Chapter 15 - Oasis

Something Adam had noticed more and more since he left the site of the buffalo herd was the amount of small birds. Unlike the huge man-eating falcons of the beach, these birds were surprisingly earth-like in size and appearance.

To the point that he almost began to think these birds also came from earth like him.

The main distinction was their speed. He was almost sure they used wind magic to fly since they made absolutely no sound and moved in ways that would be impossible on Earth.

It was like the wind didn’t even exist for them as they moved around in seemingly random directions and occasionally swooped down to the ground.

He couldn’t see what they were eating but assumed that they were catching insects. He imagined the awe on the faces of any bird watchers if they could only see them. He began to follow them after they had stopped circling around patches of grass since they mostly went back in the same direction.

He remembered something about following birds when lost in a desert or following a river to find civilization. He didn’t see a river so he stayed with the bird one instead.

This would turn out to be a good decision as the birds did indeed have a great spot in this endless sea of hot yellow grass.

The sun was a lot hotter now with Adam’s higher elevation. He had run out of water and his skin was starting to get red. He would have died of heatstroke or dehydration by now if not for his improved magical physique.

He could go a lot longer without food or water but that didn’t mean he was in good shape right now.

“Who was the absolute moron that thought that not having shoes was a good idea again? Sure I can move better without them in a dense jungle but how the hell am I gonna walk if my feet are melted off?”

He had no idea what his journey would have in store for him but he never imagined it would be a desert of dried grass and boiling hot sandstone. Unlike the hot but soft sand of the beach, this savannah was filled with rough and dry sand and dirt.

He tried his best to walk on the dried grass but the tall grass from the buffalo fields had slowly gotten shorter and shorter to only be the size of normal long grass and in sparse patches too.

The birds all came from this direction so he continued on despite his red and blistering body. Time was stretched into an eternity as nothing was visible to him other than the same grasslands and dirt patches in all directions.

He didn’t know if hours or days or even weeks had passed since he made it up here but his stomach was running on empty now and nothing he encountered so far could be hunted.

The landscape had started to become a little less flat as time went on and small mounds became visible. It gave him hope every time he got to the top of the small hills that he would see something different, like a forest, a river, or even a mountain.

Anything over than the endless repeating scenery would be welcome. He had seen the odd tree standing out in the open but they always looked so barren and withered without any leaves.

The birds had started to appear more and more often, flying at dizzying speeds in the sky above him. Wherever these birds came from, he hoped it was close as he had to take longer and longer breaks to recover his stamina. The lack of shade meant that he couldn’t cool off even when sitting down.

Adam had spent so long walking in this huge desert that he was almost completely on autopilot. It took a long time for Adam’s heat-stricken mind to finally register the sounds in the distance enough to refocus his mind. He finally looked down and noticed that the once-dried and yellow grass was now a more vibrant green. The sounds of birds chirping could be heard in the distance and the air had a cooler sent to it.

The was no wind so he didn’t feel the difference on his skin, but his mouth could taste the water that permeated the air around him. He rushed forward towards the sounds.

It was another small hill that he climbed at record speed. His wish had finally come true as he peered over the small mound to find a large pond with vibrant green grass and trees all over the area.

It was an oasis, and he found it just in time since he was truly at his limit. His mind was still foggy as he used the last of his energy to waddle his way toward the alluring oasis. He didn’t even have enough mental energy left to infuse mana into himself to get there faster.

The birds looked to have made their nests in the tall trees near the pond and passing under those treetops felt like he had died and gone to heaven. Who could have known that a little shade could feel so good?

He continued to stumble his way toward the water's edge and lay on his stomach as he splashed the liquid onto his face and drank as much as he could before letting his whole body slide into the water.

It was as though he was melting with pleasure as his red and burned skin finally got some reprieve from the intense sun. The waterskin attached to his waist was also refilled after he removed the cork. He then drank from the refilled waterskin to properly satiate his thirst.

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His mind started to come back online with every sip of water and the pain his body was in was slightly massaged by the rippling waves his body had formed.

He stayed unmoving in the pond for several minutes as he recuperated from his almost fatal pilgrimage. The water wasn’t deep at all as his head was still sticking out of the water when he was on his knees. It didn’t appear to be a permanent pond but more likely a temporary occurrence.

The trees surrounding this large but shallow pond probably had some role in its creation as their leaves were very vibrant but their trunks looked more like a cactus.

They didn’t have any fruits unfortunately for Adam but considering that the water was considerably dense with mana, they were doing something else. It didn’t heal him when he drank and bathed in it but it was surprisingly cool considering the temperature.

It was only after several minutes of calm recuperation that Adam suddenly thought of crocodiles. He got up with a sudden jerk and jumped out of the pond. He looked around for any sign of life both within the pond and also amongst the trees bordering the water.

To his absolute shock, he wasn't alone. There were of course many different small birds all over the place. But the most surprising and shocking discovery was a huge scaled lizard on the opposite side of the large pond.

His heart jumped a beat when he first noticed it, but he was relieved when the creature's details came into view. It did resemble a crocodile but its jaw wasn't elongated like a crocodile’s.

It was sunbathing next to the pond without a care in the world. It was a grey core and either hadn’t noticed him or it was sleeping. Adam needed food and mana cores and this was his first opportunity for both since his climb.

Despite his confidence in killing it while it slept, he supercharged his mana blade into a weapon of absolute destruction that he sent bearing down on the unsuspecting beast.

An exploded head later and he had himself his first mana core since reaching his core's second grade.

He refrained from absorbing the creature's core since he really did put a lot into that spell and a large amount of his mana core had been emptied. While he waited for it to be refilled, he went to get some of that dried grass for a fire.

Dried grass was great at starting a fire, but not so good at keeping it going. He got as much grass as he could and added branches from the trees in the vicinity. The branches were very wet so he needed to burn a lot of grass around them for them to be able to catch fire, when they eventually did, he had the beginning of a proper campfire and got to work cutting up the carcass while the fire slowly dried out the other branches he had placed close to the fire.

It was ironic that he had to spend all that time and effort to make more heat when he himself had spent the last few days cursing the terrible temperature cooking him alive.

But Adam was adamant not to have a repeat of the raw sloth monster incident.

It took a while to cook the thin slices of meat so when he was done eating, he extracted the mana core from the creature.

Based on his findings about mana cores and their need for a living host to control, he came to understand that he could absorb foreign mana without needing to swallow the core. This wasn't as efficient, as it had to travel across an entire dead carcass before even reaching him but Adam found a compromise.

He placed the grey-colored core on his palm and sent a tendril of mana up his hand to grab some of the stored energies. It worked so much better than when he first discovered he could do this. It wasn't long until the entire core was absorbed but it wasn't nearly enough to advance his own mana core.

Despite his core being grey just like what he had just absorbed, he needed an exponential amount of mana to evolve it. When he had absorbed his first grey core, he was only a black core so the amount of magic in that grey core was incomparable. But now that he too had a grey core, he would need at least ten times that amount for an advancement. And each advancement would require more and more mana per level.

It truly was an exponential requirement and each upgrade has an unmistakable moment where the core actually mutates and changes. He was able to accommodate that change each time it happened but if he hadn't, he was pretty sure it would severely hurt his core and magical capability.

Each advancement seemed to be similar to jumping up a step. If you miss or screw up the landing then the fall could cause serious damage.

Of course, this wasn't something he could test but he had a strong hunch it was true from the instinctual fear he felt when he evolved.

As it stood, a single grey core wouldn't even be enough to replenish his own partially depleted core, since the absorption rate wasn't great and a significant amount simply dissipated back into the atmosphere.

He used the cool and shaded spot to relax his aching and burnt body as he slept for many long hours under the tree cover.

The birds came and left while chirping and bickering amongst themselves every now and then. It was a peaceful moment for Adam who felt like he was back home with the familiar noises.

When he finally woke up, he heard footsteps getting closer and whipped his head around to search for its origin. A large and scaly lizard was approaching him while skirting the pond. He sprang to his feet as he prepared his mana blade spell for battle.

The campfire had died out by now but the body of the grey-cored lizard was still close by. The new lizard might have come to take revenge or simply thought it could have an easy meal. Either way, its careful approach was now proven ineffective so the lizard's body moved up as its legs straightened and it started into a sprint with shocking speed toward Adam.

Despite having just woken up, he sprang into action as he took a step back in surprise at the sudden assault and threw his mana blade toward the lizard.

Its speed and agility didn’t seem possible for its body but it was able to avoid the white blade with ease as it rushed him.

Fear started to creep into Adam's mind as he reached for his blade claw. He didn’t have enough time to conjure a new mana blade so he instead pumped his entire body full of mana and felt his muscles bulge and tighten.

The armored lizard was upon him in seconds as its maw tried to clamp down around his waist. The creature's jaw was similar to a lizard's and it had sharp-looking teeth designed for shredding prey. He moved to the side of the lunging beast and used his claw blade to protect his body from the attack.

The beast twisted its trajectory to follow him and collided with the weapon. It was shockingly powerful and Adam feared he might be outmatched. The other lizard he killed didn’t have a chance to fight back so he had a certain confidence in overwhelming the creature.

That feeling of victory was now well and truly gone as the true power of the lizard's species was on full display. He used his other hand to try and strike the beast but its armored body was very tough.

The lizard tried to reorient and strike again but Adam wouldn’t give it the chance. It was faster and stronger than him so he needed to end things and fast.

Adam kicked the lizard under its jaw in a risky move as the beast was a fraction of a second away from biting down on his foot. The gamble paid off as the creature was flipped over onto its back and Adam jumped at the chance. The moment it got back to its feet, he would lose. He pumped even more mana from his core and gripped the claw blade as hard as he could as he drove it down toward the beast’s skull.

Its skull cracked as the lizard's brain was penetrated by the curved blade. It continued to spasm for a few more moments until its limbs stopped moving and the light faded from its eyes.

Adam fell backward and panted heavily for a few long moments. That thing only got one good attack in but if he hadn’t held it off with the blade then he could have had his stomach ripped open.

The shock of the situation was wearing off and soon a smile plastered Adam's face. He had finally done it.

Adam Hartwell

Mana core: [grey - early - (???)]

??? (???): [???]

Spells:

- [mana sight - refined - common]

- [mana blades - crude - uncommon]

- [enhancement - crude - common]

(???)