After a few hours of running, Asfa decided to take a break and meditate to replenish his mana. He found a small cave and scanned it to ensure it could be used for resting.

The length of the cave is 5 meters while the diameter is 3 meters, which is adequate enough for a single person to fit in there. He entered the cave and then put his backpack on the ground to start meditating.

Typically, he would retract his scanning ability when meditating, but this time Asfa decided to improve his efficiency in managing mana by doing both things together. After an hour of practice, he stopped. He wanted to check the surroundings first to see if there was mana to be absorbed. He brought some weapons to be used later and left his backpack there.

"This place is much drier than before. I guess I will reach the unexplored part of the forest soon."

Suddenly, he senses clans of hyenas coming at him ferociously. Asfa runs instantly, but then he realises that he is still being followed, and they are getting closer.

"They must have remembered my smell.."

He stopped and held the knife he carried. Wooden spikes could be seen hovering around Asfa. A few seconds later, he is surrounded by the hyenas. Asfa's expression changed when he realised that the hyenas were fast just now because they can use mana too. These mutated beasts are physically better and more clever than ordinary ones.

But now, the hyenas are more toward the flying wooden spikes. They started to attack strategically as a team, and he had some problems avoiding it. Asfa starts bleeding, but most of them are just scratches, and none of them hit his vital points.

While avoiding them, Asfa manages to slice 2 of their heads with his knife, and now only a pair of hyenas are left. These last 2 hyenas are the smartest in their pack, and they used mana to improve their speed when attacking.

Asfa had enough, so he locked them with his skill.

[Bind]

He then cuts their head with the knife to finish the fight. Surprisingly, dark-coloured condensed balls of mana come out from the hyenas' remains and slowly drift away. Though the size of the mana is smaller than a marble, Asfa grabs them anyway since they look tempting.

Luckily, the pain of absorbing them was bearable compared to last time. He took his spikes back and ran to the cave, where he put his backpack. He is almost at the cave's entrance, but then a husky and clear voice of someone calls him from behind.

"Young lad! Are you okay? I am so sorry about the dogs. I thought people had stopped coming here.."

Asfa turns his head to see the person who called him just now. The man wore tatters and ancient-designed military clothes, but he still looked friendly and easily approached.

Fuuuushhhh

The man instantly blinked in front of Asfa.

"You shouldn't go further if you value your life. You are not strong enough to survive once you pass through the border."

Asfa wanted to reply, but the person in front of him had been talking non-stop!

"Ay ay, young man. Don't worry! We can practice together until you are strong enough to protect yourself!"

Just because the person in front of him seems friendly, Asfa can feel the difference between their strength. It was huge!

"Hello there, sir. I am Asfa. My friend told me to explore the forest to get more experience in fighting as an enhanced human. That is why I am here. To train!"

The man walks closer to Asfa in an elegant way and then introduces himself.

"Just call me Uncle Dale. I am the guardian assigned to stop the demonic wild beasts from escaping this forest. Do not be fooled by my appearance. I might be the oldest person you could possibly meet! Come and follow me to my shelter."

Asfa took his backpack and followed Dale closely from behind. Surprisingly, Dale walks so fast, and Asfa has to jog just to be able to follow his pace. After 10 minutes of jogging, Asfa notices they have left the swamp area.

He was surprised by the changes in the environment. The plants here are bigger by twofold compared to the ordinary ones. The place was crowded with giant trees and tall bushes. He felt nervous for a while, but it lasted for a few minutes until he saw the shelter Dale talked about.

The makeshift shelter looks clumsy from the outside because of how Dale maintained it. There is no door to enter the place, so Dale jumps over the wall that looks like an entrance. Asfa followed him and was shocked because it looked better than his expectation.

Dale brought Asfa to the dining room and served him some water to drink.

"My place looks great, right? It was hard to maintain this place without a proper supply of materials plus I was busy anyway. So, tell me Asfa. Who sent you here, Aldrich or Steven?"

Asfa had no reason to lie to Dale especially when the person in front of him casually mentioned those two names he knew.

"Um, it was Steve. I mean Steven. He suggested coming here to learn more about something that should not be spoken. Our place got infiltrated by the demon, and they were getting more active lately."

Dale cooked something, and the fragrance aroused Asfa. He noticed that Asfa looked a little hungry, so he immediately served the food to Asfa.

"Just eat. Once you are done, I need to test your aptitude. Go to the main entrance in 30 minutes. See ya."

Dale left the room, and Asfa continued finishing the meal. Though he wasn't hungry, he couldn't resist eating the meat. There are traces of mana inside the beef, it stimulates Asfa's body. After that, he went to the guest room given by Dale to put his stuff there. He quickly left the room to see Dale since it was almost time for him to practice with Dale.

"Oh, you are here already. Thank you for being punctual! Since I don't know your aptitude, your task right now is to hit me with your strongest skill. Don't worry, I will be fine."

Asfa has no doubt about Dale's capability to defend against any of his skills. Therefore, he decided to use this moment as a practice since he had never got an opportunity to do it before.

He channels every mana he has into his hands. Since Dale is not going to attack him, he doesn't really care about the time taken for him to use cast the skill. After 20 seconds, Asfa stopped channelling his mana to launch the strongest [Push] he could possibly do right now.

[Push]