Despite the days passing by, the monster hearts were quite well preserved. Perhaps even fungi and bacteria could not stand their bitterness. But even now, there weren't that many hearts left.

Clay knew deep inside that the monster hearts wouldn't be able to last forever. During the past days he had been practicing his martial arts techniques and reciting the manuals. Every word was now etched into his memory, so deep that he could recite them backwards.

He also identified the nature of each technique:

Three Winds:

- Radiant Breeze is an aura cultivation and circulation technique

- Fleeting Gust is a footwork technique

- Subtle Draft is an enhancement technique

Two Storms are likely to be sword techniques, but he couldn't understand the intricate details of them.

As for One Surge, Clay had a hunch, but the version he had in mind seemed too good to be true.

Slicing through the air and hitting opponents from a distance? From all the hunters and swordsmen Clay met so far in his life,t no one had displayed anything even close to that calibre, let alone producing a skill resembling that. Is it even possible to pull that off?

Also, the words were more ragged compared to the other carvings. Some of the words were carved too shallow, some disfigured, not to mention the manual was unfinished. What could've happened? he thought.

Despite that, Clay memorised all of that as well. The past few days he had been mainly practicing Fleeting Gust and Subtle Draft, the only skills that he managed to get the hang of. He still couldn't succeed in Radiant Breeze. He still couldn't feel the breeze nor sense his aura.

He made a promise to himself that he would leave the cave once he finished the remaining monster hearts and hopefully make his way safely back to Stonetown.

Alright, today is the day. Clay told himself as he put the final piece of monster heart left into his mouth.

He poked his head out from the crack. 

There were only three ants within the vicinity. This is his chance.

He grabbed everything in the cave and quickly ran out.

His body was stuck on something. 

Clay looked around. His shoulder was just a little too wide to fit through the cave entrance.

"Are you serious?!" he raged.

He tried every position he could to fit through the crack, to no avail. As the sun reaches midday, Clay started to get desperate.

He started hitting the stone walls, hoping the hole could widen up a little. He grabbed the femur of the skeleton, and tried to pry open the cave walls.

Snap! The bone broke.

Desperate and Frustrated, he started using Subtle Draft and Fleeting Gust, but it was still no use, the stones still ever so sturdy, blocking his path. 

And the day passed by just like that.

Clay woke up early in the morning. The Sun has not even risen from the horizon. He is determined to escape from the cave.

He peeked outside once more. 

No monsters.

I must get through it! Clay thought.

He tried squeezing himself through the cave, still no luck.

Just then, he heard some familiar clicking and clacking sound coming from the distance. Having spent days if not months in this tiny cave hearing the same noise every other day, he knew immediately what they were without even needing to look. "Why?!" he roared as he punched the stone wall.

Suddenly, the cave shook. The wall cracked. The stones crumbled. The cave exit opened up.

For a moment Clay looked at his fist, his mind blank from what just happened. But he pulled himself together. 

"Finally! Light, sunlight. I'm out!" he cried running out from the cave.

But the celebration was short-lived as the cave collapsed behind him. Clay looked back.

"Thank you Master Hanzo, for your teachings and techniques." he bowed and paid his respects. "Also, I would like to apologise for breaking your leg."

Click clack click clack... Those dreaded giant ants closed in. 

Having trained Fleeting Gust inside the cave, he never had the chance to push himself to his limits. He stepped forward and felt his feet sinking into ground. Bang! With a push, he shot 10 feet forward, leaving a footprint on the ground. 

He looked back at his footprint, excited. But the ants were relentless as they gained up on him. Quickly, he continued running. Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon Clay realised his speed was too much for him to handle as he found himself leaping straight toward a tree. "Woah!" he shouted as he braced for impact.

Something broke. Clay rubbed his sore shoulder. His bones are intact. He opened his eyes, just as the leaves of the toppling tree brushed against his face. 

The tree wasn't anything massive, but it wasn't tiny either–around the size of a young tree in Stonetown. But for a single human to knock it over with one hit, only to suffer a minor bruise from it... is it possible?

Clay hung his mouth open in shock as he stared at the fallen tree. Is that aura I'm using? he asked himself.

By the time Clay had shook off all the monsters who were persuing him, he reached a river. It almost felt foreign having not seen water for such a long time. 

Nearly gagging from his own stench, he decided to bathe in it and clean himself up.

He ripped his shirt as he was taking it off. "Well, I guess I need a new one. This shirt has served me well." he muttered.

As he entered the clear stream, the water turned brownish yellow. Clay put his hand over his face, laughing, "Hahaha! I probably smell very bad. Good thing I went for a wash before reaching the village!"

During his days in the cave the only liquid he could find was monster blood. He hasn't been able to properly clean himself, so currently his pungent odour was unbearingly rancid.