82: Bite

(Twenty days after Silver entered The Forest of Theria)

Seven days had gone by after the battle between the Male Crimson Lion and the Snake King, and a lot had occurred.

The first was that the death of a Nightmare beast as powerful as a Crimson Lion had caused various changes in the behaviours of some beasts.

With the death of his partner, the male crimson lion went on a rampage at the edges of the Heartwood, causing more and more beast tides to occur as beasts ran for their lives.

And the direction most beasts ran towards was in the direction of the kingdom of Sparta, and the sudden and completely unexpected beast tides had caused confusion and shock throughout Sparta.

The number of deaths caused by the rampage of the male Crimson Lion could not be counted.

The second was that the Snake King calmed down after three days. However, it was terribly injured and exceedingly angry as it constantly cursed at every moment it got.

The third was that due to the battle between the Snake King and the Male Crimson Lion, the cave which had hidden the Snake King's den was now open to all.

Several curious beasts went to the Snake King's den, and the Snake King killed every single beast that dared to approach its domain.

Eventually, it got frustrated and annoyed, and it released an extremely dense amount of poisonous mist in a one kilometer radius (1km radius). The poisonous mist prevented most beasts from entering, and even the powerful ones chose not to risk it since the poison was also dangerous to them.

Because of this, the area around the Snake King's den had become a danger zone.

There were other events that had occurred because of the battle between the Snake King and the Crimson Lion, but those were currently inconsequential.

Despite seven days having gone by, Silver had not still woken up. However, he had started breathing, and his right ankle which was previously black and green had turned back to normal.

Although the poison in Silver's body was no more, his body was still terribly injured and most of his injuries had not healed. His left arm was still severely injured and its current state could be used in a horror movie.

He had become much thinner and his lips were severely dry and parched. His body still maintained some of the burns he had after the male crimson lion unleashed a fireball in the Greenbelt.

Also, he was still naked.

To put it simply, Silver was still alive and his condition had become better, his body was still a wreck and he needed medical attention.

An hour passed, and Silver's eyes fluttered open.

A blank and empty gaze could be seen in his eyes as he gazed at the ceiling of the cave he was in. He turned his head to his right, and then to his left.

And a confused expression appeared on his face.

"Where- Cough! Gah! Ghka!"

He attempted to speak, but his throat was extremely dry and he felt extreme pain and difficulty as he coughed.

'Water. Water. I need water!'

Silver's mind raced and his eyes darted around, looking and hoping for a source of water or any liquid to quench the immense thirst he felt.

He turned to get up, and when he did, he saw a golden glow at the corner of his eyes. He turned, and when he did, a stunned and an expression filled with relief appeared on his face when he saw a golden tree in a golden pool a few meters away from him.

Silver did not care what the golden tree or what the golden pool was. It might be a treasure, it might be poison, or it might be a trap.

He did not know, but what he did know was that the golden pool was his only source of liquid in this place.

If he chose not to drink it all because of caution, he was definitely going to die of thirst very soon.

Silver shakily stood, but when he tried to take a step forward, he fell.

He didn't have the strength in his legs to walk.

But he was not bothered.

He dragged himself using his right hand. But when he tried to move his left hand, he felt pain and he looked at his left arm. A surprised expression appeared on his face when he saw the state of his left arm.

He chose not to think too much on it and he dragged himself using only his right hand. 

It took him time, and it was extremely painful, but he finally reached the golden pond and without hesitation, he put his face deep into the golden pond like a dog and drank like the dying man that he was.

Silver continued drinking for at least five minutes, and then he finally removed his face from the golden pond and released a satisfied sigh.

He plopped to the ground and released a loud burp.

"Haa. I feel so much better. Thought I was going to die for a second there."

Silver spread his legs and arms apart and let his body and mind relax for some minutes.

He knew that there were a lot of questions to be asked and that he was not in a safe place, but he truly needed to relax his body and mind. Everything felt out of place for him.

He closed his eyes and thought of nothing.

Approximately ten minutes later, Silver released another sigh and sat up straight.

He looked around for a few seconds before a light of recognition and realization flased in his eyes, and then he mumbled.

"So I didn't die and I'm in the cave I found?"

Silver looked around once again, and apart from the golden tree, the golden pond, and the exit of this cave which led back to the Snake King's den, Silver found nothing else.

"So I only have this golden tree and golden pond here with me?"

Silver looked up at the golden tree which had ten enticing golden fruits.

"What type of tree, liquid, and fruit is this? It looks like a treasure."

Silver furrowed his brows as he looked at the golden tree and pond with a baffled expression.

Despite being 90% certain that the golden tree and golden pond was a treasure, Silver was not so excited and anxious to quickly consume it.

He knew that there was a chance that the golden tree and golden pond might be what he needed to help him improve his average talent.

However, Silver did not want to give in to his excitement, greed, and anxiousness. There were so many possibilities that could happen if he decided to consume the fruits.

What if he could only take a single bite of the fruit and if he decided to take more than one bite, he'd die?

What if the fruit had a negative side effect he did not know of.

What if the energy contained in the fruit was so potent that he would explode after taking a single bite.

There were so many what ifs, and Silver wished he could take back some of the fruits and show his mother to ask her what the fruits were.

However, he didn't have the luxury to do so.

He could not leave, and if the fruit would give him the ability to be able to leave, then why not take it instead of being cowardly.

"Besides, I'm also hungry." Silver mumbled.

 He then grabbed a fruit and took a bite out of it.