As Kearan stood he observed his surroundings for anything that could help him, but all he saw was forest. As he stared at the trees, he noticed that green moss was growing only on one side of them. Kearan thought he remembered something about moss growing in the direction of the sun in order to absorb energy for photosynthesis.
Kearan couldn't see the sun through the canopy but the angle of the sunbeams he could see were facing towards the moss. 'So thats either east or west depending on the time of day... east it is! Now north is always to the left of east so ill just head that way.' Kearan thought this to himself before shrugging lazily and starting to walk.
Not ten feet into his new journey Kearan suddenly jerked his foot upwards with a yelp. He noticed a small dot of blood welling up as he turned his foot over. Then he looked down to notice grean vines with sharp thorns wrapping around old twigs here and there. 'No shoes so I need to be more careful.'
Kearan knew that in environments like a forest, with large amounts of moisture and bacteria, infections are one the deadliest things out here. If he had an infected wound it might only take hours for it to become fatal. Watching his step more carefully he made his way through the woods grunting and groaning every now and then.
As Kearan walked he began to notice the sound of birds starting to appear, and squirrels or rabbits would occasionally flit out of view. He took this as either a good sign, meaning more resources in this part of the forest, or a bad sign as that meant there was less human foot traffick in the surrounding area. He kept his course since he figured it was better to walk in a straight line to reach any signs of civilization.
After around an hour Kearan could hear the faint trickling of water. He smiled and increased his pace. As the sounds got louder he could see his surroundings getting brighter. After another five minutes he could see wads of dried of grass and twigs at the base of some trees, and tangled in small bushes. Kearan had seen debris like this before, on a river near his house that would flood during large rainstorms.
After a few more minutes of waking. He finally saw a break in the woods shrouded by bright light. He stepped in between two trees to be greeted by the scene of a small crystal clear river, spanning maybe fifty feet wide. It ran pretty straight without bends or curves from what he could see. From the edge of the woods to the bank was thick luscious green grass. The dirt looked brown and soft. The grass ended at the six foot bank consisting of soft brown soil and buried rocks sticking out like white pimples here and there.
Kearan stepped into the grass and he could feel his feet slightly sink into the dirt as it had the consistency of mud. He didn't mind however as the cool muck slightly soothed his aching feet and the burning points of pain from various thorns. The closer be got to the water the further his feet sank until he was ankle deep at the edge of the water. Kearan quickly dropped to his knees and shoved his face into the water.
A biting chill hit his skin that was a mix of sweet relief and stinging pain. Kearan greedily sucked in mouth fulls of the precious liquid, uncaring of things like parasites and bacteria. After has his fill he turned around and rested his feet in the water. He could feel them throb with every heartbeat now that he took his weight off of them. The water felt so good he almost moaned in ecstacy. This is why he hated physical activities. The gross sweat covering his body and the various muscles groaning in protest at every little movement. Kearan always felt lucky he had a good metabolism, as he would probably be a tub of lard without it.
After several minutes his feet only throbbed lightly so he decided to get up and get moving. The gnawing in his stomach seemed to agree that he was getting really hungry and with no survival skills, his best bet was to find civilization. He looked at the river thinking 'A river means that there has to be someone either using it or living near it. Although the clarity of the water probably means there are no large farms or cities nearby polluting it, there has to be someone along these banks.'
With that thought in mind he finished standing up and... immediately regretted it. As soon as he put his weight back on his feet, they started throbbing way worse than before. Kearan gritted his teeth and decided to push foward thinking of cheeseburgers, steaks, and ice cream. 'Okay enough of that. It isn't helping but making it unbearable' Kearan thought ruefully. After a few minutes the throbbing lessened but right as his feet were starting to get back to negligible levels of pain, one foot sunk in the mud right on top of a sharp rock.
Kearan jerked his foot up again as he growled at the pain and cursed at mother nature. He kept walking but after a few more of the same incidents he moved closer to the tree line for firmer soil. After another fifteen minute's of walking the voice entered his head again.
"New skill acquired!
Endurance (Passive) lvl 0 EXP 1/100
Rank F
Description:
After an extended period of physical exhaustion and damage, your skin has started to harden granting you more resilience to external stimuli. Each increase in level also increases stamina pool.
Stamina +.1"
Kearan stopped and processed the information. He was still under the impression that the voice and the so called 'system' was a figment of his imagination. Now a cooling sensation washed through his body and he indeed felt more energized, even his feet hurt less. This made no logical sense. 'There is that movie I watched one time where people who truly believed they were super heroes or monsters could exhibit inhuman amounts of strength. There's also the evidence of super human physical acts in stressful situations caused by the release of endorphins.'
Things made no sense to Kearan as he constantly tried to convince himself that he wasn't unstable, just stuck in a stressful situation. He couldn't believe he was really transfered to another world. This was real life and the only way you can escape this shit world is through death. No matter how much he wants too.
Kearan eventually sighed and started walking down river again. This time accompanied by the voice saying "Endurance +1 exp" about every fifteen to twenty minutes. Each time it happened a slight cooling sensation would enter his body and ease his fatigue. Kearan would constantly try and find a reason for this, but as the time passed the familiar giddy feeling in his head returned so he ruthlessly suppressed his thoughts.
Kearan failed to recognize that giddy feeling in his dream but he remembered that his... counselor said it was a precursor to his 'erratic behavior patterns'. He remembered what happened when he let it take over. He wouldn't let that happen again.
Kearan continued to follow the river going South East. He walked another three or so hours and the sun started to get low, confirming his cardinal directions, but he had yet too see any signs of civilization. He was starting to get nervous when he noticed a small brown wooden boat dragged up onto the shore. It had enough room for two or maybe three people but it looked a little neglected, like it may of not been used in years. However at the treeline he could see a well trodden path leading inward. Kearan smiled widely while thinking 'Finally, people!'