The first zone starts off very easy, with a colony of vampire bats flying through the forest. Most of them will be high enough in the air and won't bother you, but you'll need to swing your axe at the few that fly closer to the ground.
Eventually, you will encounter the first nomads dedicated to the cult of Jagu. The first ones you encounter will be wearing brown. They will approach hesitantly, giving you the first chance to strike every time. With your basic strength, it will take two strikes to defeat each nomad, and you can swing your axe quickly enough to defeat them before the can retaliate. Take each one out as you encounter them.
Eventually, you will see a vine leading down to the underground. You aren't required to explore it, but you'll definitely want to. The only power-up to your axe in this zone is found below. When you reach the ground, a gigantic tarantula will descend from the ceiling and attack. The tarantula can only move up and down so it won't move sideways. Occasionally, it shoots a spread of webbing, sometimes in groups of three, and other times in groups of four. You can actually strike the webbing with your axe, but it's better just to dodge it. Every time you succeed in striking the tarantula with your axe three times, two of its legs drop off. If you succeed in striking it twelve times, it will be defeated. In the process of defeating it, it will drop a jewel, a health increase, and most importantly a power up. Collect the power up to activate the first 25% of your strength meter.
A laddar will drop down to the right, but don't climb up just yet. Instead, explore the cavern to the right. You will find a few item statues. The first will contain a jewel, but the second one contains a speed up item, which shortens the amount of time to fill your strength meter. If you explore all the way to the right, you will find one final statue containing a health item. Then return to the left to get back to the ladder.
Waiting for you at the top of the ladder will be more nomads. However, now that you have a portion of your strength meter, you should find that you can destroy the nomads in one single hit if your strength meter is maxed out at 25%. Knock them away and continue right until you reach a sequence of pits. You must leap from one platform to the next to avoid falling in. (If you do happen to fall, simply walk back to the ladder on the left.) Since the gaps are very small, you do not need to hold the jump button down to traverse the pits. Simply tapping the button will be sufficient. Hop over each gap to reach the other side.
As soon as you reach the other side, you will be attacked by a stronger type of nomad. These nomads wear green, and they are capable of leaping in the air. Strike them when they land. They will not die if you hit them at full strength; it will still take a second hit to kill them, but it doesn't need to be full strength, so you can hit them rapidly the second time. By the time you encounter an item statue on the ground containing a health item, two such nomads will attack you from either direction. Take them out and collect the item only when it's safe. You will soon see a small ledge over a gap and the scrolling will stop.
Boss[edit]
After the scrolling stops, a giant bear will approach you from the left. Shortly after it appears, a second one will appear on the right. They will approach you from both sides. Ideally, it's safer to get them both on one side of you, and there's a way to make that happen. Whenever you strike a bear with your axe, the bear will get pushed back, and the lunge at you. Sometimes they lunge short, and you're better off backing away from them, but sometimes they lunge high enough to leap clear over your head. If this is the case, simply duck and let them do so. You should only swing your axe when your strength meter is full in order to maximize the damage you do and reduce the number of strikes needed to win. Try to keep them from traversing the entire screen and damaging you for as long as possible, and switch to the opposite side of the screen when you have no other choice. Strike them enough times, and you will eventually defeat both bears and advance to the next zone.