Aventine Tidea - II

I was sitting on a boulder, in a mountain range filled with ginormous beasts, unsure of what to do next. The sun was blaring down upon me, but the air was cold. This spot on top of the boulder was a rare spot where the sun could shine. Everywhere else was enshrouded by a dim shade.

Feeling the cold air, as well as the mysterious energy that was flowing all around me, I felt alive.

This was a world unlike anything that I had known before.

A new world.

A world filled with mana.

Words could not describe how excited I was.

"Now, to figure out what the hell this implies..."

The floating screens that suddenly appeared were a mystery I was trying to solve.

[Name: Aventine Tidea]

[Level: 1]

[Health: 20/20]

[Mana: 10/10]

[Gift: Absolute Awareness (???-Rank)]

[Physique: 2]

[Mind: 3]

[Spirit: 1]

"Did Earth undergo some drastic changes while I was away?" I pondered out loud, "...Or did I cause all of this?"

I mean, there was a chance after all. Not to act like I was such an important person, but it was a common trope in pop culture for portals to be quite the unstable variable. Perhaps my traveling to a new world had caused an unimaginable butterfly effect... I wasn't sure.

But, I did have my gift.

[Absolute Awareness].

Now that mana was abundant in my surroundings, I could feel the changes that were rapidly occurring in my body.

[Gift: Absolute Awareness (???-Rank)]

[Description: A natural gift that the Gaea System has no information on. A manifestation of the power to sense the essence of all things. The exclusive talent of Aventine Tidea.]

[Effect: As long as there is mana, become aware of anything you wish to be aware of. Sense the world, predict possibilities, and differentiate the truth from the lies.]

Closing my eyes, I could feel exactly what these words meant. As long as I expended mana, I could extend my five senses and hear the distant birds or the slumbering beasts. I could feel the rumbling of the earth as beasts fought for territory.

I could feel everything in my immediate surroundings, from the smallest bacteria to the movement of atoms.

I was aware of it all.

...But it drained a considerable amount of mana.

The piercing headache I got from overexerting myself just then was a familiar feeling. Every time I used my gift on Earth, that's what I would get.

Taking a moment to absorb mana from my surroundings, I let out a sigh of relief. What would have taken me a year to reabsorb now only took me moments.

I reactivated [Absolute Awareness] once again. This time, I peered into the essence of the Gaea System before me.

—Crackle!

—Boom!

What I saw in that instant was a dimensional storm. Monsters pouring out of [Gates] that popped up all over the planet. People dying en masse. Earthquakes and tsunamis changing the terrain.

It was the Cataclysm.

Then the piercing headache arrived. I had drained all of my measly mana reserves once more.

...But that was enough.

I had the answers to all of my questions.

"I am indeed the cause of it all," 

I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh.

***

I quickly threw those thoughts to the back of my mind while I refilled my mana reserves.

I was in a new world! Earth was far behind me now.

It would be such a waste to lament the destruction of my homeworld when I put in so much effort to leave.

However, I did have a sense of belonging to Earth. After all, it was where I was born and grew up.

Perhaps in the future, I would come back... As for how? That was what I was going to figure out starting now.

Reactivating [Absolute Awareness] and again draining myself of mana, I scanned the mountain range.

I needed to know if there was anything here that could easily kill me.

And the answer was...

Yes.

Everything around me could kill me.

Shuddering, I looked at the small flower a few steps away from my feet. It looked like a harmless daisy, however, the results of my scanning proved otherwise.

Hidden beneath the daisy was a giant carnivorous plant. The little flower was bait. If I ever stepped near that flower, then I would surely be swallowed whole.

The smile on my face twitched. I wanted to laugh but I was too afraid to make any sound.

Wolves were roaming around the area. A pack of them, each standing at least five feet tall when they were on all fours. A single drop of my blood would surely call them straight to me. I swear, they could even hear my breathing from there.

The only reason they hadn't attacked was because of that damn daisy!

Furthermore, those two entities were the least of my worries. There was something even more threatening than both of them combined and it was slumbering right underneath me.

This boulder that I was sitting on?

Yeah...

It was a golem. Primed to activate should anything threaten its existence or learn about what it was hiding.

So, I spent a few moments frozen stiff. It was not purely out of fear, but also because of caution. I had been talking to myself a lot just before this. I wasn't sure if my next words would be the trigger.

I waited for my mana to fill up.

Then, I used [Absolute Awareness] once again, searching for a way out. Luckily, I was able to find that possibility. There was a pathway behind me, used previously by a small white rabbit.

Through that path, I would be able to slip out of my current predicament.

However, just to be sure, I waited until my mana regenerated yet again. With another flash of [Absolute Awareness], I truly confirmed that the end of the pathway was currently safe.

Still unsatisfied, I used [Absolute Awareness] a few more times.

I confirmed the rate of my footsteps.

The speed of my retreat.

The most opportune moment.

As well as any hidden treasures along the way.

It was only when I was 100% sure that I would live, that I moved away. It would be such an embarrassment for someone gifted with [Absolute Awareness] to die due to carelessness.

I stepped off of the sleeping golem with three light footsteps. I fell to the cold, moist ground with a roll, and sprung into a bunch of fruit-bearing bushes.

The scent of its leaves slashed across my skin, clouding the stench of humanity.

I rolled around in the mud and dew, ridding myself of the scent of prey.

Luckily, my backpack was military-grade and made for survival in even the harshest conditions. It even kept my belongings safe even though I had to dive deep down into the Pacific's underwater cave systems.

A little rough treatment wasn't enough to damage it.

And just like this, I was able to slip away.

Safe, and sound.

Until I arrived at the bank of a wide river where I had sensed the presence of a sword lying at the very bottom. It seemed important, at least from the special energy it emanated. And, despite the fact that it was clearly destined for someone else, I wanted it.

"Good thing I searched for any nearby treasures,"

Smiling, I set down my backpack and began my preparations.

To think that my very first action in the world was the uncovering of treasure... I laughed.

This was who I was.

A treasure hunter, kleptomaniac, and thrill connoisseur.