It had been two days since the night Basil left. He had never stopped in his way aside from resting and eating. He didn't sightseeing and only focused on his destination while training his stamina.
Whenever he was tired he would push his body to move until his feet gave up. Right after, he would channel the Qi from his Core to his feet, so he could run again. Only when the Qi from his Core was exhausted did he rest himself.
It wasn't possible normally, since reinforcing one's body with Qi or Mana was burdening the body. Therefore, whenever one was exhausted, the [Reinforcement] would have to be stopped to prevent damage to the body.
However, it wasn't the case with Basil. It was all thanks to his abnormal vitality and [Star Withering]. Although he was constantly tearing his muscles and reinforcing those already torn muscles, the recovery rate was superb.
He ran with a constant speed for 4 hours straight, however he only needed an hour to recover. When the fatigue became unbearable, he would take a sleep for a few hours. In a day, he merely slept for 4 hours. The rest were used to practice [Star Withering] or eating. Most of the time were spent running.
It was for this reason that he could arrive at his destination in merely two days on foot. Previously, he had also stopped to buy some necessary equipment to roam around the forest. In other words, surviving tools.
He was no pushover. Forcing his way into Vyres Forest barehanded was the same as suicide. He was full of confidence, yet he wasn't arrogant. For the current him, he would die if he encountered a beast at Saberwolf caliber.
Those two fangs of theirs could tear him apart! However, he didn't have any intention to be ripped apart by them. He would avoid them at all cost. If somehow he coincidentally encountered them, he would...
"Run. No need to risk my life just to confront those beasts. They aren't worth my time."
Surely, he would do that. He was confident in his self, however those confidence had always been backed by his skills. Currently, he didn't posses enough power to confront a magical beast of that caliber.
Running away is also part of strategy. Whenever there was no chance for him to win, he would retreat. There was no dying proudly in his dictionary. Why would he be proud for his death? Only psychopaths did that!
Today's loss is tomorrow's delayed victory. That was how he viewed victory and losses. Therefore, he had never hesitated to run away. As long as he could keep his life, he could take his enemies after he had improved himself.
Of course, whenever he planned to run away, he would do it in style. Just like what he did when he fought with Gorgophone. He knew by the time Gorgophone had used [Great Annihilation], he wasn't his opponent.
Therefore, he prepared his retreat carefully. If not for the existence of the other six people, he would have been able to escape with the help of his [Teleportation Talisman].
"Huuh... Let's take a rest for a while."
He sighed and put down his small backpack filled with food supply. He also carefully tossed the pouch filled with the necessary tools to make Catalyst and the surviving tools. The well crafted machete that he had bought on his way was latched onto his back together with its leather sheathe.
"Though Magic Sword would be preferable, I don't have the money to buy that."
He was never given much money by his so-called parents due to his lack of talent. A young noble like him was usually given a rather big sum of money to spend. However, most of it was spent on magic related things.
With his inability to use Magic, he wasn't given the luxury to do so. The money he was given was only enough to buy clothes worth for nobles and nothing else. Despite the mental torture given by his so-called family, he had never been abused physically by them, at least not directly. He knew that the bully was the work of his family.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. It didn't matter anymore. Right now, he had to focus on increasing his power.
He sat in lotus position and quickly practiced [Star Withering]. He started to absorb the Star Energy from the surrounding Mana. This was the reason he didn't need a Catalyst to nurture his Core. The Star Energy in the air was simply abundant.
There were countless stars in the sky, and the world was basked in their glory constantly. For days and nights, the surrounding Mana slowly absorbed the energy, resulting in the born of a new kind of Mana.
However, not everyone could sense Star Energy in Mana. Even if somehow they could sense it, no one knew how to process it. In result, the amount of the unused Star Energy was abundant. Therefore, [Star Withering] was a straight cheat to gain power.
He could feel his Core being cleansed by the Qi produced from [Star Withering]. Thin black smoke was exhaled from his mouth. The Black Core turned brighter the more he practiced [Star Withering]. Of course, his body was also constantly strengthened in the process.
Due to the abundance of Star Energy, he didn't need to worry of the slow speed Body Forging. If compared to those prodigies, he was forging his body two times faster.
After an hour had passed, he finally stopped forging his body.
"Alright, let's gather the ingredients first."
He quickly picked his backpack and tied the pouch on his waist. He moved his feet toward the direction where the first ingredient he needed was located.
"Let's find the Blue Petalled Chamomile first. It is said that the more fragrant it is, the higher the quality, and also the more poisonous. Luckily, the Guide provides the method to remove its poison."
He was still adamant on gathering the best ingredients. He found the Blue Petalled Chamomile after thirty minutes of running. It was located on the edge of a cliff.
Vyres Forest was known for its many unexplored parts. People were afraid to explore it due to the rumors of a strong magical beast was staying in this place. Although it wasn't proven to be true yet, many mages also avoided this Forest.
"There are too many precious magical herbs inside Vyres, that the Kingdom's Alchemist Association, Philosopher, monopolizes it all."
Basil, unlike everyone, knew the truth behind the rumors. It wasn't that mages were also afraid of this place. It was because not many of them nuts enough to barge in to the place declared as the Philosopher's area of investigation.
Basil wasn't nuts though. He didn't care of what those people from Philosopher said. They hadn't made it official after all, they had no right to be angry if someone entered the forest. Even if they made it official, he wouldn't care either. There was no way they could inspect the entirety of the vast Vyres.
Alchemist were mostly Fifth-Circled mages. Therefore, they had no way to use use a wide scale scan on the vast forest. They could ask Rune Master to help them, however they had a widely known rivalry among them.
"Hmm... All of them are fragrant enough to be called high quality. However, the highest quality will have the most petals."
Basil was already hanging on the cliff. He wanted to have a thorough inspection on the Blue Petalled Chamomile, so he had to tie himself with a rope. He could have a hold on the cliff by thrusting himself to the structure of the cliff, however his Qi wasn't limitless yet. He wouldn't be able to take his time if he did that.
"Alright. This should be fine."
He quickly took the chosen Chamomile and put them in his pouch. He quickly climbed back up and planned to find the other ingredients. However, when he looked up, he stopped climbing.
Fussh!
A wind that came out of a beast's nose crashed on his face. His eyes stared directly at the beast's eyes. It was a Saberwolf. It looked like a normal wolf, however its body was three times bigger. Two extremely long and thick canines protruded out of its mouth.
The beast stared at the man, and the man stared back. As if on cue, the man and the beast retreated at the same time. The man climbed down the cliff with his rope, the beast retracted its extended head.
"Hmm.. this is highly intriguing. Not even half a day passed, yet I have encountered a beast. A Saberwolf no less. Coincidence is scary indeed," muttered Basil lowly.
He was assured that it wasn't because of his miscalculation. Saberwolf stayed in a cave and there was no cave in the surrounding. Although he knew many things regarding magical beasts, he couldn't predict a beast's whim. Therefore, meeting a Saberwolf here was coincidence.
"Luckily I have my things with me. Although, it was unfortunate to leave the rope, I can't help it. I could just retrieve it later."
He wasn't stingy. Although it was cheap, he needed it at least until before he awakened his Mana Heart. The worth of something isn't determined by its price, but its necessity. The rope was close to a treasure to him currently.
He sighed and sneakily untied his body from the rope. He had to be careful so that he wouldn't be attacked by the Saberwolf. Although its head couldn't reach him, it could use magic. It could swing its paw at him and wind blades would cut his body!
He had his left hand holding on the rope tightly. His right hand was touching the edge of the cliff and slowly embedded themselves in. It was all thanks to [Reinforcement]. His hand was strong enough to pierce the cliff structure.
He was slowly closing his body to the edge of the cliff and his left hand let go of the rope too. He was supported by only his right hand. Abruptly, he stabbed his left hand to the cliff structure and propelled himself upward.
Boom!
The parts where his hands previously embedded in were destroyed. The Saberwolf that was watching him curiously, now had its gaze on the sky. He was looking at the airborne Basil.
Surprise was evident on its face. Basil landed on his head and intentionally used it as a propeller to move forward. The Saberwolf was holding on quite fairly, however it was pissed for sure.
Basil didn't even turn his eyes on the growling beast. He was utilizing his Qi to the best he could, so he could get as far away from it as possible.
The Saberwolf was taken aback, it couldn't imagine that the fragile human it found could run that fast. Quickly, he chased the human while growling. It didn't want to howl. If it did, his prey would be taken by its siblings.
It was ostracized in the pack due to its smaller size, and this time it would prove itself by hunting its prey. Its steps became more vigorous as it slowly closing on the distance between itself and its prey.
And so, both of the ostracized were running and chasing.