《Dimensional Wars》


 Prologue - New Holiday

    Prologue


    ~


    New Holiday


    ~


    ¡°Welcome on-board Asia Airlines¡± the pilot announces over the broadcast. ¡°With you today will be our lovely staff who will assist you with the procedures in case of an emergency. Please do pay attention.¡±


    Up ahead Teng notices one of the staff showing passengers how and where to exit in case of an emergency. As well as where to find a life jacket and how to apply it. Standard Procedure.


    Usually Teng would not bother with such demonstrations, but since he is looking for a good distraction, plus having nothing better to do he watches.


    It calms him down by watching their animated hand gestures the staff display. Which he definitely needs to pre-occupy his mind with at the moment. After the procedures are over the plane takes off and begins its journey to its destination.


    Teng noticed that barely any passengers paid attention to the staff, wondering sometimes why they even bothered. Honestly, he wouldn¡¯t have paid attention either, but he needed something to distract himself with. His mind is like a hornet¡¯s nest, and with each little prod it just ends with his heart being stung.


    Tired of his life he decided a change of pace would be good for him. Not considering the damages to his savings, or any friends who would be anxious over his departure.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Thinking like this he decided a ticket to the east somewhere. Picking a jungle as a good crazy start. Exploring nature had always been his dream.


    ~


    A sudden turbulence jolts him out of his thoughts. Glancing around the air plane, he sees passengers becoming alarmed with a bit of panic. Even the staff look a bit unsettled. Looking outside his window Teng sees no clouds or rain even, just a quiet night.


    ¡°Please remain in your seats, we are just experiencing a slight weather change. No need to be worr-¡° Another turbulence hits the plane, and whoever was standing are thrown off balance.


    ¡®Damn, this is starting to look a little dangerous¡¯ Teng thinks. Deciding better to be safe than sorry he unpacks the life jacket under his seat. Puts it on, but doesn¡¯t release the air pressure yet. Otherwise he might drown in the plane. He luckily is already in his seat, around the midsection of the plane, with his seat belt fastened.


    It seems some other passengers had the same idea as well. However before too many could strap in and grab their life jackets, Teng hears the back end of the plane issue a jarring sound. Not good.


    Before he has time to think about it, the tail explodes.


    The plane quickly whirls out of control straight down into the sea.


    ~


    Surprisingly, it takes a few minutes for the rest of the plane to hit the ground. For the lucky ones who fell unconscious for those few minutes, or perhaps not so lucky considering they might drown in the ocean.


    Teng found it surprisingly difficult to stay conscious. With half the tail gone, the air plane went into roller coaster mode. His lungs got the wind knocked out of them. Almost like a sucker punch to the gut.


    Thankfully most luggage was in compartments so he didn¡¯t get hit by anything dangerous.


    Even in such maddening invents Teng smiled. Truly it had been a long time since he felt alive like this.


    With a mixture of fear and excitement, the plane crashed head first into the water.

 Chapter 1 - Sea

    Chapter 1


    ~


    Sea


    ~


    Water drowned him. Noticing the water gushing into the plane he quickly reached for his seat belt strap. It seems the movies of seat belt locks aren¡¯t as common, at least for him. Unlocking after a brief moment.


    Knowing he doesn¡¯t have much time he decides to not go for any of his belongings. Nothing was of real value anyway. At least not over his life.


    With the plane sinking, he swims for the nearest exist. Luckily, he was briefed before departure. Although there are a few more holes, and a tail missing from the plane to choose from.


    Briefly glancing at some unconscious passengers Teng hesitates, but still continues forward.


    Swimming quickly, he moves outside the plane. Not wasting any time, he pulls both straps of his life jacket, and is pulled to the surface.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Breaking the surface in a surge of waves. Not knowing whether to feel happy to be alive, or be depressed over so many deaths, he blocks it out. Many people die every day.


    It seems they are located in the sea. Since it¡¯s very dark he can¡¯t see too far ahead. It seems relatively calm besides the air plane crashing into the ocean.


    Now Teng has got his bearings, which are in basically the middle of nowhere, he decides to search for other passengers. Hearing a few calls in the distance he swims over. Luckily, they were not far.


    However, as he gets closer, he hears constant swearing and negativity. Deciding he doesn¡¯t want to be involved in their negative emotions he just floats. Thinking about what happened it doesn¡¯t make much sense. There was no storm, just an ominous sound before the tail was ripped in half. Not necessarily any fire either.


    Deciding not to think much on it anymore, he just lets himself drift.


    He really doesn¡¯t want to get dragged into others crying and bickering. He would prefer to die without spending his last moments amongst others. Although they could provide some companionship, he has learnt the hard way, and doesn¡¯t really want anything much from humanity.


    Never had he expected his holiday planned trip would end him floating in the middle of the ocean.


    Soon his little LED light on his life jacket flashes to life, as he has been in the water for some time. Seems the battery starts working once in the water. No automatic turning on needed.


    Tired from the endeavour Teng slowly falls asleep.

 Chapter 2 - New Land

    Chapter 2


    ~


    New land


    ~


    Teng is awoken by rumbles far above him. Groggily awakening from his slumber, he feels like shit. It seems sleeping in an ice-cold ocean is not the best way to get a good night sleep. He is still thankful for his lifejacket or he¡¯d just drown.


    Glancing around, the sun is barely up. A mixture of dark and orange on the horizon amongst the peaceful sea.


    Looking up though he starts to make out some small streaks of silver.


    Watching for a few minutes, Teng it utterly bewildered. It seems the silver streaks are the aftermath of some kind reaction between the environment. He¡¯s not sure what changes they are, or if he is even on earth anymore.


    Teng¡¯s stomach growls. Sighing there isn¡¯t much he can do at the moment. Although he has fasted before in his pursuit of life, he remembers the first day is usually the hardest. The stomach will start to shut down soon after not receiving any food, trying to save energy. Water will be a problem though.


    Not wanting to waste energy, and feeling death might be a real possibility he thinks back to his life. Not a bad life in all honesty. It¡¯s just as he grew up, he felt he had become a slave to the system. A slave to his parents and friends. When he tried to go against it, it didn¡¯t end well. Basically, known by his previous friends as crazy. He even considered going to live with monks. After all their life looked much better than his, in Teng¡¯s perspective.


    Focusing his gaze on the rising sun he thinks. It¡¯s not all bad being out here alone. At least there is no one to judge him anymore. The sun, the sea, the stars, are his judge.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    There is something about life out in nature that fascinates him. ¡®The Beginning¡¯ as Teng puts it. However, as nature is now, it has lost its former glory. In Teng¡¯s heart he feels that perhaps his ancestors saw the grandness in the beginning and so that he himself is never completely satisfied seeing it as it is now. Still it is better than seeing the dull buildings every day. Even he is not sure whether its because he has grown up in civilisation, that he dislikes it or its simply in his genes to dislike it.


    ~


    Feeling a sudden turbulence up above Teng Looks over. Before he can examine it in detail, a shockwave spreads out quickly. Whatever it was doing seems to have reached a crescendo. Teng is quickly flung through the water.


    ~


    After surfacing with a dull headache Teng is amazed. He sees vast pieces of land being spewed out of the hole. It¡¯s like a new land mass is forming out of nothing. Colourful lights of orange and purple centre ¡®the rift¡¯ as Teng calls it.


    It doesn¡¯t take long before a small island has been formed. Only taking a little under a few hours.


    Unfortunately, Teng has drifted kind of far with all the turbulence spreading to the water. Not wanting to be stuck out here in the ocean, he starts swimming for the land. A trace of excitement can be seen on his face.


    ~


    Swimming over proves difficult, but Teng continues in earnest. He feels he has swum nearly a kilometre, but the island is still far away. Needing a rest, he heads for a small piece of land he spotted, a bit further from the main island.


    It took him just under half an hour to reach the small island.


    The island is about twelve to fifteen metres wide, but looks kind of like a mini volcano. Oddly though it¡¯s growing with lush grass and some purple flowers. Fascinated as Teng is, he still wants to get to the main island. Hopefully build a shelter, hunt some game or fish, and find fresh water. Once he has procured some outpost, he can then figure out what the hell is going on.


    After a break he continues to swim. As he was swimming though, he notices some odd-looking creatures enter through the rift and splash into the sea, which makes him kind of nervous. The distance is far though, so he has no idea what they were. Just that there were a few of them.


    So far, he has seen no earthly aquatic creatures around him, but that could soon change with such a large disturbance.


    Not willing to waste time out in the sea he swims diligently to the new land.

 Chapter 3 - Deadly Encounter

    Chapter 3


    ~


    Deadly Encounter


    ~


    Teng continues this for a while, climbing onto a new island. This will be the last one until the he heads for the shore. Thinking like this he heads out.


    As he gets closer, he notices a reef below the surface. Many crustaceans, but not yet completely teaming with life. The world looks like it was just dumped there for new habitation or barely any life made it through the rift.


    Suddenly he notices a black shadow in his periphery.


    Knowing there is only two hundred metres to the shore he continues to swim, not sure if what he saw was an illusion or not. After a hundred metres of swimming Teng feels a sharp stab on his thigh, before quickly being dragged under.


    Between the burning pain, and drowned of air, he turns to face his adversary.


    Dark black eyes. Fins, and a dark sheen of grey covers its body. A shark.


    Not willing to tussle with he burst out with anger smashing his fist on its nose.


    Unfortunately, it pays no notice. It has killed hundreds of creatures in this ocean, and this one is just one more prey.


    ~


    After a few seconds underwater, the shark bites a chunk of meat out of Teng¡¯s thigh, before swimming away.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Not daring to waste this opportunity Teng heads for the surface. Gasping for air, he almost forgets the blinding pain in his thigh. Not wanting to stay any longer for fear of the shark returning or other predators, he rushes for the shore.


    Unfortunately, he doesn¡¯t get far. A fin brushes the surface, seemingly returning for its prey after eating the previous meat.


    Despair fills Teng heart. As it¡¯s threatening to overtake him, it starts warping into bitter anger instead. Teng¡¯s anger quickly consumes him. There have been many times in Teng¡¯s life he has considered taking his own life. In the end he didn¡¯t. Scars not in the flesh, but in the spirit. His mind broken countless times, friends and family betraying him, ripping his heart in pieces. And now the shark also too dares to rob him.


    The shark unaware of Teng¡¯s feelings, speeds up, bulldozing him down, biting into his arm.


    As Teng heads downwards his eyes grow colder, and colder. His already shattered from the remembrance of memories he wishes he had forgotten. His body screaming in pain.


    ¡®No¡¯ his body whispers. ¡®We are not done yet¡¯. Teng not wanting to be outdone by his body that is fighting so hard to live, his thoughts churn. As if pulled by an invisible force Teng¡¯s body moves gently, as the sea constricts the shark. The shark struggles violently, quickly pulling his arm clean off, blood sprayed across the sea, and trying to escape.


    His mind unwilling to leave with just his life. Bringing forth power he did not know he had, he plunges his right fist forward, a current of energy following. The water twists and turns, and ultimately the shark does not escape.


    The shark being only a couple of metres above, is smashed upward, bursting out of the sea.


    ~


    Teng feeling his thoughts becoming groggy, he heads for the island with last push of energy.


    Entering the shore, he looks at now armless left side. Barely bothered about all the blood, only being slightly shocked at his missing arm, his eyes turn to see the sea, and sees the shark dead floating above the water.


    Knowing he is not out of the wind yet; he wills the last of this new energy into his arm. As if it¡¯s Teng¡¯s Law the blood flow stops, however the wound doesn¡¯t heal. Feeling anxious, he tries something different. Willing the moisture from his wound it quickly shrivels and dries out. Next is his thigh.


    Just as he finishes, he tiredly falls unconscious, seemingly more from the overuse of his new energy then because of blood loss.

 Chapter 4 - Exploration

    Chapter 4


    ~


    Exploration


    ~


    Awakening to the light crashing of waves, Teng opens his eyes. Pain is the first things that hits him, albeit a bit dulled. Teng glances at his left shoulder, before then looking at his right thigh. They both look monstrous. With no skin, but clearly visible muscles and veins he¡¯s unsure what to do about it. It seems drying them out worked, though the details allude him.


    After he fell unconscious it seems he has recovered somewhat. As much as you can from a life and death encounter.


    It seems even the blood vessels were dried and closed off in his energy use. Teng still doesn¡¯t know what made him be able to use such power. It seems his emotions being stimulated was a fuse that could have set it off or maybe it was due the cosmic rift in the sky somehow. Perhaps it¡¯s a mixture of both.


    Not wanting to stay lying on the ground he tries to get up. Enduring the pain in his right thigh and left arm, he clumsily stands up. He notices his life jacket must have been lost in the scuffle, clearly broke away with his arm. Not dwelling on it any further he lifts his eyes.


    Looking around it seems he is on some topical island. Along the coast are caverns, sand, an endless ocean, plus some smaller islands in the distance. Further into the main island are many tall trees, and dense jungle making Teng unable to see much further ahead.


    Teng organises his thoughts. First there is this new energy he wouldn¡¯t mind getting accustomed to, if he can remember how he used it. Thinking about it, he wills it to manifest. Teng feels a slight stir from within, but other than that nothing else. Like a stone thrown into a lake, with only a few ripples. Maybe it did something, but for now it is impossible to grasp.


    Unsure if it was a one-time thing, or he overstretched his limits, he decides to leave it be. Perhaps he will be able to use it again in the future. With all the life and death events he went through in the last three days makes Teng realise something. Life is fragile. The life someone builds can be snuffed out in a heartbeat. Sighing helplessly, he considers what to do next. He decides to explore.


    Picking a direction, he starts walking. Specifically, he wants to find a safe place to sleep in the future. Teng wouldn¡¯t mind building himself a little outpost, but for now he can only make do with what he has. With no tools for survival he will have to start from scratch. Teng has seen simple ways on how to build a survival shelter online, but being in a strange unfamiliar environment surrounding, its best if he just picks a safe haven at the moment to hide. Once he gains first hand experience of the dangers he can plan accordingly.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Hopefully the environment isn¡¯t too vastly different from earth, otherwise he will be in a dire situation.


    ~


    Trudging through the tropical forest for over an hour, he hears no insects, or birds which is odd. But he supposes an island falling from the sky was already taking number one position for that.


    Heading in land Teng comes across a huge tree stretching as wide as a car. Feeling lucky he starts climbing the tree. He doesn¡¯t get far up though as he only has one arm which makes things difficult. Generally, Teng isn¡¯t too mad about it, after all the shark died by his hands. With his new exploration quest of the island most of Teng¡¯s depressing thoughts go out the window as he focuses on the present.


    Unable to climb any higher Teng has to stop. He did find a nice place in the future to rest or scout in the future though. Carefully climbing down, he checks the sun, seeing it is nearly midday. All he knows is that the sun heads from east to west, if we are still on earth. So, at the moment the sun is rising up in behind him. Meaning behind him would be east. In front west, left South, and right North. Hopefully he can find some landmarks to remember his direction in the future.


    It seems he must have skipped a day while unconscious, so this is his third day since the crash.


    A night at sea, the morning to waking up to the rift, then travelling across the sea to the island through the smaller islands. He encountered the shark at the end of the day. Exhausted and tired he fell unconscious on the beach. Totalling two nights, or what could be considered three days. Today being his third day.


    ~


    When the sun is setting Teng had explored only a small portion of his side in the east. It seems his place is mostly filled with caves. Although the island is brimming with trees, and even some small fresh water ponds. Not many animals so far have been seen besides a few birds and crustaceans he saw earlier.


    Teng managed to drink a large amount of fresh water at one of those ponds too. Not willing to be too far from it, he picks a cave to live. Taking some dried leaves and wood he started making a fire, but eventually gave up. The tropical island is warm enough at night. Even though Teng still has some daylight he is still exhausted and wants an early sleep.


    During the day he tried communicating with his new energy, but still no results. One interesting thing is he feels himself recovering. He noticed it because he hasn¡¯t eaten anything for three days, but is getting more energetic. Although he will still need food to survive, it is no problem in assisting in his recovery.


    The energy comes in small increments. At the moment that is more than enough, as his body really needs whatever it can get. Teng will see tomorrow if he can find the things he needs to build a weapon.

 Chapter 5 - Growth

    Chapter 5


    ~


    Growth


    ~


    Seeing the sun has risen Teng heads out. He slept nearly twelves hours so he is refreshed. Coming across a creek he picks up some stones beside it. He found a sturdy branch yesterday, now he just needs tree vines. Searching for nearly half an hour he finds decent vines. Some too thick to use, but some are thin enough. Grabbing with his arm he pulls them down, then heads to his cave.


    Grabbing a sharp stone, he makes a groove into his branch. Then with some mud which he made with some water, dirt and sand he applies it to the end of the branch. He sticks the stone onto it, and then positions it near his fire. The branches seem extremely hard and resistant here, luckily this one was already broken or he would have trouble getting one. The fire hardens the mud.


    Teng continues this with a few branches and stones he picked, making a few smaller ones too. Teng was going to use the vines to strengthen it, but it seems its¡¯ already hard as stone. Excited at his new Spear, he gives it with a few swings, and stabs. Unfortunately having one arm makes its stability drop sharply and he is not exactly a spearman. Teng will have to get used to it later.


    Looking up, the rift is still their spewing out a constant stream of energy. It seems after he recovered from a night of sleep, he noticed he could sense different forms of energy. It seems far easier to sense energy near places of water for Teng. Not willing to waste the day Teng heads over to a river close by.


    Arriving at the lake Teng begins his daily routine he assigned himself. Although most of the island houses no animals, the river is starting to fill up with sea creatures. Stabbing forward at the water below he barely misses a fish. The fish are slippery and is why he made his spear.


    Teng built an enclosure made of stones in the river so the fish passing might get trapped here. It makes it easier for Teng to hunt the fish.


    When he stabs them, they¡¯ll slowly bleed and die, or he might be able to fish them out. Teng isn¡¯t an expert on this stuff, but he just uses his brain.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Teng continues his fishing for a little while. After thirty minutes in what he estimates, he has four fish from his enclosure. He builds the fire, nearly taking him an hour, since he has only one arm. Thankfully he has done it before and slowly heat is generated. Cooking the fish doesn¡¯t take long, and he can finally have his first meal after four days.


    Starved, the fish taste like a heavenly delicacy even though they are half burnt, half raw, and have no seasoning. But Teng isn¡¯t complaining and gulps them down, burning his tongue.


    Satisfied Teng cleans up. Teng is considering what to do. At the moment there are no obvious predators, it¡¯s a small paradise for him. He is enjoying learning new skills in order to survive, just being one with nature. His plan is to hopefully harness this new energy, using that, he will be able to survive and have a better life here. He is not feeling homesick at all, or has any thoughts of leaving. He plans to hunker down and make this place his territory.


    Relaxed and full, Teng decides to practice. He notices a large amount of energy near water sources, but he is still having a hard time tapping into it. Sitting down inside the river only half a metre deep, Teng focuses on the energy. After awakening as he calls it two days ago, he has started to see a new world, like a sixth sense, but it feels much more tangible. Like Teng just got plugged in like an internet cable, and as long as thoughts are focused, he can see and interact with the invisible world.


    Slowly a whirlpool forms around Teng, it doesn¡¯t enter Teng, just harmoniously swirls around him. Nature seems undisturbed by this phenomenon. Teng¡¯s forehead is covered in sweat, and his muscles on his forehead pulse. Unable able to continue the swirls collapses, but not before a bit of energy proceeds into Teng.


    It seems to Teng that as one works to harness and understand their given energy, they are given approval to absorb it. So far Teng believes his has something to do with water, but he could be wrong. He felt energy in the air, and in living things too, just sparsely.


    Teng continues this until the evening.


    ~


    After finishing cultivating. Teng feels he is closer to this new law. Before sleeping he repairs any damage to the enclosure, and then heads back to his cave.


    His cave is not far perhaps a kilometre or so away from his fish trap. It blocks the wind, and is not too cold. It is positioned near a fresh water pond only a hundred metres as well. Teng thinks the island could stretch more than fifty kilometres.


    Laying his spears down, near the pool he washes his face, clothes and shoes. Although his shirt, and pants are bloodied and ripped, it¡¯s better than nothing at all.


    After his wash he heads back. Leaves line the cave with some vines for a warmer bed. The cave is well hidden, situated near a hill. Trees and boulders block the entrance fairly well. There is even an exit of sorts if there is trouble.

 Chapter 6 - New Life

    Chapter 6


    ~


    New life


    ~


    Swimming closer Teng sees a few crustaceans underwater. Holding a short spear, he takes a breath and heads down. Swimming is hard. He only has one arm, and that¡¯s used for his spear. However, his body has recovered a lot over these few days.


    His thigh has healed, and his left arm is just a dull throb now occasionally. Not wasting anytime, he strikes the prey he has picked. It¡¯s a crab. Generally, they don¡¯t move too much making them far easier targets than others. His spear launches forward like a piston mechanism. The crab clearly unaware of the speed of the spear has no time to react and is pierced. The other crabs quickly notice something is wrong and escape. Happy at his hunt Teng returns to the surface.


    He¡¯s not too concerned about any sharks at this hunting ground. This area is enclosed by a few tall rocks, only small things like crustaceans can get through.


    Over the past few days his training has really increased his physical capabilities. Even when moving in water he feels like he is at home. Like he always belonged here. He is not sure if it has something to do with his law, but he is still happy.


    As Teng has had been recovering, he started his training regime. Meditation in the morning near the pond, seeking to understand his new energy and its application. After he heads to the river for breakfast. Then he explores the island. So far, he has mapped out a few landmarks.


    To the east is his cave, the river, and his pond, plus a few hills and caverns. North is filled with a valley, while south has a few volcanoes, although they don¡¯t look active. Filled with same the smaller islands were filled with, lush grass and purples flowers. And finally, further west, houses a few mountains as far as he can see. He hasn¡¯t ventured much into either territory just seen where things are.


    MAP - ISLAND


    North - ValleyUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Mountains - West ????East - Teng¡¯s base (caves)


    South ¨C Volcanoes


    Rift ¨C South of Island


    Teng even carved the landmarks into a hard piece of bark.


    Something else to note is Teng has grown a lot in this last week. He used to be slim, but not overly muscle. Now he looks like a vegan gym fanatic.


    Anyhow these days he has become like a fish in water. Even looking similar to those toned swimmer athletes.


    At the moment Teng heads back to camp. It¡¯s currently midday, by the sun¡¯s standpoint. He decided to give up exploring too far. He already has a good supply ground for food and water.


    It seems more animals, and other wildlife are showing up these days. Teng is learning to be more cautious. So far, the most dangerous thing he encountered was a snake. Luckily it was asleep, so he quickly killed it as it sunbathed in the sun.


    He¡¯s not sure if new lifeforms will come so he wants to quickly increase his strength.


    Sitting down at his camp by the river, he begins training. First Teng stabs a few fish as practice to hone his coordination. It¡¯s getting much better. Two out of five hit their mark.


    Moving on he does some push ups by the river. It seems the more energised and pumped up his body is, the more energy he can absorb when meditating. After fifty one-armed push ups. He does fifty crunches. Breathing heavily Teng moves to sit in the shallow river.


    Legs crossed, Teng sits in the river, waist deep as another stream of energy flows around him. Gentle tugs, and invitations are the best way to absorb this energy. Being too forceful will break the harmony. Slowly but surely energy pools into Teng.


    He has become accustomed to this after a week. It should only get easier. Actually, Teng doesn¡¯t really need to do this. His body is already absorbing this energy little by bit, and so are all the animals. But every time he focuses himself in this manner, he feels he grasps a little more into whatever law he has awakened. It¡¯s a strange feeling, like drinking a refreshing lemonade, with a piece of candy at the bottom. Except his cells are the ones drinking. If he does not meditate, he will miss the candy.


    In every training session there may be a piece of candy, as if hidden in the can of lemonade. If he went the normal way, not meditating it would be like injecting lemonade by a syringe, with not being able to digest the candy.


    Even Teng isn¡¯t sure what this candy as he calls it ¡®is¡¯, but he feels it is important. He feels sometimes at moments, because of some hidden understanding his body has an easier time swimming, or healing. The energy at the moment just strengthens his body.


    Furthermore, that¡¯s not the only reason he chooses to meditate. With more and more beasts evolving he wants to be ahead of them. He gathers more energy this way too. Hopefully he is just overthinking things. Being on an island far from land, with no one around, has Teng starting to really enjoy living here.

 Chapter 7 - Rain

    Chapter 7


    ~


    Rain


    ~


    When Teng awoke the next day, it was raining. It really poured down, and he has no hopes to go out fishing today. Even worse is his enclosure has likely been destroyed, and the fish probably escaped. Teng isn¡¯t feeling too disheartened though, but more curious about what other challenges he might have to face while being here.


    Looking as if the rain won¡¯t let up anytime soon, he sits back down and begins to meditate.


    Feeling the different atmosphere really helps him. His heart has felt heavy for a while, and it seems the rain knows him best. As he sits there immersed in his feelings, the energies quickly converge and rush into Teng. Teng still immersed in rumination doesn¡¯t notice.


    Teng has considered his life for a long time. Most times when he felt down, he was thankful that the rain was there to dampen the noise. While usually one would feel sad or gloomy, Teng felt happy when it rained. He almost wishes it would rain every day. Many times, Teng wanted it to rain on him within, but it seemed it was a separate entity, being lofty up above.


    To Teng right now he was immersed in this feeling. The feeling that the rain had come to wash away his past and give him a new beginning. That the dream he searched for had been fulfilled. Truly with enough rain nothing would last. Even Teng with his beliefs was awestruck by the power of the flood, in Noah¡¯s time. Almost envious he could live in such a time.


    His body felt like that right now. Being drenched in spiritual rain, washing away his pain and sorrows, healing the cracks in his heart. His mind becoming clearer. When Teng opened his eyes, the rain had stopped and sunshine was seeping through.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    He quickly felt the changes in his body. It seems he made some sort of breakthrough. He felt nearly ten times stronger. And further more with it came understanding. It seems he gained rudimentary understanding into the Law of Rain.


    It was a weird feeling knowing the law had always been there, just separated by a thin veil. With the change of energy in the world, the layers were becoming thinner.


    Wanting to test out his new gift Teng heads out.


    ~


    Exploiting a crayfish that was alone, Teng strikes, water pushing him forwards to strike fast. The crayfish tries to flee, but it is constricted a little, slowing it down. Teng feeling the strain, quickly pierces the crayfish. As Teng heads to the surface, he reflects.


    It seems the Law of Rain encompasses a bit of water, as well as wind. He will have to meditate it on further, but now he has direction it should be a steady journey. Mostly Teng is excited. Not only has his fishing endeavours shot through the roof, his body is even healing. His blood seems to have become thicker, and his sight sharper. His left arm no longer in pain.


    Sometimes his sense in the water increases, but he still needs to get used to it. Almost like growing another responder to noise, like an ear.


    Jumping up onto the nearest rock Teng feels alive. All his senses capturing the trees blowing in the wind, and the waves crashing on the sand. He stands to enjoy the new sensation of freedom and peace.


    Unfortunately, it is quickly ruined by a grating sound around the cave side.


    Teng unsure of the noise, and feeling confident walks around the shore.


    When he makes it around, he sees a creature, with a large shell on its back, slowing eating the hard rocks of the cave. Shocked by such a huge creature, Teng backs up a bit, before inspecting it from the tree line.


    It seems it wants entry into the cave, but cannot fit. So, it is eating away the outer edges of rock. It looks to be a slug of some sort. Maybe a snail? But its nearly three metres tall and two metres wide. Surely no normal snail Teng thinks.


    Teng suddenly realises that this snail is biting in close to his habitat. There really aren¡¯t many good places such as the one Teng found. He definitely can¡¯t sleep well knowing a gigantic snail is chewing through his house.


    While Teng is hesitating what to do, a giant dinosaur bird descends piercing the snail and lifts it up, flying high up.


    Watching it go Teng has a gloomy face. It flies high and heads far west it seems, probably back to a mountain.


    Not willing to stay out here longer he heads home.

 Chapter 8 - The Hunt

    Chapter 8


    ~


    The Hunt


    ~


    It¡¯s been a few days since he saw the snail obliterated by that dinosaur bird. It was similar to a Pterodactyl. Teng sighs. He knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy, but now seeing such a powerhouse he is not sure how to proceed. Even with his new strength he doesn¡¯t think it would be an easy fight. Unless he somehow drags the thing into the water.


    Teng basically just stuck to his cave for mostly to digest his upgrade, but sooner or later he had to leave. He occasionally roamed a little under the trees. He even saw some more snails, and other new beasts.


    Today he will head out to the river. Moving under the canopy of trees, he moves carefully. Hoping to avoid any attention. Reaching the river unharmed he begins his hunt. The enclosure needs to be fixed so he does that. Actually, Teng has found a few fruit trees that are useful, so he stored some fruit, for a more balanced diet besides just fish or other sea creatures. Although the enclosure is destroyed, he doesn¡¯t really need to hunt this way anymore. With a bit of effort, his strikes become stronger with energy. It¡¯s just basic use of energy, letting it flow through your body.


    His law on the other hand is far more interesting. Sometime he can predict it will rain while being in his cave, no sight needed. He also found where water was just by his sense, and heard a cry of sea creature. Teng is prioritising to move faster in water, by creating sort of flippers on his feet. Fins are also useful for more flexible turning and movement.


    Sitting down Teng starts to meditate. Thinking the rain is not always rain, but it becomes rain from the sea. It¡¯s evaporated into the air, through heat, and once the humidity grows, the particles vibrate and then rain falls.


    In a nutshell it¡¯s the environment that changes that generates it power. If it gets stronger vibrations it generates lightning as well. Teng believes he can replicate this environment inside himself with energy, he will make another breakthrough. At the moment though the progress is slow. Slowly time passes, and Teng accepts the candy he receives.


    If one day he gets strong enough, he might even control lightning, being a storm king. For now, he is happy with what he has received. Teng is starting to feel like he has become a monk. His face has even started growing a decent beard, more ruffled though. He still wears the same clothes that were washed, but it¡¯s becoming a bit much. He thinks he might need to make some new ones.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    At the moment he is wearing greyish cargo pants with pockets, a white t-shirt though now smothered in dirt, and a warm winter jacket. He also is wearing some shoes.


    Suddenly Teng hears a large rustling near the riverside. A small boar charges out. After seeing it. Teng quickly grabs his Spear. Thankful he placed it over his lap, like he was a cultivator or something. The beast is dumb and charges straight at him. Teng side steps, his feet graceful as the water. Truly fighting in one¡¯s home ground. Stabbing with one arm at its neck. Blood bursts from it.


    Teng backs off wanting to wait till it loses energy. The boar turns around and charges again, Teng not in a hurry side steps and stabs again. His spear moves fluidly and stable. It seems though upgrades weren¡¯t for nothing. Constant fishing prey underwater also improved his accuracy.


    Teng continues for a while before it tires itself out and dies.


    As it does though a large chunk of energy enters Teng.


    Confused about the large amount of energy, it seems killing beasts provides him with a bonus. Unsure why fish didn¡¯t give anything. Perhaps it was too small.


    Teng is surprised he didn¡¯t get flustered during his first encounter with a boar. Not sure if it was his life and death with the shark, or because the Pterodactyl made him not scared of these lower beasts. In fact, it was a good experience to digest his skills. Feeling hungry for more energy, and wanting to explore how he can use more of his skill in battle Teng leaves in search of bigger prey.


    ~


    Spotting a deer, Teng stays behind a bush. Hoping it might come this way, as the other angles look troublesome, heading upwards.


    Not in a rush Teng waits. The deer continues foraging for plants.


    Minutes pass. Soon the Deer leaves, heading upward. Teng becomes disappointed. However, this is normal in hunting. Nothing to do about it, he heads elsewhere. Although disappointed, Teng likes the idea of learning how to hunt. Having such a skill will prove beneficial in the future.


    As he walks Teng thinks. His Awakening probably opened the door to sensing the water laws. While his body was automatically receiving the energy in from the rift. He feels with his understanding into the Law of Rain it healed his inner wounds, made him physically stronger, and gave him some new skills. Almost like getting a class in a game. As he progresses, he will just get stronger. Teng wonders if others are able to achieve a similar thing. Or perhaps he is the only one so far.


    Teng really is curious about what might be happening to the rest of the world. The rift he is at, is in the middle of nowhere. Are there other rifts out there? Or his the only one? Will his island become a hot zone for military drops? He doesn¡¯t know. All he knows he has found a sense of purpose in his life and is not willing to abandon it.


    ~


    Teng noticed during his hunting, after the third broken spear, he could imbue it with his laws. Not exactly energy, as his energy would transform into the law. His law, his insight, could be considered the theory, and the energy the means to manifest it into reality. Using his law made his spear more flexible, and sharper, but he still feels like he missing something.


    Stabbing the last beetle, he calls it a day, feeling the rush of energy enter his body. It seems this island is more abundant in energy, but it will soon travel deeper into the sea and into the sea creatures he imagines. The land was a bioproduct and supposes it contains more rift energy. The rift is still there as well, a few kilometres in the sky. No signs of leaving anytime soon.

 Chapter 9 - Harvest

    Chapter 9


    ~


    Harvest


    ~


    What Teng has realised lately are the beast incursions. It seems to him more kinds of sea creatures are making their way onto this island. Not drastic enough to call it a migration, but still it is worrying. Most stay in the sea which is good. However, if this continues, it will be war between everyone who wants some territory.


    Perhaps the land beasts will cease to exist, and only these abominable sea creatures will remain. Teng still isn¡¯t even sure how boars and the deer got on this island. Perhaps they were at the far end, and evolved. That seems more likely than swimming five kilometres from the rift.


    Anyhow Teng had becoming much more proficient these days in his spear technique. Truly with only one arm, he has to focus on his feet more. This allows him to grasp the timing in fighting these beasts. His law doesn¡¯t have much use here, so he is becoming more proficient in using his energy. He has needed to replace many spears though, but that seems to becoming less of a problem with his increased energy proficiency. Soon he should be able to throw the spear accurately too. He practices it sometimes. He really has become passionate for The Hunt as Teng calls it.


    As Teng is walking around his cove, he spots a small sea creature skulking around his fishing ground. Nearly two metres in length, it looks to be similar to a snake, but with some humanoid arms. It flicks its tongue sensing its surroundings. Quickly smelling Teng near it turns its head.


    Two intelligent eyes stare at him.


    Not given time to react it roars aggressively and rushes over. Cautious, but unafraid, Teng stands his ground. He has seen many different species over this past week, just another one to add to the list. What Teng is cautious about is that it looks intelligent, even holding a bony weapon of sorts.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Side stepping the snaky creatures charge, Teng lunges his spear out. Blocked by the beast¡¯s hard scales. The beast easily twists its body, not letting him escape, stabbing with its bone knife. Not expecting to be in such danger in just one move Teng quickly taps his feet and a jet of water streams from his feet. With that quick burst he escapes out of harm¡¯s way appearing a metre away.


    Not even bothered by the quick escape the creature continues its attack. After a few minutes Teng is getting tired. Constantly he has to use his energy to stimulate his laws otherwise he would be in peril. The beast¡¯s scales are hard as the branches he tried to cut before, so he needs to use extra strength from his energy. Fortunately, although he has broken two spears already in this fight, he usually keeps some tied up in vines on his back.


    Seeing another opportunity, as the beast has twisted awkwardly, Teng Lunges. A clean hit through the throat. But the beast has the vitality of a cockroach. It continues its assault.


    As Teng has been concentrating completely on the battle in this time, he starts to become mentally fatigued, but he pushes on. Unfortunately, it seems his effort is not enough, as he continues to acquire new wounds.


    With his increasing fatigue, and blood loss, Teng knows he needs to finish this quickly. As the creature approaches again, Teng speeds up and enters close range, stabbing with his spear. The creature not willing to lose out in aggressiveness also stabs his bone sword without a care for its safety.


    Teng¡¯s eyes sharpen, suddenly his body is gently pulled by a small gust of wind, out of harm¡¯s way straight to the side of the creature. Not wasting any time, he stabs straight into the head of the creature, piercing it with his spear.


    Gradually the eyes of the monster dim, as Teng pulls out his spear. That last attack was a result of his hard work over the past days. His laws integrating into his spear have become considerable, more than enough to pierce its scales, but what helped him the most was his new wind affinity. His insight being ¡®When it Rains, Wind follows¡¯.


    Seeing no more enemies, he catches his breathe. He quickly feels a burst of energy enter him restoring his levels and even increases his strength. It looks like this enemy gives out decent energy.


    If Teng was at 1 power when he arrived on this island, then with his continued absorption of energy he reached about ten. After his awakening to the rain his power skyrocketed by a multiply of ten. Easily reaching about 100 power. He figures the beast increased his power level by one or two points.


    Grabbing the carcass by its tail, Teng decides to head back to camp.

 Chapter 10 - Battle Instincts

    Chapter 10


    ~


    Battle Instincts


    ~


    Setting down the carcass, he picks up a spare knife he made, and starts cutting through the skin. A disgusting smell wafts in as he cuts the beast apart. Trying not to mind it Teng continues. He needs to use some of his energy to keep the cuts going.


    Soon a whole two metre skin of it presents itself. Teng knows you have to boil it, but that¡¯s about all he knows. He builds a pot out of one of a nearby trees, then adds water. After he starts a fire. Once it starts boiling, he throws the snake skin in.


    After checking on it now and again, while training some spear skills, he finally pulls it out of the wooden pot. Luckily these trees are resistant to fire, at least of low temperatures. Satisfied with its progress he lets it dry and air out.


    After stitching it together with some vines, Teng finally has a form of protection. Not perfect, but still gets the job done.


    Feeling hungry for more energy, he heads back out for another day of hunting.


    ~


    Heading to the outskirts of the volcanos that are in the south Teng sees numerous sea creatures on the way. Not a threat for Teng however. Small clusters of crabs a metre in length stretch the sea shore, and into the jungle. Not willing to waste time on them he tries to move around them. He does still encounter a few and makes short work of them giving him small boosts in energy, but not as much as the snake creature though.


    Thinking this is a worthwhile spot to hunt, in the outskirts of the jungle, he decides to actively hunt the crabs. After hunting nearly fifty crabs proved beneficial, boosting his cultivation to around 120 energy. A good harvest for Teng he remarks. Thinking of calling it a day, he decides to scout a bit before heading back. He heads in closer to one of the lush volcanoes.


    His scales from the snake creature proved decent armour when a crab caught his leg. Although the crushing force was still very painful. With his new strength in his body he can somewhat resist it. Its more useful for blocking piercing attacks.


    The crabs being not too smart, just a little aggressive aren¡¯t too hard to fight. Teng plans to make it his hunting ground for now. After gaining height in the volcano he glances down below.


    A vast view stretches out below him, with an ocean that stretches far and wide. Trees that cover nearly every part of the island, besides a small part of the valley north, and the mountains west. Him being South west of his camp, on top of one of the volcanoes.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Behind Teng up above, he sees the rift still pouring out the newfound energy. It hasn¡¯t shown much disturbance after the first shockwave, but as long as its still there Teng will not rest.


    Just as he is about to head back, he sees shadows moving in the distant below. Not sure what they are, and curious if it is a new hunting ground for him, he moves forward. Getting up close he is horrified to realise it¡¯s the same snake beast he defeated yesterday. A small camp of sorts, numbering hundreds.


    Teng is nearly hundreds of metres away, but that doesn¡¯t stop them from noticing him. With no time to think, bone spears are hurled at him. Ducking for cover Teng, rolls and moves quickly down to the forest, hoping for some cover. Spears seem to be missing mostly, but to throw spears at him from hundreds of metres is a feat in itself. Not wanting to be trapped on this volcano he moves swiftly down north east. The creatures seem to be on the south west side.


    As Teng moves, the sun is setting, but he still hasn¡¯t lost them. Dozens still follow him. No idea what he did to offend them, why they would go to such lengths. Looking down he suddenly realised he is wearing their scales as armour. Well that makes sense. No need to think about it now, as Teng rushes onward. He moves quickly through the dense jungle.


    Before he gets too far a spear is hurled at him from behind. Not waiting to see, just hearing a whistling sound, Teng throws himself to the side, to see a spear hit the dirt where he was running to. That could have killed him!


    Completely furious Teng turns to face them. He is sick of running anyway, it seems they have more endurance them him, just a little slow on dirt. He has already lost most of the group so decides to kill the rest.


    Seeing one approach he doesn¡¯t waist anytime. Willing it, water spreads out from his wooden container. This makes it easier instead of creating water out of moisture in the air. It coils around Teng¡¯s arms and legs making him nimbler, as well as stronger. He heads for the one on his left, before they try to trap him like an animal.


    Completely unprepared from its prey that ran for over an hour it barely registers the attack. In a battle, a second can decide victory in an instant. Its head pierced by Teng¡¯s spear.


    Jumping a few steps back as bone spear overextends in front of him. His left arm lashes out with a makeshift water piston. The beast has a strong grip on its bone spear so doesn¡¯t lose it, but is thrown off balance. Teng seizes the chance to pierce his neck, leaving a big enough gash that it will not recover.


    Teng continues to aggressively attack, not showing any openings. He has honed his battle instincts over various fights with beasts on the island. However, his opportunity to fight intelligent creatures are very little. Thankfully they fight similar to a beast, besides their weapons.


    The fight doesn¡¯t last long, as Teng decided to go all out, not wanting any reinforcements to arrive. Soon nine snake creatures lay dead at his feet. Not wanting to stay any longer, he leaves the loot behind, only picking up a bone spear.


    Safely returning to camp Teng throws down his gear and meditates. This battle has given him much insight into how to apply his strength in his fights. Reflecting on it will help him. He also has to constantly pay attention to his energy consumption, not willing to overdraft himself in a fight.


    Thinking like this over an hour passes, until darkness creeps in. After he is down reflecting over his fight, and any new insights he grabs a fruit to eat, before heading to sleep.

 Chapter 11 - New Changes

    Chapter 11


    ~


    New Changes


    ~


    Noticing the sun is up Teng heads out to play. His body has become stronger of these past two weeks. Gone is the weak Teng. His eyes sharp. His muscles strong and lean. Even his aura is filled with a wisp of blood. As his body has grown so has Teng¡¯s mind, and heart. Teng hasn¡¯t noticed his change, but if he were to be compared with a modern person, they¡¯d be horrified. Not even veteran soldiers emanate his aura.


    Perhaps only ruthless martial art masters, or hitmen do.


    Usually a man would rest after fight. Whether that be with social interactions, or other endeavours. A soldier might go to the battlefield for a skirmish, but will have comrades, and places of rest. They are able to return home to see their loved ones or friends, and this is their hope.


    Teng too tries to find rest somehow. It¡¯s hard though. His thoughts are always on how to get stronger since dangers are consistent on this Island. Teng cannot leave the island like others. There are too many sea creatures, and with little knowledge on which direction to go, he must survive here. Even during the night, he constantly hears roars, and must remain vigilant. His laziness is slowly been removed. He lives on this island, and it has become all he knows. There are no friends or family. Teng can only rely on himself. His mind has slowly shifted to a warrior¡¯s mindset. He fights for his survival.


    ~


    It seemed yesterday stimulated a few new skills, and his manipulation of the laws has improved. It seems battle is the best way to improve his potential, and grow faster. Not willing to waste the day Teng heads out.


    The bone spear he collected seems to be made from a sea beast of some kind. It¡¯s strong and sturdy, but Teng believe his branch is stronger, however the stone could use improvement. So, he decided to break off the sharp end of the bone, liquify it in mud and wait for it to harden. The mud has proven to be effective, but as his strength improved, he might need to think of something else. For now, he has started to use thick vines to make his spear sturdier.


    It¡¯s even useful for when throwing the spear when hunting fish or beasts, as he can quickly pull it back if a vine is attached. Hopefully he can learn to do this with just his water laws. Progress is a little slow Teng feels with his Law of Rain. So, he heads out to battle. An excitement welling up in him.


    To others however, his growth rate is monstrous. Of course, Teng living on this island only has the beasts out of the rift to compare himself with.


    Teng already ate breakfast before coming. He prefers to eat fruit in the mornings. It¡¯s easier to store, and saves time, especially with his under average cooking skills. Depending on what he hunted midday and the evening, results in what he eats for lunch and dinner. Usually the meat is saved by drying. He even acquired some salt from the sea water, through his survival knowledge. Creating a small enclosure, and as the water evaporates, salt is left. Gets the job done, mostly.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Travelling through the forest, he decides not to head south, but north to the valley. After all he just killed a few of those creatures, who knows if they patrolling their jungle in great numbers. They easily number over hundred, but he is unclear of their actual number in total.


    Thinking like this Teng travels a few kilometres meeting a few wild beasts and birds. Not even posing a challenge to Teng who has lost his arm, he continues unimpeded.


    Walking over to a clearing Teng spots a lake up ahead. He inspects the lake for a while. Slowly moving forward, he comes closer. Thankfully there are animals are around here, but not too many. So, if there are any predators in the lake, they can¡¯t be too terrible.


    What has Teng intrigued is he feels a surge energy from the lake, far more than the one at the river. Interested in what it is that makes this place different, he jumps straight in.


    Reaching down with his new acquired sense of water he discovers nothing of note. Teng swims down.


    One feature Teng discovered of his Law is it enables him now to swim underwater for a little while. For now, he can make a small pocket of air, pushing the water away. He can transform a little of water into air, but not much. He figures soon he won¡¯t need to do this, as he could just transform water into life for him. This is what he does at the moment in meditation, but requires much more focus.


    Continuing down Teng sees odd colours of light, that is a blend of green and yellow. Curious he swims, but before he can get too closer, a dark figure flashes fast towards at him.


    Teng taking in his stride lifts his new bone spear and like the water isn¡¯t impeding him at all, he stabs forward. A strong force bangs against it, numbing Teng¡¯s arm. A brief flash of light enters the branch of the spear, before proceeding upward for a moment and then dissipating.


    Teng¡¯s pupils constrict. An eel! With lightning abilities at that. Not giving much time to think the eel swims around his spear wanting to bite him to death.


    Teng remaining cautious, but not slowing down impedes it with his spear, moving away at the same time as the water pushes him, giving him time to counter. Slowly the eel is losing, with gashes all over its body. Still it does not leave. Unwilling to abandoned its territory.


    The fight doesn¡¯t actually last that long, 30 seconds at most, but in that time Teng got covered with discharged shocks of lightning, with the eel paying a greater price though. Its headless corpse floating in the lake.


    Tired and battered Teng swims down to see what it was so adamant on defending. Pulling past some reeds a shine of green and yellow becomes more pronounced.


    It seems to be a reed standing alone with 2 metres of space to itself. It has the colours of dark green mainly, with some flashes of yellow. The energy it gives off his not oppressive, but gentle.


    Teng is excited. It¡¯s not the boost of energy he could get from it. It¡¯s that right now Teng feels the gentleness, and staidness of water within its energy. Although he doesn¡¯t understand, its different from his. Teng¡¯s Law of Rain has been forced down the path of ruthless, with life and death threats at his door step Teng had chosen this path. Although he gained healing of rain, it still was in a sense washing away the enemies in his heart. With this Reed he can improve his Law, and in turn multiply his strength.


    Taking the reed, carefully he digs the hard seabed, which basically have become rocks at this point. Smashing it open with his spear enhanced by his Law the reed comes undone. Snatching it he looks it over. Its size is not big, maybe a metre or so. That¡¯s okay for Teng though. He didn¡¯t plan on making it into a weapon or anything. He pushes it onto his head and ties it like a bandanna. Slowly small lights of energy are pulled towards him, refreshing his mind. Teng is very joyous of this harvest.


    He was thinking of tying his hair with the reed treasure, but feels its un-needed at the moment. His hair hasn¡¯t grown too long. After checking to see that there are no more treasure Teng swims upwards, and leaves the lake.


    ~

 Chapter 12 - North Valley

    Chapter 12


    ~


    North Valley


    ~


    Moving forward Teng marvels at his new treasure. To think such a thing could exist.


    His mind feels three times stronger than it did before. He believes if he fought, he will be able to last three times longer in battles.


    This is because of the effect of the reed. It¡¯s not that he gains three times more energy, it¡¯s that he can convert his energy three times more efficiently. His energy is converted into his Law insights for strong battle power.


    Now it only cost him a third of energy what it did before. If it cost Teng 3 energy before to use a jet water skill, now it only costs 1. Basically, giving him stronger endurance, and more flexibility in battles.


    Furthermore, many things that were harder for him to grasp have become easier. He even feels closer to making a breakthrough in his Law of Rain. The reed seems to hold its own law of sorts.


    ~


    Moving fast he quickly covers the distance like a gazelle. In all this time he has not seen that pterodactyl again. To be safe he avoided the snail¡¯s areas, but because he didn¡¯t want to hide in his cave, he pushes himself to venture out in increase his strength. In hope one day nothing can threaten him on this island. The reason he is thinking about it is to reaffirm his beliefs. If he can¡¯t overcome the village in the south, they might continue to expand and wipe him out, let alone the pterodactyl. Perhaps more other sea creatures will invade this island, and if he stayed holed up, he would have no chance of living peacefully. Thinking about these things Teng appears outside the valley.


    Looking ahead there are large swathes of cut down trees. As if a deforestation happened here. It must have only happened over the last few days, since he was sure from his scouting it wasn¡¯t like this earlier. Moving in close, he spots a few beetles he met on the island, but then he sees a new insect.


    Standing 1 metres tall, its wings are folded behind its back, as it scampers around looking for a new tree. It has mandibles for cutting, with four insect legs. It basically looks like slash between an ant and a mosquito, without the blood sucker. Its diet seems to be wood.


    Not daring to get too closer, in case others are around Teng circles around. After trekking, he discovers a nest in one of the side hills with many insects entering and leaving. Not sure why it would build its nest inside, when it flies Teng leaves it. It looks like these are weak individually. As there are only a dozen or so Teng decides to hunt them.


    Killing a few and noticing no reaction from the nest he continues a while longer. After killing more than thirty though, some others notice and come rushing over. Killing them before others arrive, he flees. It seems whatever they are doing in their nest is important.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    After taking a break Teng decides to explore. There are a few tunnels leading down, so he picks one. Honestly, he has no fear of them, it seems his Laws have grown so much, his spear instantly pierces a insect beast. His left arm has only a third left, but he sometime shoots out jets of water in various battle tactics.


    Actually, his arm healed a bit when he first initiated into the Laws of Rain. Perhaps if he makes another breakthrough is will heal even further. At the moment it is working out fine, because his control of water has become more adept. Soon he might even consider himself a water mage.


    With his snake armour and Reed bandanna tightened more securely, Teng heads down below.


    ~


    Entering, it quickly becomes dark. Teng hears scuttling and vibrating noises a little further down. Teng first strengthens his body with his laws, as his prepared water in his bottles wraps around him, the swirls produce enough light for Teng to see clearly. His legs and arms becoming as strong as branches through this upgrade.


    Teng used to think that the water was a muscle, which it still is in a sense, but now his water imbued by his Law feels much closer, like a companion. Even in battles, it almost reacts for him. Knowing what he needs. Perhaps he is overthinking things, but with this attribute he believes his power can reach a whole new realm. As for now he starts to focus.


    Heading downward Teng follows the path.


    ~


    Quickly he comes across three worker ants, moving alongside the walls. Speedily he almost surfs over to them.


    Hearing the rush of water, the ants turn. One starts to flap its wings, but Teng quickly smashes it into the wall, its head crushed by his spear. Not wasting any energy, he sweeps his spear killing the other two ants in one blow.


    If all fights can be this easy, he should be able to double his energy today, as the ants give quite generous amounts. Moving forward he waste no time hunting them down, steadily moving deeper into the cave. Hopefully he can eradicate the Queen or King. Although they are a stable source of energy, he won¡¯t compromise energy over safety.


    Heading down Teng obliterates about two hundred ants before he has to take a rest. His endurance is nearly three times as before. He doesn¡¯t even tire battling these insects, as long as he uses his energy efficiently. The reed is greatly helping him. Even kills slowly restore some of his energy although in small amounts.


    Drinking some water, and eating some dried meat. Over his body is green patches of blood, but he is unbothered by it. Looking down he sees only one path this time. Hopefully he will meet the one in charge soon.


    Finishing his meal, he grabs his spear and heads down. His eyes almost glowing with accumulated energy in his body.


    Trudging ahead a fierce light enters his sight. Subterranean plants enter his sight, growing a bit a light down here. He keeps his water laws slowly swirling. It¡¯s bearable with his treasured reed and new energy.


    Coming across a cavern, he glances forwards. He sees a few bigger monstrous looking ants with wings surrounding another ant. This one dwarfs the rest being five metres tall and three metres wide, and that¡¯s without including its wings. Teng starts to feel a bit of anticipation. As he grows in his laws and energy, his sense of strength is becoming skewed. Even he isn¡¯t sure of his limit.


    Although the snake monsters are trouble that¡¯s because of their large number in addition to their strong bodies. It would be too much for Teng to fight to the death against hundreds of them at that time. Now he has the reed which would alleviate a lot, but still he needs a measure. Hopefully these ants can show him his limits.

 Chapter 13 - Queen

    Chapter 13


    ~


    The Queen


    ~


    Unconcerned about any plan Teng charges straight in. The ants are immediately alerted, and surround their queen. There seems to be three guarding the queen as the last two charge Teng.


    Not flustered by more than one opponent attacking Teng lifts a disposable spear and throws it at the closest one. Before it can react it carapace it smashes open with many cracks, the spear piercing a metre of so in. Large amounts of green blood flow out at its head. Before the second one is upon him, Teng lifts his second spear, and throws. It seems this one isn¡¯t lucky either, with its head becoming dazed, and its carapace a mess. Both a heavily wounded, but not dead.


    As the others notice the situation the three guards rush to help. Teng not willing to waste his opportunity, quickly rushes with his main bone spear, killing the two elite ants and retreats before the others get too close.


    The ants not wanting Teng to escape chase.


    While at a distance, Teng stops and throws another spear. This time the ant dodges to the side. Since its still pretty big it hits its front leg. Teng continues kiting, until he feels an extreme sense of danger. Not waiting to look he bursts his legs with laws, shooting to the side. Not soon after he feels a gust of wind, and the Queen bulldozes here he had just been.


    Seizing the moment to counter Teng rushes to the queen¡¯s side aiming for one it¡¯s legs, he aims for a joint. The carapace cracks apart, but only a shallow wound appears. Not wasting anytime for a second attack, he speeds away. The queen being angry, chases.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The fight continues for another few minutes, Teng and the ants racking up injuries. Mostly faring worse are the ants, with most of the Queen¡¯s guards being dead. The queen is truly furious now. At the moment its a battle of endurance, and no one is better at it than Teng.


    Sweating and covered in blood Teng moves around the cavern, inching towards the exit. Truly although Teng can do damage, the Queens vitality is enormous. It has cuts all over, even missing an eye. It seems the Queen is more used to being directed by its antennae though, as most ants are, it seems unaffected by the lost eye.


    Teng is running out of energy even with his treasured bandanna, and is wondering whether he should retreat or not. Perhaps he can defeat her another time. However just as he thinking that, the Queen starts to slow down. Obviously, the wounds are starting to make the difference now.


    Even though Teng is covered in wounds, he can stop blood loss with his Law, the Queen cannot. He also keeps water imbued with his laws in his pouches, making it easier on him.


    Seeing the Queen stretched to its limits, and Teng not wanting it to escape, or have reinforcements to perhaps arrive and interfere he resolves himself to attack.


    Darting forward he positions himself in front of its left leg, which is cracked and injured. He lifts his legs and kicks, his powerful body strong enough to affect the Queens balance. The Queen goes to lash out with her mandibles, but Teng¡¯s spear blocks them.


    Soon the Queen tumbles, and in the chaos Teng stabs his spear straight through the eye into its brain. The Queen slowly slumps to the ground, and with that Teng receives an extreme concentration of energy, having a breakthrough in his energy levels.


    ~


    Treating his wounds as best he can for now Teng looks around. It seems there is a small pond of water here pure in energy, but other than that nothing of note. Not wanting to waste anything, Teng cuts the queens sharp mandibles to be used as a dagger or another spear in the future. Too heavy to carry the carcass, he might have to come back if he wants to make a different type of armour.


    Tired and exhausted Teng leaves the ant nest. Although he meets some ants on the way, he usually leaves them be unless they attack. Without the Queen, they will soon die out, making his island one more step safer to the paradise he envisions.


    ~


    As it¡¯s getting late now, he heads home.

 Chapter 14 - The New Teng

    ~


    Chapter 14


    ~


    The New Teng


    ~


    In the morning after he has meditated, he goes about his fishing wanting some downtime and a nice breakfast. As he works, he ponders what he should do next. Now the North Valley is mostly free of dangers, it leaves only the West Mountains and Southern Volcanoes. He even saw a few patrols on his way back last night. It seems it might be a matter of time before the snake beasts find his camp, and he isn¡¯t too keen on moving.


    Besides that, his training is moving along nicely. He noticed this morning that as he absorbs the rift energy, his body is changing. As the energy fills up his vessel, his laws are digesting it into a purer version of it. This helps tremendously improving his physique.


    He would say he is at least as strong as martial art masters who dedicate years to strengthening their bones and muscles. He probably even above that, as his punches are starting to feeling like flexible wood. That¡¯s without his Law of Rain strengthening him.


    Teng believes his law will start to shine more and more as he gains more energy. It¡¯s basically like receiving extra percentage bonuses a level. Furthermore, as more energy circulates, Teng suspects if he was poisoned, it would have no chance surviving and be instantly eradicated by his body. If it isn¡¯t, he should have no problem manually expelling it.


    Teng thinks hunting the snake monsters today is his only option. They are the only ones actively trying to kill him. He is unafraid though. He has already slain dozen of their kind, and wouldn¡¯t mind killing some more. Teng has really changed over this time on this island. Nobody would be able to recognise him anymore.


    Clothes that looks like rags, covered in dried blood. Blue animal scales of unknown origin running across his arms, torso and legs. A missing arm, and a Spear made of bone and black wood held in the other. Standing tall at nearly 2 metres in height, a grisly beard hangs around his jaw, sharp eyes, and pearly white teeth. His hair is tied back with a reed that looks suspiciously alive. It¡¯s colours of dark green and yellow far vivid than any tv special effected. He honestly looks somewhat heroic, if only not for his barbaric edge, and wisp of blood lust hanging around him. I suppose some would call that a plus though.


    His left arm even seems to have grown back by at least 30 centimetres too. The energy Teng absorbs usually just nourishes his present body, but it seems when he gains insights into his law, it weaves him a new and stronger body. Therefore, his lost arm has started recover. Honestly, he wishes it would come sooner, but he must be patient.


    It seems the snake creatures are moving into his side, where he fled to. There side is more jungle in the south, while his is more of a forest in the east. Not waiting any longer, he heads out.


    At noon he spots a patrol. Swiftly hiding behind a bush, he peers through. They consist of five snakes in the front holding bone spears or knifes, while two in the back, hold bone bows of some kind.


    Thinking about his battle strategy, he glances at the snake creature at the back. Not feeling too confident at dodging arrows he decides to take them out first. He does not hesitate to kill, after all both Teng are at war with him already killing a dozen before.


    Teng feels he is lucky as they the archers are grouped together. Obviously not used to patrols.


    Rushing forward like a crashing wave Teng pierces the first archer in the heart, taking no chances with their strong vitality. Moving quickly, he slices the other one beside him, although it tries to quickly raise its bow as defence, Teng smashes his spear right into its weapon, overpowering it in an instant, his spear quickly slicing past its neck. Its head falls to the ground.Stolen story; please report.


    The other serpents see their comrades dying so quickly, are not discouraged, but instead quickly rush toward Teng in an aggressive nature. It seems these creatures know no fear. Perfect.


    Teng makes quick work of them moving onto another group. Such is his day, moving around like a phantom, their bodies strewn all over the forest. Deciding its not enough he heads further into their territory, moving from forest to jungle. Before he leaves though, he picks up their bone spears, knives, bows, and arrows leaving them at a place where he will return for later. They will be useful for his crafting.


    Reaching closer to their camp, he sees their houses are mostly made out of mud. Feeling confident he decides to end this today. He was going to wait, but seeing the rift shift, and churn recently he figures he doesn¡¯t want to waste any more time. Who knows if more sea creatures will pop up through the Rift.


    Heading past the jungle terrain he nears the buildings. As far as he can see most have left to patrol, some are building new huts, and only a few others a guarding a bigger looking building. Not wanting to wait until it becomes night, and more patrols return he decides to act now.


    Nimbly moving forward, careful not to step on any twigs he closes the gap, his spear steadied in his right hand. As he moves forward nobody seems to take notice of him. Teng has even learned how use his laws to lower his body temperature recently. It¡¯s a working progress at the moment, but it seems none are paying much attention. He even covered himself completely in mud for this expedition. As he creeps closer, he gets about four metres from the nearest one. They guard the big building. He is hidden behind one of the closest structures. His plan is to throw his disposal spears, and then wait to see what comes out. If he can fight it, he will, if not he will run away. No need to lose his life. His potential is extremely high after all.


    Not waiting a second longer, he switches for a throwing spear. Imbuing it with energy, he throws it. It seems they sensed the energy disturbance; however, it still doesn¡¯t dodge in time, getting skewered into the mud like structure. Teng wastes no time in picking up another spear and throwing it. This time its prepared and blocks it with his bone spear.


    This serpent creature is nearly twice the size of its regulars. Charging forward it arrives in the blink of an eye, its tail swishing with large amounts of wind.


    Realising he can¡¯t avoid a close quarters fight, Teng brings out his nearest weapon, a one metre long bone knife. Not nearly as proficient as the Elite Serpent in front of him Teng is pushed into a stalemate, neither side having much an advantage. Knowing he doesn¡¯t have much time before their fight attracts others, he stomps his foot on the ground. A water rushes up beneath, like a small tide seeking to off balance him.


    The serpent snorts, unaffected. It seems his large snake like body, is not for show, completely shrugging off his trick. Before they can begin again, he hears a roar in the distance.


    Looking past the Elite Serpent Guard he sees a monstrosity. It¡¯s tails his nearly five metres long, and its upper body reaching nearly six metres, a trident in its hands. It seems to be furious at the outsider who infiltrated his camp, not only killing its guard, but resisting another. Hot rage is in its eyes.


    Knowing his limits Teng quickly tries to disengage from the guard serpent and rush away. But how can he let Teng escapes after killing his brethren, and his King watching. Slapping it¡¯s tail it quickly intercepts.


    Underestimating the power of the muscle this guard has, its speed reaching his. Running nearly a hundred metres Teng is unable to free itself from the guard, and it seems his throw earlier was a valuable ambush. If he had to face two of these, he would be dead meat.


    Seeing Serpent Chieftain getting closer, Teng roars in rage. Alone, by himself he has to survive and fight, almost becoming a beast himself. His anger rises to its peak. His enemies will become his stepping stones.


    Grasping his main spear, he steadies himself.


    He remembers when he just arrived. He had to pressed forward to survive. When he wanted to give up, when he wants to cry, and say it was all too much he endured. Something in him died and was reborn arriving on this island. He knows it himself, he can¡¯t return to being the old him, so he might as well embrace the New Teng.


    Gazing at the serpent guard, he stabs fast, no tricks, just a simple stab.


    A bloodied hole appears in his belly, water spiralling through the opening. Before it can register it, it coughs a large amount of blood, before weakly falling to the ground. Barely anything is left of its waist.


    Teng gazes at the Chieftain as it approaches.


    Thinking about the actions that lead to this life, he feels like they happened a millennium ago, even though it surely hasn¡¯t been longer than a month. In fact, the more he presses into his new martial art path, the less he remembers about his old life. These serpents will just be one more obstacle in his path.


    Steeling his heart, water bursts around his arms, legs, even covering his face. He looks like a God of War. An elemental in the flesh.


    The War Chieftain pauses for a moment, but quickly raises its trident, wanting to defeat the intruder here who killed its kin.


    ~

 Chapter 15 - Battle Insights

    Chapter 15


    ~


    Battle Insights


    ~


    The fight is intense, neither giving an inch. If Teng smashes a piece of body, so too must he pay the price as the Chieftain wields his trident. Even more astonishing is the lightning strikes it delivers. It seems it too has some insight into the laws, or perhaps it¡¯s a natural affinity to lightning.


    Too bad Teng¡¯s water protection is not a flimsy modern water, but built upon by strong numerological insight, he gained through life and death battles. It holds up under the barrage, however his body still gets shocked occasionally.


    Even some patrols race back after hearing the commotion, but they are easily obliterated under Teng¡¯s might, arrows being unable to do any damage, as serpent folk are whipped into the air. The Chieftain no doubt furious at seeing his kind being slaughtered right in front of him. Clearly wanting to avoid it, he tries to bring the fight in another direction. Teng is happy to oblige.


    Teng isn¡¯t sure how he became so powerful, but he has no time to think on it now. If he survives, he can dwell on it later. Striking hard with his spear on one of the chieftain¡¯s scales, it breaks and oozes some blood. Teng estimates his strength is a strong as a grenade, but it leaves only a gash. Before he can react, a lightning bolt flies down from the sky. Having no time to dodge Teng is hit again feeling numb all over. The Chieftain quickly presses with his trident, but Teng swiftly blocks with his spear.


    This continues back and forth until both are becoming mentally fatigued. Still their bodies are in decent condition, besides a few gashes. The Chieftain is clearly skilled in spear combat, perhaps even crossed combat with some more creatures who use weapons, or maybe it learned from its ancestors. Teng has learned a lot. Feeling the strain on his energy Teng decides he needs to try go for a fatal strike or at least wound the Chieftain enough, so he can choose to escape or stay. He isn¡¯t sure how much energy the Chieftain has left in him, but even if it isn¡¯t a lot Teng isn¡¯t really willing to risk. It seems Teng underestimated the strength of the Chieftain. Without his elemental laws completely covering him, it¡¯s hard to say if he would have survived or not.


    The Chieftain is also sensing the mood shift, and seems to planning to give it his all. Not really what Teng wanted, but he hopes after surviving this strike, he can escape. It¡¯s not that he always thinks about escape. It¡¯s just he doesn¡¯t like to be greedy; he has already gained more than enough in this fight. If given time he can grow stronger.


    Shaking himself from his thoughts, he prepares himself.


    The Chieftain¡¯s eyes flash, a sudden sense of danger hits Teng. He becomes dazed for a brief moment, and quickly Chieftain slaps his tail carrying hundreds of kilos with him, it smashes into Teng before he can react.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Awakening out of the daze from the pain, his ribs feel cracked, and his arm is in a lot of pain, he quickly flies through the air. He rolls dozens of metres, thankfully though his laws pave a way for him. Lifting his right arm, it feels dislocated.


    Seeing the Chieftain rushing over to him, but clearly looking fatigued. Teng jumps up, his spear quickly delivered to his side, by his water.


    Thinking it is time to leave Teng turns around and flees, not bothering with the angry Chieftain behind him.


    ~


    Arriving safely at his camp, Teng goes over the battle. Finding faults, he could have done better on, and pondering how he awakened this new form in his water laws. It seems his Law of Rain got an upgrade. However, before he delves too deep though, he cleans himself up, and begins his healing treatment.


    Teng starts to meditate in his cave. It¡¯s already evening so he meditates all throughout the night, healing his ribs, and most of his other wounds. It seems he needs to sleep less with his new body. It¡¯s the brain that needs rest mostly.


    The Chieftain looked extremely fatigued after his final attack, and likely couldn¡¯t chase him far. Teng still isn¡¯t sure what it was. A mental attack of some sort. It seemed the Chieftain opted for a blunt attack with its tail instead of a spear thrust, because it was having trouble penetrating Teng¡¯s laws.


    In any case the other patrols have still not found his cave so he is safe, for now.


    Checking his body on the inside, he sees energy flowing more smoothly. It seems there has been a qualitative change, with more of his energy becoming a part of his Law. This will make efficiency in its usage increase, while improving his endurance, over long fights.


    He also sees with his spiritual sense becoming stronger, that there are some minute changes to where his Rain Laws gather. It¡¯s looks as if a small world has formed inside of him. It¡¯s hard to see far into it, as a misty cloud has formed around it. As it¡¯s Teng¡¯s world though he can tell it¡¯s mostly formed by his numerological insights in his Law. It even occasionally glows a bit, some insights pulsing with a blue hue.


    Directing himself outward he examines his body. Looking over his garments, his scales are completely destroyed, and his clothes being barely what they used to look like. His t-shirt has been ripped to shreds, so now all there is some scales, and lean muscles showing through. Teng also sees some of his body covered in scars from his fights. Not too bothered by it, he figures he has become a true warrior now.


    ~


    Teng decides to mostly rest today and go over his insights. It seems to Teng, his heart is like the sun, and when his thoughts become clear like a blue sky, his emotions in a sense evaporate the energy like how sea water is pulled up by sunlight. This makes the new energy his own like the rain.


    He believes the energy outside his body is like sea water. He can¡¯t always rely on his heart becoming a sun of emotions though, but hopefully he can control it in the future.


    When his emotions exploded, he released the rain, manifesting power out of his body into an elemental.


    During the day, he meditates mostly beside the river, becoming joyful over his increase in Rain Laws. In the evening he leaves for bed.


    His cave bed has truly transformed into a Barbarian hut. Strewn across the walls are various fruit vines. A river of water flows through the cave, from the entrance, into a small pond. His bed is covered with thick vines, basically becoming a hammock now, with many furs from his kills. Besides his bed is an assortment of knives, spears, and bows. This isn¡¯t all though.


    Teng wasn¡¯t sure if the Serpents would find his lair, so he made a few others places, North in the valley too, which he sometimes stays at. It also has a few supplies of weapons, food, and water. He made a few water pouches with either skin of a beast, or out of wood.


    ~

 Chapter 16 - Gear

    ~


    Chapter 16


    ~


    Gear


    ~


    As Teng settles down, he feels he is becoming more alive. With His Rain Laws increasing it seems his cells are becoming more joyous. His small water world is growing too. It seems it¡¯s even influencing the surroundings, but Teng hasn¡¯t figured out how it works yet.


    Looking at his choice of weapons. Two spears come into view. Both extremely sharp. On the right is a weapon at least three metres in length, it has a black wooden base, with a red blade moulded into the top. It¡¯s looks closer to a glaive than a spear. Beside it is Teng¡¯s main spear using bones. However, after the fight with the Chieftain, he will have to get used to his glaive he made out of the ant mandibles. His treasured spear needs to be repaired if he wants to use it again.


    Teng picks the glaive, with a few short spears. Making an account of what he has, he sets out to the North valley. Although the Chieftain is wounded at the moment, he doesn¡¯t feel his chances are good enough. First, he wants to make himself a new set of armour, then maybe try again.


    Moving swiftly through the forest, he enters the valley in under an hour. It used to take him a few hours before. Now with his proficiency of his Laws and energy increasing, he wastes no time. This Island has become his backyard.


    Reaching the valley, he heads down, gathering the ant elites and queen. It hasn¡¯t been long since he was last here, but still the meat has already rotted. Making a convenient air pocket, he begins to work, his water easily blocking most smells.


    After half an hour he has done majority of the work, removing carapaces and letting them dry in the sun. Adding the Queen¡¯s carapace into prepared boiled water he waits. A little while later, he pulls it out. Teng starts to build his new armour.


    He cuts out a few pieces with his new glaive. He then pokes a few holes through them. After making sure there is enough holes, he grabs some spare vines he brought with him, and begins. After a few minutes he has a makeshift armour of exoskeleton. Although it looks shoddy, Teng thinks it¡¯s¡¯ comparable to Predator gear in the movie Alien vs Predator. With his Spear, he looks even more intimidating.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Feeling it¡¯s secure enough, he doesn¡¯t leave just yet. So far, the Queen allowed him to make armour for most of his body. Usually it would be burdensome on Teng¡¯s body, but he feels its no problem with the increased energy. If he uses his laws, he will have no problem moving around freely.


    Teng grabs a few more carapaces from the elites. He slashes them a bit, ties them up, and brings them back to his camp. He is thinking of using them to make some more spears, or shields in the future. Even some new boots if he can.


    Feeling the heavy load on his back he takes off.


    ~


    Streaming through the undergrowth Teng bursts out, his hair and reed whipping about, as he flies quickly past the trees. It seems his senses have become sharper, easily sensing the energies around him. He can even sense a bit of the hidden life that supports the island. He feels this law is similar to his Rain that supports his body.


    Teng heads back enjoying the wind, as it brushes past him.


    Entering his camp, he drops off his stuff, before deciding to head to his fishing ground today. He wants to digest his battle experience more thoroughly. Last night was focused on the laws, but he still wants to remember how to proficiently use it when in battle. Thinking like this, he grabs his main spear. However, seeing it in disrepair, he decides to comb the stone in mud again. Adding thick vines this time. He adds a layer of moisture to it through his Laws, helping it harden and fuse.


    Just has Teng brings his body to life through the Law of Rain, so can he now imbue his insights into an object. However, the process is hard. It¡¯s only that his spear has been with him through many life and death encounters, it is easy to imbue. Seeing his main spear good as new, Teng heads out.


    Seeing no waves, Teng surfs over the water, sitting down on the sea. Since its¡¯ not his water, he controls a portion of his water to allow him to sit comfortably. In the future he hopes to wield both aspects. Since it¡¯s a nice day, Teng start goings over his battle with the Chieftain again. Remembering his decisions in using his spear to battle. What works, and what didn¡¯t. He also tries to copy the chieftain spear technique, but it will take time. So far, he estimates, his battle prowess will not only make him stronger in his fighting prowess, but also temper his heart. Making his spear will stronger.


    Such Teng begins his day by meditating, and then practicing his technique in the sea.


    A calm soon washes over the Island. Most beasts have been wiped out, and any who remain set up in their territory. Teng continues his training day in and day out, unconcerned with any affairs besides his training, just honing himself in this wilderness.


    Days pass quickly, and it seems the island is completely isolated from the world. The Rift it¡¯s only friend.


    ~

 Chapter 17 - Apex Predator

    Chapter 17


    ~


    Apex Predator


    ~


    Soon Teng awakens from his training. Opening his eyes, he feels three weeks have passed. His training has slowed, so he wishes to gain more experience. He even feels the Pterodactyl he first saw can¡¯t best him anymore. The Chieftain he has left in the dust. However, he still wants to see the results of his training, so he decides he must face the Chieftain again.


    Heading out he sees the sun is up. Not waiting, he steps hard, the ground cracks, and he travels fast, his body giving off a horrifying amount of energy. Proceeding through the forest Teng notices many new under growths, and other lifeforms. It seems the energy has started transforming this island into dense lush rainforest. He even sees a few new animals, and some furry ones he wants for pets.


    He arrives at the south volcano fringe soon. The mud village looks to be abandoned, not a single serpent creature in sight. Moving along Teng sees the location he last fought the Chieftain at. Mostly it was washed away by the rain. Seeing nobody home, he proceeds onward.


    Circling around the volcano which houses green grass, and purple flowers he finds himself near a clearing. Looking ahead he senses some movement. Getting closer he sees a cave, with a few Serpent guards. It extremely well hidden. It seems they moved here.


    Perhaps they thought Teng would try ambush their King while injured. Teng being much more powerful than before has no need to. Actually, Teng considered ambushing the Chieftain, but gave up. He¡¯s not sure he could kill him, even if he was injured. They both were about the same level.


    Heading closer, he slowly conforms himself into a surf. As he rushes forward, the expressions on the guards faces become horrified. Ignoring them he slips past them down into the cave.


    It looks to be an underground cavern. Moving quickly, he bypasses many serpents, even ascending along the walls, where even the serpents have trouble climbing. Before long the Chieftain hears the disturbance and rushes out, looking to be in peak condition.


    Teng really feels like he has grown. Facing this six metre tall monstrously, not even batting an eyelid now. If he included its tail, it would be at the length of 11 metres like the world¡¯s biggest python on the ground. Muscles rippling with power, and scale that look as hard as steel.


    Teng not willing to be outdone forms his elemental, quicker than last time.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Silence ensues for a brief moment. The Chieftain seeing my intent to fight orders his kin to leave. Mostly watching from the outskirts. With no sign Teng and the Chieftain both charge at each other, weapons following.


    Not wanting to take any chances the Chieftain instantly uses his trump, his eyes flash, as he goes for a fatal blow. Teng¡¯s mind flashes, forming a water barrier. In his training Teng considered one way to counter this move, and he finally perfected. The lethal energy doesn¡¯t penetrate.


    With his mind clear, Teng pushes his glaive forward, feeling it is more suited for this battle. Both using their energies trying to overcome the other it becomes a stalemate for a brief moment. However, with Teng¡¯s new improved spear technique, and insights, it¡¯s not long before the Chieftain starts feeling the pressure.


    Every move of his is seen through by Teng, their spears stabbing back forth, each not giving an inch. As the fight drags on, its obvious now even with the Chieftain at his peak, his wounds recovered, and even have faced Teng before, he is no match.


    Teng quickly gains the advantage. Not wasting his momentum, he strikes for its underbelly, the Chieftain twists to dodge, but it doesn¡¯t arrive. Instead it arcs into its shoulder. After Teng¡¯s feint he aimed for the shoulder. Green blood quickly flows from the Chieftains shoulder. Undaunted, the Chieftain continues.


    It isn¡¯t long though before the Chieftain¡¯s weapon becomes heavy, and his arm slow. After a few more seconds, the Chieftain loses grip over his weapon, and is sent flying by Teng.


    As it scrambles up, there is evident fear in its eyes. Teng satisfied with the fight, leaves.


    The other serpents, create a path, not daring to get too close.


    ~


    Back at the camp Teng lets out a breath of air. Truly that Serpent¡¯s endurance had been terrifying. Luckily it fell for that feint, or Teng would have to fight for a while. It seems he needs to increase his endurance again, not satisfied with his already absurd level. Truly he could run a few weeks just on energy, not included in battles. His Laws could help him get a little further though, but he prefers to save it for powering himself up before a fight.


    His glaive seemed to worked very well, and after he fights more with it, he can hopefully imbue it with his laws like his spear had.


    With Teng¡¯s strength reaching new heights, and the fight validating his strength, Teng feels a bit of pressure drop off him. He has nearly forgotten about the rest of the world, with him just being focused on surviving. There has not been a single day when he didn¡¯t let up, either in training or gaining insights into his Law. His safety is not completely guaranteed, with the Pterodactyl, but Teng feels he can escape if need be now, maybe even fight it.


    With room to breathe now Teng considers his plans. He could try leave the island now with his strength. His endurance is fairly high, but he¡¯s not sure how far he is from any known country. Furthermore, who knows what sea creatures have mutated out there, or what has come through. He hopes humanity is surviving, although he loves the solo life, he doesn¡¯t want to live forever by himself. Just like the Hermit sometimes interacting with the trader. He feels it wouldn¡¯t be too bad to have some servants, like the Chieftain had. He would have less work, and more time to focus on insights too.


    Teng decides to wait a little longer. He is still curious about the island.


    His thoughts are interrupted by the disturbance above.