I woke up.
Not with a sensation of cold or shock as I had experienced before.
This time, my consciousness returned calmly, like someone accustomed to this cycle.
My eyes opened slowly, gazing at the sky still veiled by thin mist. Sunlight began to seep through the gaps of the large trees, signaling that it was already afternoon. How long was I unconscious this time? I don't know. Time in this forest never felt clear.
One thing was certain, my body felt different.
I moved my fingers slowly, feeling every joint respond without pain. Then I lifted my right hand, which I last remembered being burned by the lizard's poison.
Its skin... was intact.
No burns, and no blisters. Only smooth skin, as if it had never been touched by poison at all.
I rotated my wrist, and moving my fingers. My arm moved perfectly, even feeling stronger than before.
Then I touched my wounded shoulder, the part torn by the lizard's claw.
There was no longer an open wound there. Only intact skin, with a faint rough line indicating a scar that had closed completely.
My waist was the same. No more pain, and the scar had vanished entirely, leaving a smooth surface.
Even my back, which had slammed against the rock repeatedly until my ribs cracked and skin tore, now felt normal. I tried taking a deep breath, making sure there was no pain in my chest.
There was none.
My body... was completely healed.
I rose slowly, from lying on my back to sitting up.
Thirst immediately surged into my throat as I sat upright. Since I was in that hole, I barely drank anything, and the sensation was strong enough to make my head feel a little dizzy.
My gaze reflexively turned to the pool near me.
Water.
I didn't overthink it this time. I stood up and stepped closer, then knelt by the pool's edge. With both hands, I scooped water and drank it immediately. The cold water touched my lips, but the taste that entered my mouth wasn't just fresh.
There was a metallic taste.
I paused briefly, and swallowing slowly. My tongue detected it clearly.
Blood.
I lowered my hands and only then realized my palms were still covered in dried dark red stains, mixed with mud and remnants of the lizard's blood.
I let out a slow sigh. Careless.
I lowered both hands into the pool and began cleaning them. The water turned murky momentarily as blood and grime washed off my skin. I scrubbed my fingers and palms until they were completely clean, ensuring no sticky residue or foul smell remained.
Only then did I scoop water again.
This time, it tasted different.
The cold water flowed in, soothing my dry throat and easing the soreness that had been pressing from within. I drank several more sips, slowly and without rushing, letting my body absorb the much-needed liquid.
Only after the thirst had subsided a little did I take a deep breath and raise my gaze.
Now I could focus.
I didn't immediately move away from the pool. I remained kneeling for a moment, letting this body fully adjust now that its thirst was quenched. The sensation of my body felt different from before, calmer, and more stable. As if my body had finally exited an emergency state and was functioning with full control again.
Then I stand up.
I stood without haste, noting every small movement. How my feet settled on the ground. How my weight distributed naturally, without conscious adjustment. No swaying. No moments of losing balance. Everything felt… right.
I let out a slow exhale.
Now, without thirst as a distraction, I could feel this body more clearly.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Not to meditate or anything like that. I just wanted to feel my own body's response. From that, I realized my body felt denser and more stable, as if it had a much sturdier structure than before, and as if something else was flowing inside me.
I opened my eyes and lowered my gaze to my right hand. My nails still looked the same, pale purple, with a faint gleam under the sunlight filtering through the trees. No visual change. No scales surfacing, no strange signs.
Yet the sensation was different.
I then pressed the skin of my arm with my thumb, and as I pressed, I felt resistance. The skin was still elastic, but noticeably harder and denser than usual. The pressure from my finger felt like touching something solid hidden beneath the surface.
Like… iron.
Not cold or rigid iron, but a hardness fused with flesh.
To be sure, I picked up a small stone from the ground near my feet, then struck it against my arm quite hard, observing how my skin withstood the impact.
But nothing happened.
The stone slid off the surface of my skin, failing to leave a mark. I repeated it, this time with slightly more pressure. The result remained the same. No scratches, no stinging, and my skin remained intact, as if the stone were merely a blunt object touching a hard surface.
I rotated my wrist, opening and closing my fingers. The movement remained light. Yet behind that seemingly normal movement, I could feel stored strength, density evenly distributed throughout the entire arm.
"Incredible..." I whispered, my voice almost inaudible.
My thoughts returned to the lizard's body. How its scales dampened attacks. How its flesh, muscles, and bones worked as a solid unit. Not rigid, but not fragile.
And now, my body moved on a similar principle.
I touched my left arm again, this time not to test its hardness, but to confirm the sensation. Its skin was warm from the sun. Normal. I could still clearly feel the touch of my fingers.
Meaning, this protection didn't sacrifice sensation.
That was important.
I didn't want defense that cost me sensitivity.
Then, there had been a strange, foreign feeling flowing in my body, but I seemed to know what it was. I looked at my hand again, focusing my gaze on my right palm. My heart remained calm, not racing, with no strong urge at all.
Then I tried to imagine it.
Poison.
The dark green fluid the lizard sprayed. The pungent smell that stabbed my nose. How the soil and moss blackened upon contact. I didn't command my body to do anything, i just let that image flow in my mind.
And my body responded.
Something moved beneath my skin. Not pain. Not an uncomfortable foreign sensation either. More like a warm flow slowly creeping from within my body, coursing along my arm, then gathering at my fingertips.
I held my breath.
My nails changed color.
The usual pale purple darkened, slowly but clearly, becoming deep purple, almost black, with a faint greenish hue at the tips. Then small droplets appeared. Thick, dark green fluid, hanging from the tip of each nail.
I stared without blinking.
"I'm producing my own poison…" I murmured softly.
My voice sounded calm, but there was a surprise I couldn't completely hide. This wasn't an illusion, my body was truly doing something new.
I moved my hand slightly. One of the droplets fell to the ground below.
Almost instantly, the small grass it touched shriveled, changed color, then blackened.
Exactly like the lizard's poison.
I took a long breath, letting it out slowly. Then I focused my mind on one simple thing. I imagined the flow receding, returning inward, and vanishing.
The warm sensation at my fingertips faded.
The color of my nails slowly returned to normal, pale purple with a soft gleam under the sunlight. No remaining droplets. No lingering sting, no side effects left behind.
So I could control it.
That realization came with a real sense of relief. I didn't want the poison to come out uncontrollably, and it would be strange if I kept secreting that poisonous fluid continuously.
I lowered my hand slowly.
Whatever I had gained from that fight, one thing was clear, this wasn't a wild power. My body accepted it. Stored it. And only released it when I wanted it.
This was a very useful new power. Poison for attack and hardened skin for defense were a perfect combination.
That lizard gave me more than I thought.
I looked at the lizard's carcass still lying not far from me. Its body was beginning to stiffen, its blood drying, with visible cut marks on the flesh I had eaten before passing out.
Without regenerative abilities like the troll, this lizard still gave me a very valuable power.
After finishing checking my body, I looked around. There was still one thing I had to do. My gaze swept over the trees around, assessing which were sturdy enough and easy to work with. I needed to make another bottle. Without a water container, I would get thirsty if I didn't find water along the way.
I looked around and spotted a medium-sized tree. I walked toward it. Its trunk was waist-high, almost similar to the tree I had felled before, though slightly larger. But I should still be able to cut it down easily.
I stood before the tree, stared at its trunk for a moment, then raised my right hand and clenched my fist.
The last time I did this, it took three punches to fell a tree.
But now...
I swung my fist.
BAM!
The tree shook violently. A large crack appeared in its trunk, penetrating almost half its diameter. Wood chips flew, and the sound of impact echoed through the quiet forest.
I looked at the result, slightly surprised.
A single punch had already caused that much damage.
I smiled faintly.
Then I swung a second punch.
BAM!
KRAAAK!
The tree fell. Its trunk broke cleanly, and the tree's body crashed to the ground with a loud sound, raising dust and dry leaves.
Two punches.
Only two punches to fell a tree that last time took three.
The increase in my strength... was more significant than I thought.
I approached the fallen tree and began working. My sharp claws easily stripped the bark from the trunk, pulling it off in long sheets. After that, I started hollowing out the trunk, carving a large enough empty space to hold water.
The process was much faster than before. My claws moved with better precision, and my strength made this work feel easier. In less than 10 minutes, the wooden bottle was formed, with a cavity deep enough and walls thick enough to not easily leak.
Now, only the lid remained. Last time, I used bear skin to seal the bottle. But now, I had no bear skin.
I had to find another alternative.
I looked at the lizard's carcass again.
Its skin.
The lizard's scales were hard and water-resistant. If I could take a small piece of its skin, it might be the perfect lid.
I approached the lizard's carcass, then carefully used my claws to cut a small piece of skin from its back. The part with the thickest, hardest scales.
Cutting it wasn't easy. The scales were very hard, even after the lizard's death. But with patience and the sharp strength of my claws, I finally managed to obtain a circular piece of skin, large enough to cover the mouth of the wooden bottle.
I returned to the wooden bottle I had made, then placed the lizard skin over it. The size fit perfectly. The hard scales made this lid sturdy, and its rough texture provided a good grip.
Now I needed something to tie it with.
I looked around again, searching for roots or plant fibers that could be used as rope. Not far from there, I saw a tree with small, low-hanging roots, dry and flexible enough.
I pulled several strands of those roots, then twisted them into a simple rope. After that, I tied the lizard skin tightly over the mouth of the wooden bottle, ensuring there were no gaps that could let water leak.
Done.