《A New Adventure》 Chapter One It was inevitable, really, not a thing we could do to stop the change. Personally? I think Earth was due for another change. After all, it has been millions of years since the last. But, I think I¡¯ll sometimes miss the relative peacefulness of my old life. I didn¡¯t have to wonder if I would die within the week due to some monster; didn¡¯t have to worry if I¡¯ll have a roof over my head during the night. However, the change did bring excitement to my life. It gave me a world to explore, to change, to be someone. So, yeah, I don¡¯t think I would revert the change. The past is only there for you to learn and be reminiscent of after all. -- Aether. The energy that no one can wield, in fact, the foris deity created aether so that the species that grew in his universe may evolve. Do not dwell on the foris deity for too long, he is outside of your understanding. The aether takes form in species by way of a system. The system infuses species with a deeper understanding of themselves, allowing them to grow further than their limits. So why is it that you didn¡¯t see the system before the ¡®change¡¯? Well¡­ Your world had a minuscule amount of aether, only allowing for undirected evolving, and no mana. There are many worlds like that in your universe. However, that was before the change. Or, as it should be known, the Flood. Every couple thousand cosmic years, a flood of aether appears in the universe. What¡¯s more? It only takes a few days to reach the ends of the universe. And trust me, the universe is a lot bigger than what you think it is. So, usually, the amount that some planets receive is a lot lower than what they may have gotten before. So, where does the mana come from then? It comes from the aether of course. Once a planet is enriched in aether, and if one other condition is filled, it¡¯ll begin to produce mana on its own. Then all kinds of organisms will begin to take in the mana, changing and warping it to make it theirs. But, now you have the system, and your world is enriched in aether and mana, due to the flood of aether that just so happened relatively near the milky way. Your world is different. Bigger, the aether forcibly growing the planet, shifting and adding land. It''s what happens when aether comes to a planet with barely any; uncontrollable growing and dying. More dangerous. The aether, after all, does not only affect humans but, also, everything else. Good luck to you, humans, may you grow far.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Hmmm? Who am I? Well, just call me the narrator. Creator of all creation. I created the foris deity, among many others, and have looked on at what they¡¯re doing. I was the first and shall be the last; however, that is only if I should wish for there to be an end. -- It was a Saturday when the change happened. I woke up in a good mood too, it felt like it was going to be a good day. I remember the morning clearly; getting up to take a shower, getting dress, and making a delicious egg sandwich. The sun was shining brightly through the window, bringing light to my small kitchen. On days like this, I would love to go for a walk, go down to the park and read. Sadly, work called me that morning. The simple office job that I had often called me to come in, being short-staffed and all that, but no promotion ever came my way- which isn''t that surprising- I¡¯ve thought about switching jobs, and in fact, I was planning on it, but ya know. The change and all that. I grabbed my cup of coffee, filled with creamer, and headed out into the morning traffic. There was a sign of what is coming when I walked outside that morning, at least I believed it to be. A bright flash of blue, spreading out in a wave in the sky¡­ Kind of weird, blue in a blue sky. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t think much of it, most likely just a trick of the eye, I thought at the time. A few seconds later, with my hand on the door handle of my car, the change occurred. It was like a wave. Sweeping through Earth and changing everything in its path. I could feel the energy plow inside of me, coursing through my body and forming a core somewhere deep inside of me. I could feel the Earth itself shake and rumble, my driveway cracked and shifted up and down. The house in front of me had its ground ripped opened, then raised as a mountain sprouted out of the ground. The sky was a lifeless gray; dust, rocks, and trees seemed to fall from the sky; along with torrents of rain and thunder. The wind blew furiously, ripping off branches and carrying trashcans away. Energy rippeled inside of me, out of the invisible core that appeared somewhere inside of me. It was too much. Blood drizzled out of my eyes and nose, and finally I passed out. Chapter Two It seemed as if I was transported far into the future when I awoke. The ground I was laying on had a rough rocky feel that was definitely not my driveway, and the sky was a bright blue; with the sun high in the sky. Large white clouds drifted around in the sky; so close it seemed as if I could reach my hand out and touch them. I moved my hand in front of my eyes; shielding them from the bright white mass that was the sun. Strangely, I noticed as I moved to get up, I felt perfectly fine. In fact, I felt better than ever. Which was weird since my last memory involved me blacking out due to some strange energy impacting Earth. Speaking of which, I believe I¡¯m on a mountain. Huh. Not the reaction I was suspecting. Looking around all I saw was massive stone mountains; my vision was filled with shades of gray, no trees growing on any of the mountains in sight, scattered shrubs instead grew on the mountains. The mountains created a large valley, equally empty and gray, where a long river winded its way through. It was so empty. Yet I felt fine. Perfectly calm. But, I knew I shouldn¡¯t. I mean I woke up on a freaking mountain! What happened to my house, to my car!? I just fecking paid it off! Yet, I can¡¯t even enjoy that small fake outburst; I feel nothing but a serene calmness. So, I had to focus, to think of something, to use this once in a life calmness. For starters, how about figuring out how in the hell I¡¯m going to get down this mountain. I mean my small outcropping barely allowed me to move around. I could try to climb down, maybe reaching another ledge, but I¡¯ve never climbed a mountain in my life. And those rocks look pretty loose. Fuck it. What else can I do? I moved to the rock wall, putting my hands into a crack between two large stones, and moved my legs slowly off of the outcropping feeling for a rock that can hold my weight. It was all or nothing now. Finding what felt like a good rock to support my weight, I begin to work my way down, the calmness that I felt was helping a lot in this situation. Slowly but surely I moved down, my body pressed close against the rocky wall. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I continued moving further down, every few seconds having to find another rock that would make a good foothold, until an hour later- with my arms screaming in pain- I reached a small ledge. I immediately sat down in pain, taking long breaths. This had to be the longest I¡¯ve exercised ever in my life, and I still had far to go yet. Looking over the side of the mountain I- Out of nowhere, a soft ding~ entered my ear, and deep in my chest, I felt something move. A wave of surety came upon me with rock climbing. Of what I had right and was effective, and what was wrong. Closing my eyes I tried to focus on this feeling in my chest. I could feel that this was the energy that changed Earth. That this was the energy that has been all around me all along, without me taking notice. In a short second, a screen appeared in front of my eyes. SYSTEM Status: Strength- 9 Constitution- 7 Agility- 6 Dexterity- 6 Intelligence- 11 Wisdom- 8 Mana: 10/10 Race: Human Level:0 Skills: Rock Climbing Lvl. 1 Effects: System Calmness It looked oddly like a character sheet out of a tabletop game. And it was so strange to see myself laid out like that. It also seems I gained a skill? Was that the strange feeling I felt earlier? Gaining a skill? So weird¡­ But, It¡¯s not like I learned anything new, more like I gained a reassurance of what I¡¯m doing right. That alone is a big help, pointing out flaws is big indeed. Then there is that effect¡­ System calmness. Is that why I¡¯m so calm? Because of this system? Again, so weird¡­ It also mentioned Mana, and I could feel intuitively that this was a different source of energy than whatever makes up the system. Yet, when I try to feel for a different source of energy, it¡¯s like its hiding. I can fell that it¡¯s there inside of me, now that I have the system to point it out, but I can¡¯t find where. Okay, so another problem for another time. I closed my eyes tightly before reopening them, just to see if it¡¯ll close the System screen, and luckily it did. I let out a breath, I rested for long enough and the System is something that can be dealt with later. It was time for some more climbing. Chapter Three My journey down the mountain was long and harrowing, and by the time I reached the bottom of it my arms were heavy, my hands were blistered, and my back ached. Not to mention the constant pang of hunger I felt in my stomach. I had to stop multiple times while climbing for rest and almost fell multiple times. Not every rock could support my weight after all. My rock climbing skill hasn¡¯t leveled up at all either. Which is¡­ disappointing. I guess I need to do more? Or maybe I¡¯m at the limit? I don¡¯t know. Again; another problem for another time. Right now I have a problem right in front of me that needs addressing: shelter and food. Actually, speaking of food, I haven¡¯t seen any animals. Or heard any. It wasn¡¯t noticeable earlier, due to my labored breathing and the shifting of rocks, but now? Now it¡¯s all too noticeable. The Earth was eerily quiet, it was as if I was the only one alive. I felt a hint of emotion rising up in me at that implication, however, the ¡®System¡¯s Calmness¡¯ took over and squashed it before it grew any. Okay, so, no food. Well, actually, not any I could see, but what about the river? There had to fish, right? Oh, I hope so. -- After a short rest, I decided now was as good as ever to walk to the river; and with the sun hidden behind the mountains, painting large shadows across the valley, I wouldn¡¯t have long before nightfall. The rocky, gravely, ground slowly turned to dry dirt the further I moved from the mountain. Then, after walking further along, the ground shifted to a richer dirt, growing small tufts of grass as I walked ever closer to the river. The river wasn¡¯t that wide, maybe ten feet across, but it stretched far. Winding its way past a mountain, leaving my sight. The surface of the water was calm, showing off my reflection on its surface. My hair was dark and unkempt, bordering on the long side. My face was average, at least I believe it to be, and with brown eyes, it brought my whole look together. Ignoring my reflection, the river seemed relatively empty. No sign of fish near this side of the river. Damn¡­ The pang in my stomach was starting to get annoying. Ya¡¯know ¡­ If I could feel annoyed. But, it''s still just calmness.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I have two more choices to make now: to follow the river out of the valley, or follow it further in. Now, I like mountains and all that, but, this place looked barren. It was nothing but stone, except when you walked close to the river. So, following it out we go. -- So, I made a few discoveries. One: even if you find a fish, it does not mean you can catch it. Two: it gets pretty cold at night. And three: I don¡¯t know how to make a fire. So, each one is all bad. But, there is one good discovery. The river water doesn¡¯t taste that bad. So, no more thirst. Hopefully, no disease will come from it. Oh, and also, the moon is different. Like Woah. I guess the energy didn¡¯t just hit Earth or something? Because now the moon was bigger and was filled with what looked like deep ravines in it. Not a big deal. Not a big deal at all. We¡¯ll just ignore it. I was starting to get tired now though. This day has been¡­ weird. Waking up on a mountain, having to climb down for hours, learning that I have two different energies in my body, then walking for another hour trying to catch a fish. Right now I want to rest. But, looking around, the mountains were further back and there didn¡¯t seem to be any hidden place to take shelter. I could just lie on the ground and hope for the best¡­ I rubbed my tired arms, bringing some warmth to them. I really don¡¯t know what to do. Anywhere I go tonight I¡¯ll be cold and hungry with the chance of dying to the unknown. At least if I keep moving I¡¯ll warm up somewhat... -- Walking around another bend in the river was when I saw it. A small hole in the ground a few feet away from the river. It looked like heaven from here. I may have to scrunch up somewhat to fit in, but at least I would be protected somewhat. I moved quickly over to the hole, it looked like a small boulder was once there. It¡¯ll be a somewhat tight fight, but anything is better than laying out in the open. I ignored my cramping muscles and burrowed my way down into the hole, imagining all of the food that I would be eating if I were at home. Before the change. Man, I hope this isn''t an animal''s den.
Acott Myers Level: 0 Race: Human Mana: 10/10
Status: Strength-9 Constitution-7 Agility-6 Dexterity-6 Intelligence-11 Wisdom-8
Skills: Rock Climbing: 1
Effects: System Calmness Hunger
Chapter Four The rising sun was reflected on the calm river¡¯s surface. With the rising sun, the sky was transformed into shades of pink and purple. I rose out of my light slumber with a painful cramp in my back. Shit that hurts. I rose out of the small hole, stretching, listening to the soft movement of the river and the light chirping of birds somewhere far in the distance. I moved over to the river to wash off my morning face, dipping my head into the cold water. The cold sent goosebumps running down my arms and- wait¡­ what the feck? Birds? Emotions? The hell? I jumped back to my feet in a hurry, listening carefully for any noise, any at all, to make sure I wasn¡¯t going crazy. ¡­ There it was again! Fucking birds! And holy shit, I¡¯m not calm! In fact, I¡¯m freaking out and it¡¯s wonderful! What does this mean!? Where are these birds even at? They sound pretty far away, and I still only see grasslands around me. So, no trees for them to roost on. I took a deep breath. Okay, so I¡¯m not constantly calm anymore. That¡¯s good and bad. Bad because I have other emotions to distract me now, but good because I have other emotions to distract me now. A double edge sword. So, I have to think with a calm mind right now, to get into that mindset. Prioritize. Gotta prioritize. One water. Boom river: dealt with. Two food. Boom birds; however, far they may be. Three figure out how to open the System. The last one is really important. I took a quick glance around me and seeing no animals around, I took a seat next to the river. Food may be important; but, I think I can ignore the hunger pangs for just a little while longer. Closing my eyes I felt inside of my self for the system¡¯s energy. This may take a while. Damn, I forgot what It was like to be bored. -- Narrator here. Sorry not sorry for the interruption, but it¡¯ll take him a while to figure out the system. So, while you wait I want to update you on the state of Earth. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Previously the Earth was populated with 8.5 billion people. Your world was on a steady decline, and it was human¡¯s fault. But now? Eh, there are only 1.2 billion humans left now. Aether changed your world dramatically, killing many in the process, and then there were the people whose body couldn¡¯t adapt to that much aether. But hey. It¡¯s not all bad. The world¡¯s better after all! But let¡¯s be serious for a second. You humans are in for a surprise. You¡¯ll need more than your intelligence and reasoning to rule the planet once more. Animals without reasoning are more malleable to aether and mana. They evolve and change quicker than those with high intelligence and reasoning. Why? Because, ultimately, they will reach a limit. Sooner or later they¡¯ll reach a point where they can¡¯t advance any further because they don¡¯t know what there doing. They¡¯re just going off of instinct, and the aether in them kinda leads them instead of them leading themselves. So, animals have the strength advantage, and humans have an intellectual advantage. Well, moving past, how big is Earth now? Well, pretty big. Like, almost twice the size. What¡¯s more, is that everything shifted. Continents broke apart, islands formed, new land formed, etc¡­ Oh, there is a giant pit in the middle of one continent. Like its massive. Could fit New York City in it I bet. If it was still around. Oh well. I just thought I would mention an interesting change. Afterall, Aether is a hell of an energy. -- Looking up at the sky it looks like I spent two hours trying to open the system¡­ But, I would be damned if I didn¡¯t succeed! Man, it feels so good to be happy, it almost overwrites the feeling of hunger I constantly felt!
Acott Myers Level: 0 Race: Human Mana: 10/10
Status: Strength-9 Constitution-7 Agility-6 Dexterity-6 Intelligence-11 Wisdom-8
Skills: Rock Climbing:1 Meditation: 1
Effects: Hunger
And I was right too, the ¡®System Calmness¡¯ is gone. So, it only lasted a day? It doesn¡¯t seem that long¡­ Wonder why I was given that effect? Huh, I also gained a new skill: Meditation. Must be from me looking inside myself. Another effect of me trying to find how to open the system is that I found my mana. I can¡¯t do shit with it though. It¡¯s like it is behind a brick wall, so for right now I¡¯m gonna have to ignore it. Which sucks. I want to throw fireballs out of my hand! Or, at least to start a fire¡­ Oh well. It¡¯s going have to wait for me to sit down and fiddle with it. I stood up, slapping my legs to wake them up - sitting on your legs for two hours tends to make them fall asleep. It was time to find these birds. I think they were this way? It¡¯s kinda quiet again. Chapter Five It didn¡¯t take long to hear the birds once again. In fact, after an hour of walking, I think that I¡¯m pretty close now. The constant squawking of these birds sent shivers down my spine. It was never-ending and un-nerving. They don¡¯t seem to be your regular run-of-the-mill small bird either. They sounded big. Like, can¡¯t fly big. That just means more meat. Hopefully. Unless, if they look like they could kill me before I even took a step. Might have to back out then. My stomach growls at that thought¡­ So, maybe not. After a few minutes of walking further is when a new sound showed up. A waterfall. Not a normal one, though. After all, why would it be normal? No, instead the sound was soft and quiet, not the normal loudness one would expect. Anyways, sounds like the river drops off somewhere- o-oh. Looking ahead was a sudden cut off, where the river drops suddenly over a ledge. The squawking of the birds were also the loudest here. So, in the hole? Welp, that¡¯s bad. I might be able to get down, but getting back up? No bueno. I stood over the ledge with a shock expression. It¡¯s not a hole. It¡¯s a fucking whole other piece of land. The river fell down silently to form, far below, a lake. The ground I currently stood on was at least 40 feet higher than the ground below. I let out a groan at the sight. The hell am I suppose to do? Good news is that there is a forest off in the distance. So, trees for shelter, and the possibility of animals for food. Speaking of animals¡­ The birds were large. Like bigger than ostriches, and ostriches were pretty freaking big. There were, in total, ten birds. Each bird was around 10 feet tall, so about 4 feet taller than I, with the shorter birds still appearing to be 8 feet tall. Fecking massive ass birds. On each foot were three sharp, long, talons. Danger. Their beaks were also long and sharp. Another danger. Their feathers covered their whole body, and partly their leg. The feathers were mostly a clean white, with black wavy lines appearing to wrap around their bodies. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The group of 10 stood huddle together in a group, their heads turning this way and that way, squawking at the open air. It looked to me as if there was no reason for the loud squawks, but again they¡¯re birds, so maybe there is some animalistic reason for the squawks. To me, the squawks may be to warn away predators. Maybe. Either way, it does not matter. For now, I won¡¯t be able to go down there and survive. So, I¡¯ll have to sit and watch, waiting for my chance to go down. Without dyeing. -- Around two hours later the birds stopped, and for not a good reason. At least not for me. Damn, I was hungry¡­. Anyways, the reason for them stopping was a giant ass, almost 14-foot, bird came out of the forest to them. Like¡­ Dude. It was massive! It could crush me under its foot, on accident!! It also seemed to be the leader of the other birds because as soon as it appeared they immediately stopped, and rushed to it. Then with a quick movement of its wing pointing to the forest, they ran to it with haste with the leader lumbering behind them slowly, as if there were no reason for it to be afraid. The whole world seemed quiet now, without the constant squawking. It was eerie. So, no birds for food. Far too dangerous for me right now. However, it was time to go down now, and the only way down was to jump. Standing up I prepared to leap. The lake down below seemed to be deep enough to catch me, and for my sake, I hope so. I took a deep breath, clearing my mind of distractions; forgoing my worry and hunger that was always constantly gnawing at my mind. I made a quick wish; wishing that''ll I survive what I''m going to do next. Then I threw my self off the cliff.
Acott Myers Level: 0 Race: Human Mana: 10/10
Status: Strength-9 Constitution-7 Agility-6 Dexterity-6 Intelligence-11 Wisdom-8
Skills: Rock Climbing:1 Meditation: 1
Effects: Hunger
Chapter Six It was an immediate regret. My heart was beating rapidly, fear gripping my chest. There are a hundred different things that could go wrong and end with me dying. Me landing wrong, the birds returning, the lake being shallower than what I was expecting, or even not being able to swim due to some mystical magic shit. Oh god, I really hope I survive this. I zoomed ever downwards, the fall seemingly taking hours, constantly moving my body to try and be as straight as possible. I squeezed my eyes shut. A sudden feeling of my toes hitting something, then them tingling, and finally coldness. The water surrounded me on all sides, beckoning me to come deeper into its depth. I ignored the call. With a sense of urgency I pushed my body to its limit, breaking through the surface of the water in seconds. I hurried to the edge of the lake, I landed fairly close to the shore, throwing myself out of the water and onto the shore made of dirt. I made a decision then: to never jump from a ledge without clearly thinking about what I was doing. I could feel my heart thumping against my chest heavily and rapidly, with it slowly dropping down to a normal level. That was stupid, what I did. I could of died in some many different ways, or hurt myself. Not even thinking about the animals (or monsters?) that could of been lurking in the depths of the lake. Sitting up, I brushed my wet hair out of my face. Damn. Something else I should of thought of; my only clothes were now soaked. No matter, that only cements the promise I made to myself. I looked up at the ledge where I jumped off, the wall of rock leading to the top was smooth; as if it was cut by a knife. So no going back up. With my heart calmed as it could be, I pushed myself out of my sitting position and started to head away from the lake. After a short walk, I reached where the birds were, feathers were littered on the ground and scratch marks filled the dirt ground. Oh.. HELL YEAH! In the ground was a small hole, filled with many small eggs. The eggs were a multitude of different colors: blue, pink, purple, and white being the most common. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. They really just left the eggs like that though? Were they not worried about potential predators? Looking around I didn¡¯t see any birds around, so they must not have planned on being gone for long¡­. Which means I gotta take these things and get the hell out of here. I took off my wet T-shirt and started to shove as many eggs as I could into the makeshift bucket that was my shirt. I don¡¯t even bother to count the number of eggs I threw inside of my shirt, instead, I sprinted back to the lake, to only fly past it. I wanted to move as far away from the bird¡¯s nest as possible, which means I needed to move as far as I could in the short amount of time I probably had. I continued running, and running, and running¡­ without looking back. Never look back when you run. Probably. My sprint turned into a run, then my run into a jog, then when I couldn¡¯t even jog no more, I walked. -- Two hours later I was done. My legs were on fire and my stomach was begging me to eat, to eat the eggs and be done with it. Of course, I ignored it, but it was hard. I was starving. Like close to passing out starving. Since I was done running I turned around, looking at the lake that was far in the distance. I couldn¡¯t see the birds, so that¡¯s probably good. My only goal now was to get to the forest and find some way to make a fire. I just really, really, wanna eat these eggs. Preferably without it being raw. -- The walk to the forest didn¡¯t take long, just a few minutes since it kept growing closer and closer to the plains that I was running on, but something I didn¡¯t take notice while running was the sheer size of these trees. They easily stood over 100 feet tall. Their trunk was straight and thick, with the bark being a rich dark brown color. It was simply beautiful. I¡¯ve never seen trees like this in the past, so to be so close to one was quite amazing. Small shrubs grew on the forest floor, blanketing the area in a mix of forestry colors. I would admire it further, but hunger calls to me. I immediately set to work collecting any kind of twigs or branches. The dry leaves on the ground would make for great tinder, I hope so at least. My plan for starting a fire was basic; copy that of the great wilderness survival shows. It¡¯ll probably work¡­ right? With my T-shirt-made basket- around one arm, and a small number of twigs in the other, I moved further into the forest, searching for a place to make camp.
Acott Myers Level: 0 Race: Human Mana: 10/10
Status: Strength-9 Constitution-7 Agility-6 Dexterity-6 Intelligence-11 Wisdom-8
Skills: Rock Climbing:1 Meditation: 1
Effects: Hunger Fatigue
Chapter Seven The shelter I found was a simple cave under a ledge. It was a perfect place really. I just have to hope that there won¡¯t be any animals to come and claim it. That would just suck. Currently, I was trying to make a fire outside of the entrance to the cave. After all, I don¡¯t want the smoke to suffocate me while I¡¯m asleep. However, the progress on starting the fire was slow. I found plenty of dried, crinkly leaves for when I make the ember, but so far no luck in making it. Continuing my efforts, I put a small straight stick in my hands, moving the end of it into a branch that was split down the middle. The branch wasn¡¯t the best, but since I was without tools it¡¯ll have to do. I begin to rub the stick up and down, constantly going faster and faster. The stick was rough too, making my hand go over the knots that were on it. Shortly after I could feel the muscles in my arm start to ache, but I pushed past that, my hunger demanded it. I slowed down my speed in spinning the stick, opting to instead pace myself, I don''t want to tire myself to fast and give up. Roughly ten minutes later and there was a tiny hole in the branch with smoke rising out of it. My heart started racing. This could be it, this could be it! I twisted the stick faster and faster, my heart racing faster with each twist of the stick. The smoke grew bigger, the black in the hole also grew. In one fast motion I stopped moving the stick, and brought the branch to my pile of dry leaves. After dumping the small ember into the leaves, I quickly set to work blowing on it, providing small ember with the oxygen that it needs to grow. And grow it did. The small ember quickly turned into a flame, turning the leaves into a small fire. Moving quickly, as to not lose the only fire I had, I sat it on other dry leaves, so that it may burn through that as well. Then, breaking a small twig into three parts, I gently laid them down on the fire. The sight of this small fire sent a shiver down my spine. Not a bad one, rather, a good one. One of happiness and optimism. I actually felt that I might survive this whole ordeal. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. While the fire was burning through the leaves and twigs, I moved over to my shirt. Inside was the mixture of eggs that I collected, ten in total, and I was really tempted to have a feast right then and there. But, no, that would be stupid. I have to remember to not act out on my impulsions, this could be the only thing I have to eat for a very long time¡­ So, no, I only took two, leaving the other eight to be rationed out. Returning to my fire, everything appeared to be going good. It has already turned the twigs I created into fuel for itself. Grabbing another stick, I again broke it into thirds, before putting it on the fire. I sat down next to the fire; thinking over the best way to cook these eggs¡­ Definitely not raw, otherwise there would¡¯ve been no point in the fire¡­ Matter of fact, can you even cook eggs while they¡¯re in the shell? Shiiit, I hope so¡­ I guess these can be kinds of experiments for future eggs. Either way, they¡¯re going to be eaten, bad or not. After a few minutes, I decided on how to prepare them. One would be cooked inside its shell, but also stay in the fire longer, while the other will have the top removed. However, this presents a new problem¡­ What if there were a chick in there? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s likely, due to the recent change and all of that, but there also could be a chance¡­ Can you even eat not-yet-fully grown birds? And these chicks would be different too.. I mean look at their parents! For all, I know they could have posion running through their veins! Sigh, oh well. Another test would have to be taken if a chick is found within the egg¡­ Grabbing another stick I begin to methodically beat on one end of an egg. The white shell of the relatively small egg compared to their parents, begin to show cracks before- It cracked open. The small opening that was now on top of the egg showed me the inside, revealing a¡­ well, a regular looking egg. It was as if it was bought from a store. However, that doesn¡¯t make it safe. Gotta remember, there¡¯s new mystical mumbo jumbo shiz going around¡­ Taking the other egg and setting onto the fire, almost burning myself in the process, I started to stack small sticks, in tepee formation, around the fire. Once that was done I put the egg, with its cracked open-top, next to the growing fire. I sat back, deciding to meditate -if I could ignore my hunger that is. It¡¯s been some time ago that I took a look at my status. Chapter Eight The crackling of the fire lulled me to peace as I started to meditate. I allowed my thoughts to run for only a short while, before clearing my mind. The emptiness of my mind helped me feel within my self. There were two different types of energies that I felt within me. One was the strange and mysterious energy the made up the system, while the other was mana; an energy that I am not yet able to control. I focused on the system''s energy, and like flipping a switch, willed my status to show.
Acott Myers Level: 0 Race: Human Mana: 10/10
Status: Strength-9 Constitution-7 Agility-6 Dexterity-6 Intelligence-11 Wisdom-8
Skills: Rock Climbing: 1 Meditation: 2 Survival: 1
Effects: Hunger
My status hasn''t changed, much, however seeing the new skill ''Survival'' brought comfort to me. It showed that I was doing something right and that I could survive in this new world... It was an incredible feeling. Also, my meditation skill leveled up, which is probably due to me actually knowing what I''m doing now, and not stumbling around. Still hungry too... thanks for telling me, system. But, no new level... Is this going to be like in videogames, where I''m going to have to kill to level? Do I even want to level? Problem for the future. Dismissing my status, I opened my eyes, the smell of cooked eggs wafted over to me. My stomach growls violently, cramping up. I wince, yeah, I know I''m hungry; just wait. Peering into the craked open top of the egg, it looked well cooked. The heat of the fire seemed to have, somewhat, evenly cooked the inside of the egg. Good, some lunch. The other egg however, was in the middle of the fire. I wasn''t thinking at the time and decided to build the fire up around it, which may or may not be bad... I suppose I could have it for dinner, that''ll be around the time the fire turns to warm coals. However, surprisingly, the egg looked fine. Its white shell was burnt, yes, but the shell didn''t seem to be melting, or at the very least cracking, at all.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Taking off my shoes and socks that I was wearing, I used a sock to carefully grab my lunch. I used the sock because I really didn''t want to burn my hand, and I didn''t have any clue how hot the shell would be. And it seems like that was the right move, since I could feel the heat coming from the shell through the sock. I sat the egg beside me, away from the fire, opting to wait a few minutes for it to cool down rather than burning my mouth. Right now the whole world around me seemed peaceful. The only noise that I could hear is the soft crackling of the fire, and the forest provided me with a wonderful view. It''s honestly bizarre. I know that I could die any minute, by anything, and yet the world just looked so peaceful. I guess, really, that''s how the old world was to. Well, some places anyways. What''s also bizarre is the fact that has only been a day since I woke up on that mountain. A day. I did so more in that one day than I have my whole life. What about the future? I''m going to have to become stronger to survive. Animals like that giant bird could kill me easily. And I don''t want to die. No, I much rather survive. So, I have to grow stronger. In whatever way I can. Which means settling down, and what better place than right here in this small cave? Yeah. That''ll be my small base of operations. Just have to set it up. Firstly though, this egg. Holding it in my hands I could still feel the warmth radiating off of it. The smell that it produced was wonderful, making my mouth water. I pulled the remaining shell off, leaving me with a nice cooked egg in the shape of an egg. Funny. I immediately bit half of it. The yolk ran down my fingers and face filling the inside of my mouth with a nice warm taste. It was delicious. I savored that wonderful taste, taking my time to chew and swallow it. I slowly swallowed it, allowing the egg to drop down into my empty stomach. It was fucking delicious. I finished the rest slowly, and soon after I was done. The egg may have been small compared to their parents, but it was still bigger than a chicken''s egg. So, I was somewhat sated. But, no matter. This would be my meal for lunch, and I''m happy with it, and so to was my stomach. I sat for a few minutes more, enjoying the sight of the fire and the after taste of the egg, before getting up. Turning to look at my cave, I pondered at what I would need to set up camp here. I''m going to need quite a few things... Chapter Nine The sun was directly overhead as I set out to collect materials. I didn''t know exactly what I needed, but I had a good idea of what I needed to start. So, I threw on my shoes and headed out. What I need is simple: wood. So, what I''m looking for as I''m traveling through the forest are any fallen branches or sticks. Oh, and some rocks. I have got to get some tools made. That''ll make my life far easier.
I tried as best as I could to sneak around the forest floor quietly. Under one arm was a small number of sticks, under the other was multiple large branches that were laying around the ground. In my pocket were some rocks. Exciting, I know. I haven''t seen any sign of other large monsters, no scratches on trees, no discernable nests, nothing. However, I have seen what looks to be rabbits and deer in passing. I say look because... Well, they''re not really rabbits or deer. They''ve changed somewhat too. The rabbits'' hind legs seem stronger, and their fur seemed more compact, stronger. The deers were overall larger, the Elk that I saw had far larger antlers than those that I have seen before, and the doe seemed far more perceptive, seeing me from far away. Maybe the larger animals were nocturnal? Or, there''s just not as much as I was thinking? Who knows. I know the large bird is located on the other side of the forest, so that zone is a no go. I should try to make a map, but I don''t have any paper... maybe one drawn with rock on the cave''s wall? That would be amazing, having a giant map on one wall? Yeah. However, I''m not the best drawer out there... Nor, do I have the best handwriting, and then the drawing could be smudge off. But, for now, it''ll work as a temporary map. Maybe in the future, I could carve into the rock. I walked into the camp, throwing down the wood in a large heap. The fire was low, with glowing coals in place were the sticks once where. Standing in the middle of the coals was the charred egg. Its once-white shell now covered with black ash. Looking to the sky, the sun was lower but it still only appeared to be maybe 2:00 pm. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Hmm, the fire died down a lot faster than what I was expecting. I went to my old pile of sticks, broke them into small pieces, went to the fire and started it up again. Of course, moving the egg out of it, and holy smokes that egg was hot. My goal, for now, was to create tools, and since I can''t create any stone tools that means making wooden ones. I have some idea of how I could create stone tools, but the rocks I collected don''t seem to be good for making them. I went to my new pile of wood and grabbed the straightest stick available. The stick was about a foot long, with a slight bend in the middle. I sat down next to the fire, the stick in my lap and a rock from my pocket in my hand. It''s not going to be anything fancy, just a stick with a sharp point, but it''ll provide me with some amount of protection. Holding the rock at an angle, I slowly chipped away at the stick, removing the bark protecting it and sharpening it slowly. Really, really, slowly. Its gonna take a while.
The setting sun brought me out of sharpening another stick, yes I''ve been sharpening them for that long. Altogether I had around four sticks sharpened, each one different. One stick, in particular, was bent in many different ways but was rather long. One was really short, as short as a knife, so really had a diverse set of pointy sticks. Don''t have any idea if they''ll be useful in actual combat, but I also wasn''t planning on getting in conflicts. The fire was out now, leaving only glowing coals in its wake. Oh! I could use the coals when they cool off, of course, to write on the walls! I think, anyways. Might be better than writing with rocks. During the night my plan was to meditate for an hour then sleep. I really wanted to try and move my mana, even an inch will do me fine. After all, it''s in my status so its gotta mean that I could control it in some way. However, before that, I had to decide what to do with that egg next to me... To eat it now, or to eat it in the morning... Morning sounds better, just having to warm it up next to the fire. And besides, I wasn''t feeling that hungry anyways. I moved myself to the inside of the cave, along with my crudely made weapons, to somewhat protect me from the unknown of the world at night. I sat up against a wall, closing my eyes and clearing my head of any distracting thoughts. Firstly, I sensed the different energies in my body. The system''s energy was easy and clear; it was flowing through the whole entirety of my body, not bothering to hide. Mana, however, was a bit tricker. It hides within the depths of my chest as a ball of energy. I have some ideas I wanna try out. Chapter Ten To the best of my ability, I ignored all outside distractions, instead focusing all of my attention on the strange ball of energy in my chest; my mana. Now that I was actually focusing attentively on my mana I can sense that it wants to escape, but was prevented by something. It was as if it was pushing against a wall, or like it was enclosed in something like a shell. I could feel the impenetrable field that enclosed it, and when I tried to gently coerce it into moving; it vibrated slightly before stopping. This left me with an obvious goal of either, A, destroying the shell, or B, trying to open the shell to let the mana through. It shouldn¡¯t be that hard, right? To start, I gently tried to pull it apart. My skill in meditation helped a lot in this; the skill seemed to help me understand what was going on inside of my body and helped me to move around inside. The shell shook slightly before escaping my mind''s grasp, returning to its normal position with ease. Seeing how little of an effect being soft with it had; I then decided to be rough with it. I crashed my mind against the shell, sensing how it shook greatly, then while it was still shaking, I grasped it roughly, squeezing it tightly in my mind''s grasp. I could feel the shell vibrating now, trying its hardest to escape my grasp. I kept squeezing it tighter and tighter, forcing the shell to become compress down into a smaller round shape. The feeling of mental exhaustion was like nothing else I have ever felt; my head was pounding and throbbing in great pain, and I almost lost my grasp on the shell multiple times. I increasingly strained my mind, however, to keep the shell in my grasp. I couldn''t tell how much longer I could handle this; but, I could feel the shell start to strain to contain the mana that it held within. With a great and mighty final squeeze from my mind; the shell exploded out, causing the mana that it held within to also explode outwards. I sensed----- FUCK My eyes flew open, and my hands immediately gripped my head. Within seconds I lost control of my body, and the only sensation I felt came from within my mind: pain. It was whole and absolute, demanding my attention. Darkness came into my vision, clouding the edges before finally, I fell unconscious.
System
Congratulations, Acott, for having unlocked your Mana, may it serve you well. For unlocking your Mana, you have unlocked the full system, may it serve you well.
I awoke blurry-eyed but feeling far better than I ever have before. Strangely though a screen filled my vision... It was intrest-
Notification
Congratulations, You have leveled up! [While unconcious]
Notification
You have unlocked the following: Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.Classes Titles Notifications Analyzing
Holy shit! The screens disappeared as soon as I finished reading them, bringing forth another, however, the unlocked screen seemed to be the last one... Hopefully. To much shit is going on right now, and I don''t know how to react. I took a deep and calming breath, bringing back some sense in my chaos-filled life. Luckily, it didn''t seem that I was out that long, the bright moon shining through the trees'' leaves to illuminate the entrance of my cave. I felt great, my soreness was gone, no hunger, no thirst, my mind was at peace; a stalk difference than what it was before. Going back into meditation, my whole inside was different. My mana was stretched around the entirety of my body, and there seemed to be more, a lot more, and then the system''s energy also increased, and seemed to have more depth to it than before. An odd sight, one different from what it was just an hour before... I think it was an hour ago... I called forth the system through its energy, which was also very different. Before, it was fast, but not this fast. My status filled my mind.
Acott Myers Level: 1 Race: Human Class: None Mana: 19/19
Status: Strength-10 Constitution-8 Agility-7 Dexterity-6 Intelligence-13 Wisdom-10
Skills: Rock Climbing: 1 Meditation: 4 Survival: 1
Effects:
Titles: Survivor
Woah. Yeah, a whole nine-point increase in my mana. That''s a lot. I think. No class, of course, wonder when I''ll get one of those. Then there''s my status, it was such a nice feeling seeing it increase, even if it was by a little. A whole two levels in meditation, well deserved if you asked me. No effects, but one title, nice. Looking at the title I could feel a shift in the system''s energy. It was moving over the title, expanding it then- surprisingly- gave me more information:
Analyze
Title: Survivor You survived the system''s integration. Congratulations. Allows use of the System.
And, well, kinda disappointed. I mean I''m not disappointed that I get the system, on the contrary; without it, I wouldn''t survive... It just that you know... The title kinda seemed like a participation trophy. As if the system is mocking me. I mean look at the congratulations! Sigh, oh well. Analyzing is a big deal. Depending on what I could analyze though. For now, though, I opened my eyes, closing out the system. That, well, that is a lot of new stuff... I wonder though, did I pass out because of leveling, the mana exploding outwards, or because of unlocking the full system? I hope it wasn''t because of leveling, that''ll be really detrimental towards my future. Imagine leveling in the middle of a fight, and then blacking out. Yeah, not ideal. The moon was slightly higher now, illuminating, somewhat, portions of the cave. I wasn''t tired at all, in fact, I felt more awake than ever, and my mind was clear and ready for work. As much as I wanted to try and figure out mana, I first wanted to explore analyze a bit. I held one of my pointy sticks in my hand, focusing intently on it, and waited. And waited some more. Then after waiting some more, a screen appeared in my vision.
Analyze
Poor Spear A poor spear created by you; barely qualifies to be more than a pointy stick if not for the quality of wood used.
A smile crept on my face. I''ve been calling my weapons pointy sticks, but it turns out they were spears! I mean, they barely qualified, but barely is still qualifying! With my curiosity about whether or not, I could analyze my weapons gone, I turned inwards, focusing again on my mana that now flowed throughout my body. Chapter Eleven The once ball of mana now circulated around my body, flowing like a stream. The stream started, and ended, in my chest; from there it flowed around my body reaching down my arms and legs but not touching my hands or feet. The mana stream reached up towards my head before curving back down and reaching my chest, once-more starting the cycle anew. Weirdly enough, and it might just be me, but the mana seemed happier, freer. I don''t know how energy could be happy, but I just summed it up to it being some mystical stuff that I do not yet understand. For my current goal, which was to control this energy, I gently prodded some parts of the stream, to make it deviate from its set path. I was pleasantly surprised when it actually worked, at least somewhat worked. A small and thin stream left from its larger form and stretched slightly outwards, creating a new path that the large stream didn''t flow into. However, the stream didn''t last long at all, which was my fault, really. I wasn''t expecting for the mana to actually listen to me so readily, so when it actually worked I lost my focus on it; resulting in the stream failing, and going back into the main one. Once I confirmed that the first time wasn''t a fluke, by trying it again about five different times, I know willed some parts of the mana stream to reach down my arm, then I willed it further down; making it reach into my fingers, I had to concentrate more and more to keep the stream running but it was still not that hard, like moving a limb kinda. Then I reached it. The exit. Really it was the end of my finger. However, when I tried to push the small stream through my finger it was as if I hit a wall. The level of concentration I had to use to keep the stream alive drastically increased, and the mana felt as if it wasn''t making any leeway in breaking through this wall. That''s when I really cracked down on the wall. I kept as a minimum focus I could on the stream while it tried breaking through the wall. With the minimum focus being kept on the stream I had to move fast, and so I did. I slammed my mind against the wall, willing it to fall with all the will that I could muster. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It hurt. Like really hurt. Nothing compared to the pain I felt from actually opening the mana, but it still hurt. But, I pushed through it, shooting the mana stream at the wall with great force while the wall was weakened. Reaching the wall, it faltered for but a second before shooting through it. The pain in my head cleared somewhat as the mana stream broke through the wall, and, feeling confident in myself, I opened my eyes to look. Coming out of my finger was the pure mana inside of me. It was invisible, but small movements of my finger sent ripples up to the small stream. Looking at it, I don''t see how this could be used for any combat purpose... maybe its the intent behind it? Like in those books I read as a teen... What were they called again? Can''t remember. Going back into meditation, I tried to will my mana back in. Key word tried. Instead of coming back into my body, it dissipated outside, turning into nothingness. So, when mana is used outside of the body it can''t come back in. Lesson learned. Luckily I still had plenty left. I let the small amount of mana go back into the larger stream. This time I pulled a thick stream of mana down towards my hand. Right before sending it outside my body, however, I sent thoughts of warmth and fire down onto it. Imagine if I could start a fire that easily. That''d be cool, and a lot easier than starting one myself. As I poured more thoughts of fire and warmth into the mana stream, it took on an orangeish, yellowish, hue. However, the change only occurred to the mana nearest to the outside. I pushed the mana outside once more, looking closely at any differences from the pure mana. The colored mana pushed through the wall easily, but took more mana from its stream to reach outside. On the outside I felt flickers of warmth coming from my finger. I feeling of excitement traveled through me. Opening up my eyes I saw a small candle-like flame hovering over my finger. The flame was a bright orange that brought warmth to a small area around it. It cast flickering shadows onto the cave''s walls. Amazing. It was so strange, being able to create something like fire by my self. Grabbing one of the spears next to me, I put my flame to it. The heat of the flame caused the wooden spear to char slightly where it touched. A smile reached my face. Yeah, this will be useful. Canceling the flame, darkness returned to the cave. Then in the dark quietness of the cave, three notifications from the system appeared in my vision. Chapter Twelve
System
Congratulations, you have received the skill: Mana Manipulation.
System
Congratulations, Mana Manipulation has leveled up!
System
Congratulations, you have received the skill: Will Exertion.
The skill mana manipulation was somewhat expected, you know since I was manipulating mana, but the skill Will Exertion was unexpected. Through the notification screen, I focused on the skill; allowing analyze to do its work.
Analyze
Skill: Will Exertion You have exerted your mind''s will repeatedly. This skill allows you to exert your will stronger, and faster.
The skills information was actually very useful in explaining why I received it. I haven''t really noticed it myself, but I guess I have been pushing my mind against a lot of obstacles since the change. I wonder how much stronger it makes my will though? Once I was done with the screens, they automatically started to disappear from my vision. The night was growing old, and with the sun set to appear in a few hours, I knew I should get some semblance of sleep; even if I feel fine. Before that though, I had to check the full extent of my status screen, partially so that I could see the amount of mana I used. This time though, I tried to will the system forth without meditating. Surprisingly it wasn''t that difficult, I just had to avoid focusing too much on what was in my vision, then I could use my will to call forth the system.
Acott Myers Level: 1 Race: Human Class: None Mana: 17/19
Status: Strength-10 Constitution-8 Agility-7 Dexterity-6 Intelligence-13 Wisdom-10
Skills: Rock Climbing: 1 Meditation: 4 Survival: 1 Mana Manipulation:2 Will Exertion: 1
Effects:
Titles: Survivor
Interestingly, I only used two points of mana... Which I guess makes sense. I did only bring mana outside of my body twice, and they weren''t big either. Closing out of the system, I let out a yawn. I haven''t actually gotten any sleep this night, and while I felt fine I knew skipping sleep is a bad idea.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. So, I laid against the wall, with my poor weapons next to me, and drifted slowly off to sleep.
I awoke as the sun started to rise, sending rays of light around the thick trunks of the trees. I pushed my self off of the cave''s floor, blinking away the blurriness that was present in my eyes. I was only slightly hungry this morning, no need for me to eat the other egg yet. I walked out of the cave, feeling the brisk morning wind that was blowing throughout the forest, causing a shiver to run down my arms. Huh, the area I awoke in seemed to be transitioning into winter. I''ll have to hunt one of those deers soon, for the meat and the pelt. I hope that they weren''t the only deer in the forest, I''ll have to scout around and make sure there''s more. Don''t want to kill off a species already. I sat next to the burnt-out fire, removing the charcoal that formed from the wood and put new, smaller, pieces of wood onto the ash. I definitely wasn''t going to start a fire by hand now that I have mana. Taking a step back from the pile of wood, I concentrated on the mana inside of me, drawing from the thick mana stream and making a smaller one leading to my finger. Just before breaking through the wall, I focused my mind onto the mana, imagining thoughts of fire: heat, flame, burning. Then I thought about how I wanted to execute it. I didn''t want to just hold my finger next to it, that would be boring. No, I wanted to throw it. Like a fireball, but you know, miniature. While holding onto the thoughts of fire, I also imagined it jumping out of my hand into the pile of wood, hoping that would work. When I pushed these thoughts down onto the mana stream though, it seemed weak, frail. And my instincts told me that what I had here wouldn''t be enough, it was too little. So, I pulled more from thelargermana stream, adding it to the thin stream leading down to my finger. The new, thicker, mana stream seemed more acceptable to my thoughts. The mana stream took on an orangeish hue like last night, but had small mixes of light gray through it. Then, with some mental strain, I pushed it through the wall in my finger. I felt drained though, not greatly, but the feeling was still there. Before I could open my eyes to look at the flame on my finger, I felt the mana disconnect from me and jump away. With my eyes open now, I could see it go splat against the wood, causing portions of the wood to burn. The small fire brought a small amount of warmth with it. I rubbed my face, feeling the small stubble of a beard growing but ignoring it for later. I think... what I did was wrong. I mean it worked, yeah, but not how I imagined it. The fire jumped out of my finger before I wanted it to. If this were a fight I don''t imagine this working very well. Maybe I imagined the jumping wrong? Before my thoughts went too far though, a notification appeared in my vision alerting me of a level up in mana manipulation. For now, I left the mana aside. Right now it wouldn''t be usable in quick battles anyhow, maybe as a sneak attack, but not in direct confrontation. I''m far to slow for that right now. And I wanted to be rounded well out anyhow. I mean who hasn''t imagined themselves as a badass swordmaster? I don''t have a sword though... only a pointy stick... Wait no. Not a pointy stick. A poor spear.