Chapter 54 - Land in Sight
The blue horizon gradually began to change shape as a young man in a black cloak walked towards something new in the vast blueness. He drank from his canteen and sighed in relief at what he saw.
"Finally…"
On the fifth day since arriving in this place, he had faced various trials that constantly tested him, with the fear of being captured by something beneath the shallow sea haunting him. His mind was on the verge of giving up as he followed the direction a bird had taken. After three days of walking in a straight line, he saw no sign of the monstrous seagull. Even though it had flown slowly due to its injuries, it had disappeared over the horizon before the first day of following it was complete. But this didn't shake Luke's determination.
Now relieved, Luke could see that the strange shape on the horizon was getting bigger—it was a mountain or an island. He couldn't tell, but one thing was certain.
"Finally, land in sight…"
Part of him feared it might be another monster stranded on the sand, but as he got closer, he saw trees on the mountain and even some palm trees on small isolated mounds of sand in the water.
He chuckled, fell to his knees, and laughed. His meat was already gone. He could have made it last longer, but it had started showing signs of spoiling. He had no choice but to eat it all. Now on his knees, he dispelled his cloak and poured the canteen over himself—this had become a habit in the heat. The water from the shallow sea was warm, but the water from his canteen, since it evolved, always came out cold as if taken from a refrigerator.
As he let all the water pour over his body and clothes, he pondered the infinity of the canteen. He had conducted tests over the past few days, discovering that the canteen drew a bit of prana from him every time it dispensed water. Thus, he understood that the water would indeed be infinite, as long as he had prana. Luke wanted to test what would happen if he exhausted his prana and then passed it to another person, repeating the process. But he dared not speculate further, not wanting to play with the water supply. In his world, water was a valuable resource. Although humanity controlled the water, the kingdom made serious propaganda about wastage, especially after a giant anomaly settled in a reservoir, preventing a city from being supplied. People then took it seriously.
There was an abundance of water in the Oblique World, but it couldn't be taken to Earth, and after the pollution crisis, everyone took water conservation seriously. Luke also resented the canteen's description, which said a water spirit was dormant inside it. He wondered if he was drinking the spirit but concluded that the spirit likely had the power to generate water, which caused the canteen's evolution. His canteen hadn't miraculously increased in space; it always remained the same size due to the "spacious" effect. However, that space for storing water evolved with the water spirit's power, creating an infinite water source. When the canteen received a bit of prana, it somehow activated the spirit's magic, generating more water, thus gaining the "infinite" effect. At least, this was what Luke believed based on the tests he had conducted over the past few days.
Luke had been experimenting with his prana to understand more about his natural armor, which could help him in battle. He needed to find ways to expend the prana in his body besides using his intangibility. Unlike other Segments, Dissidents naturally relied on and utilized their exclusive element. Luke didn't actively use his body's prana; he merely used his ability, which consequently consumed his prana.
Now that he understood this, he needed to devise a way to use the prana within him without resorting to his ability. He needed to uncover the use of natural prana armor that could enable a Deviant to face a powerful creature with a sword and manage to cut through it.
He remembered Clyde effortlessly slicing through the monsters in the asylum—that was a use of armor. Luke believed he was on the right track. After starting to practice with the low prana consumption required by the canteen, he found a way to expend prana differently and understand how it affected his body.
Sitting down after days of walking, Luke thought about taking off his shoes but decided against it. He knew his feet wouldn't look good after walking in water for five days. He hoped the lupine regeneration effect would take care of it since it wasn't a major injury. He hadn't had time or opportunity to test the lupine regeneration effect, as testing it would require getting hurt. But he understood it could handle cuts and similar wounds as long as they weren't too deep. At night, the regeneration would only be faster.
The lupine regeneration only extended to injuries; it didn't restore his fatigue or heal his mental exhaustion. Luke didn't complain, though—the cloak was a precious armor that had saved his life many times. Without it, he was certain he would have died long ago. If he ever returned to Earth, he would never dare sell this card. In fact, after facing death multiple times, Luke had no desire to sell any of his cards. Even his little broom had become his golden girl; his canteen was his faithful companion on this journey. It would be worth millions in the real world, but he would never part with it. In times of crisis or similar situations, having easy access to potable water would be invaluable.
His hammer had become his third arm in this dangerous land, his torch was his light at the end of the tunnel, and he wouldn't give it up. His ring... he felt sad because he realized the other day that his ring was probably destroyed in the fight against the Undine. The only thing he might consider selling was the cursed diary, but keeping a cursed relic was a crime in the kingdom, so he wouldn't reveal it to anyone. Otherwise, he'd have a lot to explain, like the fact that he inadvertently completed a ritual for an entity of whispers, which was punishable by death. Besides, after the diary nearly killed him, he feared getting rid of it and having it come back to seek revenge.
If the diary wants to stay, fine, as long as it stays quiet.
He also feared the only way to get rid of the card was to transfer its possession to someone else, which meant cursing someone... or handing it over to the authorities, but that was out of the question since he'd be imprisoned or executed.
Gods! I only get myself into trouble...
In the end, Luke concluded he wouldn't sell any of his current cards, which made him sad because he had secretly planned to use his experience in the Oblique World to accumulate cards and sell them on Earth.
If it's to save that person... I'll sell... but if I can get more while I'm here, I'll take advantage of this chance.
Pressing the back of his neck, he discovered that by concentrating, he could activate a card inventory in his status. When he pressed the back of his neck while simultaneously focusing prana in his hand to perform the card summoning motion, he somehow added the card inventory to his status window. He knew things like this could happen as he learned to use the prana within him. Now, in his status, he could check his cards without necessarily summoning them to his hand and reading their descriptions. The only thing he wouldn't have was the card in his hands, nor could he see the image on the card, as his status only displayed an ethereal screen with golden text.
He also noticed that his cards had different colors based on their rarity. The canteen card was now a shimmering silver with a rainbow-colored light, thanks to its legendary rarity. Activating his status, he took a look at his card inventory.
[Card Inventory:
(Unique Torch), (Common Broom), (Howling Battle Hammer), (Midnight Cloak), (Ozymandias' Cursed Diary), (Holy Canteen)]
"I'm definitely not selling any of these..." He sighed.
As he walked, he went back to the general status option, and more options appeared, surprising him. "What... what does this mean?" The screen was now larger:
[Name: Lucan
Age: 16
Familiar: (Not acquired)
Gem: Ember
Color: Orange
Segment: Dissident
Element: Void
Description: You are someone who is lonely inside and out; you are an empty being.
[Card Inventory:]
Abilities: [Intangibility], [Master of Puppets]
… ]
"As always, more questions than answers..."
While walking towards the island, a mixture of happiness and fear filled Luke. Concerns weighed on his mind—the happiness of potentially reuniting with his group and the sadness of possibly being the only one alive.
Sighing, he kept walking, trying to ignore the conflicting emotions.
You are the weakest of the three... think of yourself first, always.
Ignoring his thoughts, he continued until he stopped and wondered:
"What the heck is a familiar?"