The journey was an arduous one.
It was arguably far more painful than the way there.
But there was one big difference. I had a destination.
I just needed to reach it.
Halfway there, my feet went numb.
A little further, and my legs ceased to exist.
But continually losing touch with my body, I saw the end.
The sight of the Chavern made me tear up with joy.
"LET'S GOOO" I screamed. "I'M ALIVE!"
It felt almost surreal. I had felt like giving up many times throughout my journey, but I held on.
Going through this made me realize just how weak my body and mentality were. It was eye-opening.
But as overjoyed as I was, I needed water and more importantly, food. Every facet of my being trembled with hunger.
First, I took the rag still on my roof and drained every last drop into my mouth. The taste was immaculate—like nectar of the gods.
Relief flooded my body. My muscles loosened, my mind clouded, and before I knew it, I had collapsed onto the bed.
I don't even remember hitting the mattress.
Six hours later, I woke up completely drained.
'I feel like shit.' Aches all over my body and seemingly no energy to spare, I groggily got up and went to begin butchering.
I vaguely remembered from some game hunting show I watched out of boredom that the first step was removing the intestines. If they ruptured, bile and waste could spoil the meat. After that, I needed to hang and quarter it for preservation. Normally, you'd want to keep the meat away from flies—but luckily, I hadn't seen a single one in this entire ecosystem.
After I "masterfully" butchered the rabbit and hung it on convenient hooks outside the Chavern, I chopped off a couple pieces of meat and prepared the firewood for the oven.
The old-style oven was extremely easy to use and even had a flint and steel next to it to start the fire.
Then, after all this work. I slapped the meat into the oven and waited.
My effort was rewarded.
The rabbit meat was heavenly. Even completely unseasoned it tasted like pure bliss. Chicken didn't even hold a candle to how good this tasted.
'Although I'm sure it only tastes this good because I'm starving.' I thought
Then, as I finished eating my hard earned meat, I heard a drop of water hit the roof.
Then again, and again. But it didn't pick up.
I walked outside and looked around.
"Holy mother of nature?!"
I was both mesmerized and puzzled.
Rain tumbled from the sky, yet instead of falling straight to the ground, it clung to the tree trunks, flowing down in shimmering sheets. It was as if the trees themselves were drinking in the storm, turning into massive, cascading waterfalls.
I reached out a hand. A few stray droplets splashed against my palm, but the vast majority never made it past the bark. It was a strange phenomenon, but the more I watched, the more it made sense. The trunks were unnaturally smooth, yet somehow, water adhered to them. It must have been the sheer scale of the forest causing this. The trees towered almost endlessly, catching nearly every drop before it could come close to the ground. Only around the bases of the trees did water escape, pooling for just a moment before vanishing into the soil.
'Where the hell is all that water going?' I thought
But that thought was almost immediately pushed aside. I could smell an opportunity.
This was perfect.
I bolted inside, grabbed two knives, some twine, and a wooden bowl, then stripped down without a second thought. The momentary chill was nothing compared to the promise of a proper rinse.
I ran to the nearest tree and drove both knives into the trunk at an angle, giving them a few test tugs to ensure they held. Satisfied, I tied the bowl securely to the handles with twine, adjusting it until the water running down the tree funneled into it.
A makeshift showerhead.
As the bowl overflowed, gravity did its work—the water arced outward in a steady stream, creating a natural cascade. I stepped under it and let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
"Perfect."
The cool water rinsed away layers of grime and sweat, soaking into sore muscles like a balm. I scrubbed myself down, relishing the sheer luxury of it. It was the best I had felt since arriving in this bizarre world.
Once I was clean, I set the largest container I had—a hefty chest freezer—beneath the runoff to collect as much water as possible. With the rain showing no signs of stopping, I had a rare moment of contemplation.
There was a somber and gray atmosphere, provoking nostalgic memories and reminiscence. But not fully.
It was indeed raining, but the rain wasn't the kind I was used to. If I wasn't near any trees I might not have even known how hard it was actually raining. The only drops that reached me were those lucky enough to miss the trees or overcome adhesion and cohesion.
As the rain drummed against the trees, I let my eyes close for a moment. My body ached, my stomach still growled despite the meal, and my limbs felt like lead. But my mind… my mind refused to rest. My thoughts drifted—not to Earth, not to home, but to the strangeness of it all. The trees, the rain, the way the water moved. Nothing here obeyed the rules I knew, and yet, it all felt eerily natural. Like this world had its own slightly twisted set of laws.
I needed to learn them. The laws that dictate my strange fate.
For that, I take baby steps.
And one such step, I had already taken.
Into the world of magic.
The pinnacle of fantasy.
The more my thoughts wandered, the further my legs carried me. Before I knew it, I had already walked into the back yard of the Chavern.
There were many things to test.
Why the back yard of all places?
Because I had already confirmed something incredible.
I could wield magic myself.
The memory of throwing the spear of Adun etched deeply into my brain. The sensations in my hands, the gathering of mana in my eyes and head, the strange feeling of losing mana from my stomach. It was all vivid in my mind, as if I was currently experiencing it over and over.
'How the hell did I do that?'
I had tried to cast magic before this. But without even knowing where or how to start, my endeavor was completely useless. It was like if someone born without arms suddenly gained arms and tried to do pushups. It just wasn't happening that quickly. But even that analogy falls short of my situation, as a person without arms is probably surrounded by people that do have arms and therefore can learn by example. I however haven't had anyone in my life that could sense or even use magic... Probably.
I couldn't be sure.
Nevertheless, my current predicament was that I had already used magic. It was purely instinctual but now I had an example that I could follow.
I closed my eyes and focused solely on the pressure around me.
The first way I wanted to test magic was with pure willpower.
My theory was that magic was a function of intent. The more intense the desire, the more capable the magician. This concept was inherently dangerous for human society, but I felt that it was the most probable system considering my previous magic experience.
I imagined the position I was in earlier. The fear of death welled up inside me. The hunger, the need for water, my will to survive, vividly portrayed itself in my mind. I could feel something welling up in my stomach. I could tell immediately that my will was stirring up my mana.
I quickly channeled all my imagination and emotion into creating a fireball. I visualized a fireball appearing above my hand.
And as I held out my hand.
Nothing happened.
'hmmm maybe the situation in my memories is too different from now.' I wasn't actually in dire need of food and water, nor was I about to die, and even if I was, why would I need a fireball in that scenario.
So I changed it up a bit.
'Instead of just visualizing the situation from before, lets modify it so that I am facing a T-rex that happens to be weak to fire.' I thought
I repeated the same thing but implemented the change in emotion and situation.
I put my hand out.
Nothing...
The feeling this time was almost identical. There was only slight dip in the amount that my mana moved around.
'Maybe my feeling for it is off' I theorized
And then, a thought hit me.
'The device!'
The magic waste disposal system had activated without any intent of its own. It had no fear, no desires, no will to shape its magic. And yet, it had functioned perfectly.
This created two scenarios. One scenario was that somehow, that small magic rock had a will of its own.
'Ugh.' I shuddered at the thought of that.
Or, more likely, magic existed as a system, completely separate from a living being's will.
So for magic to exist as a system, there had to be something converting will into action. Something biological.
A muscle. An organ.
The dizziness I had felt before. The pressure in my gut. The lingering fatigue. It all made sense now.
Magic wasn't just about wanting something to happen. It was about activating whatever part of me turned that intent into reality.
I needed to test this immediately.
'Focus.' I thought, breathing in slowly.
This time, instead of imagining my previous scenario, I shifted all my focus towards the supposed biological structure in my stomach. I slowly extended my arm, picturing a fireball hovering just above my palm.
Then, with all my strength I tried my hardest to control the organ I expected hoped was there.
Warmth. I could feel what was most likely mana flowing through my body, into my arm, and out of my hand.
I opened my eyes in surprise.
"What the fuck?" I blurted out in confusion.
All I could see was my hand. My slightly warm hand.