> Gathering materials from selected target.

  > Desired process: Body Strengthening.

  > Confirmed sufficient resources.

  > Enhancing.

  Vaan's eyes widened in surprise. And then he felt it.

  Warmth, spreading throughout his body. A faint sense of power, slowly welling up. And the pain from his injuries slowly fading away.

  'It works.' Vaan looked back at the goblin corpse and saw that it had vanished.

  Like the female voice said, it was used as resources for what Vaan wanted.

  "In that case..." Vaan muttered and walked over to the other goblin corpses, repeating the process. And after he had converted all of them...

  > Sufficient resources assimited.

  > User [Vaan] has assimited [Mutated Goblin ].

  > Strength, speed, regeneration, and durability greatly enhanced.

  > Corrective effect applied to ambushes and intimidation.

  Vaan blinked, tilting his head as he mulled over those words. "Assimition?"

  That wasn't what Vaan had in mind... but it seemed like it was beneficial.

  Vaan rolled his shoulders and tested out his legs.

  No pain. Not only that, but he felt lighter. Faster. Stronger. Whatever had just happened, Vaan knew he was different from when he woke up in this dark cave. If he was ambushed again, things would be different.

  Vaan looked around the area one st time.

  Again, it was dark, illuminated only by faint blue from moss and fungi on the walls. At first, it had felt terrifying. But now...

  > Gathering materials from the surroundings... Shield of Darkness recreated.

  > Gathering materials from the surroundings... Sword of Darkness recreated.

  Vaan clenched his hands, holding the familiar equipment as they emerged from the darkness. "I'll be fine."

  The words echoed, a decration and a challenge.

  With them said, Vaan moved forward, continuing on his way.

  The bones from before had been completely turned to powder by the goblins.

  Vaan gnced at them and then made another small prayer in his mind before continuing forward.

  Silence, broken only by the sound of dripping water in the distance. The faint blue light shifting to a sickly green before turning into pitch darkness.

  It was unknown territory, so Vaan carefully advanced, keeping his shield and sword at the ready.

  And then, a faint breeze. Shortly after... light.

  Vaan winced, covering his eyes for a bit as they adjusted. But he kept his senses alert, waiting for danger.

  Fortunately, there wasn't any.

  And then Vaan's eyes adjusted to the light, letting him see his new surroundings.

  It was a forest. Lush green undergrowth and towering trees with a thick canopy. The clear blue sky was only visible through small portions where the leaves allowed it.

  "...Well." Vaan muttered. "This doesn't make things any easier, does it?"

  A quick gnce back showed that the cave had been part of a cliff, with a small alcove jutting out over the top. But in short...

  "I'm a far way out from civilization." Vaan murmured and shifted his gaze back to the forest.

  The only way forward was through the forest. That same forest with towering trees that cast deep shadows... and no doubt hid countless animals and monsters.

  But Vaan had no choice. It was either advance, or sit around and pray to be rescued.

  'I am no coward.'

  And so Vaan advanced, keeping his guard up.

  Fortunately, it seemed the world had decided to give him a break from death and danger.

  Vaan walked for an hour but didn't run across any monsters or hostile animals. While he saw birds and some other small critters, he didn't meet anything dangerous.

  Eventually, Vaan came across a small clearing. A small stream ran through it, with enticing berry bushes filled with crimson berries.

  Since it seemed safe, Vaan decided to take a break and sat down on a fallen log, mulling over his situation.

  Vaan grabbed a few berries and tossed them in his mouth. After that, he cupped a handful of water from the stream and quenched his thirst.

  > Detecting toxins. Creating anti-toxins to allow safe consumption.

  > Detecting contaminants. Purifying to allow safe consumption.

  Vaan froze. Then he let out a sheepish ugh. "Ahaha... I should be more careful."

  Escaping a life and death situation only to die to poisonous berries and contaminated water... How humiliating would that be?

  Fortunately, this legacy or whatever that Vaan had inherited was handling it. But... now that he had time to think about it... what was going on with him? No, who even was he?

  The name 'Vaan' was natural. Despite cking any other memory, that single name remained clear. But why?

  Vaan frowned, plucking a few more berries and tossing them into his mouth.

  From the state of his clothes when he woke up... it almost seemed like Vaan had been stabbed to death and managed to come back to life after being left for dead. But that was impossible... right?

  Vaan sighed and ran a hand through his hair... and then he realized something else.

  Vaan didn't even know what he looked like.

  A quick gnce into the stream didn't help either since it was too dark to show a proper reflection.

  Vaan sighed again. "I really hope this forest isn't too big... and that there's a town nearby."

  As useful as [Spark of Creation] seemed to be, it was definitely not something that granted immortality.

  ...Probably. Maybe it could, but Vaan somehow 'knew' that it didn't right now. Which meant he had to get to safety. Preferably a town.

  If only he had some way to point him to-

  "Oh. I'm an idiot." Vaan sighed.

  > Gathering resources from the surroundings.

  > Acknowledging user request for .

  > Iron fiments, wood, and other materials are collected.

  > Accumuted experience from defeating mutated goblins is used as a resource.

  > The skill has been granted.

  "Huh?" Vaan blinked, and then he felt like his world had just expanded.

  A sixth sense. And with it, the forest didn't feel dark at all. No, it was still dark, but Vaan could somehow see through it. Not only that, but he 'knew' which direction the closest town was in.

  Vaan slowly stood up, shaking his head in disbelief. "This... Hey, isn't this a bit too incredible?"

  > Note: Accumuted experiences are used as resource for .

  > Please acquire more experience by eliminating opponents or accomplishing great feats.

  "..Ah, so there is a catch." Vaan murmured as the voice echoed in his head again.

  It was possible to create items, equipment, and materials from physical objects. But for abstract things, a metaphysical resource called 'experience' was needed.

  ...But how was Vaan supposed to know if he had enough?

  Silence.

  Vaan sighed. "I'll just have to find out, huh?"

  It was getting a bit frustrating not knowing anything...

  But Vaan shrugged and got on his feet. Now that he had that skill or whatever it was, he knew where the nearest town was. So if he just kept walking-

  "KWEH!"

  "Hm?" Vaan blinked and looked towards the strange sound.

  It sounded like a bird.

  Vaan frowned. "What is-"

  "KWEH!" Again, the sound echoed. But then it was joined by a low rumble in the ground and colpsing trees in the distance.

  "It's not just a small bird, is it?" Vaan smiled and raised his sword and shield.

  Well.

  If Vaan needed accumuted experience and great accomplishments to make , then he might as well fight this thing. After all, what could a giant bird do to-

  The trees in front of Vaan suddenly burst into splinters. And shortly after, a towering lizard with polished emerald scales, each the size of Vaan's shield, burst into the clearing. Crimson and beady eyes flickered with rage before they narrowed in on Vaan.

  A pair of wings suddenly unfurled, each the size of a rge boat. And its gleaming white talons looked like giant guillotines.

  "That... is not a bird." Vaan muttered.

  "KWEEEEEEEEH!"

  "FUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"