Chapter 14

The rabbit with steroids, a horn in its head, and a terrible temper seem to be called a horned staaj. There could be a variant without a horn out there. I wonder how it would attack without a horn.

- We do have a similar creature in our world, it is less muscular and without a horn, but it has the same shape and characteristics. It's called a rabbit.

I tried to explain to Sage that our version of the creature was cute compared to the one here. And you could even have it as a pet. The horned staaj seemed too aggressive for that. We ended up talking about all kinds of topics. Like how a weak and pitiful creature like me or the rabbit could survive and even proliferate. When I told her that my species ended up conquering the entire world, or as she likes to call it my realm, she looked surprised, even its inexpressive deer face showed signs of surprise. It called my former home a little backwater place with no future.

It was true in a sense, but I didn't want to admit it. So, I started bragging about the technology developed there, trying to get some praise that didn't belong to me in the first place. It worked, in a sense. It was interested when I mentioned the internet, cell phones, cars, airplanes, and computers. It seemed to want to know how it all worked. When I explained everything and its uses, that excitement turned into contempt. Cars and airplanes became a massive waste of space and materials, every being here – at least those that gained a certain amount of power because of the ether – could fly and run faster than a car. The internet, computers, and cellphones had a better acceptance, being able to store enormous amounts of knowledge in one central place was certainly beneficial, and to top it off you could communicate easily with them across thousands of kilometers. 

Sometime later I was just talking about my life, the hardships I went through, and some of the friends I made there. It was a trivial conversation, but Sage still paid attention. By the time I've run out of topics of conversation, we were back in the little bed made of leaves, with Sage taking the role of a couch. I tried to get some information about her, what life here was about, and all that. She just summarized it in three simple steps: eat, survive, and get powerful. It was…accurate, I was doing the same thing for the last weeks. There doesn't seem to be something bad with it per se. But listed like that, casually, made me understand the cruel side of this world. If you lack even one bit of ambition and will to live to see the next day, you are gone. Thinking about it like that, my former realm was better if you wanted to laze around all day and still get to live.

At the end of our little conversation, neither of us said anything. We were both immersed in our thoughts. I already knew that life in this place could be monotonous, but considering the life I had for eighteen years, here I could have adventures at any time of the day. It would be ideal if the adventures were not overly dangerous, but I couldn't choose which animal wanted to eat me and which one didn't.

Finally, after some seconds of silence. I stood up. Intent on doing my morning workout.

- Why, did you think it was boring to be comfortably resting against me?

- It's not that, I just need to practice and try to maintain my body in the best condition possible.

I tried to respond naturally, Sage seemed to really like teasing me, and I didn't want to fan the flames. Unfortunately, my answer came too rigid that I failed.

- Of course, of course. Just go on already. Leave me here all by my lonesome.

I went back into the cave and gave her some pats in the head. I knew that she was just playing with me, but I still wanted to show her some affection. A fact that she reciprocated by licking my hand. Laughing, and cleaning my hand, I went back outside to finally initiate my workout.

I spent the next hours exercising and when it became midday Sage gave me another mutated blueberry. I wasn't hungry, at all. But if she was giving it to me then I didn't have any other option than to eat it. Seeing that it had a bite, it seemed that she just gave me the fruit I couldn't eat the other day, another reason to not refuse it. Once again, I was full of energy, and honestly, it was uncomfortable. To burn down all that extra energy I went back to do another round of exercise.

This second round was even more effective, even if, by the end of it, I was too exhausted to even move my fingers. I went all out to free myself from that uncomfortable feeling. Having too much energy at once really makes you do the impossible.

- So, how do you feel? Was it a good workout?

Sage spoke to me suddenly, but as I said, I couldn't even lift my fingers, much less answer her.

- Just rest for a little, the remaining energy of the blackberry will help you to recover faster. Besides I just need you to listen.

She summoned a little green body made of ether that was floating in the air. If I concentrated enough, I could see some semblance of me in it.

- As I said before, ether is a fundamental energy in this realm. It doesn't have a distinctive color, but, as I channel it to take the form I want, I can also give it some color. It varies from being to being, whichever color you want it to be will it and it will take it. Now, to the important part, you need to absorb it in certain amounts to be able to evolve, and thus gain new power. To do this, there are a myriad way. What you just did is one of them. You gain ether by ingesting any food with it – which is the case for most of the food in this plane -, your body absorbs it better when it is active, and that way it becomes even more refined, powerful. The other option is to absorb it as you did the first time willing it to come to you. It refines both your body and soul at the same time, with some added bonus to your soul. Most being here tend to take both paths as ether is abundant. 

Sage paused for a second to make sure I was paying attention, then continued.

- I thought you already discovered the uses of ether to your body and that was why you were so eager to exercise. But after watching you do some pirouettes for a while; I remembered that you didn't know a thing about ether until now. That is why I gave you the fruit, it appears to have some notable effects. No notable effects, but with accumulation, you would begin to feel the differences.

After that little explanation Sage went out of the glade, leaving me alone to rest for a while.