The night had passed by in a blur of half-consciousness and nightmares. Every rustle in the leaves and snap of a twig had jolted me awake. But eventually, fatigue overcame me and I fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the silence. The birds had not yet begun to sing and the forest was still shrouded in darkness. I rubbed my bleary eyes and sat up, feeling a mix of confusion and relief.

Everything felt further away now. It still hurt, but much less. No flashing images of bodies, no listening to their last cries over and over. Just blessed Silence.

I took a deep breath. The forest air felt good. It was cool and smelt of earth and wood.

I knew that the trauma of witnessing those deaths would stay with me forever. But it wouldn't control me.

With positive thoughts in my mind I set out to do something I hadn't done in a long time. Not since college. I sat down to meditate. Not the kind of meditation where you sit in some awkward position and chant ohms. That never worked for me.

Instead I found a comfortable spot against the rough bark of the tree trunk, making sure to adjust my body until I was comfortable. I began with a series of gentle breaths, inhaling and exhaling in a slow and rhythmic pattern. Gradually, I increased the intensity of my breathing, switching to quick and forceful exhales that helped to release any tension in my body.

The breaths were supposed to deprive the brain of oxygen. I heard. Though honestly I didn't really know. A friend showed me that method, and it worked well enough to relax me. I hoped it would help me keep my cool in this world.

As I continued to focus on my breathing, I felt my mind starting to relax. The worries and fears that had been haunting me for the past few days began to fade away, replaced with a sense of inner calm. I closed my eyes and let myself sink deeper into the moment, feeling the cool air of the forest and the rough texture of the bark against my skin.

I felt my muscles loosen up, and my thoughts drifted away. It was at this point that I felt a strange sensation wash over me. At first, it was a subtle feeling, barely noticeable, but as I focused on it, it grew stronger.

I delved deeper into this sensation, trying to figure out what it was. I soon realized that it was a kind of energy flowing through me, an energy that I had never felt before. It was like a current of power that coursed through my veins, pulsating with every beat of my heart.

I watched this energy with my inner eye, transfixed by its purple hue. It seemed to flow through my body, following the pathways of my veins and arteries.

Without really knowing why, I was compelled to pick up a nearby leaf. It was soft between my fingers as I inspected it closely. With the purple haze flowing through my body, I instinctively willed a small part of it to enter the leaf. At first, nothing seemed to happen, and I began to wonder if I was wasting my time. But the longer I focused on the leaf, the more I felt the energy building within it. Slowly, the edges of the leaf began to take on a purplish hue.

As I watched, transfixed, a sudden burst of energy flowed over the leaf, causing it to disappear from my hand. For a moment, I panicked, thinking that I had destroyed the leaf entirely. But as I looked closer, I saw that it was still there, only now it was almost invisible to the naked eye. The once vibrant green leaf had been transformed, imbued with a new energy that seemed to be emanating from it. Only a light purple sheen could be seen from it.

Magic

It had to be right?

Nothing else it could be. Also that night elf description said something about magic. Also Essence. With a thought I called up my status.

Name: Alexander Kovács Race: Human Hybrid (Night Elf) Strenght: 9 (+5)

Agility: 17 (+5)

Dexterity: 12 (+5)

Endurance: 6 (+5)

Constitution: 5 (+5)

Essence: 10 (+5)

Affinities:

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Purple:

Stage: Awakening

There is was! The whole Affinities tab hadn't been there before. Somehow what I'd done had unlocked it.

Suddenly another transparent notice appread below my status.

Congratulations! You have discovered your affinity and taken a first step exploring the mysteries of the purple haze. Count yourself lucky, only 239 have discovered their affinity before you!

Another awfully cryptic message. Didn't even tell me what a bloody affinity was. Not that I expected anything else from this system. I tried expanding the affinities tab, and wasn't surprised when nothing happened.

One thing I noted was how I was apparently one of the earlier contestants discovering my affinity. Which, on the one hand made happy. On the other hand though, I couldn't help but find it odd how they phrased it. "Count yourself lucky", seemed to imply bad luck for the people who hadn't yet unlocked anything.

Whatever this system was, it had quite a hands off approach to everything here. I was excited regardless. Like many others I'd always wished to be capable of the extraordinary. The circumstances might be different than what I had imagined, but hey. It was still magic. Also, since the system refused to give me any information about it I would just have to experiment.

Slighty giddy at that thought, I started practicing my new power.

As I tested out my new abilities, I found that the power was able to obscure objects from normal sight, not quite making them invisible but still making them extremely difficult to detect. The objects would have a slight purple sheen to them, but it was barely noticeable.

I was excited to try out my new power on different objects. I started with small things, like pebbles and twigs. With each attempt, I honed my skill and was able to hide them almost completely. It was exhilarating to have this newfound ability.

I also found that I could use this power on myself to make myself less visible. It wasn't perfect, and I couldn't cover my entire body, but it was a start. With more practice, I was sure that I could become more skilled at using it.

But it wasn't only the potential uses. It was also the feeling I got from using the powers.

When I cast the power on myself, I could feel a strange sensation coursing through my veins. It was like a electric current that flowed through my body, making me feel more alive than ever before. It made me feel powerful.

The sensation was almost addictive, and I found myself wanting to use my powers more and more. Each time I cast the spell, the energy flowed through me in a way that was both thrilling and empowering. It was like I had tapped into a new source of power that I never knew existed, and it was exhilarating.

With an effort of will I tore myself away from practice. The sun had risen high above the treetops, casting a warm glow across the forest. The sky was painted in a myriad of colors, from deep oranges to soft pinks and purples. It was a breathtaking sight.

As I stood up, I felt a pang of hunger in my stomach. The crackers that I had brought with me were almost gone, and I knew that I needed to find a better source of food soon. But for now, I decided to take a moment to savor the last of them.

As I nibbled on the crackers, I thought about my plans for the day. I knew that I needed to be strategic if I wanted to survive in this game. I was thinking of scouting for other contestants. I had long realized that information was king here. And talking to some of them could prove to be an invaluable opportunity to gather some. People tended to group up here, for better or worse. I'd seen that twice before. The more people, the more opportunity to discover critical information.

Of course, it was risky. I had no idea who I could trust. But even just observing them could prove valuable. Also, if there were any contestants close by, I had to be aware.

Definitely don't want to be caught off guard again.

There was also another thing. Since the crackers were almost gone now, I needed to somehow find a more reliable food source.

I considered my options. Hunting for animals or fishing seemed like the obvious choices, but I didn't have any weapons or fishing gear with me. I would have to figure out a way to make do with what I had. Maybe I could improvise something later, but I realized this wasn't going to be an easy task.

There was only one other thing that came to mind.

Those crackers aren't growing on trees.

They were proof that there was some other way of obtaining supplies. Frankly that was the main reason I wanted to talk to other contestants. Or at least watch where they got all their stuff from.

Before I did that though, I had to do one other thing.

I surveyed my surroundings. The sticks and leaves from yesterday's gathering were strewn everywhere, and it was clear that I needed to at least somewhat organize my living space if I wanted to be comfortable.

I took a last sip of water from one of my flasks before getting to work. I started with the sticks, sorting them by size and length. Using the larger ones as the main framework, I began constructing the walls of my treehouse. I wove the smaller sticks in between to create a tight structure.

Once I had the walls in place, I gathered a large pile of leaves to use as insulation. I packed them tightly into the spaces between the sticks, making sure to leave no gaps for the wind or rain to get through.

As I worked, I was careful to make sure that my shelter was stable and secure. I didn't want it to collapse in the middle of the night or during a storm. I took the time to reinforce the structure with more sticks and to tie everything together with vines and grasses.

By the time I was finished, the sun stood high, but my shelter was nice and sturdy. Hopefully well hidden too, but I would have to check from below later. It wasn't the best thing, or the most beautiful but I was happy. There are few things as fullfilling as building your own home. Even if it is as primitive as this.

I was proud of my handiwork, and I hoped that it would provide me with a decent place to rest. I lay down on my bed, exhausted but satisfied, and took a deep breath.

A short break was needed before I would head out.