The forest swallowed them whole.
Moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting flickering shadows across the dense underbrush.
Every snapped twig, every rustle of leaves made Riven's muscles tense.
He walked ahead, steps light and careful, while Eron struggled to keep pace behind him.
"We have to move faster," Riven said in a low voice.
Eron only nodded, too out of breath to speak.
---
> [Synchronization: 22%...]
---
With every step, Riven felt the change inside him.
His senses sharpened — he could smell damp earth, hear the tiny paws of rodents scurrying under the roots, feel distant vibrations in the ground.
Skills, memories, instincts — all merging, reforging him.
They moved deeper into the wild.
The trees thickened, ancient and tall, their roots forming twisted barriers across the ground.
In the darkness, unseen eyes watched them.
---
"Stop," Riven commanded, raising a hand.
He knelt and touched the soil — disturbed recently.
Tracks.
Massive, clawed footprints.
Something big had passed through not long ago.
"Duskfangs," Riven muttered.
Eron paled. "More of those beasts?"
Riven nodded grimly.
"They hunt in packs at night."
They had to be careful.
He led them off the animal trail, cutting through tangled vines and thorn bushes.
Every step was a battle against the wild.
Branches clawed at their clothes, mud sucked at their boots.
Above them, the canopy swallowed the starlight, and the world became nothing but shifting shadows and muted sounds.
---
> [New Passive Skill Acquired: Wilderness Survival Lv.1]
---
Hours passed.
Exhaustion dragged at them, but stopping was not an option.
"We'll rest soon," Riven said, glancing back at Eron.
Eron managed a weak smile.
They pushed on.
Eventually, they reached a rocky clearing beside a small, slow-moving stream.
Riven scanned the area carefully before motioning for Eron to sit.
"I'll make a perimeter," he said.
Using sharpened sticks and tripwires crafted from vines, he created crude but effective alarms around their camp.
Then he kindled a small, smokeless fire, using dried moss and flint.
The fire crackled quietly, casting long, flickering shadows.
For a moment, there was peace.
---
Eron leaned against a rock, eyes half-closed.
"I never thought I'd see the young master fight like that," he said softly.
"You were... incredible."
Riven stared into the flames.
"I'm not the same Riven Valen," he said.
Eron frowned, confused.
"But you're still our lord," he said, as if that answered everything.
Riven said nothing.
Inside, he felt the weight of a thousand lives pressing against his soul.
He wasn't just Riven anymore.
He was the Archer, the Strategist, the Mage, the Warlord...
All at once.
And yet... he was still himself.
Somehow.
---
> [Synchronization: 25%...]
---
A low growl shattered the quiet.
Riven stood instantly, hand on his dagger.
Eyes gleamed from the shadows beyond the firelight.
Then more.
Not just one Duskfang — a pack.
Six of them.
They crept forward, hackles raised, teeth bared.
"Eron, stay behind me," Riven ordered.
The steward scrambled back, clutching a branch like a weapon.
The Duskfangs moved to encircle them.
Too many to fight in close quarters.
Riven needed space.
He grabbed a burning branch from the fire, brandishing it like a spear.
The beasts hesitated, wary of the flames.
Riven hurled the branch at the largest wolf, the flame bursting across its matted fur.
The beast yelped and stumbled back.
The others growled, ready to strike.
---
> [New Combat Skill Unlocked: Improvised Weapon Mastery Lv.1]
---
Riven moved.
He grabbed stones from the ground, hurling them with deadly precision.
Each throw cracked against bone or flesh.
One Duskfang collapsed, whining.
Another leapt at him.
Riven sidestepped and drove his dagger up into its throat.
Hot blood splattered across his hands.
The remaining beasts snarled and retreated slightly, sensing the danger.
But they were predators — they would not flee easily.
Riven bared his teeth in a grim smile.
"Come, then."
The pack charged.
---
The battle was brutal.
He fought with everything he had — instincts honed across lifetimes guiding his every move.
Eron even managed to stab one of the smaller wolves with his sharpened stick, surprising both himself and the creature.
Finally, bloodied and battered, the last of the Duskfangs fled into the woods.
Silence returned.
Only the crackle of dying embers and the heavy breathing of two survivors remained.
---
> [Synchronization: 32%...]
[Skill Upgrade: Wilderness Survival Lv.2]
---
Riven wiped the blood from his dagger and sheathed it.
Eron sat heavily, trembling but alive.
"You... you saved us," he whispered.
Riven sat down too, breathing hard.
"No," he said. "We survived together."
The fire flickered low.
Beyond the clearing, the forest seemed to retreat, as if acknowledging their victory.
---
Later, as they slept in shifts, Riven stared up at the canopy.
He wasn't strong enough yet.
Not by a long shot.
If a mere pack of beasts had nearly killed them, what would the true powers of this world do?
He needed more strength.
More memories.
More synchronization.
And he would get it.
No matter what it cost.
---
By dawn, they moved again.
Their bodies ached, but determination burned stronger than ever.
Following the stream, they climbed a low ridge — and there, in the distance, beyond the misty treetops...
Lights.
A town.
Civilization.
And with it, new dangers.
Riven narrowed his eyes.
"Let's go," he said.
They began their descent.
Towards the next chapter of their survival.
Towards the next battle.
Towards destiny.
---
> [Synchronization: 35%...]