Chapter 6 - The hunt

Predators have existed since time immemorial, ever since life became multicellular. Billions of years ago, life developed its first food chain, predators that preyed on other living beings for their own survival and growth. This holds true even more so now in this alien world. Mana is the path to higher power here, predators have always and will always kill for power. If every beast has mana, hunting and devouring them is not only a necessity for survival, but it also carries the promise of greater strength. Adam was well aware that he was weak compared to the creatures of this world. He may have lucked into getting a middle-grade mana core but he sure as hell didn’t earn it with his “superior strength”. Just because he was made stronger with magic doesn’t mean he’s moved up the food chain. Even if he was the strongest bug in the world, what could that possibly do against an elephant?

But Adam was determined not to stay a bug. He was never given an easy hand in life and he sure as hell never gave up back then so how is this any different? Sure, he’s been tossed into a strange world of unimaginable terrors and death lurking around every corner, but he’s still alive and he even got his own magic for shit’s sake. He isn’t going to die here. He won’t allow it. He will use his new power and carve out a place for himself here. He will unlock the secret of magic and find others. He has no real desire to return to Earth but he instead wants answers. About how he got here, about magic, about what it can truly do, and everything there is to know about it. He wants to find a civilization that was built on magic and he wants to know what they have found out. He had so many questions but nowhere to start finding answers. “Is this jungle home to some kind of intelligent race waiting to emerge, like the first prehistoric humans who lived in Africa, or are there continents on this world that are occupied by alien civilizations? If this island is only one of many then maybe there might be many other treasures like the coconut hearts that can help me get stronger.”

He spent a long time pondering his next steps after eating the bladed mana beast and extracting its core. He pushed it over the cliff away from the ledge he needed to climb to get up so as to not invite any predators to his cave again. Adam was still wearing his T-shirt and boxershorts while staring down at the small black pebble in his hand. He had got it from the chest of the mana beast but didn’t know how best to use it. He assumed other beasts would simply swallow it and absorb the dense mana inside as he did with its flesh. But Adam wasn’t so sure that that was the best option. When he breathed in, mana from the air entered his lungs and was immediately absorbed by his core to replenish it. However, when his core was full, the mana wasn’t sucked in anymore. It was like his core was ignoring it. Now that he had control over his magic, he tried to force his core to keep absorbing the mana as he attempted to manually pour it into his core. He was able to send it down without a problem but it never entered his core and instead simply floated around it. He couldn’t figure out how to advance his core mana capacity if it wouldn’t let him forcibly expand it to grow it. He thought back to the coconut fruit and how it worked on his core back then, but he was sure that only worked since it had to be some kind of natural treasure with healing properties. How were the other beings of this world growing and nurturing their cores?

Maybe it had to do with the density of mana. The air had plenty of mana but it wasn’t in the correct state. There is no point in drinking water vapers but you can eat ice and drink water, the form the mana had before being absorbed must be the key. Adam finally decided to just eat the beast core he had been holding in his hand and hoped for the best. He watched the white lump of light slide down into his stomach. His core reacted more than expected as tendrils of his mana began to spread across his pathways and toward the lights. It was being digested at a visible rate, his core seemed to pulsate each time the pulses retracted back to the core with the mana payload. This was definitely different from absorbing the mana from his lungs. His black core seemed to look like a black liquid as it moved and flowed within itself. It began to grow and its color was a lot less dark than before. It had finished absorbing after only a few seconds, which was a surprise but he didn't feel any changes. Adam opened his status to confirm his fear.

Adam Hartwell

Mana core: [black - middle - (???)]

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

Spells: [ - ]

(???)

As expected, nothing had changed enough to be called an upgrade. But he knew that it had grown, so it was only a matter of absorbing more cores until he can upgrade. He needed more concentrated mana, and cores were his best option. The only trouble was that he wouldn't be able to stumble upon dead creatures with their cores intact, he would have to hunt them. Adam was no longer bare-handed and confused in this strange world. He now has a weapon and a mission to focus on. Find and hunt mana beasts to upgrade his core. He simply needed the right targets. Adam was also eager to test out something new he had been working on.

Many hours had passed but time seemed to stay still in this place. The now blue island was still enveloped in a light fog that was illuminated by the bright and shiny rings in the sky. Adam was on the hunt for something small that he could take on. He was making his way back to where he found the dead beast hours earlier in hopes of finding its kin. He guessed he could probably best one of them. Or at least, out of all the monsters he had encountered so far, they seemed the weakest. The jungle was as loud as ever so he actively stayed away from the loudest noises and instead focused in on a group of sneering noises not too far from where he got the mana beast. He came upon a section of forest that had rather distinct trees. They looked rather like palm trees, except with a deep blue trunk that looked a lot thicker than any earthly palm tree. What caught his eye though, was the green pear-shaped fruit dangling from the treetops. It was far too high to reach but was likely what that sloth beast lived off. He continued deeper into this part of the forest as the sneers now sounded really close. Every tree was a big fruit tree now and while checking the treetops, he saw his first target. It was just like the one he ate, only with a smaller frame and bluish fur instead of grey. It was hanging upside down and using its bladed forearms to delicately slice into the fruit, before sucking them dry of their juices. Adam couldn't help the grin on his face since his theory was proven right. It hadn't noticed him yet but Adam had no way to get to it either. The creature was well over 20 meters up the tree and he didn't like his odds of throwing his blade claw. The idea was replaced with a simpler one. Adam looked around and found a rock the size of his palm. It wasn't that heavy in his hand actually but he would still have a hard time hitting the beast with it. Currently, the beast was silently sucking on a fruit, oblivious to the danger below. Deciding now was his time, Adam activated his core and started pumping mana across his pathways and into all his muscles. He focused on that sensation of strength as his muscles tightened and we're empowered. Once he was sure he had grasped it, he focused it all into his right arm and suppressed a wince as his arm lit up with power but also felt as though it was burning. His arm visibly expanded as his veins looked as though they would separate from his skin. When he couldn't hold it anymore, he threw the rock with all his might at the unmoving creature and hoped it would work.

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What Adam was not expecting was for the creature's entire head to explode on impact, sending chunks of flesh falling to the ground with a sickening splat. Its legs were twitching uncontrollably as spasms in the thing’s body painted the jungle floor in a milky pink color. Stunned by the events, Adam barely registered the panicked sounds of its fellow beast hiding somewhere amongst the trees. He even forgot about the pain in his right arm for a moment. “What the fuck was that?” Adam had expected to make it lose its grip and fall to the ground where he could then finish it off but now he was simply confused about how this happened. Was it just a youngster who didn't possess a mana core yet? Has he really become this strong? Or had his trick of packing his body with mana really been that effective? He was broken out of his thoughts as the sound of steps echoed behind him. He turned to see nothing there, but then he heard the air above him and dived out of the way. Where he had been mere minutes ago was a large sloth creature staring at him with murder in its eyes. Clutching the weapon in his hand, Adam tightened his grip and moved to block the diagonal slash aimed at his stomach. The creature was down on the ground now so its mobility was crap. It did however have a surprising amount of strength for it's short size and almost knocked the claw blade out of Adam's hand. Adam once again pushed mana from his core but instead of forcing it all into a single limb, he pushed it all around his body. Time seemed to slow slightly as he avoided the beast's second swing aimed at his left leg this time. He stepped to the side and in a dizzying motion, punched the thing in its ugly upside-down face. His entire body was reinforced with mana but the hit wasn't as destructive as with the rock. The creature on the other hand didn't escape unscathed, as it was sent several meters away with its neck bent at an awkward angle. Adam wasn't too familiar with its abilities and seized the opportunity to finish it off with a quick stab in the neck to be safe.

By now, the entire group seemed to have decided not to attack, since witnessing their buddy exploding, and another's swift death after it’s failed sneak attack. This decision suited Adam just fine as he cut open the sloth's chest to extract the core. It was bigger than the first one he ate but not as developed as his. He had no pocket to put it in and didn't want to eat it here in case of some complication he couldn't foresee. He moved over to the other dead sloth. Or at least what was left of it. The damage was mainly limited to its head, or lack thereof since even its skull seemed to have been shattered and lay on the ground mixed with his blood and brain matter. He hesitantly cut into its chest but couldn't see anything where a core would be. Feeling a little bad about the whole thing, Adam decided that this could be enough for today. He grabbed the corpse of the stronger sloth with his left arm and moved the beast's core to his right. He would save this beast to use as a source of emergency food. He left the now silent group of sloths hiding somewhere amongst the treetops and went to get himself a new fridge.

If this jungle had plenty of one thing, then that would be leaves. Big leaves, small leaves, diamond-shaped, oval-shaped... The only thing they have in common is their blue-green color. This meant that Adam had plenty to pick from. He found a few nice big leaves on his stroll back home. He didn't dare stand out in the open anymore. The giant birds seemed to be a lot more active now and had a clear sight of the beach. Instead, he kept to the treeline and followed along the beach back to the cliff. He stopped several times to wrap his emergency food in the large leaves and used the blade claw to cut those smaller green vines he had such a hard time with before. The result was a bluish-colored mummy of vines and leaves the size of a child in his arms as he walked the final stretch to the cave. Once there, he stored it in the back and sat down to absorb the core. He had washed it in a small pond he found while looking for the right leaves and figured it would be more hygienic to wash it before he ate it. The thoughts of that raw carcass he was forced to eat resurfaced but he put it aside along with the gut-churning sensation that followed. Right now, he had to upgrade his core and figure out just how much stronger he had gotten. The fight, if you can call it that, was a huge confidence boost to Adam, who until now assumed everything was stronger than him. But was that really the case? Sure, the sloth didn't have the advantage in the fight nor any time to properly react, but he could probably still kill them without issue If they didn't gang up on him.

He ate the black core and watched as it was once again devoured by the black hole in his center. Just like before though, the core was being changed and growing but it wasn't enough. He needed stronger, or simply more of those small black things. Not wanting to be disappointed by an underwhelming hunt, he instead focused on his new ace. The mana strengthening he used to kill that young sloth. It was only logical that he could do this since his core passively strengthened his body with mana, so why not manually do so for temporary boosts of power? His arm was fine now but having forced more mana that he could comfortably control into his arm had stretched his pathways, making his arm feel like he had fire in his veins. It didn't last too long though since he only boosted for less than a second. What was the real issue was that he reactivated his mana boosting when being attacked by the monkey. Pushing even a reasonable amount of mana back into the damaged arm was what caused the worst of the pain. Luckily it was only short-lived since his pathways seemed to recover rapidly allowing Adam to further experiment with boosting and be able to hunt something more rewarding than small sloth monsters. Until now, he had only used bursts of mana to strengthen himself, but he instead tried to continuously circulate mana around his entire body for as long as possible. It felt strange at first, like something itchy slithering just under his skin. He watched as his core continuously released mana and his body continued to be infused and reinforced. It wasn't anywhere as effective as the concentrated bust but it was great for discovering where his pathways were located. His body seemed to be filled with white veins of flowing energy in his mind's eye. His core simultaneously absorbed more mana to compensate for the expenditure since every time it arrived at his muscles, some of the mana dissipated and left his control. After following the path his energy was taking to circulate around his body, something else stood out to him. He immediately pushed his mana back into his body and instead sent a burst straight to the palm of his hand.

Adam had always wished he could go around conjuring and throwing fireballs, and today may be the day as what he had just noticed was that his palm was the end of his pathways in his arm. It seemed like the end of the road for his magic since it dissipated once it got there. Adam focused all his attention on his palm and tried to send a long stream of mana to form a ball of magic in his palm. It was like trying to make a snowball without being able to touch it directly though. The result was a congealment of energy that looked like a ball of liquid light flowing in slow motion. It didn't emit any light actually but it was a very strong white. He couldn't control it easily when it left his pathways and floated above his palm, but he was somehow able to keep it together anyway. He didn't dare stop pumping it with more mana since it was dissolving at a visible rate. Adam tried to grab it in his hands but it wasn't a physical object, only a ball of energy. He wondered how he could launch it when another idea came to him. Mana is an interesting energy since it seems to obey his commands if he uses mana from his core. He can move it around and make it have all kinds of effects. It can strengthen his body and sharpen his mind like back against the sloth monster, but it could also act as a magnet to grab and drag down foreign mana he couldn't control as well. Taking inspiration from that, Adam cut the ball's supply of mana from his core and instead imagined his hand slapping the ball away. He built up a large amount of mana in his hand, but not to reinforce it this time. He angled his hand to be sticking straight out in front of him and to face the now dying ball of white energy. Then with a mental command, he willed his mana to push it away. His stored mana burst from his arm, sending the ball flying out of the cave entrance and pushing his arm back from the recoil. His muscles weren't hurt though, since the magic he released was only traveling along his pathways and they had become a lot tougher and wider ever since he almost died trying to upgrade his magic core. They had been stretched and stressed so much that day that they let him push far more mana into them than before. The result was a burst of pure magic power that launched the energy ball like a bullet into the distance. He had done it, a magic blast spell. He didn't need to check his status to know that it was of extremely poor quality, but now that he knew how to do it, it was only a matter of time and mana until he got it working. He had used up about two-thirds of his core to make it work so minimizing his expenditure was his first priority. He had so much to do and test, what effect would it have on a living creature? Could he use those bursts to fly or at least increase how far he could jump? So many ideas and questions were swirling around his mind. He had a lot of work to do and many targets to test on. Adam stepped out for the second time today since he would have to find something bigger to hunt now. After all, no risk, no reward. But first, he needed to do a little bit of arts and crafts in preparation.