Third Mystery

When I was sent out, I was the only prisoner that could be seen.

The other prisoners were either in their cells like those people that I encountered before, or they were currently exploring the island.

Since each of us had different arrival dates on this Savage Island and the time that we reported back from our task was not the same, there would be times like this, but most of the time, the camp was crowded.

"Name? Cell name?"

A guard blocked my way, if I was not mistaken, this person was called James. He was a huge guy with a mustache.

"Rigma. Past cell."

James nodded and took note of my data.

"You know the rules. Make sure to return here in 7 days."

Once he said that, he returned to his post and ignored me.

Each prisoner had a week to gather information and special herbs, and before the week ended, we had to get back to the camp to report and hand over the things that we found.

Afterwards, we would have to stay in our cell until we received the call again. We didn't have to wait for long since usually it only took a few hours before we received the next call, but sometimes there would be times that a day or two had passed before we were sent out again.

In my situation, only a few hours had passed since I came back, and even after knowing that I was badly hurt, the guards still inconsiderately went to send me out.

I slightly looked ahead to see the deep forest that I had to enter. The trees were tall, seemingly a group of giants that could stomp me anytime, while the wind coming from the place felt frightening, as if it could strangle me to death just by breathing.

The guards mentioned that Savage Island covered at least an area of more than a thousand kilometers.

With such a huge island, even after sending a large number of criminals, gathering data was not that easy, especially with the danger that lingered inside the island.

Since we were just a group of ordinary people who were unable to use Han, many lives were lost as we took on this task.

Just by encountering vicious beasts and unknown types of herbs, we would not be able to escape our death.

And while we are sacrificing our lives, the hanamis that were assigned to this island were only staying in the camp.

They would only show up themselves if there was a monster nearby.

None of them were interested in exploring this island with unknown dangers. Rather than risking their lives, they could just use the prisoners to gather information and resources.

They were not afraid that these people would keep the mystical plants and fruits that they found since these things wouldn't be useful to someone who couldn't use han.

Besides that, prisoners could use these resources to gain points, and if someone managed to earn enough points, they could use it to purchase their freedom back and be sent back to their homeland.

This was the main reason why a lot of battles broke out in this place and why Rigma was beaten up last night.

As I thought of that, a cold glint appeared in my eyes. If I wanted to leave this place, then I was sure that a moment would come when a fight between us would happen again.

I continued my journey. Once we were sent out, we were not allowed to stay near the base, and there would be punishment once the hanami who put the tracking spell on you had noticed your movement.

However, only a few hours had passed, and I had already started feeling tired and weak.

Uwaaak!

I suddenly threw up so I had to stop, and when I looked down, I saw dark blood on the ground.

Poison?

I recalled how Rigma died, and that was because of the poisonous knife that hit him.

'My soul is indeed here in this young body, unfortunately, the poison stayed here and was not yet fully eliminated.'

Damn! What should I do?

Even though I wanted to look for a herb that could detoxify the poison, my body could no longer handle it.

Walking was no longer possible in my current state.

'Dont tell me I'm gonna die again?'

I just reincarnated, but it seemed as if I was going to die before I started living my life here in this world.

'What to do?'

Because of what I was feeling right now, I was starting to feel dizzy, causing me to be unable to think properly.

'What if I use han?'

In my desperation, this thought crossed my mind.

But how? I had no knowledge about techniques needed to feel han energy.

Fuck!

'Whatever, I would just give it a shot.'

Due to the desperation and hastiness I was feeling, I decided to just use the meditation techniques that I knew from my previous world.

With my weak body, I forced myself to fix my position, and with my little knowledge in this field, I closed my eyes and tried to calm my mind.

I took my breath slowly until it became stable, and when my attention was on my breathing, I noticed that the air felt cleaner and better in my body.

It was completely different from my previous world, where the air was polluted.

After a few moments, my consciousness could no longer feel the ground where I was sitting. It seemed as if I was transported to a different dimension, where I was the only one present.

When I realized this, I started to feel strange. I could feel somebody calling for me.

I looked for it and saw an object that was shining brightly. It had a star shape and was made of wood.

When I discovered this familiar thing, I was stunned. 

What was it doing here?

How did the necklace given by my grandfather made it here?

I suddenly recalled the final moments I had before I died, where I was ambushed by an unknown group to get this thing from me.

Agimat.

To think that it was really true!

This necklace was indeed an agimat!

It was so impossible that just swallowing this thing would make it end up here.

The only possible reason was that my soul and this agimat had fused and traversed into this body.

As for how that happened, maybe only the prowess of this thing could explain it.

When I got close to it, I instantly felt refreshed. It seemed as if it could take away all the fatigue in my body just by standing here.

Now that I took a closer look at it, I noticed that there was a group of words written on it. 

I had no idea if these words were already there even before my death, but I should have noticed it before seeing how majestic and imposing each line was.

The form of writing was also not your usual one. If a person from this world had seen it, they might not understand it.

Because it was written in baybayin.

"Hinirang ng bituin."

These were the words written here. If it was translated in english, it means "chosen by the star".

And the moment I spoke those words out, the agimat released a brighter light.

It covered my whole body, but there was no sign of pain, so I did not panic.

Instead, I received a very special gift.

I couldn't help but smile at this sudden turn of events. 

It now seemed that being a Hanami was no longer impossible.