After killing the beast, Cilen propped his heaving back against the walls of the tree. As his breathing steadied, he forced himself to take a glance at the corpse. The puncture wound was messy, but despite its appearance, Cilen believed he could salvage the fur and turn it into something useful.

He was surprisingly unfazed, upon seeing the body of the beast bleeding out into the soil. He attributed his sudden calmness to his current dire situation, as there were more pressing issues than a little blood and gore to be concerned about. For instance, the issue with his missing left arm and leg.

Temporarily, the problem of the leg could be solved by the newly red-painted makeshift splint used to stab the rodent. However, Cilen greatly lamented his loss of mobility as his current speed top speed was slower than a snail's crawl. He knew that he would have to get a custom artificial leg later down the line, but a better temporary solution would involve carving a basic leg shape out of wood and using it as a substitute.

Surveying the small hollow, Cilen spotted a few things that the rodent seemed to have scavenged during its time alive. An assortment of little sharp teardrop-shaped stones, a small snakeskin drawstring pouch, a black leather-bound notebook and finally a pale gem-like crystal.

The item that interested Cilen the most was the black leather-bound notebook. Much to his disappointment, he found that it was written in a completely foreign language bearing a resemblance to Egyptian hieroglyphics, further assuring his suspicion that he had somehow transmigrated.

Flipping through, Cilen could see that some drawings bore remarkable similarities to the plants and flora that he had seen outside. Perhaps the most significant discovery, a map, illustrating the border and specific landmark areas of the forest.

The next item, the snakeskin drawstring pouch that jingled a little bit as he picked it up. Unremarkably, upon opening the pouch, several penny-sized silver coins fell out and cluttered on the ground. Examining the currency, Cilen concluded that they had originated from some human-like settlement from the intricate markings on the sides of the coin.

After fiddling with the pouch for a while, he turned his attention to the little pale crystal partially submerged in the soil. There was nothing notable besides the fact that when he placed it in his palm, it started emitting a bright purple light. Although it was a decent light source, Cilen had a feeling that its true purpose had yet to be served.

Finally, the least impressive yet arguably the most useful item of the bunch, the assortment of teardrop-shaped stones scattered in the dirt. Grabbing the nearest stone, Cilen plunged the tip directly into the middle of the stomach area of the corpse.

Despite its lack of sharpness, the edge easily penetrated the soft fur of the animal and with some encouragement, Cilen started guiding his 'on the fly' knife blade across the body of the animal. When the incision was nearly the length of his index finger, Cilen inserted his hand inside the opening and scooped out the lukewarm innards, twisting as he retracted his arm to fully separate the mess in his hand from the deceased owner.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his pounding heart before reaching again into the now semi hollowed corpse. Digging around its chest region, he chanced upon what felt like baggy membrane before his fingernails scraped against a smooth surface.

A twinge of curiosity welled up from the bottom of his left toe, yet it was quickly masked by a sudden outpour of self-awareness. Suppressing his fear, Cilen closed his fingers around the object and pulled hard, bringing up bits of flesh and viscera as well as a small black crystal, almost identical to the one that he had found earlier.