Before he went back to his shelter, Emil collected the memory orbs of the flame boar pack. He wanted to hurry to the cave, but he knew how long it would take to return to this area. With the amount of time that had passed, the dark clouds of each one’s death had merged together. But when he saw the memories of their final moments, it was different this time. Before, he had always experienced the pain and feelings a creature had before its death.

However, now he felt detached. He still took on the perspective of the boar, but he didn’t feel anything. Rather than becoming them completely and feeling everything they felt, he was like a viewer that just watched from their eyes. He watched the sudden death of dozens of things. The pack of boar, all the insects that had been underground, and nearby birds and rodents. All of their last moments swirled and converged.

The resulting memory orb was bigger than any he had created before. If he made a fist and wrapped his hand around it, the orb would still be slightly bigger than that. For now, he left it on the ground. He still needed to also harvest what he could from the flame boars.

He knew that their organs were basically dust, but their bones still remained. A flame boar’s bones wouldn’t sell for nearly as much as its magical organ. However, it would still be better than nothing. Especially for him, because he had no money and was effectively broke.

He took as much as he could fit in his satchel. Just one skull took up nearly the entire space, but he figured that it would be the most valuable thing. After that, he went to pick the memory orb up. Emil carried it with both hands as he began the walk back to the cave.

Upon his return, he gingerly set the supersized orb on the ground. Emil quickly opened his supply bag and looked for anything that could act as a mirror. When he did find something, he stared into the reflection of his face. It was as thin and pale as the rest of his body. Emil’s eyes were slightly sunken in and had deep bags underneath.

It wasn’t a good look, but it was passable. If someone looked at him, they would likely think he was sick, hadn’t been eating well, or was sleep deprived. But at the very least, he could still be considered a human. Emil still had time before the transformation into an undead monster became obvious. He didn’t know what exactly he would do when it did reach that point. For now, however, that would be a problem for the future.

With that settled, Emil placed the memory orb into his bag and gathered his things. He was curious to know if any of his abilities had leveled up, but he would need an enchanted scroll to check. And since he had already used all the ones he had, he needed to find a way to get more. There might be some for sale at a town, but it wasn't always a guarantee.

After several hours of walking alongside the river, he finally spotted something. In the distance, several smoke blooms were rising from somewhere ahead of him. He had spent most of the day outside already. It was now evening. So if the smoke was from a city, then by the time he reached it, any shops it had would likely be closed. And with no money, Emil wouldn’t be able to afford a place to sleep for the night.

It was unfortunate. He had really looked forward to being able to sleep on an actual bed again. But he could tolerate spending another night in the woods. Even without shelter, the cold wouldn't bother him. And with the sky seemingly clear, there shouldn't be any precipitation for him to worry about. He could find a spot near the town to camp out, and then enter it once morning came around.

It only took him another half an hour or so of walking until he could see it. There, in a clearing just a couple of minutes away from where he stood, there was a town. It seemed to be a decent size, closer to an actual city than anything. Emil was glad. This far out into the countryside, part of him had been worried that there would be nothing but small villages. However, now that he had basically found his goal, the anxieties in the back of his mind came forward.

Emil had been walking for hours upon hours now, and yet he didn't even feel a little tired. His legs should have been sore and exhausted, but they still felt completely fine. The last meal he had was before he had gone hunting the flame boar. But he still didn’t feel hungry, not even a little. Emil had been consistently drinking water, refreshing his flask from the river. But if he hadn’t, would he even be thirsty? Overall, his entire body should have been screaming for rest and a chance to refresh. But in reality, he still felt like he was physically at one hundred percent.

‘How long can I go on like this? It’s nearly night, but i don’t even feel tired yet. Heck, I'm still wide awake. But that can’t last forever, right? Surely at some point, I'll feel the need to sleep and find something to eat?’ Emil asked himself.

Undead beings didn’t need to eat, drink, or sleep. But he had no concept of anything considered as Half-Undead. He had never even heard of such a thing. And yet, that was the state he was currently in. If he was lucky, some book might describe a monster like that and give him the answer. But if not, he would have to just find out for himself.

As the stress and questions built up. Emil had been biting down on his bottom lip. However, as the pain from it built up, he stopped. He gingerly touched his lip. Pain, at least he could still feel that. Emil looked down to his leg, where the boar had injured him. The gash was now just a large scar. If he had to guess, that could be attributed to his transformation. However, when he reached down to brush it with his fingers, it still felt tender.

“Okay,” he mumbled to himself. “I’m not quite there yet, I’m still me.” Emil decided to get closer to the town before stopping for the night. Out where he was, there wasn’t anything but thick brush. But the area directly surrounding the town was probably decently cleared out. So he could likely have an easier time finding a spot to rest around there.