Limits

My days looked the same from that point on. I woke up in the morning, ate something and then trained using the modified Strength Manual. After which, I would do some weight lifting to be able to control my strength better as well as some running, jumping etc. When I managed to finally control my strength to the same standard as in the past, I moved on to the new skill training from my Art of Stealth.

Things were going well for those couple of months and I finally became 24 years old. Not that it was some sort of achievement but I did have a large barbeque to celebrate that day. Although I say this, I didn't know exactly what day it was, I simply used the time of the season as an indication for the celebration.

The winter came upon me again and I would have to build another shelter that was sturdy enough to last the winter. I decided that when the winter was finished, I would travel further north. There would enough time for me to perfect the newly learned skill and also train some more. The more prepared I was, the better I would fare in the north.

I trained very hard these past few months and managed to finally advance my new skill from the Art of Stealth. I decided to call it Natural Path skill. The skill's main objective was to find the most efficient and stealthy way of getting from point A to point B, using the nature. It was a path of nature and that was why I called the skill in such way. I was able to predict the nature in a much more sophisticated way. I knew about patterns and possible changes. I was also more aware of my surroundings, being stealthy became my 2nd nature. 'If I were to use this skill and compare with Nick, I would be on similar level to his. Although I can't hide as well as he did in any environment, I can hide very well whenever there is nature and I can travel at faster speeds while staying hidden. This would be comparable to Nick's level of skill but it only worked in natural environments. Cities or villages would be still very difficult for me' I thought.

I also made progress with the modified Strength Manual. I was already practicing the 3rd diagram. So far, I could last only 3 minutes under its pressure but I wasn't disappointed at all. I still trained my body from time to time but ultimately focused on my skills. I also made progress with the Ancient Language. I found a possible translations for a few more words. I finally figured out who that dark figure was or at least what the dark figure referred to itself as when I asked "Who are you?". The answer to that question was "Fer Lei Fal Gor Trevak" which translates as "I'm the Dark Traveler".

The word Gor could mean either "dark" or "black" but "dark" seemed more appropriate for me due to the way I've been calling it a dark figure. I was on solid track towards further understanding of the Ancient Language and there were some more words that I figured out, such as.

Gor - which would translate as "black" or "dark"

Falhor - which would translate as "then"

Kroh - which would translate as "of"

Jer - which would translate as "why"

Rak - which would translate as "person"

Sathov - which would translate as "will"

It took me some time to get those things translated but it was progress nevertheless. I already saw patterns in that language and whenever I could link them, I would be able to find some meaning. I took one day off from exercising and training, to simply build a shelter. I already had experience but I had no tools. That wasn't a huge problem, I already got used to the weights that I carved out from the tree trunk. I had materials to build a shelter from, if I were to use them.

I opted for a different design this time. I carved out a hole inside the biggest trunk weight I had as the base of my shelter. I didn't carve it all the way through, I did it till the middle as I needed to sleep on something and ground was not the ideal location for that. There would be a lot of wood separating me from the ground but also from the cold air outside.

This was just the base. I then carved another hole inside the 2nd biggest weight I had. This time, I went all the way through so that I could climb in and out of the shelter. I placed the smaller weight on top of the 1st weight and had my shelter nearly completed.

What was left to do, was to make some holes inside the 3rd biggest weight and then use it to cover the entrance to my shelter. There would be much more wood protecting me from the inside and I had loads of animal furs as well. I could use them not only as my bedding but also as the means to make the insides even warmer. The fur could be hanged inside the shelter and this would provide an additional barrier.

I went into the forest in search for the sticky liquid. I was looking for the same stuff that Shelly pointed out to me when we were building a shelter in the past. I needed it to fill the gap between the the two tree trunk pieces. I wanted to use that sticky liquid for stick the animal furs onto the inside walls as well. I found and collected a lot of it after walking around the forest for a while. When I had enough, I returned to the camp and applied the stuff on my shelter.

When I was done... my new shelter looked weird to be honest. It looked like 3 pieces of cut tree trunk were stuck on top of each other, left like this inside the forest as if it was some kind of sculpture. I climbed inside the shelter and closed the "lid". The insides were a bit crampy but nothing to complain about. It was also very warm inside and although the cold air couldn't easily enter my shelter, the holes in the "lid" of my shelter acted as an air vent. It allowed enough fresh air to to come in for me to breathe. 'I will be able to breathe so that is sorted. The animal skins are also quite a good touch. We will see how this fares in very low temperatures but it doesn't look so bad' I thought.

I took a rest for that day and hit the bed early. When my eyes opened, I was in the dream. 'It must be because I did a lot of manual labour. I figured that I will not dream anything today. Seems I was wrong' I though as I saw the Dark Traveler starting his 1st exercise. I also thought about starting it and went along with the Dark Traveler on this short journey that was body training.