Medium Reality, Earth 03, Dense Tropical Forest .
A long day had passed since Jack and his two friends had left the big city to head off to dangerous training. It was noon, the sun was literally above their heads, making them sweat constantly and consequently leaving their skin slightly tanned.
The forest in which they were crossing had many similarities to a tropical one, presented large trees and full of branches with many leaves, abundant birds of various sizes and different colors, which colored the rosy sky of that planet as they flew.
The ground was quite muddy with slime and some leaves that were green, withered and slowly fell on it. The trees that had large leaves cast huge shadows on the ground, but the constant heat left both the climate and the region stifling.
To refresh, a small river crossed that dense forest. The one that had a strong and slightly crystalline current, and you could see the fish swimming frantically.
" How many degrees are we at?" What unbearable heat ! - exclaimed Michel with reddish skin and sweating like you're in an oven.
"It must be about 35 to 40 (degrees), and it's still noon. It should get warmer in the afternoon. We must find something or somewhere to relieve this heat. - snapped Jack claims his friend.
— Since we've already bathed on the beach of our land, we can use that river in front of us to do the same thing, what do you think? Jhenefer asked , urging the two friends to agree with her.
"Given our current situation, we shouldn't be ashamed of being undressed here, right?" I would have. — Michel spoke with an embarrassed face and a rosy face.
- You are crazy?! It looks like I'm going to take my clothes off in front of you two. I don't have that much intimacy to get to that point. - Said with an angry face and clasping his hands, signaling that he was going to punch him for the lack of intimacy he was having.
— So let's do this, as we'll have to shower "That's obvious" , you'll go first and do what you have to do. Then it will be me and Michel, agreed? Jack proposed the idea to his friend.
"Well... So it can be." But you can't get close, understand?
'Of course, of course. Now hurry up, it's too hot for us to stand here.
"I'm leaving then."
- Right. Be careful, we don't know this region yet and we don't know if it has dangerous animals or animals.
Jhenefer was the first to go to the river. As he didn't know what the place was like, he followed Jack's recommendations. More than half an hour passed, but she managed to do what she needed to and came back safe but not entirely clean.
"Wait a minute, what happened to you?" Jack questioned when he saw his friend's sorry state.
"I managed to get into the river and wash myself, but there were some things stuck to me, I think they were leeches. I was so desperate at the time that I ran like crazy trying to get those things out of me. I managed to get them off my body, since they were small, but I was full of marks all over.
— Look on the bright side, now you're clean, but it turned into a pizza! He, hehehehe , and also... Got some pretty ugly bruises. - Michel mocked laughing and making fun of Jhenefer , who got an even more angry expression than before, reddening with shame and anger.
"I also noticed something unexpected. The drawings I had in my belly got bigger and visible, what about yours?
— I don't know... I didn't even notice that detail. Can I see your?
- He can...
At that, she lifted her shirt to show Jack and Michel her discovery. As expected, the two drawings on his belly got bigger and more relevant, one was in the shape of a water wave and the other in the shape of a hurricane. Both were positioned beside the navel, right and left of center.
"Really… Yours became more visible. When Michel and I go wash up, we'll watch that too. It must be something related to those creatures that possessed our bodies... Or something else that we still don't know. She explained, leaving Jhenefer more at ease, but full of doubts about those strange shapes.
"Well... Shall we go Michel?" We cannot waste time.
- Right.
So they left for the river, leaving her in the cart, waiting, while she scratched at the marks the leeches left on her body. As Jack was already aware, he was on the alert for the same incident not to happen to him, the same thing did Michel.
As soon as they undressed, they also noticed that the designs on their navels became more relevant and bigger. Jack's were a flame and a mineral, Michel's was a rock and a tree covered with vines.
"What happened to make it so dark? Was it because of those creatures? But I already had that, and coincidentally, Michel and Jhenefer did too. Very strange… And suspicious too."
"We can forget about it for now. Let's shower soon Jack, I'm about to fry in here.
— Hehehe ... That's right. Come on!
In just one movement, the two jumped off the tallest rock there and fell into the water, making a loud sound and startling both the birds around and the fish, who fled in fear.
- Now yes! — Michel said. — I will no longer fry in this unbearable heat.
As soon as they dove, the eyes of both of them, which were closed, glowed a little, like a flashlight mode. The eyes of Jack, Red and Gray were very charming while demonstrating a certain thriller in their bright colored aspects so reflected m the sunlight. Michel was no different.
His green and brown eyes caused the flora around him to develop, as if they were growing at a fast pace. This left both Michel and Jack surprised and amazed. The flowers opened, the trees grew, the leaves changed color and left the animals happy and surprised also by the mysterious fact.
"Wow... Can we do something like that?" Amazing!
"You have just witnessed the first feat of the powers you possess. This particular power was created so that, on the battlefield, at the same time as the fight develops, causing everything around you to fall apart, you can rebuild everything you've damaged with the powers without spending too much magic. It was a very useful solution in the past, in the struggle of the universes.
— Wait , who said that? Jack asked in amazement and with a drop of sweat running down his face, dripping into the water.
"It's us Jack, we're inside you, remember?" From now on, we will teach them to use these powers so strong that they have them. Let's start when you get to boot camp, you'll be surprised when you see it.
Lifting their heads, Jack and Michel put their hands over their faces and push the hair out of their eyes, sensually and even mysteriously, making them dim the brightness, but not failing to brighten naturally with the sunlight that was there.
"Do they want to train us?" Is that what I heard? Michel asked his friend, who was also asking himself the same question in his subconscious.
"Well, if what they're saying is true, it will be more to our advantage, as we'd have to do this without any hints on how to use them, and we could probably get killed quickly."
"You make everything melancholy. In fact, you already are, so it's not surprising, but scary anyway.
"Tell me something... Did you feel anything about that lady at the reception back at the guild?"
"Well…I can't say no. Why the question so suddenly?
- I noticed that you kept looking at her all the time with a smirk and a rosy face, you looked sheepish. Did you fall in love with her?
Michel was so embarrassed that he dipped his whole head under the water and stood there for a few seconds without moving, but you could see the little bubbles that came out of his panting breath.
— I knew it... You always fall in love with the older ones, you're already spoiled.
"And who are you to judge me?" He has never dated anyone and comes to scold me on top of that.
"It's not because I've never dated that I'm going to stay single all my life. At the right time, the person I'm looking for will appear before me... I'm sure.
"And who is the person you're looking for?"
"That's not the kind of thing I can explain in simple words. But I can say that she can be similar to me in some ways.
"There you are saying difficult things again, I won't even ask anymore."
While Michel was having fun in the water, Jack looked at the pink sky full of clouds and was thoughtful for a few minutes, then he let out a disguised smile as he spoke his thoughts.
"I hope she's close... I can't stand being alone anymore."
After a few minutes, both returned to the cart, where Jhenefer was waiting grudgingly, as it took too long and it was already full of bruises, which by the way, were painful to the touch. Jack looked like he took it all in fun with Michel. Soon after, they got ready and left for the trip again.
The last day of the trip passed smoothly. The trip was smooth and without any unwanted stops, but at one time or another, the drawings in their bellies throbbed faintly. It was as if they were experiencing a slight discomfort in their stomachs, but nothing serious to the point where they were experiencing severe pain.
After two relatively exhausting days of travel, they finally arrived at the training site. As soon as they saw the room, they pulled the horse's reins tightly, making it jump up and stop instantly.
Screams, explosions, blood and people flying everywhere you go... That was the place. The description the guild attendant had given them seemed a bit exaggerated, but seeing that area with their own eyes, an unparalleled fear hit the three of them subconscious at that moment.
"But… what is it, it's gigantic! How big is this place? Michel asked when he saw the place. At that time, beads of sweat began to trickle down her face and her body began to shudder rapidly.
"This place... Is... a maze?!" - He also asked his friend, who began to have the same symptoms as Michel.
"So the famous training place was actually a labyrinth?" And this size? She must be mad to think we can survive here. It should easily be the size of two cities. I kick 200 km², but I'm not sure. - Jack said analyzing the labyrinth, but inside, it was obvious that his fear was greater than that of his two friends, as his body showed it with a lot of shaking, hiccup and veins covering most of his eyes.
As they noted, the labyrinth was gigantic, over 200 square kilometers, something that, compared to Earth-1, was the size of the two largest cities there. It was divided into 3 parts, better known as phases, each with a respective color.
The 1st phase was greenish in color and its corridors were around 1.5 meters wide, the length was relative, as each corridor was of a different size, but the width was always the same at this stage.
The 2nd was more complex. It was yellow in color and its corridors were smaller than the 1st, only 1 meter wide and with shorter lengths as well. Last but not best, the 3rd phase.
It was at the beginning of this one that most people died of exhaustion, hunger, lack of magic… It was relative too. There was a reddish color, exactly the color of blood, as it was caused by the countless deaths of the people who passed by. It was around 2 meters wide, but on the other hand, the length of the corridors was only 5 meters, which was already small compared to the other phases.
"We don't know how this place works or how to get past it… It will be a life and death bet. But if we don't bet, we don't have a chance of winning." Jack thought reluctantly about what he was going to do in the situation they faced.
"Well... We've already come this far, and we can't go back." And our goal here is to leave already knowing something, even if it's basic. We have to face it, what do you say?
Medium reality, Earth 03, somewhere in the city .
— Wow, what a discomfort. These drawings have been bothering me for a while… What is going on? Any kind of connection?
— Come on, daughter, we're going to be late for lunch.
"Okay, Mom…I'm coming.
"Are these drawings bothering you again?"
"It's nothing serious, but it's been a few days since they got bigger and darker. My eyes also suddenly changed color, what's going on?
"Leave it alone." As long as you don't get hurt or get sick, that's fine. Let's go home soon.
- OK let's go.
To be continued...