Ethereal Life Chapter 6: New Life 3

The young man let his naked body remain afloat above the silent water. His eyes were half closed and shone in reflection while he gazed at the setting orange sun. "Beautiful~." He spoke softly, feeling peaceful and nostalgic around him.

This is a fresh new world. Although it was pollution-free and like blank paper waiting to be drawn, the fun and convenience brought by modern technology can't just be forgotten easily when one has grown up with them.

After a while, he found that the sun had almost disappeared from the horizon. He decided to dry himself up as he stepped out of the pond. "Bathing in the pond where I drink water from What a shameful thing if others saw me like this."

He shook his head casually as he felt something swell up an indescribable emotion in his chest. After the bath, he felt very fresh and relaxed. Now he just wants to have his dinner fast and go to sleep inside his temporary shelter.

After taking a piece of skewed roasted meat and drinking some water to fill his stomach, He decided to rest early today and think more about what he should do tomorrow. "Time sure flew by when one was working," he muttered softly in the dark.

The starry night passed by, and the next day arrived. bringing vitality and beauty for the world to see.

The young man walked out of the mud shelter as he yawned sleepily. "I still wanted to continue sleeping and relax for a little bit, but forget it. I'll exercise this early every day from now on."

He started exercising lightly. When he sweated enough, he rested and brought out his breakfast for today. "Another day for me once again."

The roasted meat from yesterday was swiftly finished in just a few minutes after drinking some water. He stood up and looked toward the horizon. "Should I stay here forever?" He thought it deeply.

What if there are other humans not far away from here? Should he take the risk and leave this place? But judging from what he can see, this place is a vast grassland with no mountains in sight.

He didn't even know if it was safe further out or if he would meet other humans. Would they be so kind as to have some peaceful interactions with him? "This might be a primeval era. I need some weapons along the way. Unfortunately, I don't have my..."

He suddenly remembered! His suit! The young man looked down on himself and saw the countless pockets embedded in his suit. "Damn it, I nearly forgot. Man! I really am old; I almost forgot that I have... this!"

From his left side pocket, he took out a military knife. The sharp gleam on its edges and its deadly-looking blade. Compared to the stone knife he was using, He really wanted to cry, but no tears came out. "Did I become stupid after I returned to my youth? Was I stupid when I was young?"

After knowing his mistake, he started checking the other pockets he had. Then he got three preserves, crushed biscuits, and melted chocolates each in his right pocket. A cracked mini-tool kit in his pants pocket and a half-destroyed walkie-talkie on the other.

"The only thing of use right now would be the still completely fine military knife, the three crushed biscuits, and the chocolates. The tool kit is still usable with some tinkering." Now he needed to really plan his future with the things he had. Should he leave and go on an adventure? Searching for a place with human intervention

"Should I go? Should I not? It's hard to make choices. The danger of traveling to an unknown place is high after all. I might be eaten alive by some strange insect or die under an invisible gas oozing out from something or somewhere."

He frowned in confusion as he sat down and started playing with the knife in his hand. "All kinds of risks and unknowns have high chances of killing me if I leave right now." In the end, he took a nap for an hour, feeling tired thinking.

An hour later, he woke up looking at the vast grassland. He felt so tiny and a little scared at what hid within those short, half-foot grasses. "I'll stay here." He made up his mind.

If he really wanted to go on a journey someday, then he would. But for now, he won't. "Alright, I'll reinforce my little crude mud shelter this day for now. I'll also increase the capacity of the pond along the way."

"However, I'll do that tomorrow. I'll take a rest for now. How could I continue to tire myself even in this world?" He smiled like a tree, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the breeze.

He suddenly felt like singing today, so he started singing, "♪Today I don't feel like doing anything I just wanna lay in my bed Don't feel like picking up my phone So leave a message at the tone…...♪."

♪♪

It was titled [The Lazy Song] by Bruno Mars; he kind of liked it, so he would sing it every time he felt lazy while immersed in a warm, sunny, comfortable environment.

A few minutes later, he breathed out some foul air as he muttered to himself, "I hope I still remembered the lyrics correctly, though it's not really important when I'm all alone here."

All alone, hearing those words out of his own mouth. He suddenly felt lazier than usual today. Would I pass the days all alone here? Silence and the feeling of being alone until he died somehow made him feel heavy in his heart.

There are many problems when one gets old. Most problematic was that he was in this unknown place and time where he knew nothing or anyone at all. "I'm in another world if I meet other natives of this world. I wonder if there are humans or a similar human race living here. Can we communicate?"

That's the problem. If this is really a primitive world where technology is just starting to use clay, wood, and mud, Then he was doomed to become food and a plaything for those tribal villages with eccentric traditions. "Can I even escape? Hah!"

He immediately slapped himself awake. There was no need to brood over that topic for now. What was important was survival. "Right, survival." 

Time quickly passed by. In the blink of an eye, the young man has already been staying near the pond for almost a month.

His mud-housed shelter had undergone many upgrades, enforcements, and enlargements. The pond was also widened in depth, slowly using the stone slabs as temporary shovels.

The foods that sustain him come from the wild horses, fruits on the mini trees like bonsai, and other vegetables like cabbage and squash that he had just found growing not far away three weeks ago.

This further assured him not to leave the place at all. With how self-sustaining the place was, how could he just go on a journey with a high risk of dying when he could sustain himself happily?

"So I'll postpone my journey for ten years." He casually vowed to himself in deep thought. "However, I might break it." After all, he knows himself very well. A promise was never meant to be fulfilled, but to work.

If there are really times that he feels like leaving, he will. So in the following days, he had nothing to do. He built a fence made from piling soil mixed with grass a hundred meters squared around him.

It's another safety precaution for his mind. To prevent some animals from coming near his house. Days passed by, and he suddenly thought If those animals stopped coming into his ponds to drink the water, Where would they drink water anymore? "Could it be that there's another water source nearby?"

His eyes gleamed with realization. If so, then why did those animals drink water from his pond and not from the other one in the past? Is it because of the distance? Or the danger?

Either way, he learned something new today. He might be able to use this in the near future.

Soon, half a year had passed. On this day, the sky was covered by gloomy clouds. The wind was somewhat hot, and there were rumbling noises of thunder not far away. "A storm is coming."

He looked at his mud shelter with complicated feelings and thoughts. "I wonder if you can survive."

The rain arrived, and the whole grassland seemed to be covered by a thick veil called rain. The sounds of water hitting through the grass and his roof rang clearly in his ears. The ground is wet and seems to be flooding with water.

Even the roof can't contain the power of nature. Rain slid through the gaps before falling down and hitting his shoulders. He looked up and soon found the gap, he shudder from cold. However, he didn't do anything. Because he can't do anything. "I'll just let it be."