A few days later.
In a dark forest.
A chilly and creepy atmosphere was in the dark forest.
Every now and then, the sound of a wolf howling and bear growling was heard.
But, one place in the forest wasn't like that.
A campfire was lit up in one part of the forest, which lit the surrounding environment in a yellowish hue, but it also attracted the attention of every animal near that place, but none of them dared to go closer because there was an invisible aura, which told them that they will die before even realizing it.
Next to a campfire, a young man with black hair was sitting on top of a log, looking at the fire without blinking.
A piece of animal meat was hanging on top of the campfire, slowly cooking the meat.
The young man's black hair was messy with dirtied face and rags as clothing, looking like a caveman.
His face had signs of fatigue and pain. It was like the young man was mourning but wasn't that good at showing his emotions.
This young man is Kurogami Ichiro. He had been walking nonstop for several days before becoming hungry and had to stop to eat.
Quickly, he hunted the first animal he saw and started cooking it, ignoring the wild animals that were surrounding the area where he was.
His exhaustion has not been reduced even the slightest. Ichiro didn't let it be reduced. Instead, he kept the exhaustion as a reminder of his failure.
With one night's rest, he would be fine, but he won't allow himself to rest. He needs the pain and exhaustion to be printed on his memory so that he knows the consequences of failure.
To many, it would be foolish, even idiotic.
But to Ichiro, it was something important to improve his strength to a whole new level.
''Grrrr...'' A silent growl appeared in the dark forest, and from there, a wolf with dark black fur appeared with menacing-looking black eyes, filled with murderous intent.
Its mouth was salivating at the sight of the meat cooking and a black-haired young man, who looked tasty in its eyes.
Ichiro grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it towards the wolf; after doing so, he once again stopped moving and kept looking at the campfire in silence.
*SPURT!*
The rock landed on the wolf's right eye, effortlessly piercing through and exiting its skull from behind.
The wolf staggered a couple of meters before falling down on the ground with its blood coloring the ground in dark red blood.
Every wolf who even planned to make a move changed their minds and quickly left the area where their Alpha had just died.
Some of the stronger animals felt reluctant and decided to keep an eye on him for a little bit longer.
Ichiro grabbed the meat and took a large bite. He tried to chew on it, but it was very soft and hard to chew on.
It took him one minute to finally swallow the first bite, but he didn't care and took the second bite, chewing for another minute, before swallowing.
It went for half an hour before only bones were left.
He threw the bones to the campfire and kept sitting for another hour.
Soon, the dark forest was not as dark as before after the first shimmer of light appeared.
He took that as a signal to continue his journey.
He stomped the campfire down to the ground, extinguishing the fire at the same motion.
After he was done, he left the area and walked through the forest, completely ignoring the growls and roars of animals, who only tried to scare him but had no intention to attack.
Soon, he left the forest and entered the dirt road.
His feet felt instantly the coarse texture of rocks and grains underneath him, but he had gotten used to it and began his walk.
Today, he expected to be a similar day like every other. He expected to see only a forest around him, but soon, his eyes sparkled as he saw the forest ending!
For a moment, at least.
Soon, he saw fields in the distance with buildings in the faraway distance.
The fields were surrounded by a wooden fence, which stopped any animal from going after their farm animals.
Soon, Ichiro left the dirt road that was only surrounded by forests and entered another road that goes straight, past the buildings and fields.
In the distance, he once again saw forests, but he didn't plan going there; instead, ask help from anyone willing to listen.
But soon, he stopped and saw a puddle on the ground, which reflected his face and clothes.
Looking at him, he finally realized that he looked like a barbarian. He would be lucky enough to not get shot, let alone get anyone to hear him.
He sighed and decided that it was better to keep walking. Finally, he saw the first signs of civilization; the nearby city couldn't be far anymore.
Ichiro made up his mind and walked over to the puddle. He walked past multiple fields, and the nearby dirt road surrounded by forest was getting nearer and nearer.
He expected to arrive there without any hiccups, but that was wishful thinking.
From the dirt road that was surrounded by forests, three figures appeared with bicycles.
They were three young men, who were laughing with each other only a moment ago, but soon that stopped after they noticed Ichiro and his dirty look.
''Hey, hey, look what we have here.'' The first young man said and started circling around Ichiro with his bicycle. He had short brown hair with shaggy pants and a shirt.
Two of his friends stopped at some distance away and looked at Ichiro with curiosity.
''Who are you?'' The young man with a shaggy outfit asked after stopping his bicycle right in front of Ichiro.
Ichiro sighed and tried to walk past him, only to get blocked by his bicycle.
''I asked you a question— I suggest answering it.'' The young man said and grabbed a bat from his basket, ''We don't like outsiders, especially not creepy-looking shitheads like you.''
''Hmm...'' Ichiro lowered his head, which caused the young man to have an arrogant smile, thinking that he was afraid.
Instead, Ichiro looked at his feet, that was dirty.
''Nice bike.'' Ichiro said and looked at the bright red bicycle, ''Can I borrow it?''
''Eh?'' The young man frowned and roared in laughter, ''Did you guys hear him?! What a fucking beggar.'' He put the bat on his shoulder and tried to act tough, ''Fuck off before I will smash your face in.''
''I will borrow your clothes too.''
''Eh?''
*SMACK!*
