Alex finally saw the light at the end of the passage and was ecstatic. He can also hear all kinds of bird cries and animal roars from the outside. Finally, he escaped the Howling crater.

As Alex came out of the passage, he felt cool a breeze blowing on his face, and was stoked. He noticed the towering forest full of vitality in the front.  Then he saw Varis perched on a tree in the distance and smiled lightly.

"Ok, from here, we have ourselves to depend on to survive. So Don't forget the tactics we discussed earlier. Your job is to relay the information from the front. Don't take any risks." reminded Alex.

[Yes.] said Varis and took off.

"Our current destination is the river located on the east. Let's move," said Alex as he started jogging.

Alex saw the forest in the front is very different from the one in the Howling crater. Here he can see all kinds of animals such as rabbits, foxes, deer, snakes... etc. It's much more lively than the private garden of wolves.

Alex carefully navigated the forest. He was very grateful for the Eagle vision as he can see a beast from 1km ahead.

But it's not foolproof as he accidentally noticed a  green snake within the leaves just 50meters ahead.

It had green leaf patterns on its skin, imitating the leaves on the branch.  Its camouflage was perfect.  If not for the sudden wind which made the leaves sway, Alex would not have noticed.

Alex saw the snake looking at him with its black eyes as it flicked its forked tongue. Alex got goosebumps. Something about the snake screamed danger. Alex kept his distance and circumvented the snake.

He once again moved forward while wiping the sweat off. Then he heard from Varis:

[Threat at 12 0'clock;  a shadow bear was spotted at 2km.]

Alex immediately stopped and carefully searched the surroundings. Although bears are not territorial creatures. Rashly entering their living area will only make you die earlier. Alex carefully searched his surroundings and saw few paw prints on the trees in the front.

Alex immediately stopped moving straight (east). He circumvented the bear's territory by moving north-east.

Alex moved towards the river by skirting around the Bear territory.

Alex's journey was smooth, as there are no other predators, thanks to the shadow Bear. After 15 min, He reached the river.

The river was 1500m wide, and the water very rapid and turbulent. Alex carefully observed the water, while asking Varis for information.

[Except for fish, There are no other creatures.]

Alex relaxed and entered the water to wash off the dirt. As he was enjoying the water, something tried to bite him.

Alex also reacted immediately and caught the creature that tried to bite him. It was a fish. He did not find trouble for them, yet they are the ones troubling him.

Alex saw the fish shaking in his hand. It was metallic grey in color and was one meter long. As he saw the head, he was startled as 70% of the head was mouth. There are three rows of pointed teeth like a shredder, trying to bite his hand.

Alex took the military knife from his hip and pierced its brain. A long trail of blood and brain fell into the water. As the blood touched the water, there was violent movement in the water.

Alex immediately associated the situation with a famous movie from the earth. He got the hell out.

From the shore, Alex can see the turbulent water at the place where the blood dropped. However, the water became muddy, and he cannot see much.

Out of curiosity, Alex threw the dead fish in the shallow waters near the shore to see the commotion clearly.  A large amount of fish's blood entered the water, and the river became silent.

Then something scary happened, a black wave surged to the shallow waters. Alex was shocked to find the black tide was full of metallic grey fish revealing their three rows of teeth.

Even with his willpower, Alex got shivers. Alex took few steps back and tried to control his emotions.

[That was scary.] said Varis.

"Yea, it was more terrible than the movies."

[What do you mean - movies?]

"I will explain it to you in the future."

Soon, the tide reached the dead fish, and Alex saw the fish were in a frenzy, eating both the dead and alive.

" Alright, that's enough. Now we have to get the hell out of here," said Alex as he started to dress.

[What do you mean - hell?] asked Varis.

"Ok, you are not allowed to use that word. I will tell you when you are old, now let's keep going."

Alex no longer wished to stay here or have this conversation. He wore his clothes and moved away.

His next goal was to move north until he reaches human civilization. Both of them moved in a straight line: One in the air, one on the ground.

As Alex continued, he found that most of the forest was divided into small territories. Each territory was owned by either powerful magic beasts or a group of strong beasts.

To avoid these frightening beasts, Alex had to move at the edge of their territory. With the help of Varis, he can quickly determine the boundary of each territory.

Luckily, the powerful beats usually will be chilling or hunting in their own territories. They rarely venture out of their territory. So Alex had no beef with them.

Alex's troubles come from the wandering beasts. The wandering beasts are not strong, so they don't have any territory to hunt.

Just like him, they travel at the edges of the territories in search of food.

Alex met a Redghog beast that was 2 meters tall and had powerful tusks. As he already faced a small Redhog in the crater,  Alex knew they were not flexible.

Using the trees as cover, Alex gave full play to his agility and escaped from the Redhog.

He also met Jackals, lone wind wolves, and crazy hyenas. Although all of them were discovered by Varis in advance, Alex cannot avoid them cause he was in between the territories of powerful beasts.

In the end, Alex either escaped or scared them off.

At 3 o'clock in the noon, after 45km of running, Alex decided to take a lunch break.