1 Waking up is always a bitch...

The sweet scent of flowers invades my nostrils, while a light breeze caresses my body. I reflexively turn the other way, my hand flailing around my waist futilely seeking my blanket. Unable to find it, I gradually wake up, only to realize that I am not on my bed, nor in my room or in my house… instead, I am lying in a patch of grass in what looks to be a small clearing in a forest. Wait… WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES????

I jump to my feet in panic and look left and right trying to figure out what is happening. My mind can't process the situation, but after a few minutes the panic recedes and I start thinking somewhat rationally again. I check myself for any injuries or bugs crawling on me and I am relieved when I find none. Then my brain processes what my eyes see and I freeze. I once again start checking my body slowly, running my hands over it inch by inch. My beer belly is gone, the white hairs on my chest are now black and my body while not exactly rippling has defined muscle lines.

Yeah, nice dream, I thought. I haven't looked or felt so good since I was 20.

Then reality slaps me again. A memory surfaces from the depth of my mind from a researcher's interview on tv; you can't smell something in your dreams, you just identify the scent that you should be smelling. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I smell the grass, the little violet flowers, the scent of the tree resin carried by the wind… fuck!... Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore…

It takes me a while to calm down, but I am finally able to put my brain to good use. First of all, I must find out where I am. A little voice in my head keeps yelling 'Isekai!Isekai!', but I ignore the little shit. I thought I had got ridden of it twenty or so years ago, when I stopped reading that crap. I look around but I don't see signs of roads, trails, or anything resembling human interference. Since I am in a clearing in the middle of the woods, wandering around aimlessly is something I am not willing to do, especially naked, so I concentrate my attention to the trees surrounding me, until I find my target, a tall, tallest than the rest, straight tree with low hanging branches that seems sturdy enough to take my weight. I walk to it and circle around it twice, trying to figure out the best side to climb. I used to do this a lot as a kid, but it has been a long while. Here… this side has stout branches and as far as I can see I can go quite high up from it. I start my climb awkwardly, afraid to scrape my hanging buddy against the bark. I sure don't remember climbing trees being so hard, but as a kid I was fearless. Better not look down, now. It takes me a good twenty minutes to reach a point where I can see over the crown of the rest of the trees. I can't go higher, as both the trunk and the branches are much thinner here, and I risk to break them with my weight. I scan the area but all I see is a sea of trees… no, wait, that side, it looks like a clearing and something reflects light. It looks like a stream… hmm, if I remember correctly, a man standing on flat ground can see around 4.8 km away due to the earth curvature. This tree is about 20-25 meters in height and I am 5 meters shy from the top, so that would make that stream about… 16 kilometers give or take. If I can reach it, I can follow it downstream until it reaches a river. If there is somebody around here, I will have a better chance to find help around water. Still, 16 kilometers naked in a forest is not a very good idea. Theoretically I could cover that distance in half a day, especially with this now fit body of mine, but that would be on a paved road. In a forest, barefooted, I would be lucky to do 5 kilometers per day, not counting any dangers that might find me. I look at the sun, it is probably late morning, though I can't be sure. I don't have much of a choice. I can handle fasting for a few days, but the lack of water would kill as surely as a bear's paw.

I climb down the tree slowly, and start walking toward the stream.