In any case, rest was the only thing he needed to focus on currently, but first he needed to make sure his surroundings were safe.

He came out from between the dense shrubs, and did a short round of the area. After returning, he activated the Regeneration skill he had obtained, and the moment its effects appeared, he felt a faint warmth spread throughout his entire body. His pain disappeared, and his features relaxed.

Like magic, his remaining injuries began healing at a rapid pace, and within a few minutes his HP bar increased, the wounds closed, and new fur grew over the small old scars.

In truth, the Regeneration skill did not need any direct intervention from him, for it worked automatically whenever he sustained severe injuries, and because of this most of his injuries had healed while he was asleep.

The Regeneration consumed a lot of his Vitality, and this made him feel intense hunger. He took out the snake’s carcass, or rather what remained of it, and ate it quickly. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

After filling his stomach and treating himself, Arthur stood upright, and stretched his stiff body, with a small smile on his face, for the results were very satisfying.

’This is truly remarkable.’ He did not have much to say. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the cold evening breeze caress his fur. He felt refreshed, and his thoughts became clearer.

He stood still for a few minutes in contemplation, and when his mental state had settled, he opened his eyes. The sky had already darkened, but he did not mind, and without wasting any more time, he said calmly:

"System, begin the rank-up."

[ Executing... ]

[Ranking up to E-Rank...]

[ Alert ]

[ All your abilities will be restricted during the rank-up process ]

[ 1%... 2%... ]

Suddenly a strange feeling of weakness washed over him. He remained calm and watched with a kind of anticipation as the loading bar advanced.

Slowly, his body began to grow, becoming larger and his skin harder. His fangs and claws grew longer and sharper, and his features became more fierce and imposing, even his fur grew softer and stronger, becoming more like Kevlar threads.

[ ...99%... 100% ]

[ Rank-Up Complete ]

The moment he ranked up, the feeling of weakness that had been restricting him disappeared. Strength began flowing through his body, making him feel light and energetic.

He examined his body, and found that his height had increased by about a foot and a half, and his length by more than two feet, and overall he had become larger than the lions on planet Earth.

’Now, I look like a real monster, and not just a wolf.’ This made him feel happy, and at the same time regretful.

He growled in a strange way, or laughed, it was hard to tell the difference anyway. He raised his paw, and extended his long dagger-like claws.

Then, suddenly, he stabbed the trunk of a large tree beside him, and easily tore it apart, leaving four long, deep gashes in it.

He shook his head, satisfied with his strength, retracted his claws, and brought up his status screen to see the changes that had occurred to his Attributes after the rank-up.

[ — Status — ]

[ XP: 13/1500 ] [ HP: 345/350 ]

[ Mana: 0/0 ] [ EP: 1 ]

Name: Arthur Grafton

Race: Wolf

Rank: E

[ — Attributes — ]

Strength: 44

Endurance: 32

Speed: 29

Agility: 25

Vitality: 35

Perception: 49

Mana Control: 7

[ — Skills — ]

Dimensional Storage (C) – Evaluation (C) – Enhanced Senses (E) – Iron Will (E) – Tracking (E) – Regeneration (E)

[ — Bloodline — ]

Primal Predator (SSS)]

’All my Attributes increased by fifteen points except Mana Control. My Skills also rose in Rank. In general, I made great progress, and the only problem is that the Mana bar is still fixed at zero. I was hoping it would move this time, but there is nothing I can do.’

This matter did not bother him much. Based on his intuition, he was aware that Mana was an important energy present in this world, as for the way to use it and benefit from it, he did not have many ideas.

For now, that kind of knowledge was way out of his reach, so he didn’t dwell on it. After all, he was no different from a frog stuck at the bottom of a well — he knew the sky was vast, but all he could see was a small part of it.

"Well then, now that I’ve sorted everything out, where exactly am I?" He contemplated the forest around him with a strange expression, for after the wildness of the previous night he was completely lost, and no longer knew where his den was.

’Damn, I do not remember the path I took. I can only rely on the Tracking skill to find my way back.’

He took a moment to think the matter over carefully, then decided, ’My scent and tracks are still clear, and will not disappear anytime soon. It is better to leave the task of returning until tomorrow. It is night, and I am not in the right mood to fight monsters.’

He mocked his own cowardice and laziness, and without any hesitation returned to hiding inside the shrubs, and fell asleep. He woke up the moment dawn broke, unleashed his Tracking skill, and headed back toward his cave.

He walked with extreme caution and readiness, and as he had expected, it did not take long before he collided with some powerful monsters, which were a pair of armored D-Rank boars with their young.

So as not to provoke them, he crept around them and continued on his way. And after another half hour, he accidentally entered an area that contained a giant hornet’s nest.

He was subjected to a fierce attack from the hornets. At first he fought them savagely, and killed many of them, but their large numbers overwhelmed him, so he was forced in the end to flee in defeat, his body full of itching stings.

Things did not stop there, as usual the forest was hell, and wherever he went he faced some kind of problem. He nearly got stuck in a swamp full of snakes, and was chased by a herd of angry buffaloes.

On the positive side, he managed to hunt an E-Rank deer, and a F-Rank rabbit, and found some interesting fruits, and also discovered new places where he could hunt.

And so he spent most of his day running around, until he came across a place he never thought he would see in this forest.

"Hah?!" On a paved stone ground, Arthur froze in place. In astonishment, he stared at a large group of ancient human buildings overgrown with vines and grass.

They were nothing but ruins from a distant era, barely standing, and yet he felt a strange feeling. How could he not, for this was the first time he had seen a sign proving the existence of human life in this world.