Encore 28 — New Beginnings (I)

"Ngh..."

I slowly awoke from a faintly long slumber. When I looked around, I was in a dark cave. I wasn't particularly deep into the cave since I saw some light, meaning that an entrance was near.

"Guess it worked. What 'Kazuya' told me."

The other me told me to release all of my mana when I was ready. It teleported me someplace else.

I don't know where I am but I know I'm in Japan.

I stood up and searched for an exit.

"There."

Spotting one, I walked towards the exit, trying not to fall due to the insanely uneven land.

All of my mana is already restored. I must've been unconscious for a while. This whole concept is new to me.

The concept of flowing mana.

My mana was only able to flow inside my body, however, now with a new body, I can finally release mana.

My control is shaky though.

"Ah, there it is."

I finally found the exit. I skipped over the rocks and got to the exit of the cave.

Light flooded into my vision. I blocked my view before looking down at the landscape.

It was green, basically as far as one could see. I had been teleported to somewhere in the countryside. I won't have to worry about pursuers for now.

No one would think of searching for me here.

"Oh, a village..."

That's my best chance of survival. Living in the village before I set out again.

"I'm... thankful at Siesta-nee's wildlife training. Never thought I'd ever have to put it to use."

It's going to be a long journey to that village. I can't accurately assess how long it will take due to the distance and difference in height.

My guess would be 3 days. I better buckle up.

·———·

It had been around 3 hours since I started my journey to the outskirts of the village and I found a nice way to bide my time.

Practising mana arts, of course.

"I never bothered to memorise incantations because I had no use for them. I should've at least tried."

I said.

But incantationless spells are also possible. They're not that uncommon but they're hard to do, especially with higher-level spells.

There are spells I've used frequently despite my disability.

"True Flame."

A red flame formed in my hand. It felt familiar yet distant. This sensation of forming a spell of my own is amazing.

I disengaged the spell.

"There was also something I could do with this body... My Singularity, Archive."

A screen appeared in front of me with multiple save slots. There were five in total, however, four of them had been blacked out, showing that they were inaccessible.

There was a single one which was accessible. Sacred Lightning. The Singularity I copied from Yuichi. I don't know the requirements for copying but I can use it to its full potential, it seems.

"Sacred Lightning."

⟨The Singularity, 'Sacred Lightning,' is selected.⟩

⟨Due to physical condition, the effects of the Singularity have weakened.⟩

Maybe not its full potential just yet.

Lightning mildly cloaked my body.

"Ooh!"

My body suddenly felt lighter. I jumped, leapt and skipped about using Sacred Lightning. The effects did certainly feel weaker than last time but it increased my mobility.

Since the effects were weakened...

⟨Due to the weakened effects of 'Sacred Lightning,' the effect duration has been increased to 25 minutes.⟩

Yeah, the duration increased. Because Sacred Lightning's max duration is 10 minutes when it's used.

Archive... I wonder to what lengths this will take me.

I stretched my legs.

"Let's see how far this will take me."

I began sprinting.

This felt amazing. The air entering my lungs felt refreshing. The ground kicked at the soles of my bare feet. The exasperating feeling in my chest.

I haven't run this fast before. The sparks of lightning crackled around my body. This was amazing!

If I can continue to run like this for 25 minutes without tiring, then I'll be able to cover half a day's distance easily.

Despite how slender this body is, its cardiovascular endurance is amazing for a Streia's. Well, I'm a humanoid Imperi, aren't I, so it would make sense.

"This feeling is amazing."

Now, I need to figure out how to copy other people's Singularities since I know it's going to be crucial if I want to survive in this world.

My stomach churned gluttonously.

Well... First of all, I need to find food!

·———·

I stopped after 25 minutes. The effects of Sacred Lightning waned and disappeared, leaving me with mildly aching muscles.

I thought this would leave me in a far more hammered state but I feel fine.

I'll try using Sacred Lightning again.

⟨The Singularity, 'Sacred Lightning,' cannot be used due to cooldown duration.⟩

⟨The cooldown duration is 30 minutes.⟩

I have to wait half an hour before using it again. But, for only travelling for 3 hours and a half, I've made some good distance.

I'm in a forest, a hunting ground, and it's getting dark. The night is when all of the predators come out.

I'm not good at sensing mana but I don't think there are any mana beasts in this forest, meaning that I can kill them with my bare hands.

Though, I should try and increase my mana proficiency. Kind of like how I used Sacred Lightning as a physical power-up, I can use my mana and create a thin mana shield on the outside of my body.

Let's try it.

I slowly exerted mana from every part of my body but I made sure not to give it form. I shrouded it around my body. I did it, however, I think it's too big.

I've seen people's aura smaller and far more streamlined. Mine is unstable and fairly large. I'm wasting unnecessary mana.

"Grrrrr..."

I looked at my surroundings when I heard a vague snarling noise. It was directed at me. I could feel faint bloodlust directed at me.

It wasn't just from one place but from all over.

Slowly, one by one, they revealed themselves. The wolves.

I nervously grinned at my first confrontation with wolves in this new body.