Two whole days had gone by since Kai left. The initial adrenaline had worn off hours ago, replaced by a deep, searing pain that had penetrated to his marrow. His impromptu walk had given way to a fatigued, shuffling limpwristed stumble. Veridia was a heartless and merciless world. The seemingly boundless green grasslands that had first struck him as so beautiful now appeared a colossal, barren prison. They offered him no comfort, no refuge—nothing but dry, creaking grass and strange, unfamiliar plants he was too afraid to touch.
A faraway, spectral memory of his Eren life—a montage from some survival show, perhaps—gave him a glimpse of what might be safe to eat, but the overwhelming weakness clouding his mind kept him uncertain and afraid to make one false move. Hunger was not a pest anymore; it was a merciless animal, scratching at his stomach. His belly grumbled with savage force, the sound echoing in the sweltering quiet of the open plains. His vision was weakening at the edges, black spots glimmering in his eyes as he trudged along, each step a gargantuan battle.
As his knees buckled and the ground rushed up to meet him, a desperate, last moment thought occurred to him—What if my system can help me? It had suggested a course of action… maybe it can suggest more.
He uttered the words, his voice dry and cracking: "Stats… open."
He didn't have the strength to look for a screen. Happily, he did not have to. Soft, shimmering overlays blazed right into his line of vision, bathing the plant life around him with an otherworldly light.
[Crimson Dewberries: Can be consumed, Restores Energy]
[Mooncap Mushrooms: Can be consumed, Minor Energy Surge]
[Nightbane Blossoms: Toxins, Causes Paralysis and Death]
[Ashvine Leaves: Not Edible]
[Silverleaf Sprigs: Used as an ingredient, Mana Catalyst]
The gentle glow pointed his foggy eyes towards clumps of berries, toadstools, and wild flowers lying about, each one now tagged like a piece on a board. Racing heart with a burst of desperation to be alive, Kai scuttled on hands and knees to the nearest bush, one that was full of Crimson Dewberries, their ruby-hued skins glinting in tiny jewels in the sun. He chose one, his trembling fingers barely managing, and bit into it. The tart-sweet juice that filled his mouth tasted like life itself, a cooling balm to cure the searing ache of hunger.
Encouraged, he filled his palms, eating quickly as a warm satisfaction poured from his stomach through his tired body. Then he noticed pale-blue fungi growing through the gloom under a fallen log—Mooncap Mushrooms. The label on the system was a blessing. Though their taste was bitter and earthly, they brought a weak but immediate surge of energy into his limbs, clearing some of the fog from his mind. His eyes then moved to the deadly Nightbane Blossoms, whose beautiful red petals glowed in a weak, malevolent red aura under the boost of his system. A chill of cold terror ran down his spine; one defective bite, and he would never have woken.
Cautiously, Kai worked his way around them and tucked a few of the Silverleaf Sprigs away in his pocket, not sure what to do with them but aware of their potential value. For the first time on this lonely quest, a faint glow of hope flared in him—Veridia was dangerous, of course, but if he stayed sharp, if he used the resources he had been given, then maybe he would survive after all.
Curiosity bothered him as he rested there, watching the Silverleaf Sprigs. Their silver-green, elongated leaves seemed to soak up the faint light, as if they were glowing for themselves. The system reported that they were a Potion Ingredient and a Mana Catalyst, but nothing further was revealed. His stomach stopped its tortured growling, but a different sort of hunger remained: hunger for power, for a source to refill his desperately low mana. Despite better sense, Kai decided to give it a shot.
He tore a group of leaves, squishing them in his hands. The air was filled with a strong, minty smell. He poured the mashed pulp into his nearly full water pouch and shook it vigorously until the liquid became a pale, glowing green. The first gulp was too bitter and metallic and made him flinch. But in a matter of seconds, a hot, raging heat flowed through his veins, far more intense than the mushrooms. He instantly checked his stats. His blue mana bar on his screen, stubbornly low, was rising noticeably. It works… it really works! he shouted to himself, a mad, triumphant excitement passing over his exhausted face.
Then the revenge. The world spun wildly out of control. His eyes blurred, and his legs grew weak, as if the very earth was tilting beneath him. A thudding, crushing dizziness clung to the sides of his skull, and a burning agony, as though the new mana was unstable, too powerful for his body to handle. Kai collapsed to the ground, cradling his head, his breath strained, anguished gasps. "Damn it. I overdid it," he muttered, realizing the terrible risk.
For a moment, raw fear had him in its grasp—what if he'd made it worse? Had Silverleaf spent his stamina at the cost of his mana, he could have fainted here, unable to stir until dusk. He fell back on the grass hastily, attempting to breathe slowly and deeply, letting the chaotic energy recede within him. Dizziness still lingered, a queasy pressure on his eyes, but slowly, his body stabilized. A weak, self-deprecating laugh left his lips. "So… Silverleaf is real mana fuel, then? But deadly if I have no idea what the hell I'm doing…" He clenched his fist. Lesson learned—Veridia's world had power, but always, always at a price.
Night descended quickly, and the vast plains became a sea of choking blackness. Kai managed to light a small, stammering fire, its warmth barely fending off the encroaching chill. Just as his eyelids were beginning to grow heavy with tiredness, a threatening snarl interrupted the stillness.
His head snapped up, every nerve ending screaming alarm. Two red eyes glowed in the tall grass just on the periphery of the firelight, moving steadily forward. The animal came into the leaping flames—a Shadowfang Wolf, its black fur sheened to blend almost perfectly into the darkness, its heavily muscled body flexing beneath whipcord lean flesh. Saliva dripped from its long, sharp fangs as it paced him, the flames leaping off its intelligent, hunting eyes.
Kai's heart thudded in his ears. His body yelled to run, but his legs were immovable, stuck to the ground. "I'm not dying again," he snarled through gritted teeth, scrambling up. The wolf didn't hesitate. It leapt, a burst of black fur and teeth.
By instinct alone, Kai threw up his arms. "Barrier!" A loose, tenuous dome of light flared into existence around him, but weaker than before, transparent and trembling. The wolf crashed into it with a sickening crunch. Shards of light threaded along the surface like cracked glass. The unrestrained impact knocked Kai back, and his mana drained like water through a sieve. The barrier exploded, knocking him onto the ground.
The beast regained itself in a flash, springing once more. On a sudden urge, Kai picked up a smoldering branch from the fire. The end was a sizzling, seething red. He hashed it wildly back and forth. The flame coursed over the wolf's fur, and the beast cried out in agony, reeled back for a moment. It wheeled again, its initial confidence sapped now by a snarling fury.
Kai gasped, staggering to his feet, the crude torch clutched in one fist. He used the other to try to focus what remained of his mana, a faint red glow flickering around his fingers. When the wolf struck a final time, a dark shape intent on finishing him off, Kai flung both hands out simultaneously—the flames and the dancing mana. The two energies collided in a furious, uncontrolled burst of light and heat. The wolf, flying through the air, yelped as it was flung to the ground. It convulsed once, then went limp.
Kai collapsed, his chest heaving, the soggy branch falling from his trembling, burned hand. The acrid smell. Smelling like ozone and burned fur lingered in the air. His heart thudding with disbelief. He stared down at the still form of the wolf, then at his own hands. He was still alive. He had overcome. Not with craft—not yet—but with chance, with reflex, and with a stubborn, primitive determination not to die again.
Above him, the system hummed, its serene, linear text a jarring contrast to the fight:
[Shadowfang Wolf defeated – +50 EXP]
[Level Up!]
[Level: 2]
[All Stats Increased]
[Health, Stamina, and Mana Restored]
A comforting, golden light wrapped around his form, ridding him of the fatigue and healing the burn on his hand. It felt glorious. He had a wheezing, chuckling laugh.
"Guess. I'm not completely useless after all."
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