The sun was setting, casting a golden glow mixed with the dark edges of the forest, creating a breathtaking scene.
Ryan lay on the ground, panting heavily, his throat parched and body too exhausted to move.
A revitalizing energy surged through him, but the pain didn't let him enjoy the cool relief of victory. His bones ached, his skin tingled like a thousand ants were biting him all over. The pain was mild but widespread, making his whole body uncomfortable.
He bit his lip from the pain. Ryan's black t-shirt was now torn, marked with claw and tooth scars, stained with blood like a chaotic red painting.
The tingling in his body gradually subsided, but that wasn't the end of it. The wounds on Ryan's forearm and ankle burned fiercely, as if his body was being roasted over a fire. He glanced at the wound on his arm.
It was nearly perforated, with the circular pattern of the wolf's teeth deeply imprinted like a tattoo of scars around his forearm.
Two deeper puncture marks were clearly the wolf's fangs, leaving their mark on Ryan's arm. Surprisingly, the flesh around the wound began to knit and twist together. Confused, he blinked several times, his face scrunched up.
Ryan couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was this the effect of life energy?!
In less than a few minutes, his body had returned to normal. It looked like a scene from an epic tale where a hero heals, but Ryan knew it was all thanks to the life energy he gained from killing the wolf.
The blood droplets on his face disgusted him. He looked at the wolf's corpse on the ground and slowly stood up.
His knees were still weak, affected by the previous shock. He felt extremely weak, his throat burning with thirst. He was already hungry before, and fear had only made him weaker.
He took a step towards the river. His right ankle throbbed with pain, as if his body still suffered from the earlier injury even though the wound had healed.
Limping, Ryan made his way to the river, sat down at its edge, and dipped his hands into the water, forming them into a heart shape to scoop it up.
He filled his hands and drank as much as he could. The coldness of the water and gulping it down irritated his throat.
"Damn it!"
Despite that, it was refreshing and pleasant. He didn't think about anything else; the sound of his stomach growling surpassed the rush of the river as he drank.
Ryan cut off a piece of the wolf's meat, holding the dripping, bloody chunk in his hand.
Before all this, he wouldn't have even looked at a wolf's corpse a second time, but after just one day in the forest, he realized that survival meant adapting and fighting for his life.
Ryan's blue eyes showed disgust, but he closed his eyes and swallowed a strip of raw wolf meat.
Ryan had no choice. He forced down the piece of meat and cut another, continuing to eat while trying to reassure himself:
"It's not as bad as I thought!" He kept chewing and swallowing.
Gradually, he felt full. Strength returned to his body, and his previously weak frame seemed more lively.
Ryan muttered under his breath:
"Rough day..."
The night was still ahead, and he knew it well. What he hadn't noticed was the scent of blood filling the air, which was a major trigger for danger, potentially attracting another creature to the riverside.
As he contemplated his situation, he listened to the sound of the water and enjoyed watching the river flow.
Ryan thought about the strange notifications he'd been receiving since entering the forest. Curiously, he looked at the screen and said to himself:
"First, I need to figure these out."