Ethereal Life, Chapter 11: Moon's Blessing 2

There were once many legends about the moon. And one of them was the famous princess, who lived in the cold palace, looking at the mortal world sadly. Imprisoned by her prideful family for falling in love on a mortal being from the mortal land.

Another legend says that it was the eye of a mighty being who sacrificed himself to create the world. The sun and moon are his eyes; the land is his body; the sea is his blood; the wind is his breath; and so on.

There are many more, but he can only recall those two. "In science, the moon was defined as the natural satellite of the earth. It has an important role on earth."

The moon makes Earth a more livable planet by dampening our home planet's wobble on its axis, resulting in a generally constant temperature. It also creates tides, establishing a pattern that has guided mankind for thousands of years.

The importance of the moon shows that there are more mysteries than it has been showing us all these years. "And in this world, it might show me more on how it's moonlight can be of use. Just like now..."

The young man clenched his fist tightly; somehow, an unknown strength seemed to contain within him. "Illusion..." 

Illusion or not, he knows that he is now affected by the thing on his neck. The dog tag absorbs the power of the moon and not the sun. It wasn't emitting dim light anymore when he woke up in the morning.

If he was wrong, he can always correct his mistake next time. It won't do him any harm anyway. The young man rested for a while before doing his daily routine.

When he was working, he found what had changed in him. His endurance seems to have increased. In the past, he would always feel tired after working for an hour straight. But now, it would take more than an hour and a half before he started feeling tired.

This was the first time he experienced this type of wonder. A leap in endurance in reality, so how can he remain unsurprised?

By the time he was free, it was already nearing evening. Like always, he found his favorite spot on the roof and laid down comfortably.

He waited until the sun fully disappeared from the horizon and the moon peeked out on the other end. "It's here." The land darkened, and the sky started showing its starry, twinkling lights.

The moon is slowly becoming clearer amidst the sea of stars. Then, as expected, his dog tag necklace vibrated. He looked down and saw some kinds of silver moonlight dust start gathering around it.

"So it's real. It was feeding on the moonlight of the moon, which can also be from the stars." Unfortunately, he can't see any trails of where the silvery moonlight, like dust, came from. It was as though it was everywhere but would only be visible when it was inches away from the dog tag.

Magical, truly magical. "I wonder where this will take me in the future?" He doesn't feel any changes within him for the time being. As he deduced, it might still take some time for him to properly receive the benefits, just like this morning.

Time passed. His mind was now full of imagination about what lay beyond this place. "It can't be that there really are cultivators here. Mages, sorcerers, knights—what's the rest? Magical beast?."

The dog tag was the evidence; this world is a supernatural world! He wanted to laugh but seems to be unable to find happiness in doing so.

He was imperceptibly calm. As though what he was experiencing was just the norm. It took him a while to realize, "Ah, I see. I already changed."

It seems the various experiences he has had in the past few months have really changed him greatly. His mentality has grown to accept the changes around him as the norm.

"This is me, the current me, and always will be from now on." At this very moment, he suddenly found his mind cleared of any thoughts other than himself. It was as though all the fog in his eyes that was affecting his sight vanished.

A realization swelled up in his heart. All those thoughts he had in the past seem chaotic and unclear. This is the first time he truly felt like he was thinking straight. "I have been muddleheaded all along. Why did I just realize this now?"

He shook his head; his eyes weren't dull or dim anymore. Instead, it was now pure black, like a calm pool in a deep well. sucking up everything that entered his sight without thinking anymore.

He looked at the sky and sighed.

...

The next day. He woke up, walked out of the shelter, and stretched out.

He clenched his fist and punched the air. It feels no different than yesterday. He tried to run, and he felt like he was running faster than in the past. The strength he felt in his legs and feet seems more prominent right now. "So it's my speed this time."

Enhancement in endurance and speed. If he can guess it right. What he was receiving right now was physical enhancement. It's not temporary, but permanent.

To prove that out, he touched his feet and legs and saw how well defined they were. The soft legs he had in the past now have noticable hard muscle lines that have appeared.

By working in the field, the benefits the dog tag gives seem to double the results he can achieve during a week or two of working hard.

That might be the reason why he suddenly gained more endurance and speed when all he did was make bricks, till the land, and swim around in the pond, where his feet were always moving to push him in the desired direction. Somehow, he had the feeling that he was correct.

"Since it was like that, what if I don't work today and just lay down to confirm my hypothesis?" And so, he really did nothing except eat, rest, and get a call from Mother Nature. When the night arrived, he laid on his favorite spot to confirm the dog tag was working its magic once again.

The familiar vibration and the silvery moonlight-like dust gathering around it finally appeared.

And so, the next day, after having a good sleep, He woke up in the morning and checked what had changed in him. He used the entire morning to only feel that nothing had changed.

"So it really did double, triple, or many more than that to my results with a little effort when I'm working every day." He found the answer.

Since he already knows how to make use of the magical dog tag. He might as well use it to its full capabilities and acquire enough strength to traverse this land in the near future.

Naturally, he can't just keep calling it dog tag. "I'll call you the Moon's Blessing from now on."

Moon's Blessing is a good name, knowing that it will only show its magical scene during the night when the moon appears.

After a while, he started working again. Time flew by as day and night alternated. The grassland remains the same. The grass seems to have never grown past a foot tall, as though it was already the limit that was engraved on its DNA.

Three years passed.

In those three years, the lean young man from back then has gradually changed into a tall, manly-looking man with perfectly inline muscles and great body shape. His hair was long, reaching his waist. Tied using a rope made from a piece of leather.

He wore his signature tattered suit pants, while his upper body wore nothing. Standing on top of his now ten-meter-tall pyramid shelter.

Satisfaction appeared in his heart after he appreciated the results of his work. A three- and one-meter-wide wall made of mud bricks that surrounded the pond for 100 square meters stood tall to defend him from the outside.

Inside were all kinds of arranged plots of land where all kinds of vegetables, mini-tree fruits, and flowers grow to sustain his needs.

The pond was also widened to contain more water.

Unfortunately, he can't capture any wild chickens to become livestock. So if he ever needs meat, he can only hunt. If he ever misses the taste of the boiled eggs, he can go and search for them in the chicken's nest.

It can be said that he was already well built for this place. A safety haven that has met no major problem in three years.

He clenched his fist and breathed in a mouthful of fresh air.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" He let out a resounding shout that could be heard from a kilometer away if the wind were in his favor.

From time to time, he would do this to release his pent-up loneliness. And also because he was hoping for another being to find him.