The exercises served Alexander very well in getting used to his new body and stretching. But the cost for that was being quite tired, as exercising the right way consumed a lot of energy, or rather, a lot of stamina.

  By looking at his status, he verified that his stamina was very close to zero. And upon realizing how dangerous that could be, he decided to take a break to recover.

  After reflecting a bit, Alexander decided to use this opportunity to try to estimate how long it took for his stamina to recover, because even without being able to have great precision, due to the lack of a clock, an estimate would at least help him understand his situation better. But since his energy recovery was relatively slow, he decided to look at his class's skill tree. "Skill Tree."

  『 Class Skill Tree: Water Mage (Apprentice) 』

  Basic Spells:

  |Water Jet|: Fires a water jet. Cost: (2) mana and (1) MP.

  |Invigorate|: Creates a mass of water with magical properties that heals, cleanses, and disinfects. Cost: (2) mana and (1) MP.

  Learning and improvement of basic spells: (1) growth point.

  Note: The requirement to level up the class is to learn the available spells and place at least one of them at maximum level.

  Alexander was very happy with his class's skill tree. But this time his excitement was for a reason completely different from when he chose the {Mage} class.

  If it were before, he would have been excited to finally have access to spells, but his current excitement was for having found new tools for his survival, nothing more. So after considering a bit, Alexander chose |Invigorate|, after all, this spell could save his life.

  Ding!

  [You learned the basic spell |Invigorate|]

  As soon as he used his growth point to learn |Invigorate|, the information about it began to "invade" his head. He didn't know how this was possible, but he was sure he had become capable of using that spell.

  Having nothing more to do after spending his only growth point, Alexander simply sat in the shade of a tree to recover the stamina points he spent exercising.

  After approximately 2 hours of rest, his energy returned to maximum and showed him that his stamina recovery was approximately 4 points/hour.

  With his stamina back to maximum, he decided to explore the area beyond the clearing a bit. But as soon as he took a step out of the clearing, the notification sound appeared again.

  Ding!

  [Mission obtained.]

  [You can see your missions, or track their progress, in the missions tab using the command “Missions.”]

  The content of this notification made Alexander very happy, because it was difficult not to dwell on his situation without having a clear objective.

  He then opened the new tab to see the mission, which, fortunately, wasn't very difficult. "Missions."

  『 Missions 』

  Survive (Part I)

  Mission Type: Survival

  Mission Description: Acquire the minimum necessary to survive and gather information about your surroundings.

  Reward(s): 50 experience; reward(s) that vary depending on mission completion evaluation.

  Extra Task: Acquire materials in excess of your need, but that are still useful for your survival.

  Reward(s) for the extra task: Bonus pack with random item and XP.

  When he finished analyzing all the mission information, Alexander began to look for a reasonably large and sturdy branch in the clearing. And upon finding an acceptable one, he broke it at the less robust end, turning it into a stake, to have some means of defense outside the clearing.

  With the stake in hand, he left the clearing. But after taking a few steps outside it, he noticed a problem: his size did not allow him to use the vegetation as camouflage, and that would leave him vulnerable.

  "Forced" to return to the clearing and reevaluate the situation, Alexander was faced with a very bizarre alternative: use his {Talent} and become a monster.

  He even thought of other alternatives, but the one of using his {Talent} still seemed the most viable to him, as the description of the Goblin fit perfectly with his current environment.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  After deciding how to proceed, Alexander went to activate his {Talent}, but realized he didn't know how to do it. To his surprise, and luck, the simple fact that he wanted this was enough to activate his {Talent}.

  With the activation of his {Talent}, he felt his body structure shrink and his ears, nose, and nails grow.

  The process was surprisingly quick and painless. Even when his bones, possibly, were compacted and/or displaced, there was no pain.

  When the metamorphosis process ended, Alexander understood why his (Charisma) was negative. His appearance in this form was not pleasant according to any of the beauty standards in his memory.

  But appearance was no longer something important to Alexander, as the attachment to things from his past life was lost. The important thing was to discover the differences between his forms.

  Trying to feel the changes of his new form, he began to exercise again, but for much less time this time, as he didn't want to spend much stamina.

  Satisfied with his preparations, Alexander grabbed his stake/spear and left the clearing heading in the direction of the sun. His light exercise was enough to control his goblin form, as it was just smaller and more agile.

  The first objective of his search was simple: find a nearby source of drinking water. After all, water is the main resource for most living beings.

  "I remember reading somewhere that the simplest ways to look for water in an unknown location are:

  Following animals, as they know its location.

  Relying on vegetation and stones, as the greener they are, the more likely they are to be near moisture and water.

  Relying on terrain, as lower grounds have a higher probability of containing water due to gravity.

  Dowsing: a technique that aims to feel the 'energy' emanated by things.

  "I might end up finding predators if I try to follow an animal," Alexander rejected.

  "The terrain and dowsing are also not good ideas," he rejected again. "The terrain here is too flat to look for lower parts. And I don't have any experience in 'feeling' things."

  Relying on the method of elimination, Alexander moved forward looking for greener vegetation and trees.

  After walking a bit, always in the direction of the sun, a stone with green moss, to his left, entered his field of vision. He then used the moss as a reference and started walking to the left.

  After walking some more time in the new direction, the faint sound of running water reached his ears. But even excited by the discovery, Alexander still proceeded calmly in the direction of the water.

  As he advanced, it became clear that the vegetation was becoming less dense and greener. And when the vegetation "opened up," it was possible to see an apparently shallow river, but with a certain speed in its current.

  Partially camouflaged by the green foliage of the vegetation, Alexander decided not to go straight to the river. Instead, he crouched in some foliage and stayed observing the river to see if he was the only one there.

  But since even after observing for a long time he didn't see other creatures besides rabbits and boars, which came to the river to drink water, he saw no danger in the area and decided to go drink some water like the animals.

  There was no problem on his way to the river, but even so, Alexander ran back to camouflage himself in the foliage and continue his surveillance of the region, as he didn't want to leave anything to chance.

  He spent so much time sitting observing the river that he even lost track of time. But the sun, in the middle of the sky, was his ally and showed him the time.

  With his first objective completed, Alexander thought about moving on to the next objective: finding food. But before he could get up, a group of three creatures, quite similar to his current form, appeared.

  He immediately became as silent as possible, not even daring to breathe loudly, only being able to use |Appraise| on the creatures.

  [{Goblin} Lv. 1] [{Goblin} Lv. 2] [{Goblin} Lv. 3]

  The goblins approached the river and drank water. But unlike those who drank the river water before them, they had some containers.

  After filling their containers with water, the goblins left. And Alexander, who focused on them, saw them enter a cave in the large wall that seemed to surround the entire place.

  Confirming the presence of other creatures, he decided to wait a little longer in his position and see if anything else would approach the river.

  Less than half an hour after the goblins left, two creatures, with the appearance of werewolf lightweight, appeared. Their muscles were thin and seemed fragile, but their claws and fangs seemed sharp.

  Even already having an idea of what the species of those creatures would be, Alexander once again opted for the safe path and used |Appraise|.

  [{Kobold} Lv. 1] [{Kobold} Lv. 2]

  Just like the goblins, the kobolds also drank some water, filled improvised containers, and went to a cave even farther than the goblins'. But they did the whole process even faster.

  The kobolds' quick departure did not leave Alexander relieved; on the contrary, it left him completely apprehensive, because this quick departure must mean the approach of something even more dangerous. And with this thought in mind, he decided to stay hidden a little longer and see if he was right.

  About ten minutes later, a humanoid pig appeared. Alexander couldn't explain where that feeling came from, but he felt that this creature could face the trio of goblins or the pair of kobolds.

  As expected, Alexander used |Appraise| on the creature.

  [{Orc (Young)} Lv. 3]

  The creature also drank water, filled a container, and left. But unlike when the other creatures left, Alexander couldn't estimate where it went, and that made him calmer. Because it meant the probability of it not living near his clearing was high.

  Fighting the urge to go look for food, he persisted in his position and waited a little longer to see if another creature would come to drink water. But since even after spending over 2 hours hidden no creature appeared, he decided to return to the clearing.

  "I left the clearing heading in the direction of the sun (East), but at some point, I ended up turning to the left (North)," Alexander analyzed. "So the quickest way back is heading southwest."

  With the direction set, Alexander made a few small adjustments to compensate for the disparity between how much he walked east and how much he walked north, and went in a straight line trying to reach the clearing. But this time he didn't forget to leave marks on the trees to mark his path.

  After several good minutes of very careful walking, Alexander managed to reach the clearing and confirm the clearing's direction relative to the river. But he didn't rest when he arrived, as he began to look for traces of other creatures in his clearing, which, fortunately, he didn't find.

  By estimating a bit using the sun's position, Alexander deduced it was around 02:00 (PM). Which must be wrong, as more than two hours had passed since the sun's peak in the sky, i.e., 12:00 (PM).

  "The day seems to be longer here... Perhaps this place is close to the tilt point towards the sun," Alexander pondered. "But that doesn't seem right to me. The climate here seems to be tropical and/or subtropical."

  Conjecturing that, probably, he still had some time left, he decided to return to the river. But this time to hunt.