The forest lit up with a cacophony of noise as howls echoed throughout the area. The Alpha had somehow summoned every wolf pack in the vicinity, a final act of spite before taking its last breath. Joe cursed his luck. He had again managed to slam his foot against the proverbial hive’s nest.

Joe spun around, looking for a potential escape path. Trees encircled the clearing, providing no easily defensible points. Any attempt to stay and fight would be suicidal. He could try to make his way back to the cave; however, his injuries had still yet to fully recover. Even if he did make it back, he wouldn't be able to fight off a whole contingent of wolves indefinitely. Joe's mind spun until his gaze finally settled back on the great tree. There was only one way out of this.

The giant tree reminded Joe of the sequoia redwoods from Earth due to its color and shape. Its wide trunk ascended so high into the sky that Joe could barely see beyond the first branch. Attempting to climb such a giant was an insane idea, but there wasn't time to waste with the sounds of roars inching closer. Joe hobbled over to the tree, ready to begin his ascent, but froze when he saw a tiny bud protruding from the ground next to the tree's base. The earth around the clearing was brown and barren, devoid of any life or vegetation. Yet, the small plant blossomed amid the bare soil. It was small, almost entirely hidden from view except for a small red flower that grew on top.

Joe rushed over and knelt by the plant. He carefully plucked the red flower and threw it in his mouth, expecting a wave of energy to infuse his weary body. However, unlike before, there was no reaction. The flower tasted plain and bitter, making Joe spit it out and furrow his brows in confusion. How could this be? A flower wouldn't be able to survive here where nothing else lived. Joe began to remove the soil around the base, doing his best to avoid damaging the plant itself. Finally, his efforts paid off. Underneath the ground emerged a brown root-like vegetable that looked similar to ginseng. It wasn't pretty to look at, but his body salivated at the sight.

However, there wasn't time for jubilation. From the edge of the clearing, the first wave of wolves appeared. Once they saw their dead pack leader, they let out a bestial roar in anger and charged toward Joe with blood-red eyes full of rage. Joe rushed to place the ginseng in his bag and took one last look at his shield, it had served him well, but its size made it impossible to take with him. He dropped it while grabbing the closest vine and began to hoist himself up.

Step by step, Joe clambered his way up. Every movement caused his ribs to scream in rebellion, but there was no choice but to push through. The wolves, by now, had arrived at the base of the tree. Dozens threw themselves forward and furiously attempted to claw their way up, a few climbing high enough to snap at Joe's heels. Yet Joe moved at a lightning pace, eventually reaching a height out of their reach. He sighed in relief, but his troubles were far from over. He now found himself in a precarious situation. Above him was an endless expanse of bark and wood, and below him, a sea of angry wolves waiting to tear him limb from limb.

With no way to go but up, Joe took one last look down before he grabbed the ginseng from his pack and shoved it into his mouth. He expected it to be bitter, but instead, the taste was earthy with a touch of sweetness. A wave of energy spread across his body, providing a much-needed stamina boost. A quick check of his stats showed his Agility had increased 11 points. It was lower than the berries, but Joe was still satisfied with his gains. With renewed enthusiasm, Joe grabbed the closest outcrop and continued his way up.

The extra points in Agility proved to be lifesaving as they made the climb significantly more manageable. Joe instantly recognized an improvement in his balance and dexterity, helping him execute maneuvers beyond anything his body could have achieved before. However, the ascent was still dangerous. The trunk was flat with only a few outcrops interspersed between the bark, forcing him to use his dagger for additional support. Joe didn't know what he would find at the top or how he would find his way down. Even if he reached the branches, what then? The only consolation was that he would know how far the forest extended.

With another push, he soon found himself climbing above the forest canopy. The wind battered against his body with increasing speeds, and the temperature dropped, causing Joe to shiver even with his high Vitality. He could only give a silent thanks to the wolf pelt he sported. His time fighting against the wolves had given him ample materials to experiment with skinning and tanning using knowledge from the survival book. The final result was a soft fur coat that protected him from the worst of the bitter cold.

Finally, after several hours of climbing, Joe reached the first branch near the top of the tree. He grabbed a hold of a large outcrop, the size of his torso, and pulled himself up. His breathing was ragged from exhaustion and his muscles burned from fatigue. He had pushed himself beyond his limits, even gaining an extra Vitality point for his effort. The validation that he could gain stats through training had been eye-opening. It finally confirmed why his will increased after each Respawn, opening up a host of possibilities. But for now, all Joe wanted to do was sleep. Luckily, the branch was wide enough to hold several people, giving Joe plenty of space to lay down. He crumpled to the ground and closed his eyes, instantly passing out into a deep sleep.

Joe awoke sometime later to the sound of wind whistling through the leaves. His body felt sore, as though he had run a dozen marathons back to back. He pulled off the fur pelt and wrapped it around his body as he sat up and stared out across the horizon. The sun was high in the sky, and there wasn’t a cloud visible for miles. It gave him a perfect 360 view of his surroundings. Joe looked down and across the veritable sea of trees, seemingly going on forever. However, his climb hadn't been a waste. In the distance, he saw it—a way out of the forest.

The forest was truly massive, extending out evenly in all directions, giving it an almost perfectly spherical design and layout. It substantiated his belief that this forest wasn't a natural place but an artificially designed world. Joe took out [Heaven's Compass] to confirm his path. He had traveled Northeast from the portal, which placed his starting point straight at the forest's center. Joe let out a light chuckle in irony. He could have picked any direction and made his way out eventually. Too bad he was now stuck, with no way down and no way out. All he could do was wait and hope the horde of wolves would disperse.

The next day, Joe traveled between the branches, searching for hidden treasures or anything else of interest. The climb had taken considerable effort, making it unlikely that many others had completed the challenge. Perhaps the Tower had left an additional reward to those who had braved the risks. It was a long shot, but there wasn't much else for him to do. Joe clambered from branch to branch, careful to avoid taking a misplaced step and falling hundreds of feet to his death. He felt like an acrobat undertaking a death-defying stunt, except there was no safety net to catch him. So far, Joe had found nothing of note except for giant leaves the size of his body. Perhaps he could create a parachute of some kind, though he had no desire to test such an idea.

Just as Joe was about to give up, his search finally paid off. On the final branch at the top sat a gigantic hole that led directly into the tree's center. It reminded Joe of a typical tree hollow, except its grand scale and size made it as large as a cave. The wind whistled from within the darkness, producing a foreboding hum. Joe unsheathed his sword and slowly edged forward, expecting another surprise ambush. As Joe got closer, he could finally see what lay inside. In the middle sat a gorgeous white tree decorated with intricate fractals and patterns that radiated a divine sense.

Before Joe could take another step, a rustling of leaves rang out from above. Joe looked up just in time to see a gigantic snake launch from the thick foliage overhead. It was brown, with spots of green. Its eyes were black verticals the size of tennis balls, and its tongue the length of Joe's arm. The snake had managed to blend in perfectly with its environment, catching Joe off guard. The snake flew through the air, its mouth and fangs primed, ready to perforate its prey. Joe's eyes dilated, and he sprung into action, jumping into the hole and scarcely avoiding the snake's strike.

The snake, realizing its ambush had failed, landed and whipped around with breakneck speed, coiling itself in preparation for another attack. Joe scrutinized the snake with unmoving eyes. He didn't dare blink lest he misses its next strike. The snake had to be a few hundred kilograms in weight, making it terrifyingly large. The snake took an aggressive pose and sprung again with bullet-like speed.

There was little room to maneuver with the hole behind him and the snake in front. All he could do was unleash his most powerful slash. Joe's sword flashed down in a horizontal arc and collided directly with the oncoming head of the snake, sending it slamming to the side. Joe tried to capitalize on the opportunity, but the snake quickly recovered, pulling back, narrowly dodging a downward swing.

Both snake and man looked at each other with wary eyes. If anything, there was a level of intelligence behind the beast that hadn't existed with the others. However, the stalemate broke the second Joe took a step back. The snake whipped in, launching several attempts to grab him with its fangs. Joe swung out, each time, forcing the snake to recoil back. The size of its body was only barely big enough to enter the hole, causing it to attack head-on. The exchanges continued back and forth until Joe found himself standing next to the small tree. It felt like he was being herded but didn't know why. Unfortunately, the reason became apparent when a second smaller snake shot out from within the void, quickly latching onto Joe's shoulder and coiling itself around his upper body.

The snake squeezed with a vice-like grip, attempting to constrict the air from his lungs. Joe's body felt tight, and he could hardly breathe. He tried hacking away at the snake's body with his sword, but it had fully wrapped around his torso, limiting his arm movements. If he didn't do anything soon, he would quickly become snake food. Joe roared out in defiance, and with as much strength as he could muster, he grabbed the sword edge with both hands, pointed it at his shoulder, and ran into the wall. The impact sent the blade's tip piercing through his shoulder, straight into the snake's head. The snake hissed out in agony, causing its grip to loosen enough for Joe to free his arms. Joe gritted his teeth and sprung into action. He wrenched the snake's jaw off his shoulder and relentlessly pounded the snake's head with his gauntlets. His shoulder burned, and his ribs ached, but Joe didn't dare stop until only a bloody pulp remained.

The larger snake, seeing the death of its brethren, shrieked out in a fury. No longer deigning to hold back, it flew at him with uncontrolled rage, determined to finish him off. Joe knew the attack was coming, so with nowhere to go and the smaller snake corpse still wrapped around him, Joe pushed off against the wall and ducked behind the small tree, hoping the beast would at least hold back from damaging the treasure. However, the snake seemed to have lost all reason. It plowed through the hole and launched itself straight at Joe, unconcerned about the small tree in its path.

His gambit of hiding behind the treasure had failed. With nowhere else to go, Joe braced for the end as the snake flew towards him with lightning speed. However, unexpectedly, as if sensing the oncoming danger, the fractals and patterns over the small tree lit up, and suddenly, a barrier composed of white light materialized around the tree.

The large snake slammed into the barrier like a brick wall, stopping it in its tracks and leaving it stunned. The snake collapsed to the floor in a stupor, causing Joe to stare wide-eyed at the turn of events, but he couldn't let the opportunity go to waste. He leaped up and thrust his sword straight through the snake's eye and into its brain cavity. A torrent of blood and viscera burst from the wound like a waterfall, snapping the snake awake. It screeched in pain while thrashing about in a frenzy. It slammed into the wall and ceiling with abandon. Joe tried to extricate himself but wasn't able to escape in time. It slammed into him with the weight of a car, blasting him into the wall. Joe coughed out a mouthful of blood and picked himself, thankful that the corpse of the smaller snake still wrapped around him had somewhat helped to absorb the impact. Forgetting to grab his sword, Joe retreated further into the hollow while waiting for the snake to bleed out.

By the time the snake died, the day had turned to night, with only thin rays of moonlight providing any visibility. Joe stared around the hollow, doing his best to ignore the stench of blood that filled the air. The place had turned into a butcher's den. Blood covered the floors and wall, and in the center lay the corpse of the giant snake, drenched in a pool of its blood. A review of his notifications showed the snakes had been level 12 and 10, respectively, which gave him a few thousand EXP and DP. A small consolation for the amount of danger he had faced. Joe pushed himself up and checked his wounds, his shoulder still bled, but at least the snake's bite hadn't been poisonous. He had applied some makeshift bandages earlier to stem the blood flow. Unfortunately, he was out of health potions, so there was no way to heal the wound anytime soon.

Joe walked into the hollow and collected his sword. It had been his steady companion for over two weeks, but already several nicks marred the edge, impacting its sharpness. He clicked his tongue in frustration. As the beasts leveled up, their skin and bones got tougher. Each strike wore down its durability at a faster rate. He only hoped it would last until he completed the floor.

With his immediate concerns taken care of, Joe turned his attention to the tree. The white fractals covering the bark had dimmed out, returning it to its former state. On one of the branches was a green seed of some kind. Joe crept up and slowly placed his hand on the trunk, expecting another reaction. However, once he saw there was no response, Joe picked the seed off the branch and broke into it to find a golden nut. His cells awoke in hunger, confirming it was another attribute fruit! Without waiting, he bit into it. Its nutty flavor helped to satiate his appetite and imbue him with a much-needed burst of energy. He felt the stress and strain on his body melt away, leaving him feeling calm, steady like he was ready to take on the world. It wasn't a physical change but a mental one. A look at his stat menu showed a 14-point increase in Will Power. Joe laughed out loud with exuberation. He had gained two attribute fruits in a single day. No matter what happened, it was worth it.