Early the next morning.
Sitting cross-legged on a clean bluestone beside the stream not far from the pool.
Gripping a dagger in his hand, with a squelch, he stabbed the blade completely into his thigh.
Gritting his teeth, the corners of his eyes twitching incessantly, a low grunt of "Unnh!" escaped his throat. As fresh blood quickly oozed from the wound, black flames rose from Merlin's left hand. He pulled out the dagger and pressed his hand against the wound.
The Calamity of the puncture wound was absorbed.
But the pain lingered at the site of the injury. Merlin's mouth opened slightly as he panted slowly, his face somewhat pale:
"Although absorbing Calamity can be used to heal injuries, the effect of blood loss that has already occurred cannot be compensated for."
"Sure enough, there is no absolutely perfect ability. And this consumption..."
Merlin looked down at his chest, abdomen, and arms, where patches of dried, dark red scabs and scars were visible.
Every morning for the past few days, before dawn, Merlin would come here to explore his Calamity ability.
First, to understand pain through self-harm and accumulate Calamity bullets.
Second, to exercise his resistance to physical pain.
Looking at his healed thigh, Merlin looked down at the small fish and shrimp in the surrounding stream, attracted by his blood.
The palm-sized fish and shrimp looked incredibly plump.
He got up and went to the bank, picked up a meter-long stone slab, and jumped into the downstream water, using the stone to block a water outlet he had built up with stones downstream.
The exit blocked, catching a turtle in a jar.
His calves submerged in the water.
The focal length of his pupils constantly changing, Merlin deftly caught fish in the water.
Before long, palm-sized fish and shrimp were caught one by one and thrown onto the bank. A full twelve fish and nine large shrimp.
Luck was good today; he even caught a turtle as big as a human head.
Using clear water to wash the bluestone stained by his blood, Merlin sat on it and used his dagger to process the caught fish, shrimp, and turtle.
Neatly arranging them on the bluestone.
After processing, he opened the sluice to release the water. Before long, the clear current from upstream washed away the fish and shrimp entrails in the water. Merlin took off his remaining swim trunks and washed himself in the calf-deep stream water.
Not long after, bringing the processed seafood back to the pool, he skewered them with bamboo sticks and roasted them by the fire.
"Is your morning lesson over?"
Just a few minutes into roasting, Yol came over with a net bag made of crocodile skin carrying a load of fruit, washing them by the pool.
"Merlin-niichan, look, what is this?"
Lami, beaming like she was offering a treasure, showed off the five palm-sized eggs she was holding in her arms to Merlin:
"We found a nest of snake eggs just now. They're still warm!"
Merlin raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly:
"Is Lami planning to hatch these five snake eggs and raise them as pets?"
Hearing this, Lami hurriedly shook her head, puffing out her cheeks:
"No way! I brought these back specifically for you to roast and eat!"
Saying this, she placed the snake eggs on the ground, then picked up a bamboo cylinder and went to a dirt pit under a tree in the distance to dig for mud.
Seeing this, Merlin was somewhat speechless: "It seems Lami has also reached the age where she likes playing with mud."
Yol, having finished washing the fruit, walked over with a gentle smile on her face and handed him a red, pear-shaped fruit:
"Eat it quickly! If Lami hears you, she'll ignore you again."
Merlin took a big bite with a crunch. It was crisp, sweet, and juicy. He spoke while eating:
"It's fine. At most five minutes, and Lami will come back to talk to me."
Yol looked at Merlin with a smile:
"True, Lami is very well-behaved."
"What about me?" Lami ran over holding the bamboo cylinder and asked curiously: "What secrets are you two whispering about again?"
Saying this, she scooped up some water by the pool to mix with the mud, then came over to wrap the snake eggs in mud and place them in the fire to bake.
Merlin smiled: "Yol was praising you!"
Lami grinned, her chin slightly raised, looking proud: "How did she praise me? Say it to my face!"
Yol smiled helplessly. This girl really was a social butterfly.
She had no choice but to praise her again.
Not long after,
The fish and shrimp were thoroughly cooked, and the snake eggs were ready too.
With a fairly sumptuous breakfast in their stomachs, the three of them began to exercise by the pool.
First, warming up with yoga, then the two of them did basic physical training, and finally, Merlin taught Yol and Lami combat techniques hand-in-hand.
Through simple body force exertion, using fists and feet as weapons to inflict maximum damage on the opponent.
Both of them learned very seriously.
Equipping the [Lynx], through the physical flexibility and agility brought by the lynx, and after careful exploration these past few days, Merlin gradually developed his own understanding of the exertion of human muscles and sinews.
And this gave Merlin a vague understanding of a state of physical coordination in the martial arts of his previous life called [Unity of Sinew and Muscle].
The coordinated unity of static strength of sinews and bones and dynamic power of muscles.
After all, feline predators like the lynx have extremely developed efficiency in utilizing their own sinews, bones, and muscles.
And they can perfectly reflect the athletic concept of "still as a virgin, moving like a rabbit."
Learning from heaven and earth, learning from nature.
Human cultivation is often formed by imitating and learning from all things in nature.
Through equipping [Equipment], Merlin also gained some insights into this.
At noon, Merlin went hunting.
After a simple lunch and a nap, they continued their cultivation and training.
Evening.
Yol smeared salt on a roasted rock sheep, looking at Merlin with some helplessness in her eyes:
"Our salt reserves from when we left are running low. Should we use it more sparingly?"
However, speaking of this, Yol's eyes gradually lit up. "I noticed the rock sheep licking rocks on that cliff. Could there be salt there?"
Merlin shook his head. "Our reserves can still last for about a week. Let's prepare to leave here in a week!
"Although life in the mountains is comfortable, we are humans after all. Being isolated for too long is not good for Lami's growth.
"Besides, we can't stay in this deep forest forever.
"We aren't savages.
"Moreover, Yol, you don't want to spend your days wearing only animal skins in the future, do you?
"And presumably, when we go out in a few days, the limelight we caused in Flevance should have passed."
Yol nodded silently. Actually, she was quite satisfied with their current life—carefree, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
Living with important people.
Without having to face the deceit and intrigue outside.
She was actually a person who was easily satisfied.
However,
"Mmh, I'll listen to you."
Yol wore a gentle smile on her face. "No matter where we go, as long as I can be with you guys, I'm fine."
It wasn't that Yol had no mind of her own, but after experiencing the rollercoaster of falling from heaven to hell in Flevance and then crawling out of hell, she had an instinctive resistance to the outside environment.
Merlin could vaguely guess her thoughts and sense her hidden worries about the outside world. He didn't have a better solution for this either.
He could only leave everything to time.
After all, time is the best medicine in the world.
Either live or die.
Adapt or be eliminated.
Lami stared obediently at the roasted rock sheep on the fire, not interrupting Merlin and Yol's conversation.
A precocious girl.
Knowing what to say and when.
At this moment,
Seeing the two finish talking.
She just gently held Yol's left hand. When Yol looked over, she gave her a warm, bright, and cheerful smile.
Yol smiled with a soft gaze. That's right! I can't always think about escaping just because I'm worried.
Not long after.
After eating the roasted mutton and having some sweet and sour fruits to cut the grease.
Drinking Monkey Wine in the tree hollow dwelling and listening to Merlin's bedtime story.
After another "let's talk about it tomorrow night."
The three entered dreamland.
With a door blocking the outside world, Merlin slept reasonably well here at night.
Sunrise, sunset, and sunrise again.
In the blink of an eye, another week passed.
Every day was spent training with all their might. Merlin also discovered that whenever he was engaged in various hunts in the deep forest, he could occasionally enter a high-efficiency state for hunting.
And whenever he broke away from this state of high physical and mental concentration, the [Synchro Value] between the [Lynx] and himself would increase.
[6% → 12%]
Unlike the Lynx Synchro Value, which had reached 12%, the Calamity Fruit's Synchro Value was only 7%.
It took almost three days of cultivation and training to increase the progress by about 1%.
According to this rate of growth, it would probably take a year for the Calamity Fruit's Synchro Value to reach 100%.
Early morning.
After breakfast.
Merlin sat cross-legged on a bluestone by the pool, looking at the Equipment Slot in front of him.
Having been here for half a month, he had a pretty good understanding of the two types of equipment in his slot.
Looking down at his body, he could feel a power within him that was much stronger than before.
His pair of black eyes were piercing, and from time to time, a flicker of pitch-black fire would appear in the depths of his pupils.
Possessing the Calamity Fruit ability, Merlin's familiarization through exercise these days allowed him to manifest black flames not just limited to his hands.
The Calamity Black Flame possessed no killing power.
Even if it wrapped around the whole body, it wouldn't burn a single hair.
And when a certain Calamity effect of the fruit ability took effect, it would unfold by wrapping the target's whole body in black flames.
Therefore, with the high frequency of use on himself, Merlin gradually managed to intervene with his spiritual will, making the black flames flow to cover half of his body.
Moreover, he also developed a unique ability effect.
When Merlin deployed the Calamity Black Flame from his eyes, he would possess a unique Calamity Vision, allowing him to pry into the [Calamity] existing on a target.
Merlin named this ability:
[Calamity Vision]
Eyes capable of seeing through the Calamity conditions existing within a living organism.
At this time, Yol walked over from the treehouse, carrying a backpack and holding the suitcase. She arrived at the pool and shouted to Merlin:
"Everything is packed. Let's go!"
Last night, Merlin had told Yol and Lami that they were leaving today.
So after breakfast, Yol and Lami agreed to pack the luggage together, letting Merlin just wait outside.