[Day 5: The night passed without incident. You feel slightly tired, so you eat from your rations before you begin walking…]
…
[Day 7: You feel weaker due to the evil power consuming your vitality…]
The past couple of days had passed without any notable events. Lem was passively observing as his simulated self walked.
Suddenly, he began receiving strange signals from his body.
It was a strange form of paralysis that was rooted in a deep despair that completely overcame him.
Lem wondered what entity could have caused the condition. There was nothing in sight, apart from the ordinary, monotonous forest.
In the next moment, a dark shadow passed overhead.
Through his simulated self’s field of view, Lem saw an enormous figure.
Two broad wings that covered the sun.
Talons the size of trees.
And then the figure was gone.
[As you are walking, you are suddenly overcome with fear and helplessness. A giant bird flies above your head, only a couple dozen meters away…]
Lem felt his body gradually return to normal.
His simulated self began walking, even though he was clearly shaken from what had just occurred.
[You continue walking.]
Lem was thinking about the bird when the sensations from his body were stopped all at once.
His vision went black.
[A few minutes later, you are killed. Death comes instantly, before you are aware of any danger…]
Was it the bird?
This death was the most mysterious so far.
[Simulation ends.]
The memories poured into Lem’s mind.
[Choose one of three rewards:
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Option 1: peak cultivation from lifetime (Day 4 cultivation)
Option 2: comprehension from lifetime
Option 3: one spiritual mushroom]
As he reviewed the events from the simulation, Lem felt relieved and happy. He had finally encountered another spiritual opportunity, this time in the form of mushrooms.
He also finally had a peak cultivation from a different day in the simulation.
Even the death was not a big problem, as he could travel in a different direction in the future to avoid it.
It was only slightly worrying that the death came for a second time without his simulated self being able to identify what killed him.
From the perspective of his detached self, it was equally unclear.
Was it the bird, or some other beast?
Was it intentionally, or did a battle take place, with the ripple effects reaching him in an instant, before he had time to react?
Or was all this thinking wrong?
Lem remembered from the village that there were rare naturally occurring phenomena that were very dangerous.
The most famous were the evil miasma clouds that could sweep through an area in an instant, leaving only decay in their wake.
If one was around rivers, then there were illusion pools that could appear randomly, sucking the souls of everything in the area, be they man, beast, or sentient plant.
The forest was a truly dangerous place.
For the first time, Lem felt a dilemma in picking between two of the reward options.
Part of him wanted to retrieve the spiritual mushroom, but he was also aware that there were other spiritual mushrooms at the site. Since he would have to visit the same location in the simulation again, it did not seem like a priority.
Selecting it could also cause significant deviations from the safe path he had already simulated.
If a beast like the fox could be attracted by just the berry, how much worse would it be if he was holding the mushroom?
It was clear that the greater the spirituality contained, the greater the danger.
If he selected a potent enough resource, would the giant bird arrive?
Lem decided to put off retrieving it, as it could cause consequences he could not handle.
Instead, he would make the mushrooms the first stop in the next simulation.
After visiting them, he would travel in a different direction to avoid the fate of the last simulated self.
Option 1, Lem thought with intent.
In the next moment, his thoughts were stopped in their tracks, as an overwhelming power flooded through his body.
He experienced a feeling of euphoria that caused him to momentarily disregard the trouble he was in.
He felt the urge to scream out in happiness, but he suppressed it while he waited for his body to acclimate.
A few minutes later, Lem regained a normal state of mind. He noticed that his senses were heightened, and his body felt several times stronger than before.
It was clear that his understanding of the changes was far more pronounced when he was not just a spectator in his body.
If his former self could match the strength of a young child, his current self felt capable of beating an adult man in a fight.
The change was so large that it utterly dwarfed even the effect of eating the berry the first time.
He wondered if the difference had anything to do with the time he had spent practicing the [Nine Bull Fist] in the simulation.
It was well known that martial arts did not just enhance combat strength, but could also improve the physique directly.
He made a mental note to observe his body’s changes more thoroughly in the next simulation.