Chereads / Surviving in the New World / Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Cautious Exploration

Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Cautious Exploration

Mar is overjoyed at the power of his arrow and is surprised at how accurate his shot was. Unfortunately, the arrow used for the destruction shot was blown to smithereens. Mar decides to test his accuracy to see if his new bow is an effective tool for combat. Mar equips his quiver and puts his dagger, inconveniently, in his pocket for the time being.

Mar takes an arrow from his quiver and nocks it under the small brass band positioned halfway on the bowstring, he gets into a stance that looks practiced and he aims the bow at a tree 25 meters away. He shoots his arrow and it whistles through the air. As the arrow flies straight towards its target it is barely traceable to the eye. Right before the arrow strikes its target, Mar takes another arrow from his quiver and nocks it, he fires it right above the previous arrow's landing spot and waits for the results. He hears a satisfying *Thunk*, caused by the second arrow hitting the targeted tree. He smiles in happiness at his ability to be so accurate, the bow and arrow is definitely an effective weapon for combat. At the same time, he contemplates what his skill in archery means.

"Why am I so good at using a bow and arrow", he asks himself, "was I a hunter before I lost my memories or did I become an archer as a hobby". Mar realizes that he won't find an answer until he gets out of this weird dungeon-esque structure. Mar walks over to his two perfectly in-line arrows, still deep in thought, and plucks them out of the tree with surprising force, he places them back in his quiver as they look undamaged. All eight, now seven, arrows that he received from the chest had a sharp metal tip and were perfect for penetrating the target's weak points with fast deadly blows. Mar double-checks that he has his equipment and starts walking toward the exit of the cavern.

He mentally prepares himself and walks into the next tunnel that will lead him to the second cavern, when he discovers something, "why is there wind in the tunnel". Mar doesn't understand how the cavern he was just in had perfectly still air yet the tunnel he woke in and the tunnel that he had just entered were both cold and windy. Mar faintly thinks of the unknown power that he had used earlier and the weird rocks that all look the same. The rocks look as if they weren't machine-made even though they all look identical. Mar thinks, "something is going on that I yet don't understand", and he leaves it at that.

Mar keeps venturing forward towards the next cavern when he feels the wind almost cutting into his skin. Mar has a sudden hypothesis that the tunnel after the next cavern will have an even stronger wind than this one. He thinks, "If my idea is correct, then this dungeon continuously challenges the person inside of it by testing their toughness and resolve. If they cannot handle the more vigorous winds then they will not be able to enter the next cavern". Whatever the reason behind the stronger wind, it was becoming a problem for Mar.

The Icy cold wind was digging into Mar's skin and causing him to get cold, fast. The wind forces Mar to run through the tunnel, hoping that the next cavern would be close so that he could escape the wind. Mar continues to run and his ragged breath becomes visible in the air as a result of the extremely cold temperature. Mar keeps running until he can't anymore, he is forced to curl up into a ball and attempt to shield his body from the wind. He asks himself, "can I really do this, can I really make it to the next cavern, am I... Going to die here?" Mar starts doubting himself and he realizes that he is too far from the last cavern to turn back now. Mar sits on the rocky ground without a clue what to do.

He recalls his yearning for power and he remembers the feeling of letting that destructive arrow go. The unknown power that sits within him that he used earlier to kill the wolf still makes him tingle in excitement. Mar gets up on his feet and he knows that he has to make it to the next cavern, he ignores the cold and holds onto the feeling of that unknown power. Little does he know, this act of channeling the unknown power causes a little bit of it to flow inside of his body. This caused his body to be more efficient. He was able to run faster and for longer without running out of breath. Mar eventually sees a light source, he rushes towards it and escapes the dimly lit, frigid tunnels, and enters another, bigger cavern.

As soon as Mar enters the cavern the icy wind stops, as if it was never there in the first place. Mar surveys his surroundings and finds himself directly in front of a dense forest. Unlike the last cavern, this one is full of all sorts of wildlife, frogs, birds, snakes, and other animals. This means that Mar can't let his guard down until he knew he is truly alone. The battle from earlier with the wolf and the cold that the wind inflicted on him still weighed on Mar. He decides that he needs to rest and he figures that the best place to do that is up on a tree.

Mar heads to one of the closest trees and attempts to climb it but there are hardly any branches to climb from so he struggles at first. He approaches from another angle and succeeds at grabbing onto a branch, he uses this to climb up the rest of the tree. On some of the thicker branches Mar drifts off to sleep. The cavern turns dark and simulates the night as if the animals were outside in the real world. A fake full moon also shines luminously in the sky and throughout the whole cavern, a pack of wolves could be heard howling. *Awhooo*, *Awhooo*, *Awhoooo*, Mar jolts up from his sleep with a frightened look on his face, he understands that he isn't in the clear any time soon.