Whilst Alexander was having an internal crisis, the creature completely ignored him and rushed towards the spilt drink.

Seeing that he was not its primary target, Alexander slowly walked backwards.

As the creature arrived at the split puddle, it quickly slurped the drink off the ground.

*Pur*

Delighted by the amazing drink, the creature purred.

With the creature full focused on the puddle, Alexander steadied his weapon and sped up his retreat.

However, nothing good lasts forever. The puddle on the ground quickly vanished into the creature’s stomach before Alexander could achieve a feasible distance.

The still hungry creature turned its head towards Alexander. It flapped its fin-like ears, demanding more of this heavenly product.

‘Am I being blackmailed in-game?’

*Pur*

Scared, Alexander relented and summoned a dozen Eliot Nutrients from the Store Inventory. He was even kind enough to open the caps before placing them on the ground for the Panthershutt.

After finishing his job, Alexander slowly backed off.

The adult Panthershutt, in turn, ignored him once more and jumped toward the delicious Eliot Nutrients.

As Alexander observed the creature from afar, he noticed something particular about this creature. There were traces of cobalt blue blood by its snout, tainting its beautiful fur.

After some thinking, Alexander finally remembered this particular creature. It was the same creature that went and checked on its dead comrade back in the cavern. More importantly, it was the creature he woke up facing.

He also noticed that it never showed any sign of blood lust towards him. It was just hungry, and the Eliot Nutrients on his hand were simply too irresistible.

For once, his guesses were correct. The Panthershutt never cared about him, only his drink. It came demanding payment for letting him sleep on it. A reasonable exchange, to be honest.

Hence, Alexander unknowingly attracted another patron for Eliot Nutrient.

After believing that he was far enough, Alexander sat down and enjoyed another Eliot Nutrient. The two shared a meal together, albeit they sat extremely far apart.

***

After a hearty meal, Alexander returned to his objective once more.

He even gained a new supporter cheering for him from below, the Panthershutt. It lay sprawling on the grown, chewing on the empty Eliot Nutrients cup, licking the remaining residue.

Sometimes the lazy animal would look up to see its food supplier performing strange actions on the wall.

It gazed at him with interest, like how people would look at monkeys climbing in the zoo.

Of course, Alexander didn’t know any of this and continued climbing.

As his body got used to the infusion of memory, the first 50 metres became easier. He could effortlessly dart through without much effort.

However, the 80 metres onwards was still challenging. Focusing all of his strength, Alexander powered through.

He struggled once more as he passed through the 100 metres mark.

_ _ _

_ _ _

After achieving another milestone, Alexander returned to gravity's embrace once more.

***

The officer opened the door into the storage room with the recruit shortly behind. He pointed at the assortment of training weapons neatly placed on display racks around and said, “Pick a training weapon, lad,”

The boys looked curiously at the display racks. The majority of the weapons here were farming equipment, minus the few swords and spears.

Noticing the young recruit’s gaze, the officer explained, “You should know about the nature of our army when we first formed.”

The recruit nodded and decided to test a few weapons. After extensive testing, he settled on a short sword.

“A good choice,” the officer said as he also picked up a similar sword.

The officer then led the recruit to the training area.

The sight of the fortress back in its heyday was truly mighty. Hundreds of fresh recruits constantly swinging their weapons, accompanied by dozens of officers.

Yet, the sight was no stranger to the duo as they selected an empty spot. The officer then positions himself opposite the boy.

“Alright, lad. I will now teach you the standard sword technique, Freóriht Standard,” he pointed his wooden sword at the boy. “Carefully watch and observe!”

The officer’s body and sword moved as one, a simple dance amidst a field of sword swings and yelling of recruit.

A dance that looked so uncomplicated and rudimentary, resembling random striking.

Yet, beneath such simplicity carried a story of dedication and preservation. To strike with such precision, one must first dedicate time and commitment. Thus, the dancer did. Forged by his undying determination, moulded the harshness of war and quenched in the blood of his enemies, he had trained a simple technique to the peak of perfection, all in the defence of what he called home.

As his sword winded down and returned to its strap, the officer looked at the boy.

How could a boy still wet from his mum’s milk understand it. Only boredom showed on his face.

The officer had to admit. Although the boy’s determination was strong, his understanding was still lacking. After all, nothing great can be built without a proper foundation.

The officer smiled and padded the boy on the shoulder before leaving.

“If you want to learn more advanced techniques, you’ll need Freóriht Standard as a foundation. So get to training, laddie!”

***

“Hah!” Again, Alexander woke up with his body no longer attached to the wall.

With a splitting head, Alexander calmed his mind for a while. After the pain had somewhat subsided, he looked up and readied to thank the skeleton once more.

Yet all he saw was that he was floating above an empty field. No skeleton nor anything holding up.

Confused, Alexander reached his other hand back to see what was holding him.

His hand immediately touch soft silky fur. With no clue of what was going on, Alexander struggled as he turned his dizzy head around.

A giant Panthershutt hung vertically with its paws dug deep into the wall appeared in front of him. Using its mouth, it held Alexander up by biting on his dangling hood.

Spooked, Alexander reflectively tried to flail his body causing the creature to drop him.

Landed head first on the ground, Alexander laid there like an ostrich until his headache disappeared.

Finally regaining his sanity, he stood up to thank his savour. However, the creature flapped his fin-like ears at him as if demanding payment.

He couldn’t believe the shameless creature. Yet it reminded him so much of his brother.

Hence, Alexander complied and summoned a few Eliot Nutrients as payment.

No longer interested in Alexander. The Panthershutt dived into its newly extorted gains.