It hasn't been long, but I'm already a master in the art of meditation and I'm even beginning to wonder if maybe in my previous life I was a monk. I didn't even have to make an effort and the breathing regulated itself to reach the optimal rhythm I needed for meditation, it was as if my body had already automated the process. I felt how my sight became a little clearer and the image that I saw in the distance slowly came closer until I could see everything as if it was only a couple of meters away.

“How beautiful!”

Now that I've intentionally become Telescopio-Man, I realized what was happening and could feel how the energy obtained from the fruits circulated inside the sockets of my eyes. It's a strange sensation, but oddly not uncomfortable. It's quite refreshing, like a gentle breeze in summer. But despite the significance of this, my attention was quickly stolen by what my eyes had captured.

Maybe it was fate, luck or just they are inhabitants of the whole forest. But right where I was looking, I spotted some elk-deer-horses wandering carefree along the forest's edge while they ate the fruits of the trees. They looked majestic with their long grayish black fur on their chest, neck and tail. Their backs looked as if they were covered with the red autumn leaves and as if they were tattoos. Much of their bodies were covered in patterns resembling wind swirls and waves.

Maybe it was fate, luck or just they are inhabitants of the whole forest. But right where I was looking, I spotted some elk-deer-horses wandering carefree along the forest's edge while they ate the fruits of the trees. They looked majestic with their long grayish black fur on their chest, neck and tail. Their backs looked as if they were covered with the red autumn leaves and as if they were tattoos much of their bodies were covered in patterns in the form of swirling wind and waves.

Several dots of the same color as their fur contrasted with the red of their back. I could swear they are stones of some kind, but I'm not sure, it could well be just more fur. Their heads adorned with horns like branches about thirty centimeters long, accompanied by two long ears that end in points, making them appear as if they had two ox horns, along with two small orange eyes that matched the small dry leaves on their bodies and faces, made their figures mystical.

But despite their beautiful appearance, they didn't seem like easy guys to provoke. Their gaze, though gentle, was stern, and the muscles in their bodies exuded elegance and respect. Whoever designed the fuckers, knew what was doing and their being in a group only added a touch more fantasy of the view. I could see them so close that, just like with goats, I felt that if I reached out my hand, I could touch them.

But it would be foolish if I hadn't learned from my previous mistake, so I refrained from making any movement. Besides, I was enraptured by the view my eyes were capturing, so from the beginning, I remained as still as a statue. Fortunately, I could still feel the cool breeze in my eyes, giving me the assurance that the energy was still circulating as it should. So for the moment, there was no risk of disconnecting from the snooping mode due to a failure of that nature.

But there's no guarantee that it won't happen, so I quickly regained my composure and tried to take advantage of the opportunity I had to observe a new species. Curiosity was at its peak and I tried to zoom in a bit more to observe them more closely and in more detail. After all, there's no risk in doing so, I mean, they can't see me, or at least those were my thoughts.

But as luck never seems to be on my side, or maybe it's just that I'm very reckless anyway, just at the moment when my new skill executed executed my commands and the image that my eyes captured got closer to the animals, all the beings turned to look in my direction at once, as if they were automated robots. Their gaze seemed to pierce through the distance and settle on me, taken by surprise, I almost choked on the pieces of fruit I still had in my mouth, which of course took me out of my concentration.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

couhg*couhg*couhg*couhg*couhg*couhg*

"hahaha holy shit, you never stop giving me surprises, huh world?"

Leaving aside their appearance, that they managed to notice me, it scares me a little. I mean, I'm a novice and inexperienced in this magic thing, and even though animals don't seem to be able to get into the city, so far I've only seen the goats and the armadillo. But what if they are the weakest thing in this place and that's why they can't enter? It would mean that maybe an animal with more strength or power could get in.

Maybe it was just a coincidence that they turned in my direction, maybe it was a coincidence that they noticed me, or maybe because of the excitement of the moment I was reckless. I don't know, but it unsettles me to think that what I considered safe up to this moment may not be as secure as I thought. The animals I just saw, although they don't look very scary, are surely stronger than goats, regardless of the fact that there are more species out there. So far, I've only seen three and they all seem to be herbivores. If there is a king of the prairies, I don't know it yet.

HAAAAAA*

“I have a long, long road ahead of me”

But overthinking things won't do me any good, except to torment myself more. I mean, even if I'm in danger right now, one of the few things I can do is hope that my death won't be painful, so only time will tell what will happen. For now, what I can and should do is increase my chances of survival in case of any disaster.

Of course, just because I'm aware of my situation doesn't mean I'm not discouraged when I realize how low I am on the food chain. I wanted to look at the forest again, but my nerves caused my stomach to refuse to receive food, so for the moment the most appropriate thing to do is to resume the mental map and try to see if I can connect my eyes with the map. With that idea in mind I drank some water to calm my nerves and avoid making any potentially fatal mistakes.

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“Well, here I go again”

It took me a little longer than expected, but after a few minutes, I managed to calm my nerves completely and proceeded with what I had previously planned. I made the decision to meditate on top of the tower. It's a bit dangerous, because if any problem occurs in which I need to move, a fall is almost certain. However, since I'm trying to see beyond the walls, despite the potential dangers, the tower remains the best option.

To some extent, I think I've mastered the meditation. It's not instantaneous, in fact, it takes me a couple of seconds while I regulate my breathing, but I know for sure that it will work. The cycle repeats itself and in the same way as the previous times, I felt a strand of the gray substance go through my chest and connect with my heart, which in turn causes it to start beating at slower, more serene rhythms and allows the mental eye or whatever it is that allows me to see the mental map to manifest itself.

Since the plan is to try to connect my sight with the map, I plan to take as an example the way energy seems to gather around the inside of my eyes.This, in turn, made me realize that I need to better control my emotions and focus on what really matters. I mean, so far, due to various circumstances, I've completely ignored something as fundamental as the connection process and how the fuck it is that the mental map works.

Lack of experience often leads to unconventional decisions and it occurred to me that instead of connecting the energy strand to the chest, I could try to do it directly to the eyes, but fortunately, I realized in time how stupid that would be, so I discarded the idea. I don't want to do anything rash and have the energy explode in my eyes, leaving me blind.

Since the idea wasn't good and I have all the time I need, I changed my plans. Instead of trying to move the energy of the environment by force, for now, I'll try to feel the connection with the environment. That strand of gray substance that is the only one that obeys me may be key to my survival. So, I kept concentrating on meditation and the sensation of being connected to the energy.

At first, all I could feel was a slight coolness in my chest, like when you eat a mint, but as time passed and the more I concentrated, I began to notice that there were almost imperceptible pulses occurring at regular intervals coursing through my chest, and when my heart beat, it sent the same pulses to my head like currents traveling through my system to the brain, where they spread throughout my head and then disappeared.

haaa* haaa* haaa* haaa* haaa* haaa*

"It seems like that was more effort than I can handle"