Waking up, he dispersed his clone. Relieving it of its duties.
"I slept like shit; who knew sleeping on the ground was so horrible?"
With jagged rocks biting into his skin and multiple crawlies trying to eat his skin. He had at least realized in the middle of the night to conjure a giant rock slab and then finish it off with softer earth so that he would be sleeping on leveled ground. But even then, used to the royal chambers, sleeping on the ground wasn't so great.
"Well, whatever, I gotta find some water now. Since I literally smell like rot." Glancing over at the wolf's carcass, he saw multiple little critters feasting on its rotting flesh and even some birds.
"At least I'm not the only thing that smells."
Now it's time to use my infinite earthling knowledge to find water.
With this thought, he dispersed his makeshift tent and began to walk in the opposite direction from where he originally came from while chasing the wolf.
While he did mention infinite knowledge, the only thing that came to mind was to walk before finding a stream or river.
As a three-year-old, his stubby legs weren't taking him far, but after talking for around ten minutes, he sighed.
"I don't even hear water. For how long must I walk before I come across a fricking pond?"
Just then there was a small rustle in the bushes, and something lunged at Roland. Roland was tired and focused on finding water and that only. It had been too long since he had been at war. Perhaps the thick walls of the castle had made him forget that the outside world was harsh.
Then his arm was gone.
The creature had aimed for the neck, and perhaps with luck or maybe even with Roland's timely reaction, the creature only bit off his shoulder.
The creature was hideous; it had a twisted, human-like grin on its catlike face. It stood on two hind paws, towering above Roland and standing 3 meters tall. Holding what could only be assumed to be a sword, which had been stolen from some adventurer, in its human hands. Everything else was covered in thick black fur.
Its eyes glinted with revolting pleasure as he swallowed Roland's arm whole.
The pain was delayed but inevitable, and once Roland had registered everything as reality a loud screech echoed throughout the forest.
While Roland had experienced pain before, it was nothing compared to having his arm removed by sharp fangs.
The creature seemed to emit a laugh before lunging with incomprehensible speed at Roland.
Roland, while disoriented, hadn't fully lost himself. Well, he had lost all thoughts except one.
I will survive.
Raising his right arm, he pointed at the creature and shot three rounds in succession. He focused the rest of his mana into his shoulder—or rather what was left of it—to stop the bleeding.
Only one of his shots landed, ironically, on the left shoulder of the cat. Making the creature stutter momentarily.
This was all that Roland needed for his current goal. He couldn't kill the cat, so he chose to run.
He was thirsty, hurt, tired, and scared. But none of that clouded his judgment; he simply didn't want to die again. So, he ran.
Soon after, the creature gave chase, but with the little leftover mana from stopping the bleeding, Roland directed it all to his legs. He still wasn't faster, but his tiny frame made the cat lose track of him frequently. Possibly the only time his small frame would've been of use.
But none of these thoughts were in his mind; the fact is, the amount of blood he had lost was making him pass out, incapable of thinking. There was only one thing driving him.
Instinct.
The creature wasn't willing to give up such rare prey, so it kept chasing. At some point realizing it was futile to only use its eyes, it started to use its nose to track Roland.
With that, Roland had lost his initial advantage and wasn't capable of outrunning the cat. He had no other advantage; all seemed futile. His stamina was less, he wasn't familiar with the terrain, and he couldn't beat the cat in a fight. There was simply nothing he could do.
He was prey, and the creature was the hunter.
Then he remembered something very important.
His second blessing.