Dangers

Panting and now suffering more severe symptoms of dehydration, Kyriaki still decided to continue and push forward. There was the option to commit suicide and gain a new body, which could eliminate the problem that she faced, but she decided to save that as a last resort. 

After all, there was no way to revive or resurrect someone from the dead without some catch. Janus didn't mention any catch for the power he had granted her, but anyone with a sane mind would keep quiet about any catch or conditions if they benefit from it. 

Anyway, that was beside the point. Fortunately enough for Kyriaki, after tripping over a large root of a tree, she fell and rolled down a large hill. Though she wasn't too injured as the hill was mainly tall grass with no trees in sight, her mental spirit was damaged. 

But then, as she was confirming her possessions, she heard a sound similar to that of thunder rumbling in the distance. She immediately popped her head above the tall yellow grass fields in the plateau she was currently in and promptly started to search for the source of the noise. That was because—

"The sound of thunder, but yet, there's no lightning or clouds that could produce that sound! And that could only mean one thing! The sound of a waterfall!"

Driven by her curiosity and her desire to survive, Kyriaki quickened her pace through the tall grass, determined to find the waterfall. The plateau gradually descended into a lush, vibrant valley, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers.

The view before her unfolded like a dreamscape as she approached the plateau's edge. A majestic waterfall cascaded down the tall cliffside, possibly many hundred metres tall with its waters glistening in the sunlight. The sheer force of the fall was a spectacle, and a cool mist enveloped the surroundings, offering a refreshing embrace to animals that had stopped for a drink. 

"That's... massive." Kyriaki managed to utter. 

Beyond the waterfall and the body of water that it creates, there were flat stretches of land that had little to no tree cover at all. Animals that look to be similar to those like Bubalus Bubalis (water buffalo) and those belonging to the Bovidae family such as wildebeest, or an earlier version of it were taking a break, resting in the shade that the few trees provide or drinking water from the river. 

In the far, far distant landscape, some mountains extended for hundreds or even thousands of metres into the air. That information gave Kyriaki some general knowledge of where she was currently. 

After all, Kyriaki knew nothing about her surroundings. She only knew about the existence of the lake and the forest. Beyond that, nothing. 

"What am I spacing out for? I need water quickly!" 

Realising her purpose for coming to this place instead of being stricken with awe due to the landscape, Kyriaki sprinted with her remaining energy reserves towards the river that flowed off the tall cliff, resulting in the waterfall. 

The tall grass in her way may have contained dangerous predators camouflaged in, such as the beast she took down yesterday, and similar creatures to it. Kyriaki knows about the dangers of not observing your surroundings when leaving yourself in an open patch of land with few options to escape such as the situation she was going to be in. 

However, driven to the edge for even a sip of water, Kyriaki didn't even bother to check her surroundings. It was naive, as well as careless of her. She may as well pay the price for it in the form of her death, but either way, she could always come back and fight again. 

Making her way onto the slippery gravel and rocks that made up the bedrock, without a single speck of hesitation, she curved her dominant hand (right hand) like a spoon, scooped up some water and quickly transferred it to her mouth. 

It was common knowledge that any water that isn't boiled may contain dangerous bacteria or parasites, which made the water not safe to drink. 

Though people may confuse crystal-clear water such as the water of the river being safe, it isn't. Looking at the wider picture, you have hundreds of animals drinking the water every day from upstream and that flows downstream to where Kyriaki drank the water, which means the water is already contaminated. 

There was also the possibility of animal droppings dissolved in the river and many, many other factors that would contaminate the river, so while water may look clean, it is not safe to drink. The same is true for any water that may look dirty, but with the correct procedures, it is safe to drink. 

This is common knowledge, but there was not enough time for Kyriaki to gather wood, start a fire to boil the water, and then wait for it to cool down enough so she could drink it. Thus, drinking the contaminated water was a much better option for the time being. 

Not to mention that there was one major flaw—that was there was no container to hold the water while it was boiling. Back at her base, using a piece of hollow wood that she picked up and cleaned, it served as the container to boil her water. 

Splitting out some water from her mouth, Kyriaki wiped the extra water off her lips with her hand, she took a large breath before lowering her head until it reached the surface of the river, starting to drink the water directly from the source. She was gulping water down her throat, satisfying her body's needs as she did so. 

However, as she well may have liked to continue drinking water to continue satisfying her body, there was something called hyponatremia—water intoxication, and that was the major problem, and it forced Kyriaki to stop drinking a large amount of water at once as it may cause the disruption of electrolytes in her body, which can lead to her death.

Luckily that was only in extreme cases, however, the fact stood that she hadn't been eating much food that contained high amounts of sodium and her low amounts of sodium may as well cause hyponatremia if she wasn't careful. 

"I need to find a source of salt ASAP. I have been managing the necessary sodium intake of 2,000 mg (2 grams, or ~0.07 oz) with nuts that I scavenged on the first day, but it has been, what, three or so days since that? 

But first, I'll need to slowly drink water steadily over a long period to avoid hyponatremia. And since I can't drink unsafe and contaminated water all the time, I would need to make myself a temporary base and find something that would serve as a container for my water." 

Damn... I'm still so thirsty. My throat is still dry and I want to drink water! But hyponatremia exists. If I don't want to die, then I must... I must push through!

She felt that her strength was returning to her arms and with eyes filled with determination, Kyriaki made up her mind. The human body is an extremely complex and organised structure that exists in the field of biology, similar to the bodies of animals, however, as complex as it may seem, the human body is also quite simple and has flaws. 

Flaws are what make us human, and what make us mortal as living creatures. Researchers like Kyriaki are trying to find solutions to overcome these flaws. And over the two hundred thousand years that Homo Sapiens have existed, many of these natural flaws have a solution to it.

"Obtaining salt has always been easy. Even prehistoric humans knew how to do it." a confident smile appeared on Kyriaki's face as she smirked. She then rolled up the sleeves of her lab coat, preparing to do some work. 

I lost some muscle mass as well... oh well, it's fine. After this, I should at least regain some that I'd lost. 

What Kyriaki was planning to do was to make a temporary base alongside the riverbed. But before that, she had to find a source of salt, and fast. Over the past three days, Kyriaki has been sweating a moderate amount, so the electrolytes in her body such as magnesium or potassium were running low due to them being lost via sweating. 

Sodium was the most pressing reason for her as it is a key component of sweat, and since she has been sweating and without eating any foods that would necessarily replenish any of these electrolytes, especially sodium, it meant that her sodium levels were dangerously low, if not nearly non-existent. 

Though she doesn't know much about what each electrolyte's role is in the body, Kyriaki just knows that if one is electrolyte missing from the body, death would be the most likely outcome. 

Using some problem-solving skills, Kyriaki connected the dots and figured that rocks might contain some sodium, since 'freshwater' by definition is natural water that is not salty and suitable for consumption. 

However, if the water doesn't taste salty, it doesn't mean it doesn't contain salt. And if the bedrock is made up of pebbles and decently large rocks, then they might have salt contained in them.

But before that, Kyriaki needs to find some sort of container to hold the water that would need to be boiled. The best and most obvious choice—the forest. It is close by and has many resources that would be extremely beneficial towards surviving the night. 

Either way, Kyriaki would need to go into the forest to find some dry sticks for firewood if she wanted to be comfortable during the cold temperatures of nightfall and be able to cook the deer leg that she stole from the Erectus hunting group for food anyway, so it would be a win-win situation. 

"Alright... the forest. All I need is a large block of wood for the container and some firewood. Should be easy enough." 

Gazing at the forest boundary, where the seemingly flat, rolling hills of the savanna suddenly meet an abrupt end before transitioning into a dense forest with a whole different ecosystem and food webs compared to its neighbour, Kyriaki felt free for the first time in a long time. 

There were no tall, towering skyscrapers anywhere in view, no matter how hard she tried to look, the air was crisp and clean, unlike the heavily polluted air of Flenas, the capital city of Arias, and the landscape was untouched by humans, only pure wilderness. 

"..." 

Sighing, "I need a smoke break," she mumbled. Kyriaki was no smoker, but the effects of nicotine—mainly the quick rush of adrenaline, is what made Kyriaki keep smoking once in a while, and not completely stop despite knowing the health, physical and mental damage it would do. "There's no cigarette though. I might have to find a way to make my own... though the closest source of the tobacco plant is located in the western land territories of Southern Portland, which is possibly hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from where I am." 

Sighing once again, Kyriaki scratches the back of her head in frustration before heading to the forest. The canopy above her head creates a comforting shade, though it is still quite thin compared to the canopy deeper into the forest, the shade is still a relief from the relentless sun's rays.

The earthy scent of moss and fallen leaves rises around her, and the soft hum of unseen insects adds a melodic undertone to the rustle of leaves beneath her boots. As Kyriaki navigates through the labyrinth of towering trees with only the faint and subtle distant noise of the thundering waterfall serving as her compass. 

Soon after, Kyriaki encounters a fallen tree, its dry branches scattered like skeletal remains. She kneels down and begins to gather the brittle limbs, with the crackling sound of dry leaves accompanying each movement. One stick at a time, each carefully inspected to ensure that the stick was completely dry before placing it in her arms. 

With a bundle of firewood secured in her arms, Kyriaki resumes her exploration. With one goal down, there was one more thing left to do. That is: secure a large log of wood. 

I'm pretty sure you can boil water using hot rocks... it's worth the risk though. I do not have the time, technology or the right materials to process metal and wood is a poor conductor of heat. 

As she continues, the forest floor transitions from the crunch of dry leaves to the soft and wet moss-covered ground. Looking around, she spots something unusual, something sticking out like a sore thumb compared to its surroundings. In the shade of a young tree, Kyriaki spots a cluster of mushrooms, their caps resembling miniature umbrellas. She carefully inspects each one, recalling the basic knowledge of edible fungi she acquired during her time as a researcher. 

She was no expert on mushrooms and decided to hope for the best that the mushroom she'd found was edible. Plucking them out of the soil, there was a total of six mushrooms longer than six centimetres and ten much smaller ones. There was not much space for the mushrooms in Kyriaki's arms since the bundle of firewood was the reason, so she decided to leave them behind and pick them up after dropping off the firewood at the temporary base. 

The distant murmur of the waterfall served as a constant guide, which Kyriaki used to return back to the waterfall. "I think it's time for another sip of water." she murmured to herself. After carefully placing down the bundle of firewood, she lowered her mouth to the surface of the river and started to drink. She only took a mouthful of water and that was all. She had to be careful after all. 

Back to the forest again. 

There was no time to waste. 

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Mortal and God.

If you ask any God, Demi-God or Deity, those words are instantly affiliated with one person—Janus, God of Time. Though he is considered merely as a 'Minor God', like most of the Gods in the Plane of Heaven, his power is truthfully quite mysterious and unknown. 

"Kyriaki Haris... he really does resemble me when I was young," it said. Janus is a figure with two heads, each looking in the opposite direction, and one a maiden and the other a gentleman. Both had white hair and lovely white eyes, the completely opposite of Kyriaki's black hair and eyes. "Why does he fascinate me so much? Could this be the reason I am the God of Duality and Change? If so... let's alter the reincarnation power I granted him a slight bit. A penalty you'll call it." 

Both of Janus' heads smiled with joy as they dealt with the mortal known as Kyriaki Haris.