The adrenaline which had been pumping through me completely faded as we walked back to Winsby. A lot of the tension eased, and I could see the same was true for Lex whose eyes now looked a lot clearer. Eloria kept a close eye on us and asked us if we were feeling ok. She clearly knew that it wasn't just physical pain that we'd endured.
I had accepted death at that moment before the dogs had attacked, and I didn't think I'd ever forget that feeling. There had been a mental strain and oddly, a calm had come in that moment. A bubble of calm surrounded by despair, regret, and pain. However, my thoughts weren't all dark. There was good like the fact that I was still alive, and that I hadn't panicked when we'd faced off against the alpha. This world had changed me.
I'd only been here a short while, but the violence, fighting, and training, especially for constitution had toughened me up, hardened me, though I still had a long way to go if I wanted to become some sort of stoic warrior.
When we arrived back at town, we headed straight to Winsby where Lex and I indulged in a long warm bathing session. I sunk into a tub, and let out an explosive sigh. Eloira's healing had helped a lot, but aches and pains I hadn't known were still there, finally began to fade, and I leaned back and closed my eyes. I spent over an hour in the tub before a hand shook me.
"C'mon let's get some food is us," Lex said.
We dressed and headed downstairs where we ate ravenously, and for once, Lex didn't seem interested in drinking. He glanced at a bottle, then shook his head. He opted for a sort of fruit juice just as I had. The others joined in, but it was obvious from how little they ate that they weren't really hungry.
"So, tell us everything," Tenna said.
Lex and I glanced at each other. He shrugged and began from the beginning when we'd first left the town. The others listened on until he got to the tracks, bones, and finally the ambush and ensuing fight.
"You're lucky," Eloria said.
"I wouldn't call it luck," Lex said. "We fought, and we had good friends."
Rashid clapped Lex on the shoulder. "You're right about that."
I spent some more time with them before saying my goodbyes and heading back home. Despite the bath, the food, and another shot of healing from Eloria, I still felt tired. I was mentally exhausted after the emotional rollercoaster. I didn't do anything when I got back to the Inn.
I just flopped down into bed and for a long time stared up at the ceiling. It had been a trying day, and though I was still alive, I still felt an odd feeling of fear, and I quickly realized that so far before this the only time I'd come up against something like that had been the first mole, but even that hadn't been like the fight with the alpha. I knew it was fear of the future and what if it happened again, what if next time I didn't survive.
I could feel the fear trying to rise, but I pushed it away. I knew what was happening, and I wasn't about to let fear take hold and stop me like I had so many times before in my life. What I was doing was risky, but I'd known that, and after facing something like this, did I want to stop?
The fear tried to muddle my mind, but my confidence rose as I said, "No."
I didn't want to stop. All the fight had done was make me want to push harder. When more weight is pushed upon your shoulders, you don't ask for a lighter load, but the strength to carry that which you have.
I had so much potential. I wasn't about to give up.
*****
I wanted to take things easy the next day despite my declaration of trying harder. I had ideas and some plans, but I wanted to try the mediation rooms, and train there for a bit to see if I'd do better or get the same results. After which, I would try out Lex's method. The guild was pretty busy, and before I made it to the training hall, I was stopped by Rashid.
"More training?" I asked.
"No, Lex got paid extra for the hunt, and wanted me to give you this," Rashid said, handing me two gold. "With the loot and the coin for the hunt, he made four gold. Your actions stopped the local wildlife from turning into a mess."
I was surprised but definitely happy. I could always use more gold, even if I didn't have much to spend it on yet, but there was no harm in saving up. There were a lot of abilities I wanted, and most weren't cheap.
"Are you heading to the dungeon?"
He nodded. "We want to try out the third floor. You wanna join?"
"Not this time," I said. "I'm surprised Lex is so eager to get back into things."
"He's strong-willed," Rashid said. "And you can't let things stop you like that. I mean, you're still training for next time."
"True," I said goodbye, then headed to a meditation chamber. His words were true, and I wasn't going to let one experience stop me. This was just a bit of recovery, which I could do while training my sense.
I was able to get into a mediate state a lot quicker, and things definitely moved faster compared to the first time, however, it still wasn't all that much. I imagined it was due to how average my sense was. If twelve represented the peak a normal human could achieve without the system, then six meant I was average so I needed push. I tried to pinpoint my focus, tried to imagine everything around me, and tap into something more.
I was planning on using potions and other tools to help, but I wanted to reach at least ten on my own. I could and would do it. I wasn't the type to give up. Not now nor ever. I remained in the chamber for a few hours and managed to get a single point in sense. It was disappointing compared to yesterday. I sighed and got up.
"Guess It's Lex's method now."
I wasn't eager to head back into the forest, even though I knew it was highly unlikely there was another alpha waiting there for me. Lex had said they were very rare, and it had just been bad luck we'd run into one. But, how many times would I get out of 'bad luck?' What I needed was to improve, and simply do the best I could.
I decided that I would head into the area of the surrounding forest that I'd originally come in from as I'd encountered no monsters there, save for that giant wolf, but I wasn't sure if it was a monster or not. One thing I did know about monsters was that most if not all were aggressive towards humans, and the other races. Even those who didn't immediately attack might very well simply be waiting. There were very smart monsters out there or so a bestiary I'd read had said.
I was a bit nervous, but it didn't last long. My dad had taught me not to give in to irrational fears or to allow them to take hold and consume me. Fear was important, but when directed at the wrong thing it could have devastating effects on a person. One needed to learn to control their fear. Not to waste it on pointless things and what ifs and lies. It happened to everyone and was one of the reasons many people never took steps toward what they wanted. The fear was too great, and they let it stop them.
Not me, however, not here. This was a second chance, and I'd been given all the tools I needed to succeed and reach high in this world. I wasn't about to waste that.
The forest was relatively silent all things considered, save for the occasional sounds of animals, or the snap of a twig underneath my shoes. I spent some time searching before I finally came across a small creek. It was small enough that I could walk over it in a single step, but the grass around it was straight and clear.
I took a seat, moving into a mediation position before closing my eyes. I slowly calmed my breathing to a slower rhythmic pace. Then I stopped my active thinking and simply allowed thoughts to come and go. My mind got quieter and quieter. The hardest of it was not biting at a thought or overthinking. In the end, I managed to quiet my mind, after which I got to work. I wanted to try things out while being still first. I let the sounds of the running water, the swaying tree, and other sounds meld with me.
I tried to create a mental image, letting go of everything but there was still a small part of me that tried to fight against it. However, I was able to push past it and slowly but surely, I began to sense the area around me. It was still so very odd in comparison to my other senses as it was more like seeing a map or having information directly appear in my mind. Like there was a part of me flowing around, noting things.
Now I was in such a state, I tried something Lex had thought me. To focus on one thing, and get that to be clear in my sixth sense. I chose the creek and began to focus on the idea of it, imagining it, and for a while, I just felt a bit stupid until like a bubble rising from water, I felt it. I'd already seen so at first, I thought it was just that, but no, it wasn't. It wasn't coming from my memories and there were things I didn't remember. Like the stone that looked like it was about to fall.
It took all I had not to get excited, but I was able to maintain my focus. I breathed slowly and deeply, trying to move that sense, but it was hard. My sense wasn't even at the human limit, and I was straining against something. I felt a migraine coming on, pressure building in my head. This pushed me to keep on as I was clearly getting somewhere. I focused, pinpointing everything on the stream.
Like a bubble had suddenly grown there was a burst of information, and then the migraine hit. My eyes shot open and I winced as I pressed a hand to my head. I looked over at the creek and smiled. I could see the rock, and oddly enough the information from the sense seem to meld with the memories I had. Lex had advised that after I do simple training to try and sense things I hadn't seen before. I had known the creek was there, and that had helped.
Next was something else, but after the migraine passed. It was really interesting to consider just what sense was, and how back on Earth it would be measured. Intuition, a feeling of danger, sixth sense, instinct. It clearly existed, but how had no one done what I'd just done? Was the system involved? I wasn't sure, but it had to be something like that.
After the pain passed, I decided to close my eyes and try and sense something to the left of me. It was much harder as I hadn't really focused on anything there, although I still felt that feeling. I focused and tried to imagine what it would be while reaching out with that feeling. It was sort of like a hand, but different. I could tell that it could be directed, or be passive. I had a feeling that directing it without mediating would be extremely difficult unless your sense was higher. Even now, it was taking every bit of mental energy I had just to do it. I couldn't think of anything else. It was just me, the feeling, and whatever lay to my left.
There were some leaves that had fallen into a small puddle and were floating around on its surface. I felt another migraine coming on just from focusing on it, and I was forced to stop as I could tell it would be worse this time. My head was banging, and my vision was a bit blurry. Not to mention the odd feeling of vertigo.
I rested for a bit before getting to my feet and checking my stats.
Jericho Law
Name: Jericho Law
Titles: Interdimensional Traveller(+)
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 22
- Attributes -
Strength: 4
Endurance: 3
Constitution: 25
Dexterity: 5
Agility: 2
Intelligence: 7
Perception: 5
Sense: 8
Willpower: 3
Wisdom: 4
Luck: 3
- Skills -
Weaponry(Swords)(13)[Novice]
Persuasion(10)[Novice]
Hunting(5)
Foraging(5)
Crafting(General)(5)
- Abilities -
-----
Growth(?)[?]
Growth:
Time: 1 Week
Cooldown: 1 Day
Type: Active
-----
Boost(?)[?]
Boost:
Time: Varied
Cooldown: Varied
Type: Active
-----
Language Comprehension(60)[E]
Language Comprehension: The Ability to understand and comprehend languages.
Time: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Type: Passive
-----
- Magic -
Magical Skills:
Spell List:
Another two points, not bad at all, but I had a feeling it would take hours to get to ten with that method so it was time to try out Lex's method. I looked around and got far away from the creek before I began. I didn't want to fall in and get wet.
When I was a good distance away, I closed my eyes and tried to calm my mind down. It was difficult due to all the thoughts that told me I was about to walk face-first into a tree. I ignored them, not allowing them to mess with my focus. Eventually, my mind quieted, and I began to walk, but instead of actively reaching for the feeling, I tried to open myself up to it. Lex had said it would be hard to do since most people tried to take control, but for a more passive sense, you simply needed to be open, whatever the hell that meant.
Without the system, I would have said his words were mambo jumbo crap, but it wasn't. When we'd been walking through the forest, he'd known where to step without looking. His feet always found the best place, never stepping in anything. It was clearly an effect of his sense and was passive, subconscious. A very useful thing indeed. In a fight, sense was a lifesaver, especially when both sides were evenly matched.
Much to my annoyance, I did end up walking into a tree, although, with my constitution, it barely registered. I turned and walked in a different direction. It took three times as long for me to finally sense something. It stepped to the side, and despite not waiting to break it, I couldn't help myself. I opened my eyes and looked down to see I'd just stepped around a small, fallen tree.
"So it does work…" I trusted Lex, but knowing and seeing are different.
With more confidence, I did it again, and again until I was able to get to a point where I sensed something every so often. Ignoring, all the trips ups, walking into trees, and the one time, a bird landed on my head, I was doing ok.
"Alright, time to go."
The bird hadn't left, which was probably because I hadn't stopped meditating. I tried to sense it. It must have taken my lack of movement or aggression as permission to lay there. It let out a tweet in response to my words and jumped off onto the ground. It was a very odd bird. I didn't want to describe it as fat, but it looked far, or maybe that was just fur.
A ball of black and white fur, with wings, that didn't fold, but wrapped around its body. I stared down at it for a few seconds, before pulling some fruit from my bag. Usually, fruit wasn't the best to use as rations, but the dungeon rations had an odd sort of fruit that tasted like a cross between an apple and a lemon.
"You hungry?" I dropped a piece, but the bird just tilted its head at me. "Don't eat fruit?" I legend down to pick it up, but it quickly jumped forwards and snatch it up. It moved fast for its size. It did that odd hop that birds do. It ate it quickly enough, then looked back at me. I dropped the whole thing. It was just a fruit.
"You enjoy ourselves, poofy bird," I said, turning. I opened up my stats as I headed back to town. I frowned, surprised. I had gotten three points from that. Was it because I'd only tried the active sensing before? I wasn't sure, but neither was I about to complain.