65: Savage Wolf

Ten days passed after Silver's encounter with the crocodile.

Luckily, during his first night of sleep in the Outskirts, he was not attacked by any beast nor did any beast go to the glade while he was asleep.

He did not take this for granted, and he knew he was lucky.

Ever since the crocodile appeared in the glade, Silver already knew that there was no certainty in the forest. Even though a beast like the crocodile should have found it unpleasant staying in the glade, it did not.

Because of this, Silver was extra cautious wherever he went to in the forest.

After he woke up, he left one gourd of water in the glade, and carried a gourd of fragrant oil essence and a gourd of water.

Later on, he went to check on the elk he had killed, and just as he suspected, the elk was no more. Only scraps and bones could be seen around the spot he had killed the elk. 

He was not really bothered that his source of food had been stolen since he knew he could easily get another source of food. If there was one thing that Thería had, it was an abundance of living creatures.

Anybody that could hunt could decide to live in the forest forever, and the person did not have to worry about lack of food.

However humans and Spartans that had no shred of mystic energy in them could not eat the meat of Feral Beasts, Savage Beasts, and the like.

If a non-cultivator ate the meat of a beast with mystic energy in it without supervision, he or she could end up dead or lose their sense of self.

Therefore, even though Silver had the corpse of a peak Feral Beast, he could not eat or he could die.

Absorbing mystic energy recklessly could lead to death.

After sorting out his food for the next few days, Silver decided to survey most of the Outskirts to be sure there was no hidden danger, and also to be able to know how he could take advantage of his surroundings in case the need ever came.

This was one of the things his mother taught him to do as somebody with more experience than Silver, and Silver truly appreciated all of his mother's teachings.

She was so smart.

'A smart and scary mother.' This were Silver's thoughts when he was surveying certain parts of the Outskirts.

Silver used four days to scout parts of the Outskirts, and then he decided to enter the next zone of the forest- The Greenzone.

Before entering the Greenzone, Silver noticed a lot of concerning things.

First of all, the number of Feral Beasts was higher than what he expected.

The numbers were not so high to the point that he would immediately decide to run back to Sparta and inform his father and grandfather. In fact, the number to some would be low.

During his scouting, he discovered three Feral Beasts.

To some, this number would not be a cause for alarm, but for him, it was.

His mother had taught him certain things about the forest like animal behaviours, their habitats, and the number and type of beasts that had a higher likelihood of being found in the Outskirts and the Greenbelt.

Apart from the fact that he saw three Feral Beasts after he only scouted approximately ten percent of the Outskirts, something which was highly abnormal. The beasts he saw where beasts that would normally stay in the Greenbelt, and… they were more stronger than an average Feral Beast.

Although it was concerning for him, he knew this was not enough for him to stop his rite of passage.

If anything, he saw it as an opportunity.

Assuming he encountered the reason as to why the beasts' behaviours were changing, and assuming the reason was as dangerous as he expected, it was an opportunity to obtain fame and respect from his peers.

If he could survive this incoming danger and bring back proof of how dangerous it was, the amount of fame and respect he would get was going to be a lot. It was going to be way more than the fame and respect he would get if he brought back a Savage Beast.

He knew it was a foolish way of thinking. He knew he could die.

But he needed more fame and respect if he was to obtain resources that could help him change his fate in the future.

Fame and respect was very important to Spartans, and also to most Northern forces of Nirvania.

However, that did not mean he wanted to encounter this danger. He knew he was too weak to put himself at the jaws of death and think he could easily escape.

If fate allowed it, he would encounter this hidden danger and either survive or die.

After Silver recollected his thoughts on the day he chose to enter the Greenbelt, he decided to look for a Savage Beast he could kill.

Although, because of the subtle strange movements of the beasts, he had to be extra careful so as to not end up end.

It took him some time, and he was able to make a list of beasts he saw that were not too powerful for him to kill.

He saw a bloodfang panther, a savage wolf, a ironhide boar, a thunderclaw lynx, a shadow serpent, a stoneback badger, and a razorback lizard.

After thinking about it, Silver eventually chose to battle the Savage Wolf.

Unlike the other beasts which had certain physical abilities that could prove troublesome for him. For example,

The bloodfang panther which was extremely stealthy and very high senses. 

The ironhide boar, the stoneback badger, and the razorback lizard which had very tough defenses.

The shadow serpent and thunderclaw lynx which had elemental abilities. The reason why he listed the shadow serpent and thunderclaw lynx was because he their physical capabilities and defenses were not so high. However, since they had elemental abilities, he didn't want to take a risk.

His mother always told him that beasts with elemental abilities had the ability to surprise him even if he knew 'everything' about their attack patterns.

For Silver, the savage wolf was in a way the 'easiest' beast to defeat. Not only did it not have a high defense or elemental ability, its physical capabilities were not so high.

And best of all, it did not have a pack.

He had watched and observed the savage wolf for five full days, and he decided that he would attack the savage wolf in three days after making some preparations.