Forest Escape

Jophiel immediately drank the potion, not intent on wasting any time. He felt that he would go crazy the longer he was left alone with this system! He needed human contact immediately! Once he felt a fuzzy feeling all over his body, he knew the potion was in effect. So he began his journey down the mountain.

It was still early daytime, and the skies were bright and clear. As a result, Jophiel had a clear view of his surroundings and could see things great and majestic which gave him a sense of awe... hahaha, there's no one to put on airs for. What he saw was enough to give him nightmares till the day he died so terrifying that he nearly peed himself!

On the mountain alone, when he turned, he saw a line that was moving towards a mice or rabbit. Jophiel wasn't sure. It looked like a mouse but it was as big as a chubby, overstuffed bunny. It was really a big ball of fur.

The black line moved quickly and rapped itself around the bunny. If the bunny weren't white, Jophiel would not have even seen it. Suddenly he saw lines move around the mountain towards the area of the bunny, and what wrapped around the bunny was no longer a black line as thick as a thread, It was now as thick as the average width of an average sized anaconda.

How long must that Line have been to thicken to such a level. Moreover, when spread apart, the line was not even visible. Without suspense, the Mice/Rabbit was torn in half. Li Jun was immediately scarred. But who wouldn't be?

Jophiel hastened down the mountain. The top was too dangerous! He didn't dare think about what lay at the bottom as it would send shivers down his spine and suck out the last bit of courage he had.

Jophiel went down the mountain at an average pace, not too slow and not too fast, because disturbances, such as little stones moving when he passed, could be felt and seen. As he moved, he witnessed similar sights to the scene from the top of the mountain. Death between prey and predator was so constant that he was almost numb to it.

Just like this, the two-hour hike down the mountain, which was eventful yet uneventful, was completed. All that Jophiel saw seemed to be the natural process of this world. Kill or be killed. I know, cliche, but true. Jophiel just hoped that this law did not apply to the humans here. If it did, he would really be done for.

The first thing Jophiel did after getting down the mountain was rest. He was still a normal human, after all. The worst part was that the process of dehydration had begun, and he still had to hike for four hours before he could navigate his way through the forest. And that's on the premise that his hike remained so peaceful.

After a quick 30-minute break, Jophiel resumed his hike. This was an important journey. His future would largely be decided by his survival. After all, dead people don't have a future to even speak of.

He had walked for less than 5 minutes when he noticed a colony of ants. They were in thousands, spread around the forest, all facing his direction. Lady Luck was still on his side because they weren't staring at him. They were staring at the two bigger ants and one even bigger ant. The colony was 1 meter in height. The two bigger ants were 2 meters in height, and the last ant was 2.5 meters in height.

Jophiel was dazed,

'Is this the end for me?'

There was really no way out. The 2-meter height ants were fighting. One of them was on the weaker side as it kept sustaining injuries, and the 2.5-meter ant was watching them along with the colony.

Following the logic from his previous world, the biggest ant should be the queen. But why were those other two ants fighting? Could it be that they were fighting to mate with the queen ant?

WTF!!!! That's definitely not how ants work. Isn't the queen a slut who sleeps with any and several male ants? That wasn't what shocked Jophiel, though. What was shocking was that the fight was too brutal. If any of those mandibles so much as lightly tap Li Jun, that would be the end of this story.

He realised that when he was focused on the fighting ants, the ant colony looked like they had flame surrounding them like an aura. But when he focused on the ant colony he saw nothing; instead, the fighting ants had flame surrounding them. This confused Jophiel, so he continued to stare intently at the colony. Suddenly,

*Ding*

'Identification activated: Mandibular Flame Ants (Bronze-1st stage foundation)'

"Heehh? So it can work like this too" It was still unhelpful because Jophiel did not understand the cultivation realms. So Jophiel thought to himself, like the coward he was,

'Even if there is no information from the system, it is common sense to stay far away from the ants. If their numbers aren't enough to deter me then their size would do. Aiii let's not even talk about the flame. Regardless, this bro cannot die here!'

It would surprise you how he said such cowardly words so self-righteously.

His luck at this point was heaven-defying because, as though the gods were finally watching over him, a bird swooped in and tore the injured ant in two. Without any hints, following his instincts, Jophiel grabbed unto a tree and climbed a meter high. The ants then scattered in all directions before digging holes to further their escape.

Jophiel was glad because his instincts never failed him, even in his previous world. If he remained down there, he would have been trampled to death by the ants, invisible or not!

The bird did not care about the colony ants and focused on the queen and the surviving mate competitor. They had escaped the fastest, but the bird chased speedily in their direction.

As the drama unfolded, Jophiel noticed an inconspicuous bronze ball in the ant that had been killed. Should he go check it out? The answer was yes! Li Jun never shied away from an adventure despite how cowardly he was. In fact, it was his love for adventures that brought him into this world. And as the saying goes,'nothing ventured, nothing gained.'

Having made up his mind, Jophiel jumped down the tree and easily headed towards the ant, as the area had been deserted.

Let's be honest with ourselves, if this place wasn't deserted, do you really think this bro would dare go down? Let's be realistic here.

*Ding*

'Identification Activated: Bronze elementary core'

'Store?'

'yes!'

Jophiel thought, but the system stored the item before he could voice it out, having read his intentions.

Without giving it much thought, Jophiel started running again, following his instincts. He felt the bird would return for its meal and rage when it found something missing. Atlas, it was proven that he made a wise choice. The bird soon came back. It noticed the missing part of its meal and searched for the perpetrator to no avail.

Jophiel ran till he was out of breath, then stopped because he didn't want to garner unwanted attention from the surrounding creatures.

He gazed at the system clock. Only ten minutes had passed in the forest. There were 3 hours and 50 minutes left to go.

'F***k this sh*t!'