Novels2Search

Chapter 2: Mutation and variety

4 months after world generation:

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(3rd character introduced) Chandler. Male, light brown hair, almost blonde, summarized body type: sturdy and muscular.

I can't absorb Fey apparently...

My name is Chandler, I came into this world 3 weeks ago and grasped the reality of my situation pretty fast, people immediately started helping me as soon as I got here which was probably the reason I felt like I was going to handle this world just fine. Apparently people show up all the time in this world without any previous memory besides their name and how to talk. It seems the arrival of new people is pretty random which means they have people spread around at all times to help any newcomers to this world.

Anyways, I was taught how the basis of the world works, how we stay alive, why we stay alive, etc. And very quickly I found out that I can't absorb Fey. From what I've been told, my existence itself is essentially a rare mutation of how humans should be, and also the fact that this world was not made in mind of those rare mutations. So... I have to kill my food.

There are very few animals around because like I said before this world isn't intended to have people like me in it, so, my days consist of me constantly on the ever increasing search for food. To put it lightly... I hate it. Everyone else just sits around talking to each other while constantly getting the energy they need and more without trying, I hate it-I hate it so much. It's unfair...

'why me?'

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5 months after world generation

(7 weeks after arrival) Chandler.

'I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I absolutely and utterly hate them...' I had that thought way too much.

The feeling of ripping into an animal was normal to me at this point, the others thought it was weird but what else could I do? This world hated me, and only me.

My body was always sore, a feeling no other person in this forest could ever hope to relate to, they were all lazy, or should I say ignorant, they saw no need to run, they saw no need to hide, to trap-... to kill...

To kill? Huh... now that I really think of it I wonder if the others can die the same way as the animals, if their insides look the same as animals?... I'll have to try it at some point, who knows, it could be fun after all...

I stepped into the deep pool of sparkling water, the blood staining my body slowly purging itself from my rough skin. As I continued further into the calm blue body of water I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the water, I grimaced at myself, I didn't really know what it meant to be or look normal but the only thing I could think of when seeing myself in the calm reflection of the water was, 'That's not the look of anyone normal, of anyone who wants to keep living.' I couldn't stop myself from thinking unpleasant thoughts, they just came to me. It turns out that out of all the people in this horrible world, the only one who could really offend me... was me.

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"Are you okay?" As I was sinking into my own thoughts a voice of reason finally pulled me out of my deep mental slumber.

(The 1st and all knowing character) Kaede. Female, fiery red hair that goes down to her waist, summarized body type: Athletic with medium height and size.

It's been 5 months since I was born into this world, and although I never thought things would happen that would actually surprise me and be new, but they did. And I finally started interacting with the other conscious creatures, one by one, starting when Osian started seeing Fey and rapidly continuing from there. And because I started accepting the possibility that I could talk with the other conscious creatures without many big problems I began falling into the position I believe I will hold for quite a while, Teacher of All. I've helped all other new arrivals for the past 2 months, and I slowly gained respect and authority from the others. But just when I thought that I had done well enough, I realized that I was being blind to the truth.

We are people, we are human, not just something simple and logical. And the mutation I've observed for the past-no, the person I've observed for the past month or so has brought a new fear to this calm world, death.

Well, that is of course if he truly is beyond saving, which I hope is not the case.

"Hey, are you okay?" I had followed him up to this point in the shadows, waiting for some sign of a mental collapse that I feared, and he sure was showing them.

He turned to face me, his face still unwashed and covered in dirt and blood, "What do you want from me?..."

"I don't want anything, well that is except for your mental health to improve, you seem to be on the verge of doing something drastic, which I would hate to see." He stared back at me his expression shifting into blank and monotone.

"I don't believe you, your lying, no one cares about me, not even- not even this world..." He was speaking in a very shaky tone, pain filling every word.

I didn't know it at the time but suddenly, in that single moment of despair coming from him something changed, he awakened an innate sense buried deep within him.

He fell to his knees within the shimmering pool, "I don't want to try anymore..."

(The 3rd character) Chandler. Male, light brown hair, almost blonde, summarized body type: sturdy and muscular.

I fell to my knees, letting the lukewarm water consume my lower half, I had officially given up, there was no point. If the world hated me then I would stop being in the world, I was going to let myself starve.

A certain peace washed over me as I accepted defeat, and for some reason the world felt a little warmer, the sky a little brighter, and then I realized that I wasn't just imagining things, I was starting to feel the world differently. My peace quickly turned to confusion as I stood up in the water and tried focusing on my sense of touch to understand why everything started feeling different.

A soft feeling like grass being brushed against my skin started to form on the palm of my hand, instinctively I moved my hand out and away from the strange fuzzy sensation but then as I held my arm still, palm open, the same feeling seemed to land on my palm, as if it had weight to it.

"Excuse me? Are you okay?" Kaede stepped forward with an caring look.

"Probably not, I'm feeling things that aren't there," She immediately became intrigued by what I said.

"By that, what exactly do you mean?" She took a few steps forward to me.

I waved my arm through the air and made brief contact with a variety of different textures, "It's almost like I'm touching different surfaces that aren't there,"

Kaede smiled a little, "Fey can be sensed in many ways, sight, hearing, feeling, smelling, pretty much all five senses besides taste. Awakening one of these senses is rare though, not to mention multiple. But it turns out, that out of all the people to sense Fey in any capacity, it was the mutation that couldn't absorb them."

My eyes widened, "You're saying that I can feel Fey?"

"By all terms of the phrase, yes."

After that, she walked away, and I started to feel a little hope come back to me, strength to keep going, or, it was probably just the smooth marble-like Fey collecting around me as I discovered my new ability.

It was dumb to starve anyways, I mean, who does that kind of thing, right?