Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

It took me a while to dig out a hole while standing neck deep in the water but at least the wind didn’t bother me all that much. I even made it into a warm bath after a spark of genius struck me.

Tearing out the dirt was the easy part. Making it flat and relatively spacious took a lot more out of me, especially after there was enough room for me to climb up there and start using my hand as an act of mercy on my poor mana supplies.

I’m no stranger to hard work and once I put my mind to something I’ll either finish it or collapse from exhaustion only to get up and continue, repeating this vicious cycle until the task is done. It works.

“If you can’t find shelter just make one for yourself huh?” I chuckle, lying on my back in the dirt with the skies still furiously rumbling outside the curtain of water. “Only one thing to do…”

[Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the general Skill [Digging lvl 1]. Would you like to replace one of your Skills?]

“No, not you!” I dismiss the message.

And with that, I roll out of my new temporary home straight into the water. Washing off the dirt and sweat is heavenly but only my secondary objective right now, after all, there are fish in the water.

Now unlike Nia, I never caught a single fish in my life, even though she just got lucky. I never showed much interest and since the Fist usually moves inland fishing wasn’t part of our curriculum.

So I just pump as much electricity into the water as my dear Intelligence allows me to.

I built myself a shelter, got a semi-bath, and even secured food… Peak survival skills if I do say so myself.

[The general Skill [Survival] has reached lvl 42.]

And that just confirms it.

A quick glance at the sky covered by dark blankets as far as the eye can see lets me know the storm will rage for many more hours and likely the entire night. This just means my pursuers will have a more difficult job of finding me and I can get a full night’s rest before picking up the pace for real.

“Now, food!” I fish out some of the fish floating on the surface completely knocked out before returning to my hidey hole.

I don’t even need wood to light a tiny gentle fire to dry my clothes and keep me warm while I do the dirty work. I might be hungry but eating fish guts and eyes and all that gross stuff is out of the question.

First things first, off with the head, hehehe. Then, out with anything that’s not meat.

My knifework is sloppy and closer to brutalizing the fish than preparing a meal but I can allow myself to be wasteful, I’ve got like six of the swimming suckers just for dinner.

Life is good.

***

Falling asleep was surprisingly easy despite the constant thundering outside and rumbling of water just next to my head. A full belly and an exhausted body can do wonders and even though I was a little wary of sleeping defenseless it came like a comet; fast, unexpected, and devastating.

Something shining my eyes out wakes me up a bit earlier than I’d prefer while the sound of water babbling and my back killing me quickly remind me of my situation. Sleeping on the hard ground, no blanket, pillows or even grass… I’m too old for this.

Some heat generated with fire magic and supported by Maintained Magic kept me warm all night with negligible drain of my mana so at least I don’t have to worry about getting sick.

After a quick groan, I finally roll over to do something about the rays scattering on the water and trying to blind me, only to be unpleasantly surprised.

An absolutely massive snout poking through the water parts the veil, which explains the light, with saliva dripping from the shortsword-sized teeth and nostrils flaring constantly. The beast has no fur or scales covering its body, using thick and loose skin instead as a form of protection.

I almost shriek in fright and let’s not even mention lashing out, before the main rule of the elk’s gift comes screaming in my head. No violence, no threatening moves, just deep breaths. If the shiny knick-nack fails, like it did last time then and only then am I allowed to act rashly.

Okay, but how? The beast literally can’t see me. Do I even want to take a risk with the antler?

[Badger lvl ???]

I definitely want to take a risk with the antler.

Lifting my only hope high I let some mana trickle into it before pulling the water aside just like how I opened the door a crack to my parents’ bedroom when I was little. I couldn’t help it, they made weird noises.

The moment the waterfall parts enough for the eyes to catch a glimpse of me they narrow and the mighty maw just an arm’s reach from me open wide… only to close just as quickly. The beast stares at me for a few moments, or rather the shiny piece of antler in my hand, before releasing a stinky huff and pulling away.

Like a puppet with its strings cut I collapse back on the ground, clutching my still racing heart and silently thanking the elk for his wonderful gift.

“I won't sell this thing, ever.” I take another look at the beautiful gift in my hand. “It saved my life one too many times and I’ve only been here for a few days.”

This encounter proved yet again how dangerous this region is and how unprepared I am to face off against the creatures calling the central regions their home. The simple solution? Get as far away from here as possible as quickly as possible.

Falling asleep like this was a mistake honestly, a very dumb and almost lethal mistake. One I still don’t know how to avoid simply because my body needs sleep. Maybe some sort of alarm mechanism…

The heavy footsteps getting distant inform me of the beast's departure, allowing me to check the perimeter without coming face to face with something considering me bite-sized. A careful peek is more than enough to confirm my suspicion.

Life out there has changed, drastically. Creatures ranging from dog-size all the way to towering monstrosities tall enough to glance over city walls are scattered all over the landscape. There’s one thing common about these creatures, besides appearing out of nowhere overnight in droves, they’re all after the purple-ish fruits hanging from a few trees.

And I mean just the fruits. I don’t see any bloodbath or vicious duel fought over the right to eat whatever those are, nothing like that. To be fair there there’s no shortage of the stuff but even beasts with fangs that are clearly made to tear flesh and bite through throats seem to simply mind their own business and stick to a herbivore diet.

Is this my chance? I have no clue what’s causing this eerie peace but it’d be a shame to miss this window of opportunity. I was mostly prepared to fight beasts about my own level, living on the outskirts of any wilderness, or things with a first Class instead of Species, yet here I am. Clueless and not much more than an appetizer.

So let’s get as far from away here as possible.

With utmost discretion, despite the unusual ceasefire reigning over the forest, I hop through the waterfall, out of my no longer hidden hideout, and straight into the water below, disappearing completely. After resurfacing my eyes scout the surroundings once again, looking for any unusual or rather aggressive reaction.

It’s this whole situation that’s unusual.

After a few minutes of overly cautious stealth, I finally ditch acting like a stalker, and start simply walking among the beasts despite my danger sense still screaming at me. And they couldn’t care less.

I hate it, this peace, this abominable tranquility, seeing the order of the woods turned completely on its head. And it’s not like I have to exert myself to find the source of this anomaly.

Thankfully today is a day of celebration because for the first time, my unease seems to be able to bring my curiosity to the ground and tell that reckless fool of an emotion to piss off.

Bad! Get back to the corner!

So all that’s left is running. Although those fruits do look juicy as hell and I haven’t had breakfast yet.

***

This is a test of mental endurance. I’ve been running for about three hours now, like full-on running and not just some lighthearted jog, because the more I see the eerie blue fruits the harder they are to resist. Every time a beast bites down on one and those sweet juices flow everywhere… They look so happy and satisfied.

Add to that the fact that I’m utterly famished and we have what I’d call a vile temptation.

That’s not to say the fruit is the only potential source of food around. Beasts, all pacified and docile, not even snarling when I get too close. I’ve contemplated walking up to a weaker one and simply burning a hole through their head but…

I don’t know, sounds risky. What if they survive and strike back, what if the sudden sounds of violence wake the others up from their dreamlike state?

I just need to hold on until the fruits disappear or the average strength of the beasts is low enough for Identify to have some actual use. Even if that might take days.

Moving this fast requires a lot of energy. Energy I don’t have and energy that is only further drained every time a fiendish voice sings songs of sweet temptation in the back of my mind.

“But what even is this thing?” I pick up one of the devil’s fruits while sitting on a felled tree, and observe it properly for the first time.

Survival is sending mixed signals, telling me the fruit is both perfectly edible and something I shouldn’t even touch. Not that I expected more from a Skill as basic as this one. That leaves the conventional method.

Looks like a peach, albeit slightly larger and as blue as the Azure Shores. Even when observing it with Mana Perception the damn thing looks absolutely blue with a tint of white and yellow. That color can mean only one element, lightning.

This… thing was born from the storm. The trees probably absorbed the volatile mana brought by the winds and produced these concentrated bundles of sweet nourishing mana.

And the smell… It’s so incredibly sweet and refreshing that my mind keeps buzzing after a small whiff.

Maybe this is what they call the gifts of nature, the rare treasures of the wilds. Every tale I heard was centered around a rare and potent source of mana that permeated something random and made good stuff.

That reminds me of those dragon blood apples the Fist gave us… They were a scam just as expected but earning them still felt pretty damn good and although they failed to give us unparalleled strength those pretty red fruits were not without their benefits.

Nice and smooth skin… that was their reward.

“So, what can you do?” I whisper as the temptation keeps growing.

The beasts around me have been feasting on these for hours now and they’re all completely fine, it’s safe…

“No!” The fruit lights on fire as my last whisps of sanity flare up. “No no no no.” I bite my lip instead of the sweet blue flesh, drawing blood but also regaining control.

Seeing as pain works surprisingly well to return my right state of mind I slap myself on the cheeks with as much force as my arms can deliver.

“Thank the Gods I didn’t attack any of the beasts along the way.” I whisper while taking a few deep breaths to clear my mind. “I can’t stay here, not around these fruits. I don’t know how much longer I can resist.”

The fact that those words even left my mouth says it all.

“Maybe if I ate just a little-” I bite the traitorous mouth again before forcing my legs to move even though they’ve been sapped of all their energy hours ago.

So I keep running and running passing trees both completely empty and slumping under the number of blue snacks hanging from their branches. Coming eye to eye with beasts comfortably sleeping in the shades or chewing on the blue nectar blissfully.

Closing my eyes doesn’t work because the aroma pervading their air is overwhelming. Let’s not even mention how crucial the ability to see is when it comes to moving at high speed.

Even my masochistic moves are slowly losing their effectiveness. The slaps and bites are no longer enough to banish the clouds over my mind, almost as if I’m growing numb to the sensation.

The struggle continues for what feels like hours if not days. In the end, I can only collapse on the ground, mentally exhausted to the point where even lifting a finger feels like a colossal task.

Only one thing left I can do now… Okay, two. Either I take one of those cursed fruits and just pray for it to be normal and all my suffering pointless or… sleep.

I’ve been dancing on the edge of consciousness for a while now so just letting go does the trick, dragging my poor exhausted mind down to the dark side where reality no longer haunts me.

Sweet dreams…