The first two days when Venir left for the forest after the "loss" of his mother, he had a hard time remembering. It was like he was walking in a thick fog of sorrow, aimlessly wandering around like a ghost.

When he woke up from his daze he realized that he was completely lost and alone.

Only big three's all around. How long have he been wandering around for?

[Grumble..]

He nearly jumped high from fright of the sound until he figured out it was coming from his own stomach. Hungry, tired and in a miserable mood.

To make things worse he could soon hear a few rustling sounds around him.

[Growl!]

He was surrounded with only a sword as his weapon. The growling was getting lauder until Venir finally could see the three animals that that had made the sound.

About 1.2m in height, they resembled cats in the overall appearance. Giant mutated cats with a horn in the middle of their foreheads and two tails swinging like whips behind them. Unlike ordinary cute cats they had large sharp teeth that seem to be hanging over their under lip.

'Why do most wild animals have to look like freaks?' (Venir)

Starting to prowl around him watching for his weakness. Venir didn't move and waited for them to initiate the attack. One of them in the end lost patience and attacked.

[Swipe!]

Aiming for his left leg, Venir moved backward to avoid an injury. Another cat did take this opportunity to attack him from behind.

Without looking Venir could hear a soft sound coming from behind. He turned around just in time to block the attack with his sword, a metallic sound could be heard when the claws hit the sword.

Venir counter attacked with a right leg swipe at the same moment and sent the cat flying. It hit a three and lay there unmovable.

The other two was more careful after that and tried to attack from both sides at once.

[Woosh!][Woosh!]

Thanks to Venirs training with his dad he now have a good grasped of his ability's and could now without much worry cut the head of one of the cats at his right side and on his left side form an orb of wind that shot out and hit the last cat in the side.

Normally such a weak magic attack would have done nothing to it, but now in the air it had its aim thrown off. It showed a slight shocked expression when gliding adrift through the air.

The cat had already lost its life before it landed on the ground once again.

....

First a week, then a second week and finally a whole month passed by and Venir had unknowingly wandered further inside the forest.

He was at this point extremely dirty and his cloths have started to fall apart from all the animal attacks. Claws had shredded his cloths and he had to be more careful then ever when fighting wild beast or he would have to wander the woods completely naked.

Blood covered most of his body and it didn't help to try and keep clean. More blood soon took its place.

At least he didn't have to starve. It was plenty of strange wildlife here and Venir was like a magnet to them. In a mile around him they soon sniffed him out thanks to his bloody cloths.

It was troubling at first but he soon got used to it.

His magic made him able to make a fire and grill the meat without a problem. It might not be very strong, but it was still plenty useful.

At the first month he was lost, he tried hard to find a way back or out of the forest but soon gave up. The longer he ran and walked the more he felt like the forest was endless.

He started to feel lonely after two months had passed and it was starting to get to him. It was at that point when sitting alone he started to meditate.

It has been such a long time since he last did that and used the body refining technique. Making his mind calm down and flow like a river he soon noticed that the forest held a thicker quantity of mana then it did at the more human populated places.

Like at his home, it did only held a tenth of the mana density of what it did here.

Under this meditation he noticed he could improve some more.

'Maybe I need to be surrounded by a higher density of mana to be able to refine more inside myself?'

To try his own theory he ventured into a thicker field of wildlife and sat down to meditate. There he found out his theory was correct. The thicker the mana was in his surrounding the more he could refine and absorb. The density of the mana changed with the environment.

Continuing his travelers this way until his first winter. He was lucky to find a cave with a giant wild beast inhabiting it.

'He looks so fluffy and warm.'

Venir was looking at the fur of the two meter tall and terrifying animal. It made the Demon Bear feel a cold shiver run down its spine. *Danger!*

Its sense told him to run away. But it was the king in this part of the forest and feared by others animals.

It had never felt fear before and therefore attacked without thinking.

It was on that day it became transformed into food and a nice cozy fur pelt for Venir to sleep in. He also took over its cave and moved in. With some remodeling, covering the entrance and the fur on the stone floor he was ready to survive under his first winter.

Without someone to talk to, Venir mostly meditated in his cave under the winter season.

It was also under this lonely time he discovered something more profound under his meditative state. He did learn he could make his body produce more heat by willing it to heighten its temperature.

It could be used to keep warm when walking outside but it wasn't very effective in the long run.

The body needed fuel to produce that much heat and it come from eating food. It was a wasteful way and only useful if he was desperate and lived out in the wild under a winter. But he was now inside a cave so this technique wasn't used that often.

'Ah?'

He had meditated under several months and only been able to use his body in a advanced state of body control. But it was not until now he felt he could move the mana around his body.

Will it to move with his bloodstream. Just like willing his body temperature to rise but in a more profound manner.

Earlier he had just purified and packed mana inside his body. But when he tought about it clearly it was an unnatural state. By willing it to move with his blood, stretch and retract itself with the muscles.

It started to become a part with him on a different level and degree.

'Not just use it to enhance and empower myself.'

'I need to make it a part of myself.'

Venir was sitting there for days and willing the refined mana to become a part of him. First his toes, then his feet and then the legs. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there when he was just about to fuse and will the mana to flow with his mind.

When meditating the surrounding air shimmered and seems to be visible moving around him. like a river of air circling around him.

Venir was too busy to notice any of this when he now tried to make his own mind a part of the refined mana.

'Nearly there... Ah?'

Venir was first delighted when he finally made the mana start to move with him, like it was a part of him... until.

-Aaah?!

The pain spread out from his mind. It started to feel like his whole body was burning up from the inside. Somehow Venir know if he stopped his meditation now he would surely die. His mind would shatter into pieces and his body would be burnt to ash.

The fire didn't lessen but increased over time until his body was shaking violently. Thankfully he was still conscious and able to endure. Sweat was pouring down his face and back. He was drenched in sweat by the time his skin started to peel itself off. It was like his body was trying to reject the mana fusing with his body. Thanks to his regenerative power his body healed when braking down.

The regenerative power was more enhanced in his meditative state so he wouldn't die but he could still feel the extreme pain of it breaking down and then regenerate itself. This happened continuously.

'What's happening to me?!'

It took Venir several days before the pain lessened and he fell down unconscious from all the strain his body had to endure.

He was both thirsty and hungry when he wake up the next day but he was alive and that could be said to be a success in itself.

Preparing some food and eating in a slow manner he found himself feeling great. No remaining or visible damage could be seen on his body.

In fact he felt better than ever when he had eaten. He noticed that he felt lighter and more lively.

But it could be he was just feeling happy from being alive.