With his path set, Joe changed directions and sprinted towards the cave entrance, leaving a cloud of dust and leaves in his wake. There was no time to look back as the wolves bounded after him like heat-seeking missiles. Joe was fast, but the wolves' ability to traverse the forest floor was leagues above his own. By the time he got halfway to the cave, he could tell they were only a few seconds behind and catching up. Doing his best to ignore the burning sensation of lactic acid coursing through his legs, Joe pushed on with everything he had. Finally, he reached the cave entrance with only moments to spare. He barreled inside, hefted off his pack, and chucked it to the side before spinning around and planting the spears in the ground next to him.

Over six wolves skidded to a halt at the mouth of the cave. Their eyes glinted red with bloodlust, and their mouths foamed as they growled with voracious hunger. Joe took deep breaths. He needed to recover his lost stamina, and if the wolves wanted to wait for a few minutes, that was fine with him. However, one pack member quickly lost patience, launching itself straight in his direction.

Joe roared out in defiance, unwilling to give it the satisfaction of an easy meal.

There was no time to try anything fancy, so Joe decided on the simplest response. He grabbed a spear from the side and pointed it in the air as he crouched down into a defensive position. The wolf thundered toward him like a runaway train, unable or unwilling to pull back. It slammed right into the metal spearhead, causing the sharp tip to pierce straight through its jaw.

The weight and momentum of the wolf's charge caused the wooden shaft to break in half but not before the spearhead impaled its brain. The corpse of the now-dead wolf slammed into Joe like a cannon, driving the breath out of his lungs. However, Joe kept his position, and with a grunt, he shoved the dead wolf to the side before grabbing another spear to prepare for the next attack.

The five remaining wolves, incensed at the loss of their packmate, charged in all at once. Their desire for revenge made them lose all sense of reason. Joe threw the second spear at the closet wolf. His aim was true. The spear tore through the air with the strength of four men, penetrating the wolf's shoulder and causing it to recoil back in pain. It wasn't enough to kill, but the wolf still collapsed on the ground in agony. Joe jumped back further into the cave. He had taken out two wolves, but four were still too many to handle.

He only hoped his funneling strategy would work. The cave entrance was small, preventing the wolves from attacking all at once. Joe unsheathed his sword and readied his stance. The four remaining wolves crashed into the opening simultaneously, each attempting to be the first one through. Joe mentally celebrated when all four struggled to pass through at once.

Eventually, two wolves took the lead and bounded inside. Joe took the initiative, launching a diagonal slash with all his might. Claws met metal as the momentum of his strike tore through skin and muscle. One wolf went down, its head partially decapitated, while the other wolf found half its paw torn off.

Yet, Joe soon found himself on the back foot. One wolf from the back pounced over the others, forcing Joe to reorientate his stance and stab out. His sword punctured the wolf's flank, yet not before the wolf thrashed out, leaving inch-deep cuts along his upper arm and shoulder.

The leather armor protected his torso, but his arms were left vulnerable. Joe yelled in pain but continued stabbing through fur and flesh until the beast finally went still. Yet, there was no time to relax as the final wolf, sensing an opening charged. It smashed into him like a wrecking ball, sending him reeling to the floor. The wolf continued the attack, clawing and biting at his arms and face while keeping him pressed to the ground. Joe fought the beast with both hands. It took all his strength to prevent its fangs from ripping off his arms.

Yet again, his armor proved its worth. The vambrace protected his arms while Joe continually punched it in the head with his gauntlets, leaving vicious wounds to its eyes and nose. The gauntlets had come embedded with small metal tips on the knuckles—a deadly weapon in their own right. The wolf howled in pain, giving Joe time to find his sword and plunge it through its chest, causing its eyes to coil back into its head and its body to go limp.

With a grunt, Joe hefted himself up. He was tired and bleeding but couldn't afford to rest. There was still the wolf with the injured paw limping towards him. Joe ran towards it, jumping a full meter in the air and hacking his sword down onto its skull like an executioner. Blood and brain matter exploded as its head caved from the attack.

With five wolves taken out, there was only one left. Joe saw the final wolf with the impaled spear trying to limp away with fear in its eyes. He looked at the wolf with a vicious glint. How could he let it go after it had so graciously come to welcome him? He grabbed his remaining spears and strolled up behind the limping wolf with an evil grin. A minute later, Joe ripped out his sword and spears from its shattered body. He had triumphed.

Joe returned to the cave and found his pack off to the side. Luckily the potions had remained undamaged from the attack. He had to give the Tower credit for never selling items that could break easily. He pulled one of the healing potions out, removed the cap, and downed the whole thing in a single gulp. His skin on his arms and shoulder soon began to fizzle as skin and muscle regrew. The process gave off a tingling feeling while it worked, not painful but not comfortable either.

"Truly wondrous," he whispered to himself. He had no idea how the potions worked. Normal science would never be able to replicate such feats, though he had read about some progress made with stem cells. Yet, the artifacts from the Tower were on another level entirely. Each had the potential to upend scientific theory and transform the way people lived. The medical industry would be in uproar if potions that could heal people in a single dose were available. No one would need to go into massive debt to receive medical care again, assuming big pharma didn't monopolize it. Joe shook himself awake from his reverie. There would be time to worry about Earth later. First, he needed to find a way out of this forest.

A few minutes later, he looked at his now unblemished skin, satisfied with the effect. However, the second the process finished, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him, making him collapse to the cave floor. While the potions were miraculous, they weren't without side effects. Each dose forced his body to use an inordinate amount of nutrients to replace lost skin and muscles, leaving.

Two potions a day was his limit for now, and he would need to hydrate and eat before drinking another. Joe grabbed a bunch of food bars and water from his pack and quickly devoured them.

While lying on the cave floor, waiting for the dizziness to pass, Joe opened up his status menu to check his latest experience gains.

Exp: 3446/13,135

He was still 10,000 exp from level 12, meaning each wolf had given him an average of 500 exp each, a reduction from the 600 exp he had received before leveling up. The amount was only slightly above the goblin champion he had fought, which made him curse at the stinginess of the heavens. It seemed he was constantly getting hit with level penalties. It would take another 20 kills to level up again, and this rate would only worsen the stronger he became.

Though he didn't fret just yet, the further he got from the portal, the stronger the beasts became. In a way, it was good news. More powerful opponents meant more opportunities to gain experience; however, these new wolves weren't so simple-minded. From what he had experienced, they were intelligent and capable of using basic tactics. He could handle two or three, but a pack was still too much to face alone.

The only way to stay ahead was to get stronger at his current level. Without purchasing powerful skills or artifacts, the only way he could think of was to increase his attributes using treasures. He looked down into the depths of the cave. The entrance seemed to connect to a broader tunnel that led underground. No doubt something was back there, maybe even another treasure.

"Fortune favors the bold," Joe muttered to himself. The potential gains of exploring the dark cave outweighed the risks.

Once recovered, Joe spent the next hour gathering wood and timber to create makeshift wooden torches. Another miscellaneous purchase he had made from the store was a survivalist guide for a measly 10 DP. While the price was low, it held a wealth of knowledge about surviving in the wild, from creating shelter and setting traps to building fires and wooden torches, skills he severely lacked working as a gas station clerk. Joe dumped the dry, thin logs in a pile and then tied strips of cloth around the ends, spraying them with alcohol to keep them burning for longer. Once done, he set one alight and grabbed his pack. He was ready to start exploring.

***

Joe trekked down into the dark, winding cave with a flaming torch in one hand and a sword in the other. The further in he went, the more the environment started to transform. The walls were moist with water residue, resulting in a large amount of moss covering large patches of the ground and walls. Mushrooms the size of humans grew from the cracks and crevices, making it seem like some hidden underworld grove.

Further in, Joe even spotted some unique form of fluorescent vegetation, shining with a pale green hue. He scanned left to right as he walked through the winding path, watching his feet to ensure he avoided tripping on a stalagmite or some other obstruction. Joe expected an ambush at any moment, yet apart from the sound of water collecting into small puddles on the cave floor, the place was empty.

The trail continued winding down into the earth. He wasn't sure how far he had traveled or in which direction. The crisscrossing path kept changing, but he could tell it led deep underground. Fortunately, it only took another ten minutes of walking until he saw a pale green light appear in the distance. Joe did a last check of his surroundings before slowly making his way forward. The closer he got, the stronger the light became, until finally, he turned around the last corner and entered a large cavern the size of a stadium.

The cavern looked like a verdant underworld paradise. Florescent flowers and grass covered the area, smothering the area in an ethereal glow. To the side was a small lake with crystal clear water like glass and small fish that swam leisurely in its depths.

While at the far end of the cavern was a fruit bush covered in berries the size of tennis balls located on top of a large plateau. When Joe saw the fruits, his body shook with a pang of primal hunger. He knew he had found his target.

Yet, the fruit brush wasn't unguarded. Dozens of spiderwebs holding spiders the size of a large dog were scattered across the cavern. They covered the sides and the ceiling making the beautiful paradise look like a den of horrors. They were black with thick carapaces and fangs the size of a fist. They slowly walked along with the webs, patrolling the area for potential threats. They were protecting the bush just like the badger had with the fruit tree. Joe sighed in exasperation. Like the fruit tree, he would need to fight his way through.

At first, Joe considered alternatives to charging in like a blind bull. He had learned his lesson after the fight with the badger and refused to fall for the same ploy twice. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice. Shame on me." Joe thought about an old proverb from his childhood. Sad to think that in the Tower, a second chance wasn't available for most.

He first considered using traps or smoke to incapacitate them, yet such a tactic posed the risk of destroying the treasure or being ineffective. Most of the vegetation was too moist for fire to take hold while the amount of wood he would need to smoke out the cavern would require several truck loads. Way too much effort without any guarantee of success. Joe paced around the tunnel until he finally relented. It looked like he would need to do things the hard way.

Placing his pack to the side, Joe returned to the entrance to collect the wolf corpses. If any beasts were waiting to ambush him, he would first need to find out. Once he returned, Joe threw the body parts into the cavern and waited.

After confirming no beasts were waiting for him, Joe crept through the fluorescent grass, keeping his body as low as possible. With every step, he continued to scan the roof and floor for hidden traps.

Everything went according to plan until he reached the halfway mark. Suddenly, as though he had tripped an invisible perimeter alarm, the spiders reacted, landing on the cavern floor while hissing at the human trespasser with their fangs exposed.

Eager to find out how strong they were, Joe sprung into action. He charged toward the closest spider and decapitated it with a downward swing.

The power behind the blow caught Joe off-guard. He hadn't expected the spider to be so weak, or rather, he hadn't realized just how strong he had become. Joe was still struggling to get used to his new stats, a 50% increase in strength wasn't something you could adapt to in a few days.

The other spiders reacted, charging at Joe in a mad rush. He responded by running into the fray. Multiple spiders jumped. Their powerful legs allowed them to burst forth with immense acceleration in an attempt to pierce him with their venomous fangs. However, Joe's speed allowed him to glide through the mass of opponents, cutting down one spider after another. Time seemed to slow down as Joe became a whirlwind of death, unleashing judgment on anything that came close.

The number of spiders was in the dozens, but their low level and stats made them easy prey. The battle soon became a buffet of free EXP. Joe rushed about the cavern, mopping up every spider he could find until finally, he brought his sword down on the last one.

With the final spider taken care of, Joe sat down to wipe off the foul-smelling gunk covered on his sword. Checking his notifications showed he had gained 8400 EXP, or 350 EXP per spider, a veritable wealth of experience for little to no effort. The spiders were only level 6, but their numbers made up for it. Joe couldn't help but chuckle, he had expected it to take a few days to gain another level, but here he was, only 1200 exp away from level 12.