No matter what!
After over a month, Adam was finally on the verge of achieving his first small goal in this new world.
"Wrrf…"
A faint whimper echoed from a thicket some ten meters from the tree where Adam rested.
"It followed me, huh." Adam muttered, glancing toward the sound. His brow furrowed slightly before he looked away, dismissing it.
It was that Invisible Hound cub.
He had no interest in taming a cub with no combat potential.
Even adult Invisible Hounds, in his eyes, were barely more useful than ogres.
As time passed, Adam would only grow stronger, while adult Invisible Hounds were merely a step above ogres in strength.
Ten meters away, in dense shrubbery, the cub lay panting weakly. Its brown eyes, glinting with a hint of intelligence, fixed on Adam, who sat cross-legged beneath the tree.
Its limbs buckled.
The cub stumbled, collapsing into the grass, ears drooping, nose huffing heavily.
Born only recently, the long trek had pushed even its innate Invisible Hound endurance to the limit.
Seemingly satisfied that Adam wasn't moving farther, the cub closed its eyes and succumbed to exhausted sleep.
Beneath the sturdy tree, Adam retrieved several water skins and miscellaneous items from his item box, studying them intently. His hands occasionally flickered with magical light.
Over the past few days, beyond slaying goblins and monsters for experience, Adam had spent his spare time experimenting with alchemy.
His efforts had borne some fruit.
The only notable success was a solution crafted from venom sacs collected from Strangle Spiders he'd killed.
[Item: Inferior Alchemical Solution]
[Effect: Made from Strangle Spider venom sacs, this solution induces paralysis for 3 minutes. (Cannot be stored long-term; effects dissipate completely within an hour.)]
This was the result of expending two venom sacs to create an alchemical solution with an "effect."
Fortunately, the item box preserved items in their original state, so he didn't need to worry about the solution degrading over time.
Crafting this solution made Adam realize that the materials suitable for alchemy were far broader than he'd imagined.
However!
Like the alchemical solution he'd made from Fever Grass, this one was labeled "inferior."
While both solutions had "effects." in Adam's eyes, they were barely half-finished products.
Not even that!
If he had to describe it, it was like turning a tomato into tomato soup.
The process wasn't complex: chop the tomato, add water, heat, and simmer.
Alchemy, in contrast, was like transforming a tomato directly into soup, bypassing the chopping, heating, and simmering.
Of course, it was more complex than that.
Making tomato soup lost some of the tomato's nutrients, whereas alchemy preserved and even enhanced all of them.
But that alone wasn't enough!
"A half-finished product is just that. Even if it has an effect, it's practically meaningless." Adam mused, shaking his head. "It might be useful at low levels, but once my level rises, these inferior solutions are negligible."
The Fever Grass solution, which restored 1 HP, was utterly trivial.
He'd be better off handing herbs to Nfirea to make proper healing potions.
Perhaps higher-quality materials or herbs could yield better solutions, but they'd still be inferior half-products, a waste of resources.
Moreover, he lacked the funds to gather high-quality materials.
"For now, it's like the situation with potion-makers." Adam said, rubbing his temples, a touch of frustration creeping in.
It was like trying to strike it rich quietly, only to end up with just the "quiet" part.
Adam knew what he was missing: the array of alchemy-related skills from YGGDRASIL.
He shook his head.
He wasn't one to dwell. Since alchemy offered little help now, he set it aside for the time being.
---
Night passed swiftly.
Upper Fire Moon, July 4th.
With just over 100 experience points needed to level up, Adam's diligence surged.
As the jungle's darkness began to lift, he was already on the move, sword in hand. With the Forest Strider effect from a magical item, the environment posed no obstacle.
His enhanced agility allowed him to swiftly locate scattered goblins and monsters in the jungle.
As Adam set out, the Invisible Hound cub, resting in distant bushes, scrambled to its feet to follow. Hampered by dense vegetation and far outpaced by Adam's speed, it lost sight of him within moments.
Yet…
"Wrrf."
The cub shook off dew, raised its nose to sniff the air, and, guided by its keen sense of smell, darted into the forest to pursue.
Thud!
A half-meter-long Armored Beetle was sent flying by Adam's kick, slamming into a sturdy tree with a heavy thud.
Rustle!
The tree shuddered, its dense foliage rattling.
"Hiss!"
The beetle, unscathed, scrambled to its feet, emitting a piercing screech. Its thin wings unfurled, and it lunged at Adam.
Whoosh!
"So tough!" Adam grumbled, feeling the rush of air. "Goblins are definitely easier to kill."
He sidestepped left, dodging the beetle's charge.
Taking advantage of the beetle's inability to adjust mid-charge, it crashed into the tree Adam had deliberately positioned himself in front of.
Thud!
Another loud impact.
The force cracked the solid tree, but the beetle's own momentum flipped it onto its back, exposing its unarmored abdomen.
Adam's eyes gleamed. Before the beetle could recover, he stepped forward, his iron sword flashing.
Splurch!
"Hiss!"
The beetle let out a shrill cry, then went still.
[Gained 53 Experience]
[Experience: 9425/9500]
"What a tough shell. A regular iron sword can't even scratch it. This weapon's too weak." Adam said, shaking his head. "And the experience is low. I'd be better off killing two goblins in this time."
He pressed on, searching for more prey.
In the lush jungle, his sword's cold glint flickered intermittently as ordinary beasts fell, their cries turning into experience.
Only 70 points remained, yet time seemed to drag inexplicably.
Thud!
A plump rabbit was pinned beneath Adam's foot.
The gray, speckled creature thrashed its legs, struggling futilely against his strength.
A common rabbit yielded minimal experience, but for Adam now, it was enough.
"Eleven-oh-two. Perfect for lunch." Adam said, checking his pocket watch with a relieved smile. He pressed his foot down slightly. "Finally, I can leave this damned forest."
A month wasn't long, but staying any longer in the jungle would make him feel like a savage.
Pop!
The rabbit's head was crushed.
[Gained 1 Experience]
[Experience: 0/10000 , Genius Level 10]
***
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