While walking in the forest, Ransom remembers the time he has spent with his parents, friends, and classmates. The last game he played. The last song he played before everything happened. He suddenly hums the song his father often plays using their antique DVD player.
"Yesterday, all my troubles seems so far away.
Now it looks as though they're here to stay, Oh, I believe in yesterday."
Stopping there, he heard a rustle from the nearby bushes. He ducked and suddenly tenses up. He surveyed his surrounding, his spear ready at any sign of danger.
A couple of minutes later he realized that the sound just came from a plastic bag whenever it was hit by the winds.
'Where did this plastic come from?' Dozen of thoughts entered his head like 'Is this island actually a resort or hidden military base?' and 'Or does it just come from the crash site, carried by the wind?'. He's probably just overthinking though.
What just happened made him realize his stiffness, since the moment he set forth here on the island he's been in a constant state of alertness and it's not a good thing for his mental health. The stress will kill him more than the actual primal threats. Like falling off a cliff and killing himself due to depression.
He needs to loosen up, be aware, but just enough to take care of the surroundings and look after his state of mind.
"Slap! Okay, focus Ran." The slap left a red mark on his face but at least he's more awake now.
His moderate movement but meticulous pace helped him get to the fruit trees safely.
Up ahead, there are mango trees, santol, chico, and rambutan trees.
'Good. They're all common fruits in the Southeast Asian region which means there's a 95% chance that I'm still close to the Philippines. In addition! There are plenty of fruits here! I love summer!' He shouted within his mind.
With an excited face, he slowly climbed up the chico tree.
Chico trees usually have small stem and thin branches but I guess this tree is an exception. It's almost as big as a three-storey house, its stem is large and strong, at least 3 feet wide and its branches are as thick as his torso.
'Oh boy...' He thought as thousands of red ants crawl into his body. He almost slip and fall but he managed to shake them off using his newfound flexibility, hanging from one branch to another like an orangutan.
Fleet Footwork doesn't just provide him a considerable boost in speed, it also makes his neural function works better which means he has more control over his body. Stunts he could just dream of before, he may be able to do it right now.
He used his t-shirt as a makeshift bag to store the fruits. He was able to take a sizable amount and was very happy.
A couple of hours later he was back in the pit. He took his time eating the fruits as they invigorate him. He was dazed for a while. It feels like yesterday when he's in his room crying about how unfair the world is to him. He is nothing before he was given life. He has nothing now.
That thought slapped him hard enough that it woke the anger, the vengeful spirit within him. He recalled that night, the night of slaughter. He'll make those memories his drive, the drive to kill those who took the only thing he has.
His Family.
'But first, I won't be able to take revenge with this body.' He looks down at his skeletal frame and felt a sudden sense of shame. He was given a weak and vulnerable body. There's no month where he wouldn't catch a cold or flu until he turned 12 years old. Because of that reason, his parents took extra care of him, which resulted in them not giving enough attention to Foly's body...
'That screen last night, is it possible to call unto it again?' He thought about the words he saw that night and spoke them out loud one by one.
"Profile. Ascent. Status. Abilities. Fleet Footwork." He tried and tried but the screen won't show up.
'Maybe those are not the code or I just don't know the way to summon it. If it's that, then just how am I supposed to know? It's not like there's a guide like the games I played before.'
He tried different combinations of words and even mutters God, Buddha, Kami, Flying Spaghetti etc. But nothing works. He just accepted the fact that he doesn't know how to summon the screen
Instead of worrying about it, Ransom lowers his body on the floor, head and feet parallel to each other. He's trying a push-up. With all his might he was able to do 10 repetitions.
Next, he did sit-ups until he can't endure anymore, then used a lean tree branch to practice pull-ups.
He's just imitating what his father usually does in the morning. These for him are the 3 essential work-outs to know. He remembered how passionate his father was in explaining it and how he didn't even care about it. He realized how immature he was for not taking his father's advice before.
This time, he has decided to train his body until he is confident enough in dealing with the goblins and exploring the forest with no difficulty.
...
That night, he dreamed of himself playing with friends, having a picnic with his family, having a girlfriend and a date with her, graduating college and then being an office worker, living with his wife and building a family in his own house, his parents grave, his wife's grave. Dying. Succumbing to the everlasting kiss of death.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. In front of him is the white screen that serves him the unrealistic reality.
'As I thought, it only shows when it's midnight.'
He walked out of the cave and saw the smiling moon gazing in the midsection of the sky.
'Hmmm... It's either 11 or 12 PM which makes it safe to say that the screen only shows when it's midnight and cannot be called forth when it's day. Do the white screen and the moon has a connection?' He decided not too think too deep unto it.
Looking back at the screen...
[Time until the second Ascension - 26 days and 5 months.]
[ *Profile*
Name: Ransom King
Title: Survivor of the First Ascent
Level: 1
Ascended: ×
*Status*
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Fortitude: 4
Psyche: 8
Free Stats: 0
*Abilities*
•Fleet Footwork ]
'As expected my strength is now 6. Today, I exercised until my body gave up but nothing changed. When I raised my strength, I felt a considerable change in muscle power and inner control, so if my theory is right, If I train my body, it will also affect my stats.'
He knew that it was too early to judge though. He needs at least a week or more of consistent body workout to tell if there's a difference.
His body still has a lot of room for growth, so he should focus more on building a solid foundation on his core and back muscles without actually pumping his arms.