"Willpower is the single greatest power of humans, but what is the drive behind it? For many, it's the need for Power. Admiration. Achievement.”

A boy interjects. ‘Like getting good grades!”

Yes! But, in nature, willpower comes from the need to survive. That very need is why we, as humans, have survived. Even before we all gained prana, humans have shown great strength in events of peril. To save ourselves, we'll break even our own body, down to the last tendon, to survive. I hope many of you haven't experienced this.”

Multiple students yell out their “survival” experiences.

“I have! I had to fight a squirrel!”

“One time, I had to clean up fast before my mom got home!”

The teacher lets a giggle out before responding. “So, tell me, class. What motivates your willpower?"

"Money!"

"My parents!"

"Scholarships!"

“So many answers! Can you all guess what mine is?”

One of the girls on the front of the class responds. “Ooh! Is it money, miss?”

The teacher snickers for a bit and responds. “That’s a small part of it, yes. But there’s something more important than that. Keep guessing!”

The entire class throws out random words until, after three minutes of constant yelling, one of my classmates gets it.

“Children!”

The teacher lights up. “Yes! The children! I do this for not only my kids, but every child out there!”

The answer was obvious, considering we all knew the teacher’s history, but elementary kids aren’t known for thinking deep. I was no exception.

Or rather, I didn’t bother thinking about it at all.

“You know, Omari, you should speak more. Oh wait, tell me, what drives your willpower?”

“I…don’t know.”

Her expression lightens a bit before she puts her hand on my shoulder and lowers her voice. “I want you to think about what makes you, you. And then I want you to think about to gets you up at in the morning.”

I say something unintentionally sarcastic. “It’s my alarm-“

“Not like that! Think more so people, feelings, ideas, or anything! Out of those, what gives you the willpower to wake up?”

***

When I come to, a feel a bird poking at my eyebrow. Does it think I’m dead? Well, I thought the same, too.

Beneath me are a pile of dead Tuskers that probably cushioned my fall. Ironic. Rubble covers the surrounding area, yet somehow, I’m unharmed. Well, relatively unharmed. My entire body is bruised, and the pain in my left leg is on the verge of being crippling. My arms are covered in cuts and bruises as well, while my head is ringing so much, barely allowing me to think.

Around me, I hear the grunts of the surviving Tuskers wandering about. Though numerous, they’re sluggish and injured from the fall as well.

My stomach grumbles.

The Tuskers collectively turn towards me, but they’re all too exhausted to do anything.

If I had the power, this would be an all you can eat occasion for me. But, I’m just like them: weak and hurt. But there’s no time to waste, so I lift myself up despite the ensuing agony. A few Tuskers view this, yet they continue doing nothing. Once I find my footing, the pain in my left leg almost makes me collapse back to the ground, yet I remain upright.

There are three things necessary for survival: food, water, and shelter, yet I find myself lacking all of these. Well, with the many Tusker corpses around, I'd be good on food.

However, water and shelter are a must. With this in mind, I limp out of the wreckage deeper into the forested areas. I've always had pride in my sense of direction, but it would be foolish to entirely rely on this. I use my replenishing prana to mark trees as I go into the forest. The bark feels especially rough, and so I input more prana to make on a mark. Simply walking through the forest would be simple enough, but the terrain constantly shifts between hills and flatlands. The threats of spiders still exists as well, so I have to keep my eyes out for them. This forest is perfect for them as well. It's dominated by conifer trees that riddle the ground with their leaves, wide oak trees that obscure the sun and any animals, and massive trees with trunks the height of a high-rise apartment. Finding water here would be like trying to find a needle in a giant greenery filled haystack.

There's also the ongoing threat of the miasma, although air exposure is teetering on the edge of being bearable. It singes my skin a bit and my breathing feels like I'm taking a slow jog despite only walking. There's also the matter of visibility, as this entire forest has a foggy, purple hue. Regardless, if I circulate my prana, it's teetering on the edge of being bearable for someone like me.

I will eventually run out of prana, though.

"It can't get much worse, can it?!"

No one responds.

Two distinct roars can be heard in the distance, with a bellow so low it rumbles my eardrums.

I must move quickly. The last thing I need is to get caught up in whatever that is, or come face to face with creatures that can roar with such ferocity.

The sounds of the leaves crunching beneath my feet quicken as my pace does as well. I need to find water. Now. This urgency distracts me from a more forward issue that'll plague me.

I feel the effects of the miasma ever slightly intensify, so I cover my body in prana to shield myself from some of its potency, although it isn't much. And it won't last long, either, since I can't hold much prana to begin with. My damned luck.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

As I take more steps, the pain coursing my body comes in waves, yet I cannot pay it any mind. I continue forward.

After what feels like five hours, I stumble across wildlife grazing. It's deer. Or what used to be deer. They're called Eikens now. Their glorious antlers now cascade along their spines, having a resemblance to scaled creatures of the old times. The far ends of their antlers have also become jagged, as the miasma changes much of what it touches into chilling reflections of what they used to be. Even their fur has changed into a darker shade, closer to the deep dirt than the brown bark. Its young lacks the antlers, but has this new fur with lighter highlights. Despite these changes, their defense remains the same, along with their willingness to move in front of a large, high speed object.

If I had a weapon, I'd probably be able to take out one before it flees, but I neither that nor a body it pull it off. Luckily, that's not what I need to do at the moment. It would make sense for an animal in the forest to also need water. And since they aren't dead yet, the deer must know where water can be found. I just have to follow them!

That's easier said than done. They'll run at the slightest wink of danger or arbitrarily attack if they think the fight is winnable. I'll have to stay silent while keeping up with them.

If I was a hunter, this would be a piece of cake.

But I'm just a fucking guy.

The pain and usage of prana makes my body twitch for a split second. My bottom legs moves. It just so happens my foot was near a fallen branch.

The branch cracks and the deer immediately turn my way. I immediately move behind a massive trunk to avoid their darkened eyes. After giving them a dozen seconds, I try to view them from behind the trunk. They've gone back to grazing, although their ears have been raised because of that slight sound. They continue this for a couple of minutes before they decide to leave. When they do, their speed exceeds my expectations.

I immediately start following them, with sounds of the ground from the herd masking my own. But it seems I forgot that I just fell from a cliff, and I collapse after a barely a minute. I've failed.

I wonder the forests as I once did, beaten mentally and physically for a few hours. My prana is on the verge of running out, and my body is protesting the incessant abuse I put it through. The sky is also getting darker and the sounds of critters exponentially grows. Water can wait, shelter is the most important thing to me for now.

Once again, despite what happened earlier, I zip through the forest, trying to find a cave, grove, hole, or anything I can rest in. Visibility is getting lower, but I push through as I rely on my other senses to get me through the forest's obstacles. A large root catches my leg, however, and I trip.

For once, it seems luck is on my side. I can see a silhouette of something tall connected to the large root. I follow it and find a high-rise trunk.

It's closed.

My luck once again falls flat

I can't help but bang on the trunk with my fist out of anger, but when I do, I can hear the hollowness of it.

My hand is also bloodied from this. Fuck. But my luck returns.

I focus all of my prana into my other, non-injured hand, and it glows faintly through the darkness and miasma. I throw myself at the trunk, fist first, to ensure it is broken through.

But this isn't enough. I pummel it using the last of my strength, fighting the pain that comes along with it. I even use my bloodied hand, alternating the prana between both as I strike. My blood soaks the entire base of the trunk before a single hole forms, but when I see this, I tear the bark from the trunk as fast as I can.

I was never strong, though, and the effort puts me on one leg as I tear the bark apart like a madman. Miasma is seeping into my nostrils quickly, and my entire body hurts, but I HAVE to endure.

When the hole becomes big enough for me to crawl through, I do so with the last embers of my spirit, using the nails of my fingers to slither into the hole I've created. I did it.

The miasma, surprisingly, does not come through the hole, piling up as if a barrier as been erected. But before I can wonder why, my consciousness fades.

***

"The hell do you mean there's nothing we can do?!"

Boreal slams his fist unto the receptionist's desk. His face turns red and the muscles within his face tense up, making him look like a wrinkled potato. He's proper pissed...

"I've explained this twice, Mr. Boreal, an expedition needs direct authorization from the Wastes Committee. We cannot go out-"

"There's a fuckin' kid out there who put everything on the line for us! He needs us!"

With an irritating deadpan face, the receptionist says, "Casualties are expected. The young man read the fine print."

"Did you even tell his parents?"

The receptionist looks away for a bit before responding. "His mother is indifferent."

His expression changes as his eyebrows stop tensing for a split second before shifting back to his scrunchy potato face. "Am I the only guy who gives a shit, then?!"

Good grief, his prana is leaking all over his huge body. Before the big guy can do anything crazy, I grab his shoulder. "You're an A-rank, boss. Just talk to one of the committee members yourself?"

"You're a god-damn genius, Daven."

With speed worthy of an A-rank, Boreal launches himself into one of the building's many corridors. I follow him immediately, having to use my own prana to catch up.

"That big bastard always goes the wrong way."

When we finally find the right door, Boreal bangs on it like a deranged criminal.

"J-Jesus man, come in...!"

Boreal damn-near smashes the door down, and we're greeted by an older man with unkempt hair and saliva trailing out of his mouth.

"You big brute! Why do you always bang on the doors! Just knock like everyone else-"

Boreal steps up to the man's desk. " Sorry sir, but this is of upmost importance! We have an expedition member out there alone!"

The man uses his prana to fix his hair and put on his glasses before responding. "You know, we don't quite have the resources for another expedition right now. And he's likely dead anyway."

"Sir, that kid put everything on the line for us to escape. He became a beacon to drive a massive herd of Tuskers away from us. And now, I must repay the favor!"

"Did you not hear me? He's probably dead!"

As much as I'd like to save the kid, he's probably right. And the kid knew it too.

"Boreal, let's be real-"

But a familiar face intrudes. It's Olivia.

She immediately makes her presence known.

"I have a proposal for everyone in this room! I've discovered a sample of a fungus in previous expedition we went on!"

The old man interjects. "And what's the proposal part of this?"

"Let me finish, you balding artifact. This fungus produces an anti-inflammatory chemical for the lungs. We can sell this to medical companies all over!"

"And let me guess, you want to set up an expedition to go back out there? We don't have the resources-"

"I've convinced four A-rank adventurers and our previous group members to come with us. And we have our own materials!"

"Oh...well that's still-"

"And they'll give up 50% of their hiring fee to you."

Stone faced as ever, the old man replies, "When will you be ready to disembark?"

"Now."

"Then I'll get the paperwork ready! Good luck on your adventuring. Now get out! A certain someone ruined my previous job."

You were sleeping, you old fox.

We all exit his office before Boreal reaches out to Olivia's hand. "Thank you. Really."

Olivia smiles. "No need, he saved all of us, y'know. I even kept my research and assistants because of his."

I guess this is your karma, kid. Nice one. "I'll grab my gear and a bite on the way to the gate."

"Conserve everything you've got, Daven. I know you're a B-rank so you're gonna be doing extra shit for now on."

I nod my head in acceptance. "Good grief..."

Boreal yells out, "0900 hours!"

We all arrive at the gate, waiting for the rest of the expedition team to get here.

Going across the world to access the Wastes is impossible without these gates. It's near instant travel to the safe zone cities within the Wastes. With Boreal being the leader, he has to directly go to the higher ups to use it.

But that's when I notice something strange. The prana within is spinning counter-clockwise, coming into conflict with the prana that moves clockwise. Then yelling follows this discovery, as the workers around begin running away.

We all hear sirens and a robotic voice on the loudspeaker. "Evacuate from the gate, it is experiencing pranatic deviations. Evacuate from the gate, it is experiencing pranatic deviations."

We all run until we're a safe distance, as dust is kicked up all around. A few people are trampled in the midst of this happening, and I pick up a few. Boreal does the same while Olivia heals their bruises.

Then it fucking explodes.

One of the senior workers speak. "Aw shit! That'll take more than a month to get fixed!"

... A month?