Alex was excited.
His pocket watch was an artifact.
It had one cubic meter of space, and it wasn't empty.
Inside lay five potions, four red and one blue, a couple dozen gold coins, two bluish crystals emitting a faint light, and a book.
Channeling the last bit of mana before it dissipated, Alex managed to pour all the contents outside.
'It seems my biological parents were mercenaries or adventurers,' Alex thought.
The pocket watch seemed to be a reserve stash. It contained the essentials for an emergency.
He didn't know what the crystals were, though.
Alex took one of the red potions with a smile on his lips and excitement written on his face. He looked at the red liquid, then at the glass, and saw that it had a label.
"(Basic Healing Potion by Martyn's Alchemy Shop)," Alex read aloud.
It also had a logo, a shield with a thin tube making a cross with a staff inside.
He didn't know the logo, so it meant that it wasn't famous enough to reach the small village he was in.
Still, he couldn't be happier. He wasn't really sure how to move on after using mana on the bolt injury, but the surprise of the pocket watch was like being given a second life.
He knew such potions weren't that expensive, and with the money he stole from the house, he could afford quite a bit. But alas, he was in the middle of the jungle, and there was no alchemy shop nearby.
So, for him, these potions were godsent.
For once, he felt grateful to his parents.
With a change of plans, he took the expensive knife again. Grabbing the tip of the arrow with two fingers, he pushed it forward a little to get better access to the shaft.
He endured the pain with a cloth in his mouth, then with his free hand, he slashed upward at the shaft.
The slice wasn't strong enough to cut it in one hit, but the impact sent a sharp pain from his shoulder down his arm.
He grumbled in pain, muted by the cloth, and did it again.
Only after three strikes did he manage to cut it.
He was sweating from the pain, but it had to be done.
After removing the tip, leaving only the shaft in him, he pulled it out from the back, and blood started flowing.
He quickly opened the healing potion and gulped it down.
He felt warmth seep through his body and could feel the movement of his flesh.
It was an uncomfortable and strange feeling, feeling his flesh mend and close, but it worked like a charm.
Still, the potion didn't work miracles, since it didn't regenerate any of the blood he had lost.
'Tonight was a very close call to death. I hope I never have to do this kind of shit again,' Alex thought dejectedly after realizing how narrowly he had escaped death.
After the pain disappeared and the adrenaline subsided, Alex suddenly felt exhaustion hit him like a truck.
'I hope there are no bugs in here,' was the last thing Alex thought before dropping unconscious from blood loss and fatigue.
After an unknown amount of hours, Alex woke up.
He felt stiff, weak, and tired, but still, he slowly got up.
First, he quickly looked around the cave to see if he was alone. Now that light shone inside, he could see the whole place.
'I am indeed alone,' Alex thought. Now that he could see the cave properly, it wasn't that big, and in this forest, there were no native cold-blooded species that preferred humid, small places like these.
After checking the cave again, he focused on another thought.
'Now that I think about it, that mana control training the general was given in the dream also has the word "mana" in it. Not only that, but it was perfectly detailed by the creator to the general,' Alex thought.
"I should find some book and quill and write it all down. It seems really valuable," Alex spoke to himself.
After munching on something from the supplies, Alex began to plan for the immediate future.
"First: survival. I can't go out in such a weakened state, so I'll stay until I feel better.
Second: leaving the forest, but to do that, I need something to deal with the monsters."
Alex was murmuring when something came to mind.
'Windslicer.'
It was the book of the skill he got along with the other three books and the set of Wind Gathering.
Picking up the Windslicer book, he opened it and took a look.
He quickly became dejected at the fact that he needed a core to cast it.
'Hmm… the food and water I have left should last me a couple of weeks at most. After that, I'm done for,' he thought.
The supplies they bought before robbing the house were all he had. He had given some to Eva and shared half with Marc, so if he rationed it sparingly, he could sustain himself for two weeks at most.
So, he had to come up with a new plan.
After thinking for a while, Alex came up with the following plan.
One, stay in the cave and form a core. It was the cornerstone of his survival, and he was still too weak to leave.
Second, learn Windslicer to protect himself from the monsters.
Third, find the river once he recovered enough to leave. He knew that if he followed the river downstream without crossing it, he would reach Perrin's Gate.
Before getting on with Wind Gathering, he took the book that was in the pocket watch and read the title: Basic Alchemical Botanics.
It was an illustrated book of plants, how to gather them, and what their properties were.
As it was basic, it only contained the most common and most used ones.
'It seems my parents used the book to make extra cash while they adventured,' Alex thought.
It was a good idea, so he decided to study this book as well. Since he was in the forest, once he set out, he could look for plants to sell upon returning.
"One never has enough money," Alex said matter-of-factly.
And so began Alex's routine of practicing Wind Gathering and reading Basic Alchemical Botanics.