English is not my first language, so comment on any mistakes.

I have some lame attempts at jokes and a little sarcasm, and if they are to bad, I can remove them.

I do not know how to make the tables that many authors use, so if anyone knows, please tell me.

The panels Survivor and Elemental Magic were supposed to be green, and i will try to fix that when i know how to.

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When your body is forced beyond exhaustion, it can take days for the muscles to heal completely, and you finally feel rested. After I fell asleep, I have no idea exactly how many days I slept. I only know for sure that it was more than one day, since I could feel the thirst and hunger tear at me. That takes time to come. Still, I can just say honestly that I have never ever, under any circumstances slept as well as I did this time, even though I was dehydrated and hungry when I woke up. I used to sleep pretty badly, but now I felt better than in many years. I could feel that I was lying on a few roots and maybe a stone or two, but it was surprisingly comfortable to lie on. Almost like a soft massage. I had yet to open my eyes, since I really didn`t want to wake up just yet. It felt so good to be asleep. It was an addictive feeling. It must feel a little like this when you take drugs.

When I finally managed to force my eyes open, I took a deep yawn while I stretched my back. The light invaded my vision faster than a rocket. It felt like I was looking through a thick haze at first, and nothing was truly clear at first sight. When I finally came to my senses, I noticed the green panel that hovered before my eyes. It is always quite the surprise to see something you don`t expect, but this only left me with confusion and a little fear.

What is this? was the only thought I could think as I slowly read the green panel.

Survivor

You are one of the last specimen of your species, and come from a civilisation that was destroyed. As one of the few survivors, you will get an ability that will help you in this world, and give you a chance to survive even the strongest creatures if you train.

Reward:

Elemental Magic (Unique Ability)

No! I thought. This cannot be real!

I had to be hallucinating, or maybe I was still asleep and dreaming. This wasn`t a part of reality. It couldn`t be. Magic didn`t exist, much less green, floating screens that just pops up in your vision. Soon after the blue panel disappeared, I gathered the strength I had in my hand. It was not much, but I certainly felt the pain when I slapped myself. I had to check if I was awake, but I did not wake up from a dream. I only felt pain.

This isn`t reality. I tried to convince myself once more.

I slapped myself once more on the same cheek, leaving it red and pulsing. Just as a precaution,, I pinched my arm as well. It hurt much more than last time. I didn`t wake up this time either. That only left me with one explanation that I had to accept, even if I didn`t want to.

I`m awake.

When I sat up, there was almost no sounds at all around me, except for a few birds singing up in the trees and a few insects. No more cars or traffic. It felt like it was still pretty early in the morning, but I could not be entirely sure. I had no proof to support it. Looking around me, I let my surrounding glide through my vision. When I felt like I was lying on some roots, I couldn’t have been more right. It was roots almost everywhere on the ground, with loads of plants and bushes sticking up everywhere. I would say you would have to be a really lucky man to not lie on a root out here in the forest. The trees were of sizes I had never seen before with my own eyes, and some surpassed what I had imagined I would ever see. The air was warm and moist. It was almost like … well, it was a tropical forest that grew out of the ground in a few days. That happens, like, all the time.

As I sat there and took it all in, I saw there were no immediate threat to my survival nearby. I had to check out what that green screen meant. If I truly had elemental magic, maybe I had a little chance of survival if I became really good at it.

I tried many different methods to find out how to get that screen back up again. I sat there for at least half an hour and tried to make it come back, while my stomach grumbled, deliberately trying to sabotage for me. I had tried so many advanced combinations. I had even tried pronouncing it in many weird ways. I had jumped to the conclusion that it was something advanced or uncommon, and thereby I had not even tried one of the most simple and logical methods of them all: Think of it. When I thought of the elemental magic, the panel popped up while I hated myself for being stupid and ignorant.

Skill Name             Skill Rank        Skill Level                 Skill Experience

Elemental Magic     Unique Skill       Beginner Level 1         0,00 %             

Effects

You can use the rare ability of magic to manipulate the elements

(???)

(???)

Available Sub-skills

Flare

Water

Stone

Air

I almost couldn`t believe what I read

If this is true, and not and hallucination from dehydration, then this could help me immensely. I thought as I imagined me shooting great blasts of fire from my fists. It would be an amazing ability, and could help me a lot at the same time. In this world, I still didn`t know much, so with this I could get an understanding on some questions. I walked away from the most compact areas of plants to a more open area, planning to try a blast of fire. If this was what I thought, fire would shoot from my hands. Flare, I thought as I pushed my fist forward. Expecting an immense heat from the fire, I turned my face away and closed my eyes to avoid the heat. I stood there for at least 10 seconds, waiting, but the heat never came. Confused, I looked at my fist, until I finally understood.

Stolen story; please report.

“No!” I screamed out louder than I had in a long time. I had hoped this would help me, but the fire was just almost the size of my thumb. My thumb! It was so small and tiny. The heat was nothing compared to what I hoped. I almost reached despair just by realising this.

If you scream in a jungle, things will always happen. You attract attention from many creatures. You don`t want that in a jungle. After my scream, it became quiet. It was like I muted a television. Not the calming kind of quiet, but the creepy and scary one. No birds sang anymore. Insects did almost not make any sounds. So many eyes were in my direction. I could feel it.

Even though humans have lived in a pretty safe society for a very long time, we still have most of our old instincts. That creepy feeling that makes you think that someone is staring at you. It exists, and it can work very well. I feel it right now. I could feel hostility directed at me. I felt threatened. The need to escape came over me. I wanted to get out of the forest. I desired to get out of this place more than anything else. If I stayed here, I felt like I could die. I didn`t want that. Without a single sound, my body turned around and I ran. I ran as if I had never done anything else my whole life. My feet felt like an unlimited source of energy, pulsing with it. It wouldn`t become empty.

Adrenaline, I thought. It was almost like they flooded over with energy, and I could barely keep it from drizzling over the edge. I pushed through bushes, ran over roots and dodged some of the larger stones. The environment made it tricky for me to run, but I pushed on. I pressed my limits once more. I could see an area clear of the forest, where it was only stone not far from me. I was less than 10 meters away when something hit me in the back. Pain arched through my body as I rolled over the big roots on the ground. When I finally stopped, I couldn`t lay still another moment. Something was hunting me, and it just got me to the ground. If I didn`t move, it would certainly go for the kill. I rolled over once more, to see two black paws hit the place where my head was only a few instants ago. They disappeared up in the air again once more, going for an attack, but this time I was prepared. I was lying on my back this time, and the moment I saw the paws coming for me, I managed to grab them. Seconds later, a snarling head came towards me. It was the head of a black cat, with deep, yellow eyes. It could’ve been a panther, if they still existed. It was barely a few centimetres away from my head. My arms were just long enough to keep it away. They were also pulsing with adrenaline as I held the heavy weight of the animal above me.

It could not be among the smartest animals in this forest, since it didn`t change the method it used. The cat seemed to depend on its weight and was merely waiting for me to give up and let myself be eaten. It didn`t think I could find a way out of the situation. Sadly for the cat, I already had one. The only problem was I wouldn`t manage to kill it, but it was the best I had, since I wouldn`t be killed either.

In one last effort, I let go of its paws and went for its throat. Most animals would go for the kill when they take the throat, so when I only punched it, I left the animal confused and struggling to breathe properly. My legs wrapped around its stomach in moments, and my hands went around its neck while my head went beside the cats in a position where it couldn`t harm me. I had it in a bear hug, neutralizing its ability to attack me. When the cat realised the purpose behind my actions, it let out many pitiful moans as it tried to get me off. The hissing didn`t help either as I knew I was safe as long as I held tight. I, Jack, a mere human, had left a natural predator in an almost immobile state. It didn`t lose its motivation before the time passed 2 hours. Less force was put in its movements, and soon after it didn’t move at all. I held on, fearing it could be faking until I heard the soft sound of snoring from the cat. It had fallen asleep. That was when I finally let go.

I was unbearably hungry right now, but I couldn`t make myself kill the cat, even if it tried to kill me. It only did what it had to, and if I killed it, I was just as bad. So, I simply walked away from there. I finally reached the barren area of rock, which turned out to be a cliff. When I was almost on the edge, I found a small path. It was visibly more used than I had expected it to be, and it was not animals this time. This was human tracks. All the paths in the forest were only slightly used by animals. I followed the path, and found a cave hiding under the edge of the cliff. Another human did sadly not inhabit it, but empty. It was dry, so I decided I would stay the night.

I was very hungry, and had still not found a source of water. That was when I remembered my water magic. If it worked as I hoped it would, I would have an unlimited source of water. The only thing that could go wrong, was that it worked at another intensity than the fire spell, and flooded the cave. Still I was willing to take the risk.

Water! I thought as tested the spell. A thin stream flowed from my hand, and started to float in the air. It was cold, and moved as I willed it. It was a rather funny experience to manipulate the water into my mouth as my spell made it into a solid, yet liquid state. After I had finished drinking, I prepared for the night. I got out of the cave and gathered some of the plants at the edge of the forest to make a fire, so I wouldn’t freeze to death over the night. It was quite wet, but my fire spell made it burn rather quickly. After that, I went to sleep.