"Child, wake up."
"Five more minutes," murmured the fatigued and mentally distraught Ryan.
*Slap*
Ryan shot up, rubbing his cheek. "What the hell was that for?"
"Sorry! It was the most efficient way to wake you up…" Jake said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Ryan scowled. "How can YOU be the follower of that spirit thing?"
Ignoring Ryan's hurtful question, Jake explained Ryan's purpose, "We're sending you to a place called 'Dela.' It's a world unlikely to be affected by the upcoming events as it has scarce resources, low mana levels and weak wildlife.
Ryan's eyes widened with curiosity. "Mana levels? Like magic?"
Jake nodded. "Yes, but don't get your hopes up. Humans usually aren't able to cast high level magic and especially so in a low-mana world."
"Still, even low-level magic can be useful." He gestured to his hand.
"Lux!" he shouted.
A large ball of pure white light appeared above Jake's finger. He flicked it away into the void, disappearing over the horizon.
Ryan stood in awe, his mouth agape.
"You try, say 'Lux' and imagine a ball of light appearing in your hand."
"Lugs!" Ryan Eagerly shouted, stupidly throwing his hand out as if he were some main character in a WebNovel.
"No, no, your pronunciation is completely off! Pronunciation is key for beginners in magic. Of course, pronunciation only helps you with magic, there are many other key factors in using magic."
"Can you teach me the basics?" Begged Ryan.
"I'm busy, but because you are such a pitiable little creature, I'll try teach you as much as I can."
"Listen very carefully, The first factor in casting magic is having an adequate level of mana inside you. Mana is all around you, everywhere. All living beings can be a vessel for mana. However, some are more gifted, humans for example, not so gifted. Still, there are always some who are much more adept than others. The main way to bring mana inside of you, is to breathe it in. The way we do it is similar to meditation on your plant. All you need to do is sit in a comfortable position, reach a state of equilibrium and take deep breaths circulating mana in and out. That final part can be quite difficult depending on the person. So you can try Imagining mana as a flowing, levitating energy, which usually helps. You may be unable to sense mana which is quite normal for humans. However, as you are a hero your abilities will be slightly enhanced with the power of the spirit you met earlier; which would mean the likelihood of you being gifted is nearly garaunteed."
"After having the adequate level of mana, you will need to know a spell to cast: Lux is a light element, low tier spell which will usually only take a few days to learn. Once you have learnt your first spell the next one's will become much more easy. To learn-" Jake touched his ear, nodded and said "Yes, alright Sir!… well, I've got to go so I'm sending you there now."
"Wait, tell me the rest!" Begged Ryan.
Jake, lifting his hand and pointed towards Ryan's feet.
"Facere porta ad Delar"
A deep green portal appeared below Ryan and sucked him through. His voice quickly faded away.
"AAAaaaa-"
"Hmm, did I say Dela or Delar? Eh, who cares! He's just a human." Jake muttered before teleporting himself away as well.
"Aaaaghhhhhhhhhhh"
After 3 agonising minutes, Ryan's mind succumbed to the high amount of pressure placed upon his body, causing him to pass out.
-2 hours later-
Ryan's eyes fluttered open.
Couldn't that bastard have at least given me some warning?
Ryan found himself lying on muddy, grass floor, surrounded by towering trees. The air was humid and puddles of water could be found everywhere. Jake was no-where to be found and Ryan was still wearing his tight, damp suit.
He sat up slowly, taking in his surroundings. A forest stretched out before him, a tapestry of green and brown. Sunlight filtered through the canopy above, dappling the forest floor with golden light.
Ryan took a deep breath, savouring the clean, earthy scent of the forest. He could feel the pulse of life all around him, from the rustling leaves to the sound of flowing water.
Ryan stood up and began to explore, ducking under low-hanging branches and stepping over gnarled roots, hoping to discover any form of civilisation.
I should be careful, Jake said there were monsters in this world. Everything else that idiot said is a bit fuzzy. There was definitely something about… mana and meditation?
As he walked, he marvelled at the beauty of the forest. Brightly coloured flowers surrounded him, their petals glistening with dew. Butterflies flitted from flower to flower, their delicate wings shimmering in the sunlight.
I will need water, shelter, and food ASAP. Water will be the easiest to get, as I can drink rainwater from leaves or from a spring. I should probably stay away from rivers to avoid monsters, but then again there's also a higher chance of finding people. For shelter, there is not much I can do. I could try sitting on slightly low, hanging branches to avoid monsters down below and monsters that live high up in the canopy. For food, I will try finding fruit from trees and vegetation.
-A few hours later-
Ryan's search was not very fruitful. He did find many suitable places to sleep and a lot of water; however, there was no food whatsoever. Every tree and bush was picked clean. Even worse, it was turning dark. So, Ryan grabbed onto some vines strangling a massive tree and climbed up.