds your perception of things.

Alex found an open space beside the lake and sat on the soft grass. Alex opened his backpack and took out the barbecued Redhog meat, some fruits, and water. He slowly ate while appreciating the view. He forgot all his worries and focused on eating.

After eating, his whole body was slightly hot. Usually, he did high-intensity training in the small cave, but this time Alex changed his routine. He took off his t-shirt and jeans and went for a swim in the lake.

Alex happily swam in the lake, backstroke, butterfly style, freestyle. He tried everything. After some time, his body cooled down, and Alex stopped. He just floated on the lake while reminiscing about the past.

Uncle Jack always warned Alex that he was reckless, he never understood before, but now he did.

"Alex, you are a good boy till things go according to your plans. But once they don't, you will become reckless. You have to fix your behavior. Do you understand? Otherwise, you will pay a huge price in the war," said Uncle Jack.

"But I don't want to go to war. I want to play." said the seven-year-old Alex.

"Nobody likes to go to war, boy. The war will come to you, and you can't hide," said Uncle Jack seriously.

Turned out there was some wisdom in his words, thought Alex.

As he pondered Uncle Jack's words, Alex understood the recklessness of his current behavior.  He was welcoming disaster by swimming in an unfamiliar lake and eating the food in the open without precautions.

Alex remembered the attack from the Redhog a few days ago and got jitters. He quickly observed his surroundings.

Finding no one there, Alex calmed down. He quickly swam out and started wearing clothes while thinking about his next action.

All his problems stem from one thing: lack of power. He was not strong. As long as he had enough strength, he can go anywhere in this world.

But now, he only had five days to get adequate strength and leave this damn place.

This crater was like a novice village. Alex was frustrated cause he cannot even survive dignifiedly in the novice village. Alex had to gain enough strength and leave for the new city.

There was only one solution in the current situation. It was to frequently enter the Extreme State, thereby honing his willpower and quickly increase his strength.

But there was still a problem that worried him. It's the hidden dangers after draining away all of his Mana.  He always felt uncomfortable after forcefully draining his Mana.

As long as he was sure there was no danger or find a solution to the hidden dangers. Alex can go ahead with the plan.

As Alex was thinking, he remembered the Blueberries from last night. These Blueberries had the power to heal wounds. Eating them after every session will definitely help with the hidden dangers.

Alex immediately became energetic. Life was beautiful once again. He took out the Blueberries from his backpack. There are twelve of them in a bunch, which should be enough for six sessions.

Alex's new goal was to search for these Blueberries. He remembered the first time he found these Blueberries. It was near the Redhog's cave at dawn while using the Heat vision mode in his binoculars.

The blueberries emitted a lot of heat. Yet are cool when touched. He didn't think much at that time, but now he suspects it may be due to a large amount of gentle Mana stored in them.

Alex did not wait any longer. He took out his binoculars, adjusted the Heat vision settings for the daytime before searching.

He looked at the bushes around him. Soon, he found scattered red-hot dots on the thermal image in the nearby bush.

That was fast! Alex was ecstatic.

Making sure there were no small animals in the bush, Alex took a look at the small objects emitting the energy. Unfortunately, they are not Blueberries, but a kind of Greyish blackberries.

They don't look appetizing, but Alex still collected a few samples to test them. He then marked the tree near the bush and noted down the approximate location in the Redbook.

Alex kept on searching till the afternoon and found a few types of berries. Yet, Alex did not find the Blueberries that he was searching for. However, he collected samples of the different berries to test them and noted their locations.

Alex found many Blackberries around his cave. If they were suitable for his practice, then it would be really fortunate.

Alex decided to take a break for a while and search the other side of the lake after lunch.

As he moved towards his cave, Alex made some stops along the way to pick some Yellow fruits. He also took out a few large stones to add weights to his high-intensity exercise.