Charlie sat comfortably atop an overgrown grassy cove, and looked on into the distance. The view of the city was crystal clear from here and the hustle and bustle could be seen without much issue - even with Charlies poor vision.

There were fields of crops and creatures held in fenced off gardens, maintained by a litany of human workers. Behind the fields lay a beautiful city made of stone and wood, rustic and bright in design, lit up by an incredible amount of those working streetlights. It was unlike anything Charlie had ever seen, completely alien when compared to the desolate concrete wastelands of his home world, full of purposeful darkness.

There were lights and life everywhere he looked, handfuls of steel soldiers posted on every corner that looked out onto the caves interior - protecting the citizens from any roaming and wild creatures that might be foolish enough to brave the human territory. Buildings built atop buildings, reaching multiple stories and curious strings attached between the roof tops.

Behind the city lay another gargantuan gate, but it was not entirely closed, unlike the gate that controlled the entrance into the cave. Charlie could see a glimmer of light peeking from behind the steel gates, though he couldn't make out what truly lay there. Neither his sight nor his [Mana Sense] could see that far ahead, nor did he want to get any closer than he was already, but Charlie didn't let it bother him.

The humans thrived down here and even created a city that held more people than Charlie had seen in either of his lives. It was still unknown as to why build a city in a cave, but at least the mystery behind the gate at the entrance of the cave had been solved.

The humans simply opened the gates to replenish their stock of powerful creatures to farm. It made sense, in a twisted sort of way. The soldiers and people that lived here were powerful enough to not only withstand the onslaught, but to profit from it. The creatures that were powerful enough to descend all the way down here were usually quite large, and would provide plenty of meat and leather for a city.

Which was an awful realisation for Charlie. Not only did he return to the cave of his own free will, but he quite literally jumped into the maw of the most terrifying creature on this planet with a metaphorical smile on his face. Well, the second most terrifying. The calamity was still something beyond comprehension, full of violence and fury beyond what this world can handle. Yet, the humans, they were capable of both cunning and insidious malice. It was hard to say which one was a greater monster.

It also meant that returning back up towards the surface was even more out of the question than it already was. If the calamity remained outside, then it was nothing more than a death trap - not even including the human retinue that would undoubtedly return to the surface to protect the citizenry.

His only escape lay behind the city of humans, yet it did not seem any easier to break through those gates than it was to escape the calamity on the surface.

Charlie couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh. Once again he was stuck between an impossible situation and certain death, and once again he was forced to clutch to the fringe concept of survival to make it through in one piece.

Right now he was on the border between human and creature territories. It was silent for now, but it could change at any moment. The humans could come out and destroy the coves, expanding their territory further out, or a roaming creature could out-speed Charlies [Mana Sense] and overwhelm him. The quiet moment he was enjoying, could turn out to be his last in the blink of an eye.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Instead of returning back up the cave to where he was, Charlie first sought out shelter to lay down for the night. It had been an exhausting and a terrifying day, his body begged for some rest. After finding a particularly dense patch of grass, Charlie dug himself beneath the dirt and found fleeting comfort amongst the roots. It wasn't as comfortable as laying atop the soft grass, but at least it covered him from any stray eyes.

Charlie did not have the strength for any errant thoughts, nor the energy left to strategise tomorrows endeavours. Instead, sleep took him without awaiting Charlies permission. His body stilled, his heart slowed and his mind finally returned to the sweet embrace of nothing.

When he finally awoke, it felt like the entire world was sitting on his every muscle and bone - he was stiff beyond reason and everything simply ached. Reluctantly, Charlie rose and crawled out of the earthen hovel. The air was fresh and the light was pleasantly dim, especially now that Charlie realised that he was sporting a mean headache on top of it all.

What a wonderful morning.

After mentally complaining for a bit, Charlie set off back towards his home. There was a lot he needed to do, and unfortunately he no longer felt like he had all the time in the world to do so. He needed power, and he needed it yesterday. From now on, Charlie needed to hurry up and become more vicious, become more greedy for power - he would have to actively hunt, and fight to the death with, the creatures higher up in the cave and work his way down.

If the calamity were to break through and enter the cave, all is lost and everything was meaningless. Charlie needed to descend deeper and create as much distance between that horror and himself as possible - to do so he needed power, and quickly.

The journey back home took an additional day, as his body and mind took a long time to heal from the world shaking events. Thankfully, his slow pace was what kept him out of harms way. The many creatures that still populated the cave were calming down over time and becoming less frantic than before, but they were still everywhere and posed incredible danger to the still-recovering serpent. Charlies slow stride meant that he never arrived with poor timing, and instead had plenty of time to assess the situation from afar - all thanks to [Mana Sense].

It truly was a gift that he couldn't stop thanking his lucky stars for. Without it, Charlie would have never reached the human settlement alive, nor would he have survived the encounter with the soldiers clad in pristine steel if he didn't sense their presence. It was a fact, that without any of his {Powers} or {Epitaphs}, he wouldn't have even survived the very first day - but he still couldn't help but attribute most of his success to [Mana Sense]. Though, it could have been his own pride, of creating Magic solely by his own efforts, skewing his view.

While Charlie was taking a drink by the river, he couldn't help but think ahead to the perilous path that still lay before him. The struggles and challenges that he had already overcome might pale in comparison with what was to come. Charlie had no proof, but doubted that descending deeper into the cave was going to be any easier than what he had already experienced. Not if the humans were involved, at least.

To succeed, Charlie will need to achieve even more than he has already. He needed more Levels to compete with the likes of the Rocrak and the Razorclaw, and even more types of Magic to help even remotely contend with the humans. There would certainly be other requirements he would need to accrue to progress, but right now, what they could be escaped Charlie. He couldn't know what he didn't know, and so he would find out what was needed of him as he continued in his descent.

Everything felt rushed and like the time he had already spent on this world was wasted. He could have done so much more if he was simply faster, or if he made fewer mistakes, or if he was quicker to adapt. There were so many ways for Charlie to have improved his position that it felt almost embarrassing. But, he knew that lamenting past mistakes was a futile attempt, as hindsight was always crystal clear.

All Charlie could do was focus on what he had done wrong, and how he would improve himself moving forward. The human civilization and the threat of the calamity at its doorsteps had been a sobering experience, if not deeply unsettling.

Charlies body still needed rest, but it did not mean he had to remain still. In the spirit of his unending desire for self-improvement, Charlie fiddled with the pebble in his mouth - somewhat surprised he didn't accidentally swallow the puny rock in all of that chaos.

Now, why wont you float?