Seira was awestruck by what he saw, the view was breathtaking in many ways, the two things that he really felt was that the scenery was amazing and at the same time, dreadful.
He discovered that he was in the center of a circularly shaped platform right in the middle of a clearing within a forest as far as he could tell. It was made out of stone blocks and was intricately designed. It was a rather complex and curious design for something with a diameter of over ten meters. Some lines formed by the layout of the stone platform was made to look like it was spread out towards the circumference from the very center, but at the same time looking as if it was from the outer part of the circle, gathering towards the center on which Seira stood upon. It gave off the feeling that it was not made to look good but was constructed to have purpose and meaning. It even still appeared to be rather clean, as if it was a newly furnished structure that was only finished.
The very platform was rather big, but the surroundings were more astounding, everything around it was pure nature, but a more lively kind than what the young man grew up with. The trees were much larger than the standard from Earth, and the grass and other plants occupy whatever space that the towering trees left empty, only the area starting from a meter from the edge of the stone platform remained unoccupied by plant matter. The air was incredibly fresh, far richer than what he experienced from his old world. What made it livelier than what he was used to seeing was how the creatures he saw around him behaved.
He saw flying creatures, birds, at least twice as large as the biggest birds from back home. Those birds soaring above the tall trees, but then a huge snake lashed out from the treetops with a fast speed snatching a bird from the air causing the others to scatter and fly higher. A rustling sound was heard and the poor bird was never seen again. Down below, along with the ground, Seira saw a rather plump rabbit gnawing on some grass beside a tree. As if following the same fate as the bird earlier, a black panther the size of a man pounced on the rabbit without notice, instantly crushing the windpipe of the rather large critter. It dragged the dead carcass to the bushes after giving Seira a slight glance. The young man noticed it and he felt chills.
"This is way too lively... Too lively indeed."
Assuming that there were no humans that ever came here, this environment is in the truest sense, wild. With no pesky humans disrupting the system, it was a good representation of survival of the fittest. Seira though has arrived, a factor of disruption, that's if he would be able to, with the creatures here that could probably kill him easily, how could he, a human being armed with a weapon he only knew how to use against humans, survive here?
-In all honesty, I should be dead by now.-
Seira thought helplessly, he noticed a number of eyes looking at him from within the forest, predators. They could have just went for him the moment he appeared, but they kept their distance, away from the stone platform.
-Is this platform some sort of safe zone?-
The young man decided to stay still while looking at the surroundings, he silently scanned for anything that would prove useful to him or things that would be lethal to his frail self. This continued on for an hour or so until he gave up, he relaxed his muscles for a moment and then tensed up again. Now he was considering staying here waiting for a miracle, or he would make that miracle himself.
-Though, miracles are miracles because humans can't make them.-
He moved away from the center of the stone platform, towards the edge of it. He then stopped about a meter away from the end of the platform, a meter away from the embrace of nature's deadly embrace. He sat down and started contemplating once again. What should he do? What can he even do here?
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"What is the meaning of life, anyway?"
Seira muttered under his breath, now he was thinking or nonsense. He decided to take action, he weighed his two options, stay, or charge towards his demise. He decided upon the latter, staying within the platform will not guarantee his survival, what if the protection of the platform doesn't work anymore? If it was something that has a time limit, sitting in the middle of it like a sitting duck was just asking to be killed.
-I'm not sure how am I going to make it past a yard away from this thing in one piece.-
He needed a plan, he needs a method to keep himself safe, but he needs to get rid of whatever that would like to kill him. He needed—
Remember kid, I didn't teach you how to wield that weapon to fight like an aggressive idiot, that distance advantage is not just for annoying people, but for luring them over into your...
"Trap, huh."
A slight grin was slowly forming in Seira's face, the young man was feeling all sorts of emotions once he made this realization. He felt helplessness, worry, nostalgia, and for reasons he does not understand—excitement.
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After doing his preparations, which was mostly consisted of convincing himself not to go back on his decision, Seira once again started off into the forest depths. While imagining what kind of hell awaits him there, thoughts about how far he was from his old life resurfaced. Once he executes his crazy plan, there is no turning back, there will likely be no more second chances for him, unlike how it all was back then.
*Sigh*
After a helpless sigh, and a deep breath, resolution grew within his eyes. He took a step, then another, until he passed the edge of the stone platform that kept him safe from the wrath of nature. He had done it, he had stepped out, he felt anxiety, even fear, but exhilaration was mixed along with those emotions. Strange enough, he had likened the feeling of walking out of your comfort zone.
*Rustle* *Rustle*
-Ugh, damn, what the hell did I get myself into.-
Rustling came from one of the nearest bushes on the edge of the forest, followed by more rustling from almost every single direction. Seira grew restless, his eyes darting back and forth from wherever location he heard those noises. It was at that moment, he had a close and uncomfortable encounter with death.
*Roar*
A black panther pounced out from within the foliage towards the frail human. In the beast's eyes, the new intruder was an easy prey, although strange, and will not be of any threat to it. With great ferocity it aimed its sharp claws at Seira's chest, intending to knock him down and rip off his throat. Contrary to its expectations, however, the young man moved his body to the side and deftly stabbed the naginata toward the creature's neck. Due to the panther's size, the neck wound was not completely fatal but was only a serious would. A deafening pained cry came out of its mouth, while huge amounts of blood gushed out from the wound as it tumbled across the dirt beside the young man. Seira doubts it would die easily from blood loss, but it will be incapacitated.
-Tsk, it may be only an oversized panther, but it is still big, no way this thing would pierce all the way through, I'm human for fuck's sake.-
But before he could even move to finish it off, seven more panthers jumped out from the forest intending to kill the lone human that incapacitated one of their kind. Several roars ranged out within the area, making Seira's heart tremble. With surprising coordination, they gave no chance for Seira to even counter, gritting his teeth, he retreated towards the platform, hoping that the next stage of his suicidal plan to work. He dodged the attacks by a hair's breadth, with each passing swipe making him feel that his lifespan has been decreased by a year.
-This better work, else, I'm cat food.-
The black panthers once again jumped for another pounce but at this moment, Seira was only a few inches away from the stone platform. He nosedived towards the platform, with the panthers already in the air after him. He landed painfully on the cold hard stone floor. In front of his eyes, he saw the oncoming figures of several black beasts heading his way. They were going to land on him if his plan doesn't work, he is truly done for.
"Aaaah, Shit, Shit!"
He desperately inched backward using his hand while lying on the platform facing the panthers. The moment the creatures passed beyond the edge of the stone platform, their eyes grew dull, their bodies became still as if they had immediately died. Seira had seen the change, his plan had worked, but to his joy the bodies still fell towards his direction, directly burying him beneath the panthers' carcasses. He hit his head on the cold hard stone, and his vision slowly darkened.
-Motherfu...-