Path Out of Forest

Jim woke the next morning and began preparing for today's task of finding a safe passage from the forest to the outside world.

Jim then checked the weather and found that today the temperature is mild with little to no radiation, which is very suitable for the exploration.

Jim took his newly crafted sword and axe, donned his exoskeleton, and departed the shelter.

The cave, once composed of bare rock, now features wooden racks holding an assortment of weapons and tools used for wood processing, all crafted using his awakened powers.

Jim cautiously opened the door to his cave and surveyed the surroundings for any potential dangers. Only after ensuring that the area was safe did he step outside, carefully descending the slope until he reached the base of the mountain.

Jim proceeded toward the forest exit, located in the direction opposite to where the shelter was facing.

As he entered the forest, Jim identified the route he had taken to reach the outside from the forest and walked, marking the path with sword marks on both sides of the trees he passed.

Soon, he reached the last stretch of the forest where a lot of zombies gathered in groups.

Specifically, to eliminate the zombies, Jim has crafted a unique weapon—a slingshot—constructed from the rubber he gathered from trees in the forest during his explorations.

Jim first collected the rubber and dried out the water content in it by squeezing and pounding until he achieved the required elasticity, and then used his newfound talent to make a slingshot that would fire iron balls the size of small marbles.

He retrieved an iron marble, carefully placed it in the designated position, aimed at a zombie located at the edge of the group, and pulled back the sling's rubber to the extent of his strength.

Subsequently, Jim released the band, launching the marble directly into the chest of the zombie. This infuriated the creature, prompting it to emit a roar as it began searching for the assailant.

The roar alerted the other zombies, prompting them to wander around the trees, which they were bound to, rendering hunting impossible.

Jim swiftly exited the area, concealing himself nearby and patiently waiting until the zombies ceased their movements. He returned only when the place was completely silent.

Upon returning, Jim found that all the zombies except for the one that he had hurt had returned to their initial places.

Jim swiftly reached it and beheaded it with the sword, his actions alerted the zombie next to it, which made a roar and pounced on him.

Jim didn't even think twice and escaped as the roar once again alerted the zombies.

He ran a few meters and saw that the zombie he had killed became food for the rest of the zombies.

While they were engrossed in eating, Jim returned to the area, retrieved his slingshot, aimed at their heads, and began firing marbles.

The marbles, propelled with tremendous force, pierced the heads of the zombies upon impact, instantly creating holes and swiftly killing them.

Jim walked forward and beheaded them for safety, as there was a chance that they hadn't died. By separating their heads from their body, Jim could effectively prevent them from recovering and attacking him again.

Jim proceeds to split open the heads and begins collecting the crystal gems contained within them.

Soon, he collected the crystal cores and bypassed the bodies to move forward.

As he moved forward, Jim observed that there were more dense trees with more zombies densely situated near them.

Upon seeing this, Jim fell into a deep thought and began searching for an answer to his problem.

Upon closer examination, Jim realized that he should only hunt three zombies standing adjacent to one another, which would create a sufficient path for him to pass through without drawing the attention of the other zombies.

Now the problem is to hunt them without alerting the other zombies in the surrounding area.

Jim then remembered the zombies fighting to eat the dead zombies, so he went back and dragged a zombie body with a grass-made rope tied to the leg of the now dead zombie and threw it into the range of the three zombies.

The three zombies detected the scent of food and lunged at the corpse of the dead zombie, which drew the attention of the other zombies. However, being too distant to intervene, the others growled in frustration and retreated to their original positions.

Jim swiftly drew his slingshot, took aim at the feasting zombies, and shattered their heads with iron marbles with immense force.

Jim immediately left the place as the death of these zombies could attract other nearby zombies, but maybe due to his luck, he saw no other zombie attracted to them and Jim silently came near the now dead zombies and cut their heads off to make sure they stay dead and swiftly collected the crystal cores in the heads.

Jim repeatedly followed the same method of killing the zombies in his path while changing his direction of clearing, which created a small maze in the forest.

If someone becomes lost in the maze without discovering the correct path or gathering enough strength to overcome the approaching zombies, they will ultimately fail to reach the shelter.

Jim also marked his route with secret signs only he could recognize, which would allow him to pass the maze by seeing the signs even if he forgot the path.

As he cleared relatively easy places and made his way through the jungle full of zombies, surviving by draining the trees' life force, he arrived at an open clearing, and Jim found that he was now out of the forest.

Jim did not leave the area immediately; instead, he carefully observed his surroundings before retracing his steps into the forest, navigating through the maze to reach the shelter. Exhausted from hunting zombies, he was in no condition to continue exploring.

After a brief rest at the base of the mountain, Jim began ascending the slope, reached the cave, pushed open the door, entered, closed it securely, and arrived at the shelter.