Chapter 570 [Orcus - IV]

"Ugh, feels like it's been years" - Cloud muttered as he slowly opened his eyes to survey the surroundings.

As he had thought, he was in a strange fluorescent cavern.

"This area must be safe, at least until I start moving" - Cloud muttered as he frowned because his instincts were screaming danger everywhere - "Maybe I should first create a security perimeter and a base of operations, I could also create a way to observe the surroundings from the walls of the cavern so I can understand what I'm up against."

Cloud was thinking of a thousand and one countermeasures for his current situation, after all, he had only forgotten the plot of this world, not everything he had learned in the past worlds.

Quickly, he walked over to the water and put a finger in it, then stuck it in his mouth - "It's edible, though to be sure I'm going to have to boil it, the problem is I don't have an igneous source to be able to do that, unless I can find some minerals in the cavern."

Cloud frowned for a few seconds before he saw another problem, there was nothing edible in this place, and from what he had heard, the monsters were toxic to humans because we couldn't handle the chaotic mana in their bodies, unless they had some ability like [Steel Stomach].

"If I can't eat plants or meat from this place, I'm going to starve to death" - Cloud muttered as he tried to remember a solution, though his instincts told him to seek the fate of the protagonist.

Cloud slowly put his hand on the wall and created an opening to be able to enter, then he extended the space and created a small window for the light of the place to enter, although when he did so, he saw how a huge shadow appeared in front of him, so that after a few seconds the screech of what seemed to be an animal could be heard.

A cold sweat ran down his forehead when this happened as he watched the huge creature devour the rabbit, and from the way its body was shaking, it was obvious that this thing was much stronger than the [Behemoth], though it wasn't like he had to fight hand-to-hand, at least not with this human avatar.

"If I had stayed a few seconds longer, I would have died, or at least lost a limb or two" - Cloud muttered as he looked carefully at the huge bear.

Cloud was so deep in thought, he didn't notice how the bear seemed to spot another prey.

"ROAR!" - Roared the bear as it ran against the wall where the blond was hiding.

"Shit!" - Cloud exclaimed as he used his ability to transmute so he could back up at full speed because he could see the wall start to crack.

Without a second thought, he backed up as he moved the rocks between his predator and himself, though at the same time he felt a huge rage at this instinctive move.

"Why am I running away?" - Cloud muttered as he saw how his predator seemed to have become bored after seeing that he hadn't found anything - "Is this human body also affecting the way I am?"

"I'm not human anymore" - Cloud muttered as he gritted his teeth angrily while looking at the darkness around him - "Have I been too complacent, by any chance?"

Cloud frowned as he could hear his heart pounding - "No, it's just my heart went back to being human, I'm back to having the same inhibitions I had lost with my transformation, I'm back to feeling fear, I'm back to feeling the self-preservation instincts so strong."

The blond was left thinking in the dark about what had happened, when something liquid brushed his lips.

Unconsciously, he licked them, and was surprised to feel how his body seemed to recover the energy lost from using the transmutation so much, but that wasn't all, he could feel the hunger and tiredness disappearing as well.

"This is it" - Cloud muttered excitedly as he moved the stones, finding the source of that strange liquid.

Cloud slowly moved his hands and took the strange mineral to try to analyze it, however, no matter how hard he looked, there was no way he could find the reason for the healing properties.

Slowly, he felt his eyes begin to weigh him down, and he went into a deep sleep because everything that had happened, had affected him more than he thought.

When he opened his eyes again, Cloud frowned because despite feeling revitalized, for some strange reason he still felt empty, that's when he discovered the problem.

"This strange liquid isn't going to take away my fatigue, it will only make it seem as if my body is in top condition" - Cloud muttered as he gritted his teeth - "But..."

Cloud wasn't sure how to survive.

The strange stone had healing properties, but he wasn't sure if it could counteract the destruction caused by the monsters' flesh.

"I have no choice, because if I don't do this, I may end up starving to death or with a body so weak that I won't be able to do anything to survive" - Cloud muttered while looking at the rock - "I guess I'm going to have to repeat my path, although now that I have this thing, everything will be much easier"

Cloud was determined, though there was something nagging at him.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't parse this strange stone, though it wasn't like that was the priority.

* * * * *

Two days had passed since Cloud had managed to find this strange stone, time that he had used to experiment as best he could with his new "companion", as well as to prepare everything to be able to face the dangers of this place.

During this time, he found that the liquid in the stone did not help him with his fatigue, in fact, it only made it seem as if his body was full, though this was due to all the mana that was in the liquid.

He could feel his body begging to eat something solid, but he was still unsure of the consequences of ingesting monster meat with his current form.

"I can't hesitate anymore" - Cloud muttered as he gritted his teeth and checked his equipment again.

He still kept his pistols, and some bullets, not to mention that he had found a few strange minerals and monster bones in the vicinity, which when ground up and combined with certain local ingredients, created excellent gunpowder, or at least that was what he believed.

Cloud had decided to check it out during his next expedition, though he would use his already tested weapons first because he didn't want to risk accidents.

The blond slowly approached the wall and opened a small hole so he could see if any prey had appeared in the area.

It was time to leave the human behind, and return to his true form, a hunter.

Cloud waited a few seconds in silence, until he saw how one of those rabbits he had seen during the last few days, approached the small lake to drink.

He slowly opened a second hatch in the wall and pulled out the nozzle of the gun.

Seconds passed as Cloud watched carefully for another opportune predator.

Cloud squinted his eyes to get a better look at the dark surroundings, when he decided to pull the trigger.

A deafening sound echoed through the place as the rabbit's body fell to the ground.

Cloud waited a few more seconds to make sure nothing was out of place, when he reached out and grabbed the rabbit by the paw.

Slowly, he dragged it back to its makeshift base and watched it silently.

This had been his first kill, it wasn't one where there was an epic battle, or blood flying everywhere. There was no need to risk it when he had the experience and the necessary accoutrements to be able to hunt without putting his life in danger.

Cloud took a close look at the strange rabbit, and cut off the head that had been pierced by the bullet. He used a stone knife he had created from the material around him.

Without a second thought, he began to skin the rabbit and prepare the meat.

During this short time, Cloud had not only created new weapons out of the minerals and metals in the area, but he had also found ways to be able to start fires so he could boil the water from the lake, so cooking this rabbit was not that difficult.

Cloud slowly took the rabbit meat and set it to cook on a campfire while he thought about what to do next.

He knew that eating the monsters' meat would be self-destructive, but there was nothing else he could do.

There were no edible animals or plants in this place because everything was corrupted by the strange mana of the labyrinth, which is why he had decided to gamble on the strange stone and its medicinal properties.

Cloud slowly walked to the campfire and picked up the rabbit meat.

He looked at it for a few seconds before taking a bite because his stomach couldn't take it anymore.

Cloud didn't hesitate anymore, hunger overpowered his reasoning and he devoured the meat while putting the rock aside in case something bad happened.

The delicate taste of the roasted rabbit, was something that invaded his taste buds.

Cloud was just starting to enjoy his first hot meal in days, when he sensed something different.

He opened his eyes as a strange reaction occurred inside him, right in his stomach.

"ARGH!" - Cloud shouted as he felt as if his body was about to break.

-

NEW WORLD - ARIFURETA

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