Complex emotions rushed into his body. These emotions were not negative contrary to his past experience. Owen slapped himself, one, two, three. However, nothing changed, he was still in the brushes, his eyes blinking in his disbelief.
"Huh. Would you look at that…"
Owen smiled mischievously, he thought maybe living in this world was going to be pure hell but after witnessing such a spectacle, his mind couldn't help but have a 360 impression of the world.
He thought for a while and smiled deeply at his pondering. A rather unbelieving postulate for the previous Owen on Earth but a well thought out hypothesis to present him.
However, he was still a bit unsure but struggled either way. Yes, the concepts of magic exist in this world.
"To think fantasies of imagination actually exist…"
The mysterious green hue of the forest wolf must have been a result of some kind magic, it used to manifest in the grass.
Owen could not understand the concept of the magic at interlevel but to an outer-level, it was rather easy to contemplate.
In a way, he found new determination in this world. If he could just utilize that mysterious aura known as magic, he may just find a way home or live a peaceful life in this mystic world.
For once, the future looked bright and moderately frightening of the unknown but whatever the case, Owen was going to have a mystical experience.
"Wait, if magic exists…does that mean dragons and unknown transcendental monsters are here as well?"
Owen`s body shivered slightly at the revelation.
"For once, the future looks dull…and whatever the case, I am going to have a horrible experience here…."
What an antonym expectation of others…
"Well, if that's true, that means maybe magical races like the elves and dwarfs exist as well. Hopefully, there are also mundane human civilizations as well."
He stood up after examining his surroundings. There were no monsters in the area, visibly speaking, so for now his exploration was still ongoing.
However, a new problem came forth. He was unexpectedly thirsty. He didn't know why but his body needed to find a clean source of water fast.
"Maybe there`s a clean river nearby? I have to listen carefully at the sound of water…..."
He decided to lick his dry lips and concentrated his hearing of his surroundings, hoping to find a clean river or source related to water.
Contemplating which direction to move, he decided to travel west. Another confrontation with the forest wolves was not an option. He believed his well-being was blessed for not being caught by those creatures, so in no way he was going to try his luck again.
Owen walked further with discovery mindset, however, he noticed something wrong with body. His stamina was draining way too fast.
Worry slowly filled his being, contemplated with fear. Owen raised his hand and saw it shaking slightly in exhaustion with few drops of sweat.
Perhaps he was overexerting himself without even knowing?
****
Owen was not sure why his stamina was decreasing so fast but he knew finding a safe place to rest was best option currently. Afterall, the forest wolves could always come back. With determination, he found a long stick near his position.
The stick was durable enough so he used it to support his body. He moved further into the unknown regions of the forest.
Half an hour of exploration, Owen`s eyes laid bare on new surroundings. Stone like structures stood in ruination, illuminated by the heavenly moonlight through the openings of the tree leaves.
Some trees stood in ruins as their roots spiraled and attached around the stone structures like parasites. As the passage of time went by, the stone structures seemed to have collapsed and scattered in all direction due to climate or an unknown force.
Owen stood in marvel, taking every sight into his brain. Smiling thinly, he walked towards the ruins with excitement.
"Remembrances of past human civilization…"
He mumbled to himself in awe. However, visibly speaking, the ruins only contained barely unrecognizable stone establishments and pillars which slanted in strange directions. It was clear that the ruins stood for thousands of years, untouched by present human`s hands.
"Who knows, if my luck is high, maybe I can find something useful."
With curiosity running in his veins and expectation in his eyes, he went into the ruins for past treasure. Withal to his expectations, no jewelries, gems or any kind of treasure could not be found by him.
Owen smiled bitterly with understanding in his face. Nevertheless, he did however, find strange rune symbols craved into the stone walls of some.
Its grapheme was unique and beautiful to the eye, sadly, for Owen, he didn't give two clicks about the symbols.
Maybe if he was in full heath, he would have examined them further but he was still exhausted to appreciate its masterly craved characters.
"Perhaps my luck would be better in the soil…"
Owen then switched his sight beneath the ground still seeking treasure but shook his head slenderly.
"No way, I am too tired for that…."
Struggling his shoulders, he decided to keep moving forward and fortunately his luck didn't betray him this time.
****
The moonlight, still, shined faintly over the environment as it glistened the river like a beautiful blue gemstone.
The river moved soundly with a slow constant speed while its clean water moved with it along its beds. It`s wide was rather small but not too small for a single jump.
Owen smiled deeply and walked towards the river with stick in hand. He reached the river with victorious eyes and dipped his hands into the transparently clean water. He cupped his hands with water and begun to drink slowly.
The water, as expected, had no taste what's so ever but it was unexpectedly pure.
Due to its faint blue glow, Owen somehow expected the water to taste a little different than the usual but hi, he was happy nonetheless.
"That hits the spot…"
Owen smiled a bit and looked at the running water. He stood up and moved along the river, not too far away from the ruins, he found a boulder resting in the center of the stream. The river spiraled around the boulder.
A large swallow puddle within the river formed due to the blockade of the boulder. The trees swelled around it, letting the heavenly glimmer of the moon shine upon the sight. Pebbles settled in the puddle like precious diamonds.
Owen, excitedly, jumped from one pebble to the other until he reached the boulder and rested on top of it. Relief and calmness flowed through his body like a violent aura.
"How would the world look from outer space?"
He mumbled to him while watching the stars rest with the moon in the dark sky. Although it was an interesting question, he really didn't care for the answer because he wanted to past the time.
After a vigorous small rest, he stood on top of the bolder with new found energy. Nevertheless, his energy was still deceasing rapidly, even after resting. For now, he could now walk around for half an hour or so.
'Should I follow the river, I might find a safe haven of civilization…or maybe sleep until daybreak in the ruins?'
He looked at the long river with questioning eyes and refused the upper option. Walking around in the night was all kinds of dangerous. Plus, he didn't know what of creatures were stationed beneath the leaves of the far distant river.
*Splash!
When he was about to go back to the ruins, he heard a splashing sound from his feet. He looked down and saw water under his feet. That wasn't all, his pants and even his lower shirt were wet, no, drained in water.
Owen looked in nigh confusion. It was almost like the water went through him…
"What….?"
One word left his mouth. His eyes opened in horrible. Suddenly, his body swayed, he lost his footing on the boulder and fell in the shallow river.
The river wasn't deep, in fact, not even a man`s ankle deep, so he could not drown. However, he was in worst shape regardless. His breathing dangerously increased and his vision distorted, held his head in exhaustion.
He had lost almost all of his stamina out of nowhere, not having the power to stand up. He looked at his hand once and his eyes widened in fear.
The hand looked like it was fainting back and forth from transparency and corporeal, almost as if he was turning into a ghost and human repeatedly.
Furthermore, the spiraling river around the boulder would go through him every time he turned transparent but water did show resistance when he turned solid.
For some reason, his stamina become almost drained in the negatives because of this. Owen started to swag a little, trying to stand awake.
Instinctively, he begun to drink more water from river to at least gain some strength and surprisedly worked. He felt some strength to able to walk for now…
*Splashing!
*Splash!
He stood up and walked out of the river, slowly walking to nearby tree where he placed his stick and lightly placed his hand against the hard tree trunk.
Hard writhing edges sensations surged through his hand. He relaxed a bit, knowing he could sense and touch physical objects with certainty.
Afterward, he increased the pressure of his hand against the tree, to likely test his durability. Gradually, he increased it. The feeling was normal at first but it was slowly adjusting.
Constantly boosting the pressure, his entire arm became strangely numb. This, however, was not a numb feeling due to high stress on the hand. It was his hand`s durability that was continuously getting weaker and weaker.
Increasing without ending, his hand felt jellified but looked normally. Regardless, he kept increasing the pressure until suddenly his hand passed through the exterior of the tree. This almost made him lose balance but he was able to stand firm.
He calmly looked at his sank hand.
"My body is semi penetrable..."
He contemplated as he narrowed his eyes. Satisfied upon realizing this, he removed his hand from the tree trunk. The sensation was like putting his hand into sifted jelly. It was rather cold.
"My body can pass through things if optimum pressure is applied. It may seem I am fainting into a ghost slowly…"
He said while his hands shook slenderly and clenched them tightly. Owen looked into the night and sighed softly; his eyes dimed a passionless expression. He shook his head and took the long stick, returning back to the stone ruins.
"Cold…."