Realm of Sinew and Muscle

The next morning.

He sat cross-legged on a clean blue stone by a small stream not far from the water pool.

Holding a dagger in his hand, he thrust the blade cleanly into his thigh with a thwip.

Gritting his teeth, the corners of his eyes twitched, and a low groan escaped his throat. Blood quickly seeped from the wound. Merlin's left hand ignited with Black Flame as he pulled out the dagger and pressed it against the wound.

The Calamity that had pierced his flesh was absorbed.

But the pain still lingered in the wound. Merlin panted slowly, his mouth slightly open, his face pale.

"While absorbing Calamity can be used to heal injuries, it can't compensate for the blood loss that has already occurred."

"As expected, no ability is absolutely perfect, and there's the cost..."

Merlin looked down at his chest, abdomen, and arms, where patches of dried, dark red blood scabs marked his skin.

Every morning for the past few days, Merlin had come here before dawn to explore his Calamity Ability.

Firstly, he could understand pain through self-harm to accumulate Calamity Bullets.

Secondly, it could be used to train his resistance to physical pain.

Looking at his healed thigh, Merlin lowered his head to look at the small fish and shrimp in the stream that had been attracted by his blood.

The palm-sized fish and shrimp looked incredibly plump.

He stood up and went to the bank, picked up a meter-long stone, and jumped into the downstream water, using the stone to block an outlet that had been dammed up.

The exit blocked, it was like catching a turtle in a jar.

His calves submerged in the water, Merlin's pupils adjusted their focus, and his hands moved nimbly in the water, catching fish.

Before long, palm-sized fish and shrimp were caught and thrown onto the bank. There were a total of twelve fish and nine large shrimp.

Today was lucky; he even caught a turtle as big as a human head.

He rinsed the blue stone stained with his blood with clear water, sat on it, and used the dagger to prepare the fish, shrimp, and turtle he had caught.

They were neatly arranged on the blue stone.

After preparing them, he opened the dam to let the water flow. Soon, clear water washed away the fish and shrimp entrails from upstream. Merlin then took off his swim trunks and washed himself in the stream, which only came up to his calves.

Before long, he returned to the water pool with the prepared fish, shrimp, and turtle, skewering them with bamboo sticks and roasting them over a campfire.

"Are your morning lessons finished?"

After roasting for only a few minutes, Yol arrived with a net bag made of crocodile skin filled with fruit, which she washed by the water pool.

"Brother Merlin, look, what's this?"

Lami excitedly showed off five palm-sized eggs she was holding to Merlin with a beaming smile.

"We just found a nest of snake eggs, and they're still warm!"

Merlin raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Lami, are you going to hatch these five snake eggs and keep them as pets?"

Upon hearing this, Lami quickly shook her head, puffed out her cheeks, and said, "No way! I brought them back for you to roast and eat!"

Saying that, she placed the snake eggs on the ground, then picked up a bamboo tube and went to a dirt pit under a distant tree to dig for mud.

Merlin watched this and felt a bit speechless. "It seems Lami is also at the age where she likes playing with mud."

Yol, having finished washing the fruit, walked over with a gentle smile and handed him a red, pear-shaped fruit.

"Eat up! If Lami hears you, she'll stop talking to you again."

Merlin took a big bite, the flesh crisp, sweet, and juicy. He said while eating, "It's okay, Lami will come to talk to me again in five minutes at most."

Yol smiled at Merlin, "That's true, Lami is very well-behaved."

"What about me?" Lami ran over with the bamboo tube, asking curiously, "What secrets were you two whispering about?"

As she spoke, she scooped some water from the edge of the pool to soften the mud, then wrapped the snake eggs in it and placed them in the fire to roast.

Merlin smiled. "Yol was praising you!"

Lami chuckled, tilting her chin up slightly, her face full of pride. "How did she praise me? Say it to my face!"

Yol smiled helplessly. This girl was truly an extrovert.

She had no choice but to praise her again.

Not long after, The fish and shrimp were cooked, and so were the snake eggs.

After a rather hearty breakfast, the three of them began their training by the water pool.

First, they warmed up with Yoga, then the two of them did basic physical training, and after that, Merlin taught Yol and Lami combat techniques hand-in-hand.

Using simple body movements and weapons like fists and feet to inflict maximum damage on the opponent.

Both of them learned very seriously.

Equipped with the [Lynx], which brought them physical flexibility and agility, and after careful exploration these past few days, Merlin had gradually developed his own understanding of how the human body's muscles generate force.

This also gave Merlin a vague understanding of a realm of body coordination in his past life's martial arts, known as [Muscle as One].

The coordinated unity of static skeletal strength and dynamic muscular power.

After all, feline predators like the Lynx were highly efficient in utilizing their own bones and muscles.

And they could perfectly embody the movement philosophy of "still as a virgin, swift as a startled rabbit."

Learning from heaven and earth, learning from nature.

Human Cultivation often formed through imitating and learning from all things in nature.

Through the [Equipment], Merlin gained some insights into this.

At noon, Merlin went hunting.

After a simple lunch, they continued their Cultivation and training after a midday nap.

Evening.

Yol was rubbing salt onto the Roasted Rock Sheep, looking at Merlin with a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

"We're running low on the salt we brought when we left. Should we use it sparingly?"

But as she spoke, Yol's eyes gradually lit up, "I noticed the rock sheep licking the rocks on that cliff. Could there be salt there?"

Merlin shook his head, "Our reserves can last for about another week. After a week, we'll prepare to leave here!

Although life in the mountains is comfortable, we are humans after all. Staying isolated for too long isn't good for Lami's growth.

Besides, we can't stay in these deep mountains and old forests forever.

We're not savages.

And besides, Yol, you don't want to be stuck wearing animal skins for the rest of your life, do you?

And I imagine that after a few more days, the stir we caused in Frevanz will have died down a bit."

Yol silently nodded. In truth, she was quite content with their current life, carefree, working with the sunrise and resting with the sunset.

Being able to live with the people she cared about.

Without having to face the deceit and treachery of the outside world.

She was actually a very easily satisfied person.

However, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

A gentle smile spread across Yol's face, "No matter where we go, as long as I can be with you two, I'll be fine."

It wasn't that Yol lacked her own opinions, but after experiencing the drastic ups and downs in Frevanz, falling from heaven to hell and then crawling back out, she had an instinctive aversion to the outside environment.

Merlin could vaguely guess some of her thoughts, sensing her subtle worries about the outside world. He didn't have any better solutions for this.

He could only leave it all to time to resolve.

After all, time is the best medicine in this world.

Either live, or die.

If you can't adapt, you'll be eliminated.

Lami, at this moment, was obediently watching the Roasted Rock Sheep over the fire. She didn't interject in Merlin and Yol's conversation.

A precocious girl.

She knew when to say what.

And at this moment, Seeing that the two had finished talking.

She simply gently held Yol's left hand and, seeing Yol look at her, gave her a warm, bright, and cheerful smile.

Yol smiled softly, "Yeah! We can't always think about escaping just because we're worried."

Not long after.

After finishing the roasted lamb, they ate sweet and sour fruits to cleanse their palates.

In their tree hollow dwelling, they drank Monkey Wine while listening to Merlin's bedtime stories.

After another "we'll talk about it tomorrow,"

The three of them drifted off to sleep.

Because the door blocked out the outside, Merlin slept quite well here at night.

The sun rose and set, and then rose again.

In the blink of an eye, another week passed.

Every day was spent cultivating and training with all his might. Merlin also discovered that whenever he was in the midst of various hunts in the deep forest, he would occasionally enter a state of high efficiency for hunting.

And each time he emerged from this highly focused state of mind and body, his Synchronization Value with the Lynx and his own would increase.

[6% → 12%]

Unlike his Synchronization Value with the Lynx, which had reached 12%, his Synchronization Value with the Calamity Fruit was only at 7%.

It took almost three days of cultivation and training to increase the progress by about 1%.

At this rate, it would likely take a year for his Synchronization Value with the Calamity Fruit to reach 100%.

Early morning.

After breakfast.

Merlin sat cross-legged on a bluestone by the water pool, looking at the Equipment Slot before him.

He had been here for half a month now and had a good understanding of the two pieces of Equipment in his Equipment Slot.

Looking down at his body, he could feel a power within him that was much stronger than before.

His pair of black eyes shone with spirit, and a flicker of dark fire would occasionally appear in the depths of his pupils.

Possessing the abilities of the Calamity Fruit, Merlin's training and familiarization over these past few days had allowed him to control the Black Flame, not just limited to his hands.

The Calamity Black Flame possessed no destructive power.

Even if it enveloped his entire body, it wouldn't burn a single hair.

And when a certain Calamity effect of the Calamity Fruit's ability took effect, it would manifest by entwining the target's entire body with Black Flame.

As a result, with the high frequency of self-use, Merlin gradually became able to interfere with the Black Flame's flow to his upper body through his mental will.

Furthermore, he had developed a peculiar ability effect.

When Merlin manifested the Calamity Black Flame from his eyes, he gained a peculiar Calamity Vision, allowing him to glimpse the Calamity present within a target.

Merlin named this ability:

[Calamity Vision]

Eyes that could see through the Calamity conditions present within a living being.

At this moment, Yol walked over from the treehouse, carrying a Backpack and a briefcase. She came to the water pool and called out to Merlin:

"Everything's packed. Shall we go?"

Merlin had told Yol and the others last night that they would be leaving today.

So after breakfast, Yol and Lami had discussed and packed their luggage together, telling Merlin to just wait outside.