The Forest

Covering his eyes from the sunlight Kai did some stretches before standing up. He felt that his throat was sore, he needed to find some water

Slowly leaving the cavern he warily looked around trying to see if any monsters were lurking nearby, luckily there were none.

Even if Kai traveled 10 years back in time, monsters were still present, hence he had to be careful. He didn't know how he ended up in this forest, but it hadn't happened in his past life. If he knew the forest's name it would help him tremendously. Kai tried to make up some explanations, but they led nowhere.

Pushing the useless thoughts at the back of his mind he rubbed his eyes and left the hill area.

While slowly moving through the forest he found some trees with trunks marked by giant claw marks indicating that a huge beast passed through this area.

' I didn't want to do this... '

Looking around Kai found a mud puddle and started rolling in it, he intended to mask his scent. Even though it was very uncomfortable and unhygienic, he didn't mind doing it for survival.

After he was fully covered in mud Kai tried to follow the claw marks, because where there are animals or monsters there has to be some water nearby.

While moving through the forest he could hear distant growls and roars making him change his route every few minutes.

Finally after walking for another 20 minutes Kai saw a huge lake. Unfortunately the lake had a plain beach with no trees or other plants that could give him cover from the predators' sharp eyesight.

Looking around and not seeing any other options he started covering himself with sand. Luckily the mud was yet to become hard, allowing sand to perfectly stick onto his body.

After making his camouflage Kai left his cover and started slowly crawling through the beach, making no sudden movements, trying not to attract any unwanted attention.

As the water was getting closer and closer Kai spotted a black dot on the other side of the lake. Narrowing his eyes he could see a dark silhouette hastily approaching the lake.

Since it was still far away Kai didn't mind it and kept crawling until he was near the water. Making a cup with his hands he took a small sip to make sure the liquid was drinkable. Fortunately the water wasn't contaminated or salty.

Drinking the water until he quenched his thirst Kai slowly lifted his eyes trying to see if the black dot was still in his vision.

Unsurprisingly it wasn't, the silhouette was gone with no signs of it even being near the lake.

Sighing in relief Kai started crawling back to the forest. It was hard to control himself, because he wanted to hasten his movements, so he could leave the place faster. Luckily he managed to keep himself together and left the area the same way he entered - slowly.

After crawling into the forest Kai stood up and started walking back towards the hill. Even though it wasn't visible he more or less knew its overall location.

On his way back he had to do some unexpected turns, because of the monsters that were lurking in the forest. He was not stupid enough to think that he could outrun them, especially when he hasn't even awakened Mana.

' First, I should find some food '

Pushing away all the Mana related stuff at the back of his mind Kai was now nearing the hill. Instead of going into the cavern he started walking around the vicinity trying to find some edible fruits. He didn't even dare to think about meat, he had no weapon and no power to hunt an animal, especially when most of them were stronger due to having Mana.

After some time Kai was getting desperate, he couldn't spot any trees with edible fruits. Since it was late spring he believed that at least some fruits would be present on the branches. Even if they were not fully ripe, Kai would still be happy.

Unfortunately life can sometimes be cruel, even though he spotted some fruit trees they had nothing except leaves on their branches.

As Kai was about to give up he noticed a yellow object at the corner of his vision. Turning his head sideways he saw a cluster of bananas. Even though they were not fully ripe and were slightly green, they were edible.

' Good enough! '

Grabbing some bananas Kai made sure to leave the others so they wouldn't go to waste and rot if not eaten.

Eating some food for the first time in two days Kai didn't care about manners or other ethical things and greedily stuffed bananas into his mouth.

Since it was only the morning Kai decided to explore the area nearby, if possible he wanted to find another water source. Kai didn't want to risk his life every time he went near the lake.

Scanning the area nearby he tried to avoid the monsters while lowering his posture and moving from tree to tree. Every time he reached the tree's trunk he quietly counted until 10 before moving to the next sapling.

In such a manner he spent a lot of time moving small distances, yet felt more secure. Even though Kai felt adrenaline rushing through his veins he made sure to keep his head calm and control his every action with precision. One wrong step, he might step on a branch breaking it and attracting the attention of the hostile monsters.

Trying to push away the negative thoughts he walked all around the hill when finally, he found another water pond. It was very small, but the water was drinkable and easily accessible.

The lake was located 5 minutes walk away from the cavern being perfect for Kai, the water source was also naturally hidden by the lush forest. The trees around were growing in such a manner that hid the lake completely.

The only reason Kai found it was because he heard some fish splashing in the water.

' I could even fish! '

Happy about his find Kai looked above to see the sun being directly above his head, it was midday. The sun's heat was bearable, but uncomfortable.

Sneaking back to the cavern, Kai made sure to grab some moss and dry branches along the way, so he wouldn't need to do it in the evening.

Leaning against the cold cavern wall he took a deep breath.

' I think I should force my awakening... '