Sylas returned to the core of the elk’s territory. Even in the midst of that adrenaline-filled situation, he hadn’t lost his head, and he made careful note of exactly where the elk was running.
During the day he spent stalking the elk, he had learned a lot about Blade Aura.
The run-down was simple.
He could only use it a minute at a time before needing ten minutes of rest.
He couldn’t apply it directly to his flesh without being assaulted by a strong burning sensation.
While he didn’t push himself to see if this would lead to permanent structural damage, when he did test it on a leaf, it shrivelled and basically burnt to a crisp. That led him to conclude that there was a certain level of agitation going on that organic material couldn’t handle, and this was especially so for organic material with high water content.
Beyond that, Blade Aura running out felt similar to how he felt at the end of a half-marathon. He was out of breath, his body ached, and he felt like taking a long rest.
However, unlike the end of a half-marathon, he recovered much faster.
Sylas’ stat screen didn’t have a “stamina” stat, but his assumption was that stamina was baked into Constitution.
He felt that he was a decent long-distance athlete, but this system didn’t seem to approve of that analysis. Though, it was hard to tell without understanding how well others fared.
Sylas patiently waited for the ten minutes to be up before he went at it again.
It took him over an hour to undergo this repetitive cycle again and again before he finally succeeded in cutting out the elk’s femur, a much more complicated process than just cutting off the leg.
Sylas frowned. ‘I miscalculated.’
Judging by the weight of the bone, it exceeded ten pounds. That was heavier than a longsword and was precisely the kind of burden that Sylas couldn’t afford to lug around. In a dangerous situation, this would be the first thing he abandoned, and that was not the hallmark of a good weapon.
It seemed that this situation was getting to him, after all. He wouldn’t normally overlook something like this.
Now, he was filthy, covered in blood that was probably its own ticking time bomb, and didn’t have anything decent to show for it.
‘No, this is still salvageable.’
There wasn’t much night left, and Sylas had to give himself at least four hours of sleep. That was his minimum requirement. He had to pivot and find a new path forward.
He pulled out the tendons of the leg and placed them high on a nearby tree branch to dry. He just hoped the humidity wouldn’t ruin that chance completely.
Then, he brought the femur over to a stone.
Trying to grind a bone down when it had yet to be purged of its water-content was a nightmare; Sylas didn’t have to be a wilderness junky to know this. However, the quirk of his Blade Aura just might become useful here.
Sylas bet that if he used Blade Aura on bone, he could speedrun the evaporation of its moisture content and likewise get rid of the marrow within, not much unlike the leaf he had burnt to ash earlier in the day.
The bone was thick. If it was dry, he could probably split it in two and sharpen it with greater ease. On top of that, if it lost its moisture content, there was a good chance that it wouldn’t be so heavy anymore.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t use this to speed up the drying process of the tendons. The tendons were just like his hand, being formed entirely of flesh.
These deductions flowed through Sylas’ mind like a river. He felt more at peace and his worries rushed away.
Another hour ticked by and Sylas breathed out heavy breaths. He had succeeded.
From one ten-pound bone that would have been no more than a burden, he now had two split-halves that weighed about three-ish pounds each.
Each half was about three-quarters of a meter long and their width had a curve to them. Since bones were obviously hollow, this was an expected result.
Thanks to his Blade Aura, they were perfectly dry as well, allowing him to use the nearby stone to sharpen them both into a point. Although they couldn’t exactly be called spears, the longer length should give him some extra leeway.
After some thought, Sylas stored one in a safe place and rushed out into the forest again, his eyes sharp.
There was still time. He gave himself an extra hour and his goal was clear: find another sleeping beast to target.
Sylas had been thinking about this matter for a long while and he felt that it was impossible that he could just continue to benefit from this loophole. If you could just hide during the day, and target sleeping animals at night, he didn’t believe his grandfather would describe this as such a dangerous endeavor.
He realized, then, that this night might be a one-off chance.
How many would stalk a single elk for an entire day and even wait until it fell asleep like he had? In most cases, humans would be taking this opportunity to sleep themselves, having spent much of the first day acclimating themselves and finding shelter.
In addition, moving around in the rainforest at night was almost impossible. The moonlight was sparse and you could hardly see a few meters ahead of you. No one would choose to run around in this environment.
But that was exactly why Sylas had to.
It was precisely in this darkness that it would be possible to spot the descent of Aether. He remembered it well. It had a slightly bluish tint, different from the moon’s silvery light. It was subtle, but it still stood out somewhat in this dark forest.
Right now, he was banking on his luck. No, it wasn’t luck. In a forest of this size, the concentration of wildlife should be exceptional.
As expected, it didn’t take even ten minutes for Sylas to find a cascade of Aether.
This one, however, made him freeze.
—
[Titanoboa (F)]
[Level: 0]
[Physical: 21]
[Mental: 0]
[Will: 6]