Another World Story

Day Eight: First Battle

With the "dagger" now made, John now had no worries about how to proceed with butchering the wolf.

But before he started butchering it, he needed to quench his thirst first. He was already dehydrated from sweating too much. If he continued to butcher the wolf, John was afraid that he might fall unconscious. If he fell unconscious in this forest, god knows what kind of horrifying monsters would appear out of nowhere. John was sure that he would not even wake up if he fell unconscious in that place!

So, dragging his aching body towards the river. John tried his best to drink the river water. After that, he quenched his thirst. He went back to drag the wolf's carcass into the river and started butchering it using his new "dagger".

John had no idea how to butcher a wolf. So, he just treated it just like chicken and beheaded it first. The process of beheading the wolf was laboriously difficult. John didn't know that the wolf's fur was that sturdy. John had to use the "dagger" as a saw and to slowly behead it. He even hacked it down just to lop it off!

Now, with the head out of the way, John leaned the neck part of the wolf into the river and let the accumulated blood there flow to the river. Then the blood slowly dried. John used the sharper tip of his "dagger" on the skin of the wolf and slowly and carefully tried to remove it from the bones and meat. John spent another full two hours just removing the skin out of it, and there were still bits and pieces of flesh on it. But John didn't mind. According to what he had read before, he needed to dry it off as he slowly removed the bit of flesh on it before he could use it. Not that he would use it while there was still blood and flesh on it. It would be very uncomfortable.

Next, John hacked the four legs of the wolf out of its body and did the same on the fur and skin on it. "I'll use this as the cover to the hilt of the dagger. Otherwise, I'd be naked all day if I were to hold onto the "dagger" every day!" John thought to himself.

After doing it on the skin and fur on the body, it was now much faster for John to do the same on the wolf's four legs. And in just half an hour. John finished skinning the wolf, leaving only meat and bones on it. John looked at it for a moment, before deciding to cut off some flesh and rib bones. Before throwing the rest into the shallow river. John had no use for the rest. As for the meat? He hadn't even made any progress towards starting a fire. How could he have dreamed of eating meat? For now, he can only go vegan until he has made progress on it.

What about the flesh he had taken from the wolf's carcass? Well, John planned to use it as bait for fish. But not for now, he still needed to find a place to stay as night slowly approached. Preferably near the river so he could have a source of water.

Thus, with those plans in mind, John put his long sleeves back on, and held onto the dagger using the pelt he skinned from the legs of the wolf. He plans to tie it using something later so that it will not slip out of the pelt.

Thus, John wondered around the area he was in. He didn't go far away from the river lest he repeat his folly this morning. Instead, John carved numbers on the trees he passed by to prevent it.

"Those vines should do," John said, looking at the group of vines that hung down from the giant trees. Those vines were green and looked vigorous. They ranged from thin to thick, long to small, and straight to curled.

Although they looked harmless, John still approached them with caution. Using the long stick earlier. He slaps the vines hard and steps back quickly. John stared at the swinging vines with discerning eyes and heaved a sigh of relief when he found no movement from them. But John hadn't let his guard down just yet. He repeated this process on almost every vine near him.

Slap! Step back!

Slap! Step back!

Slap! Step back!

This process continued until every vine that was hanging from the giant trees was all slapped using the long stick. When he was done, John used his dagger and cut a few thin ones for the dagger handle. He then cut some vines with an average thickness of about 2 inches, and even a few thick ones that range from about 4 inches to 7 inches each. The thin and average ones didn't take long to cut, but the few thicker ones took a few minutes before John was finally able to cut 3 long and thick vines.

"I should be able to do something using this."

Satisfied with his own work. John returned near the river and looked for some fruit on the way. Thankfully, he numbered the trees, otherwise he might get himself lost once more! When John returned, he found himself a thick branch on one of the trees. Seeing that it could accommodate him, he tied a rock to one of the thick vines and threw it towards the branch with all his strength and... failed.

"... I should really work on my strength," John whispered to himself.

John tried it a few more times, before succeeding on the 24th try. Only then was John able to heave a sigh. He then pulled the rock that was hanging down, and removed it from the vine. Then he picked up some strong twigs around him and tied them to the vine using the average thickness of vines. He started from the bottom and used it as a step to move up towards the branch above the tree. When he finally reached the top of the branch, it was already starting to darken. John looked down at the impromptu vine ladder that he had made and smiled.

"My second creation!" He said, as he laughed lightly.

After laughing for a bit, John quickly went down and recovered all his things below and carried them towards the branch and settled them where he wouldn't accidentally hit them while he was sleeping. Then, he took out a round fruit. It was the tasteless fruit he had eaten before. He looked at it for a moment and then bit down on it as he gazed at the darkening sky. Slowly, but surely, the forest that was once bathed with light was now enveloped by darkness. But in this darkness, when one looked up at the sky, one could see a blinking light that seemed to tell something. And as the darkness deepens, the number of blinking lights in the sky increases. The stars that covered the dark sky seemed to tell him, "Even in darkness, light would still exist. Or rather, only during the darkest hours would the light of stars truly showcase their beauty and magnificence."

"...."

John stared at the sky for a long time, his thoughts unknown even to him, as he immersed himself in the scenery of this another world that he was in.

...........

Morning arrived no sooner than yesterday. John woke up early, with his aching muscles that had just now appeared. John felt that he didn't want to do anything today. But as he remembered that, he wasn't in the comfort of his home. He could only go down to his treehouse after making sure that his food supply was carefully hidden and his "dagger" had a proper handle.

John used the thinnest vine he got yesterday, and used it to tie the pelt of the wolf to the "dagger". After he was done. He tied a vine around his waist and used the remaining pelt from the legs of the wolf as a scabbard for the "dagger". John had to use a lot of vines just to hold it in place.

Now, John had a weapon and a sheath for it. He had a water supply, a temporary food supply, and now a possible coat to use for something. John had already laid the pelt that he skinned from the main body of the wolf on the boulder that was half his height. John hoped that by tonight he could use it after washing it and removing the bit of flesh, of course.

He had to use rocks as an anchor to prevent the pelt from flying away due to the wind. He also had to keep an eye on it, so John couldn't go far away from it until he finished drying it.

What about the pelt from the legs of the wolf? John didn't think he needed to dry them. He had already tried his best to remove the bits and pieces of flesh from it. Plus, John thought that he could perhaps use the remaining flesh that he wasn't able to remove as an adhesive to stick it better at the "dagger".

What about the smell? John didn't think too much of it for now. At most, he could always remove it and take some from the dried pelt. For now, he needed a handle for his "dagger" in case there was danger around his area. He, at least, could use a weapon. Not that he had any fighting chance if a monster appeared. But it could at least boost his confidence.

With those thoughts. John began his promised training.

Foremost, John took off his long-sleeved shirt, and then began to run around the area for about 20 minutes. He didn't go far and only ran about 10 to 20 meters away and ran back and forth. After he was done, John was so exhausted he had to rest for a bit and drink some water. After resting, John pulled himself out with determination and began doing squats. As John wasn't the most athletic person there was, John only managed to do 8 squats before his legs began to go soft. So, he had to rest again for a bit. Next, he began doing push-ups. It didn't take long before John's arms gave out. At least he managed to achieve his all-time record of 10 push-ups straight! John rested once more, and finally doing pulls-ups using the vine, he hung on the branch and a strong twig he found somewhere. John once again exceeded himself and managed to surpass his limits and scored an all-time high of 3 pull-ups straight!

If it was the previous him, John believed that he would have given up on only 5 minutes of running, 3 squats, 7 push-ups, and a single pull up. He couldn't believe that he was able to do such things until now. John even wondered if this was the perk of transmigrating into another world?

John was all smiles as he managed to surpass his limits. He thought that if he continued with his progress he might be able to fight that wolf barehanded in the future!

Lost in his thoughts, John began his second set of training.

Soon noon came and John was able to finish all 3 sets that he had set as his goal. Being, 3 sets of surpassing his previous records! Through the 3rd set, John was able to do 17 minutes of 10 to 20 meter back and forth jog. 3 squats, 5 push-ups, and 0 pull-ups. John had no more strength to continue after doing so. His legs felt like jelly, his arms were almost twisted when he was doing his last push up, and he couldn't even pull himself up!

John immediately became dejected and slowly calmed himself.

"Only through pressure would a true gem truly appear!" He said, encouraging himself to do his best.

After resting for about an hour, John was finally able to walk and move his arms. So, after eating another round of fruit, he began his second training session.

John unsheathed his "dagger" and looked at it with a smile. John had no idea how to fight, much more how to use a "dagger"/ knife other than to cook. So, his second training session with familiarizing himself was with how to better use his weapons.

Holding his "dagger", John closed his eyes and remembered every fantasy novel he had read and filtered them to categorize where the protagonist or a certain character was shown a training arc about daggers. And with his eyes still closed, John took a step forward. But, with this step, John felt a pang of pain in his entire body as he immediately opened his eyes, only to see the ground beneath him. His hand holding the dagger was almost twisted to the side, thankfully the dagger was not pointing towards him, otherwise he would have been a goner!

"...remember not to close your eyes next time," he muttered to himself.

Such an embarrassing scene! He actually trips the moment he steps forward! Thankfully, there was no one around him, or he would have cut his own head off!

"Hoo..." John took a deep breath and calmed himself. This was no time to be embarrassed.

John once more immersed himself in those novels, but now he opened his eyes as he took a step forward using his right leg. John leaned forward slightly as he pivoted his left leg and made a diagonal s***h from his top left to his bottom right. And without stopping, he continued and, using his right leg as a pivot, he took a half-spin to the left and slashed diagonally upwards. Followed by a thrust forward.

John repeated these three actions as he continuously polished his moves. At first, he felt uncomfortable moving on his right leg, so he switched to his left. Only then did he continue to s***h diagonally, but as he found that his s***h seemed to be lacking something, John pondered for a bit, but came out nothing. He wasn't a martial artist, or a user of any weapon to begin with. He had no idea what he was lacking, he only felt that he was not doing something right. No, he felt like in his every move he was not doing something right. Eventually, John stopped. It was not good to continue while he was feeling uncertain. If he still continued, he might make those mistakes as a hobby and that would not make him go.

So, for now, John stops training his dagger skills. He wasn't an expert, doing self-teaching would only do him harm. That he was sure of.

"I think it's better for me to increase my strength first," he thought.

Although he thought so, John didn't continue training. Instead, he faced his most pressing challenge yet.

With two smooth rocks he found somewhere, John looks for a suitable pile of dried leaves before starting his battle against the fire god.

John didn't know what a flint looked like. He could only pick up rocks that he found around him, and slam them against each other to produce sparks that would light up the dried leaves. John wasn't hopeful at first, but the moment he slammed the two rocks on his hands, a spark was immediately produced. This spark was like that of the ray of hope that a lost man was looking for his entire life. John was shocked at first, then he smiled as the spark he produced lit the dried leaves below him, creating fire! Fire!

"I've created a fire! Mortals, bow down to me! Hahaha!"

With joy coursing through his veins, John immediately carried a pile of burning leaves near the river and created a small pit there, before putting the burning leaves in, and throwing some twigs. But the moment he threw those twigs...

Boom!

An explosion that John wasn't expecting to happen occurred, and he was blasted off a few meters, his clothes, skin, and hair somewhat charred.

He was dazed for a moment before realizing that not only his clothes, but also his hair were already on fire. Without hesitation, he quickly jumped towards the river and drenched himself. Effectively removing the burning flames from his clothes and hair.

Woosh!

As he emerged out of the water, John looked at the fire pit that was now almost a meter and a half wider than before. The gravel and rocks he put around it was now scattered and god knows where they went.

"... What the f...?" John couldn't help but curse aloud.

He was flabbergasted. He hadn't expected an explosion to happen of all things. Just what had he thrown in the flames?

"Those twigs... they explode?" John muttered. Still dumbfounded at what happened. It was the first time he had seen an exploding twig. It doesn't go by elemental attributes at all! Aren't twigs part of the wood elemental line up? Why would it explode?! John couldn't help but curse in his heart.

Still drenched from head to toe. John got near the fire pit, and took a twig that was on the ground which was slowly burning. Seeing this, John quickly threw it away and then...

Boom!

Another explosion occurred. But this time, it wasn't as strong as the first one. Perhaps because it was the only one that was why it didn't create too much? John wondered. Nonetheless, John quickly kicked away the twigs near the fire pit and said, "...perhaps, I could use those as bombs?"