Truth or lie?

Kaden's lips curved into a hard-earned smile. He raised his hand, eager to test Healing Touch on his battered knuckles—only to freeze mid-gesture. 

Where there should've been scrapes and bruises, he found smooth, unbroken skin. Every ache and sting he'd been bracing for had vanished, leaving him slack-jawed and running his fingertips over unmarred flesh.

He blinked, heartbeat quickening. What…? He'd expected at least some faint pink lines or residual soreness. Instead, his body felt as if he'd been pulled from a medic's healing chamber, freshly mended and ready for a new fight.

Even his mana was fully stocked again.

"Did… did One with Nature do all this?" he muttered in a daze as he remembered the warmth that had hugged him. The next moment he once again felt a slight pang to use that skill again and feel that enveloping comfort that had nearly lulled him into letting his guard down. 

A longing tugged at his chest, like a homesick child yearning for a place of safety and warmth. But just as quickly, he crushed that impulse. Focus, he chided himself, forcing his gaze to the forest around him. There was still work to be done.

He quickly pulled his status screen and saw that he had five skills now.

[Thorn Whip], [Nature's Grasp], [Sanguine Roots], [One with nature] and [Healing Touch]

"Hmm… maybe I didn't get that achievement yet because Nature's Grasp was a starting skill…" Kaden mused. Every other skill was sort of self-learned, or well copied, and perhaps one more copied skill should do the trick and net him that achievement.

As for what he was going to do now…

Kaden let out a sigh and stood up. It was time to get cracking again. There was no rest for the weak and the weary. In this world, rest equalled death.

He quickly went through his mental checklist on what he needed to accomplish before the end of the day. There was the reaching level 25 goal. But there was also one other thing he needed to get done before that. In fact, this was more important than hitting level 25 by the end of the day.

And now that he was already level 15, it was a perfect time to work on it.

Kaden started walking, appreciating the increased speed with which he could move now. He pulled up the system screen and the map option on it. He mentally crossed off the boar territory and the kobold territory. 

He was almost done with both of those now. He could possibly farm them for some more experience points but the kobolds were now probably scattered and the boars not worth his time and the effort.

What he needed now was his next target.

A swimming pool.

Well, sort of. It was a pond with magical properties. 

More specifically, a pond where the so-called 'savior', his former clan leader and boss had leveled up his mana affinity. 

Kaden was sure that he had some amount of nature affinity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to conjure that very first Thorn Whip. But if the information he had was correct, then he would be able to increase this affinity several times by taking a simple dip in this pond.

Sigh. He shook his head. There was definitely 50% chance that this information was incorrect. What choice did he have? The promise of a mana-infused pond that could supercharge his nature affinity was too tempting to ignore. 

He moved through the forest with cautious speed, leaning on his newly recovered stamina. This was going to be a long search. The bastard was very vague about the location, almost as if somebody else could still access the spot and reap the benefits.

This was also one of the reasons he leaned towards truly believing that this magic pool existed.

Kaden continued searching the area, not daring to step beyond the current marked beginner territory. Even with all of his past life knowledge, he would never ever attempt this. 

It was simply foolish to think that a person without a mana core could face a beast who had already formed a core.

Naturally, he needed to push himself to become stronger but crossing the borders was no longer pushing himself. It was simply suicide.

Kaden scanned the looming treetops, hoping to glimpse some sign of water—maybe a cluster of damp vegetation or a faint shimmer of reflected sunlight. Instead, he found himself plunged deeper into a maze of knotted branches and creeping undergrowth.

Still, Kaden refused to lose hope. After a few more hours of roaming around, he finally had to turn back to the starting point. He had looked everywhere and now the only part that was left was the kobold area and the spot where the priestess had set up her camp.