Chapter 13 - Purpose
The island was fairly flat for the most part. There were elevated sections of the jungle but nothing too uneven. The only barriers he had encountered within the jungle were the series of ever-larger hills close to the pond and the giant natural wall that sectioned off the jungle. His goal was to climb over the large hills near the pond and discover what lay beyond. It didn’t take him long to make his way back to the pond but climbing over the many overlaying hills was a different story.
The first hill seemed to be made of simple dirt and was the same as the rest of the jungle with many plants and trees. Once he made it to the top of that first hill, he saw that this was only the first step towards his goal as an entire mountain of overlapping hills lay before him. The higher he climbed, the more rock he started to see. Unlike the stone cliffs, this huge mountain of superimposed hills was as equal parts large as it was tall. From his previous vantage on the beach, he wasn’t able to see any large mountains or other landmarks in the distance, the jungle was too tall and thick but that was obviously false since he had spent the better part of six hours climbing one hill after another.
There were many trees and tall plants all around him so he couldn’t properly tell how far up he had gone. His legs were aching from his constant uphill journey and Adam decided to rest for a bit. The trees were different from those near the beach as they didn’t resemble the typical large palm trees he would see down at the beach. This tree had more branches and they were low enough that he could reach them. He hadn’t seen any wildlife on his way up but this terrain extended far into the horizon so the was a high likelihood that some mana beasts were native to these hills just like those sloth monsters that inhabited the peer-producing fruit trees near the beach.
He was moving higher and deeper into the unknown of the island since he could no longer even see the ocean from his higher vantage point. This was the furthest he had ever gone into the island and he was quite nervous, to say the least. Despite the many hours that had passed, he was still on high alert for predators lurking on the steep incline. Now and then, the steep hill would flatten out into a flourishing forest or meadow.
The hills acted like giant rounded steps with a new dominant group of vegetation on every step. Sometimes a certain tree would be dominant or sometimes there were almost no trees and simply grass and bushes. The higher he went the less recognisable the plants would be to him. He was currently resting on a patch of grass surrounded by what looked like fruit trees. They looked very earth-like in their shape but the green trunk didn’t let him forget that this wasn’t Earth. The fruits appeared to be some sort of grapefruit in both appearance and surprisingly, taste.
Adam used his mana blade to cut down a few of the largest fruits with ease. He was glad to have his new spell, as his legs needed rest, and climbing the tall trees would have been too annoying. He had been using mana enhancement on himself intermittently. Mainly focusing his magic on his feet since he didn’t want to deplete his magic reserve too much in case he ran into something he would need to fight. The fruits were nice and refreshing but nothing magical. He couldn’t sense any mana in them so the broccoli tree was probably a very rare phenomenon. He was about to continue his climb when he heard a rustling in the bushes quite a distance to his right.
The somewhat flat area he was sitting on didn’t extend all over. This wasn’t like some sort of pyramid with a sure and defined platform on every level. The terrain was very bumpy and unmarked. He hadn’t been walking in a straight line up the hills but had snaked his way to avoid large stone outcroppings and other natural obstacles like dense forests and unstable ground. As a result, he hadn’t been aware of the situation beyond the large trees and dense rock and vegetation to his right. He had written it off as a natural obstacle and had planned to skirt around the patch of fruit tree and up onto the less dense path that led higher up the hill.
The noise he had heard came from that dense and uneven terrain he had until now ignored. What emerged from the bush was what looked to be a sort of Ferret or Weasel. It had a black fur coat and white around its eyes, chin, and belly. Adam and the small dog-sized creature locked eyes and each examined the other. The creature had no fear in its eyes but rather an intelligent gleam. It looked at the fruit on the ground and back up at Adam then cocked its head. Adam wasn’t sure what to do.
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It didn’t seem to be dangerous and his mana sight told him it was likely only a black core. He simply awkwardly stood there and stared at the cute creature. He had no thoughts of attacking it nor did he think it would attack him. After seeing it look back down at the fruit on the floor, Adam decided to see if the cute thing wanted his grapefruit. He didn’t want to scare it away so he moved slowly and threw a small chunk of the fruit halfway between him and the Weasel. He stepped back and raised his hands as he gestured for the thing to take it.
The creature hesitated for a few seconds before carefully moving to eat the tossed fruit. It ate the piece of fruit in the blink of an eye and looked expectantly back over to Adam. For the first time in a long time, Adam smiled and let all his fear and dread wash away as he watched the cute weasel. Over the next few minutes, he would give the creature more and more fruit as he got closer and closer. Eventually, he reached over and lightly caressed the weasel's black-coated fur. It didn’t seem to mind at all as it feasted on the already cut and peeled grapefruit on the ground.
It was like a pet, completely unbothered by the human stroking it. Adam thought back to the cat he had as a child when his mother was alive. It too was a black and white furball that let him snuggle it whenever he got back from kindergarten. The memory of his happy youth before his mother's passing acted like a burst dam as all the emotions he had been working so hard to suppress suddenly came pouring out.
He thought about his mother's warmth and his father's stupid jokes. His father became more distant as time went on but Adam knew it was because losing his mother broke him. He thought about his friends at school that he hadn’t spoken to in years. He had isolated himself in his later teen years and took up drinking at an early age. He remembered his whole life and realized how stupid he was for wasting it. He never tried to make friends or travel the world. The only person who would know he was missing was his landlord when the rent was due.
Sitting down next to the cute weasel, he remembered his crappy life choices and regretted how he always tried to isolate himself when things got tough. He never would have thought that he would miss seeing another person's face. He used to actively avoid people even when working, but now he was alone with no one to talk to.
His eyes were watering from the sudden overload of memories but it was bound to happen. He had been repressing his emotions and focusing on one goal or the other. His magic was a great source of distraction. But admitting he can’t ever go back to Earth and facing the truth that despite his new powers, it wouldn’t change anything was what he had tried desperately to avoid.
Aam spent a few long minutes simply thinking everything over in his mind while occasionally stroking and feeding the weasel. When it stopped eating, he got to his feet and watched it gently stroll back the way it came. Adam couldn’t help but smile at the adorable little thing. He had long since associated this world with death and horror, even the tree that grew healing fruits and first gave him magic was actually a monster of death. The giant centipede, huge ambush lizard, and flying death birds were all capable and willing to devour him without a second thought.
But that isn’t all that this world has, it has a beautiful sky that lights up the world even at night. Its plants are quite literally magical and produce all sorts of exotic fruits. Some of the creatures are predators but others are herbivorous and live off the plants and fruits. Just because this world has dangers doesn’t mean it isn’t also an amazing opportunity. The only thing left on Earth for him was sad memories and regrets.
However he got here and for whatever reason, he was the first person to set foot on an alien planet and it has forever changed him. He has developed a magic core and even formed his own spells. He had to believe that civilization existed somewhere in this world. It was already so similar to Earth with trees and animals that having intelligent life capable of forming civilizations was a real possibility.
“If I suddenly woke back up on earth, what would I think?
I guess I would want to come back here…”
With his mind made up once and for all, Adam moved on with a new determination on his face. No longer would he occupy his mind with magic research in order to avoid thinking about home. Now he will explore and discover everything there is to know about this place including finding any traces of potential civilization. He would do this because he wants to know, this is his calling in life.
He finally found a purpose for the first time in his life. One that would make his mother proud and that he is genuinely obsessed with. His problem-solving and adventuring traits would be put to full use as he explores where no man has ever gone before. Adam was no longer a victim of a bizarre event but was now a pioneer in this new world and would continue on with his first steps into magic.