Another World Story

Day Sixteen: Recovery and Training

“… I’ve felt it.” John muttered, his eyes revealing an expression of shock.

His eyes then moved towards the area where he had felt the difference; his chest.

To be more precise, it was beside his heart.

John had no idea how exactly he felt the difference, he just felt that there was something there.

Perhaps he was just tired and was hallucinating, but...

John raised his right hand and put it on his chest, near his heart, as he closed his eyes and felt.

Lab-dub! Lab-dub! Lab-dub!

His beating heart... and...

Zip!

John's eyes shot open as he quickly removed his hand from his chest.

"It's really there," he felt it once more. It was subtle, almost nonexistent, but it was there.

"Was it mana? Or something else? John had no way to know. But it was clear, there was something inside of him that wasn't there before.

It was like a current of electricity circling his heart. The moment he was made aware of it, he began to act up. As if grumpy from being awakened from its slumber. It made it near impossible for him to touch his chest as it would lunge at his hand.

"... Is this mana?" John couldn't help but wonder. It was different from what he had imagined. It wasn't the calm energy he thought, nor the torrential power he imagined. It was more like an agitated rat, ready to pounce on any predator near it.

"Have you finished your meditation?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice broke his thoughts.

John turned towards the rabbit that was sitting at its clay chair and drinking from its wooden mug. Its big blue eyes staring at him behind the mug.

Being stared at like that, John didn't feel uncomfortable at all. He felt like he had gotten used to the scrutinizing gaze of the rabbit. So, he just stared at it for a moment before opening his mouth.

"Hey," he called. "What does mana feel like?"

"Mana?" The rabbit asked, somewhat surprised by what he'd asked. It tilted its small head and lowered the wooden mug as it said, "Hmm, I have heard before that the feeling of mana differs from person to person. For me, mana felt steady, an immoveable mountain. It also feels like it was a river, ever-flowing. Like an ancient tree, full of vitality. A flickering flame, easily extinguished. And a soft breeze. Mana, perhaps have many characteristics that felt different from person to person. As I have five of the most basic elements as my affinity, I could feel the different changes. But the most pronounced among them is the feeling of steadiness, the feeling of an impregnable fortress, unmoving despite any force applied to it.

"....Just like the Earth element," John nodded. But then, if that was how the feeling of mana went, what type of Element was he?

Was it lightning? Electricity?

Confused, John raised another question.

"Then, have you heard of people feeling like their mana was fighting against them?"

"Fighting against them?" the rabbit was doubtful. It was the first time It had heard such thing.

"Yes, like... how do I describe it... a cornered rat?" John added. It was a strange feeling that he couldn't describe at all.

"...a cornered rat? "No, I have not heard of such things." The rabbit shook its small head. It then looked at John as if figuring something out and added, "Though I have read before that, during the first phase of the Great Cataclysm, the energy that it released was the cause of the deaths of countless beings. It was said, that that energy was so unstable and destructive it destroyed the bodies of the living beings then, causing their deaths. It was only after the second phase that the energy the Great Cataclysm released was much milder and more tamed than before. Enabling the countless surviving beings to adapt to the energy, mana as we know it now. Perhaps..."

The rabbit didn't finish its words, but John understood, somewhat.

Perhaps, the thing he felt was something akin to the energy that was released from the first phase of the Great Cataclysm? But, he was alive now... or was it because it was slumbering before that it didn't damage him, but now that it had awakened....

John couldn't help but shiver from his thoughts. He hoped that it wasn't the case at all. Or if it was, he just hoped it wouldn't kill him.

Seeing John's reaction, the rabbit once again raised its wooden mug, looked at the contents of it, and slowly drank from it. There was also something it had left unsaid. From what it read, it was stated that the first energy the Great Cataclysm released was the purest of energy it had. It was because it was so pure, that no living being could contain its primal characteristics of chaos and destruction.

Not even the so-called Gods. It thought.

But there was no need to say any of that to John. It wasn't confirmed, and it wouldn't do good either.

The rabbit shifted its gaze back to John, seeing him shivering from fear. The rabbit chuckled to itself and spoke.

"Don't worry, we haven't confirmed yet whether what you really felt was *that* energy. We could just observe things slowly."

"..." John felt complicated. Yes, it was true, but still...

Haa...

"Alright." He could only let nature take its course. If the energy beside his heart was really *that* energy, then he wouldn't be able to do anything if he suddenly exploded. If it wasn't? Then John would rejoice, at least he wouldn't die. But he had to tame that thing so it wouldn't attack him every time.

And doing so needed someone's help, someone with great knowledge and ability.

John raised his head and glanced at the rabbit and nodded his head internally.

"You've already recovered, right?" the rabbit asked, to which John nodded his head.

He had felt it earlier. His body had already recovered to what it was before. But unlike the previous him in his original world, the current him was miles apart. He was much stronger, much more agile, and his stamina was better as well. It wasn't a stretch to say that he was like a different person compared to before.

It was also shown on his Stat Allocation page.

~Stat Allocation~

Strength: 9

Agility: 8

Intelligence: 6

Dexterity: 2 (Not affected by Automated Stat Allocation)

Vitality: 10

Wisdom: 7

Points Remaining: 25

~

Although he had yet to allocate his points, if it was him before, his stats would look abysmal, especially his Intelligence stats...

"...should I add all of my points to Intelligence?"

John took another glance at his Intelligence stats and couldn't help but grumble. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and close the Stat Allocation page without allocating any points.

Out of sight, out of mind!

"Then you should be able to stand now, right?" the rabbit said, seeing him staring at the air. It tilted its small head a bit and decided not to ask.

"Yes," John nodded, he went to the edge of the bed and slowly, with the help of the clay chair at his side, he stood up. Although he felt his right knee a bit weak, it wasn't to an extent where he couldn't move it.

Seeing him standing, albeit with a clutch, the rabbit nodded its small head. It then jumped off its clay chair and hopped towards the area near the kitchen as it rummaged through the things there.

John watched it for a moment, he couldn't see clearly what the rabbit was really looking for. After a minute or so, the rabbit hopped back to its clay chair, it then threw something at him. It was the color of black.

Reflexively catching the black thing, John turned his head towards the rabbit, seeing it nod at him, he shifted his gaze back towards the black thing. It was made of wool, a fabric, no, a set of clothes. It was the same as his previous clothes that had been shredded and burned while he was fighting against the Night Wolves. John couldn't help but turned his gaze back at the rabbit once again.

"Your previous clothes were destroyed, so I took the liberty of making another one from the remains of your previous clothes," the rabbit said.

"I see. "Thanks." John replied, a bit surprised by the initiative of the rabbit.

And for those who are curious, yes, John was only wearing black shorts the whole time he was inside the tree house of the rabbit. The inside of the tree house wasn't that cold or hot, it was just the right temperature, making John wonder if it used some kind of magic type air-conditioning unit. So, he wasn't that bothered while he was naked on top, plus, he was almost always lying on the bed, so he had no need for shirts or the like as the temperature was just right.

John unhurriedly put his clothes back on. After doing so, he slowly walked towards the entrance of the tree house and looked at the scenery.

"There wasn't much change," he muttered. It was just like his previous area near the shallow river. But the trees around this area were much bigger, thicker, and more vigorous, compared to the ones on the river. John could also hear some chirping from birds, rustling from the deep forest in front of him, yet he had not seen any animals or beasts near the area at all. It was just a clear area of about 10 to 20 meters. There were only grass and flowers, and on his right side, was a small plantation containing the red berries he had seen before. And on his left... It was the vast lake where a monster slumbers. The lake was deep blue, indicating its depth, and he could occasionally see some fishes jumping into the air from the lake.

He could fish, but...

"I left my fishing pole..." John felt dejected. He had only experienced the short life of eating meat, and now he was back to going vegan once again! Ah! Life!

John even entertained the idea of going back to his home base to retrieve his creations, but he immediately rejected the idea. No joke! if he went out of this area, he would surely die 100%! If he didn't, he'd be pounced on by multiple monsters and he'd die either way!

"I should ask the rabbit to retrieve it for me," he muttered.

"Retrieve what?" Suddenly, the voice of the rabbit emerged from his left side. Seeing the rabbit standing there and looking at him, John almost jumped back out of fright! God! What kind of rabbit is this?! It was so sneaky!

John composed himself and told the rabbit about the thing he left behind at his home base.

"Especially that fishing pole," he said, raising both his arms and making a gesture to show what it looks like. He added," I need that. And the pumpkin pot. Do you know what a pumpkin is? It was that huge brown thing atop my tree... blah, blah, blah.

The rabbit listened quietly before shaking its small head.

I know, I know. It muttered softly, before hoping away from John. It has already started moving, diving towards the ground as it burrowed itself, quickly disappearing from sight.

John watched the rabbit burrowing itself underground as it disappeared from his sight. He wondered if the rabbit would really be able to get all his items back, but considering that it had dragged him from an area much farther away, he figured that the rabbit would do just fine.

"Now that I have recovered, albeit slightly, I should begin training once more. "Time waits for no man!"