20 River Searching

"Well, host, as I said previously, you were sent back to the 'beginning' of humanity, the practice of even basic medicine is nonexistent, meaning that you are the only person able to tend to your wounds, plus, although you physically look the same, your current immune system is a lot more underdeveloped than the one you used to have"

"That feels like it's an unnecessary change…."

"Well, host, this isn't exactly some kind of game where everything you do goes your way; this is a test after all. What, did you think, that the creator would just hand you everything in a silver platter?"

"Fair enough, I suppose that if what you say is true, then this would make sense; by the way, there isn't any other thing you can do apart from what you already mentioned, right?"

Actually, there is; although it's not technically a system function, I am supposed to serve the purpose of making sure that your mental health is stable enough to prevent you from going insane.

Either way, host, you should probably be more focused on getting water right now, as I don't think you could afford to waste any more time."

"You're right... thanks for the rundown of everything, by the way."

"No problem, host, it is my job after all; good luck :D."

As the system's voice stopped, so did the glowing of the pocket watch; it still looked golden, but it was no longer shining with the same brightness as before.

Everything seemed to be more silent than before, like all of the animals around me had moved away for some reason. Of course, I already knew that chances were a predator was nearby, but it's not like I knew where they were, so running away would do little good, as that could alert said predator to my location.

I instinctively got close to nearby trees as I moved forward. Even though I was pathetically weak, even by normal standards, that didn't mean that I still couldn't do what I used to, to an extent at least.

Although the system said that my body was less evolved than the one I had before, I was fairly certain that my body would still produce adrenaline.

I had originally planned just to climb up one of the trees here and look for a river. But, as I said before, I didn't exactly have the ability to do that without the help of adrenaline, and it's not like that was available on command, so I could only move forward.

From there, things went about as well as they could for a while; I even managed to find an avocado in my path; although it wasn't much, it was still able to help replenish some of the energy I had already burnt.

I was starting to become impatient and slightly worried that I would take too long to find a river, so I decided that it would probably be a good idea to listen to the system, as chances were that it probably had a good idea of where I should go to find water. And as soon as that thought crossed my mind, the pocket watch began to glow again.

This time though, unlike before, I was suddenly transported to this white room, at least that's the only thing I could describe it as, after all, everything around me was white, with the only two things visible for what seemed like miles being myself and this tiny shining light, it felt different, yet familiar, which struck me as odd since I had never seen anything like what was before me right now.

"Hello host, is there something you wanted to ask me?"

"...Where are we?"

"Simple, we are just in empty space; it makes it easier for host to concentrate, right?"

"...Yea, but, why? I mean, weren't you able to talk to me before without sending me here?"

"It's just the normal procedure, host, no need to worry; also, the reason why you were sent here was that you were the one that initiated the conversation this time, so, is there anything else that you want to ask me?"

"Ah, right, about that, I was just wondering if you happened to be able to tell me the direction of the nearest river."

"Sure can host :D."

"Ah, thanks. I was worried for a second."

"No need to be host, anyways. Are you ready to make your payment?"

"... my what?"

"Well, host, info isn't cheap after all; also, it seems that your balance is empty, so I must apologize; you need a minimum of 3 RP to get for important information."

'... I'm sorry?… I'll excuse myself then.'

As soon as I left the system space, I was slightly mad, not because the system didn't give me the info, as I was already prepared for that as a possibility; it's just the fact that it played with me almost effortlessly bothered me. Still, before I could get too mad, I suddenly began to feel an eerie feeling around me.

It was then that I remembered where I was; I instinctively and foolishly turned around to look for where the predator would come from.

Thankfully, despite its great camouflage, I was able to see some green skin in between the leaves of the bush to my right, with adrenaline kicking in almost immediately, making me able to jump onto a tree right next to me.

As soon as I was sure that I was high enough for the animal not to reach me, I was finally able to look down. I had never been more grateful of being forced into getting over my vertigo in the military academy, as although I wasn't unbelievably high, I was still high enough to break a bone easily by falling, plus, it also didn't help to have a giant snake looking at you like its lunch.

'What the hell am I supposed to do now?' I wondered, now stuck at the top of a tree in the middle of nowhere with only death awaiting me underneath.