A perilous day
"Damn, I'm itchy!"
Cliff growled.
He groaned in pain, in his hand, the crimson crystal ball was continually losing its colors, Cliff was draining the essence it contained, but the absorption itself was not fun.
Cliff felt the energy coursing through his veins getting hotter and hotter, his body bent, fell to his knees, he vomited, it was always a strange feeling to feel his body reshape.
Cliff grimaced;
Ugh..!! It's almost over, I have to hang on to it."
[You have absorbed the essence of a horned rabbit]
This semi-robotic voice was comforting, just when he wanted to hear it, Cliff sat up, by the fire he was sitting trying to clear his mind.
The voice resumed;
[Your body has changed]
[Your hearing has developed]
[You have gained a small resistance to pain]
Cliff was surprised that he could have tons of abilities if he continued to absorb the essences of the creatures of this forest or this very world where he could be strong, very strong that his life would not be easily in danger.
Cliff rejoiced at this opportunity, he couldn't stop his lips from twisting into a devilish smile.
The voice continued;
[You have acquired a pseudo-transformation of a horned rabbit]
[You have gained sensitivity to mana]
As soon as the voice finished, he felt the same sensation of energy that was around him, above him, and even in his own body, it was everywhere.
Cliff wanted to know how he should use this energy called "mana" with this in mind he would have to conduct his own investigation, deepen his knowledge, if he wanted to have a chance of returning to his own world.
Cliff let go of his concentration, took the meat which was impaled on a small wooden branch, he brought his copiously prepared dish to his mouth.
After a few minutes, Cliff was surprised at his appetite, the meat of this large rabbit was so tasty that he ate it all.
Maybe it was a side effect of his "drain" skill but it was really surprising to eat a creature whole and want to chew its bones.
It's frustrating !
Cliff took off his black t-shirt, he inspected the wound on his shoulder, it was three lines of cuts, shallow, just enough to allow him to move.
But he would lose more of his blood than he could recover before the wound closed.
The pain was present but bearable, with his resistance to pain, if he did not make any sudden movements, within three or four days the pain would disappear.
Very useful as an ability.
It would be much better if I didn't feel anything.
With these words in his mind, Cliff decided to test his abilities, so that when he was in a fight facing much more dangerous strange creatures, knowing his strengths would be much more beneficial to him.
His life would constantly be at stake in any case, if he wanted to have the ability to be strong, and to defend himself against the dangerousness of this "jungle" which the law advocates; "the weak are eaten by the strong", his road would not be easy at all and he knew it.
This path to becoming strong that faced him, although tempting, was still strewn with pitfalls, Cliff knew that he would have to, in situations that presented themselves to him in the future, make himself small or at least the opposite.
Cliff got up, took a breath of fresh air, stretched his body, with the aim of training, took his saber in his hand, plunged into the depths of the cave.
With a piece of burning wood, which was used as a torch, going deeper and deeper into this hole, there were like little brains of light at the other end of it.
Cliff was rushing, maybe he could find better shelter?, in the depths of this cave, could he settle there and make it his temporary base?
He had walked for almost half an hour, before approaching these twinkling lights closer, Cliff was out of breath, tired and injured his body ached, but at that moment everything was bearable.
He had hope.
He hoped that he would find salvation at the bottom of this cave, that he would perhaps find water, he really needed the latter.
He was really, really thirsty.
He couldn't even swallow his saliva anymore, his throat was dry, his lungs were hot, he was losing blood, Cliff was really surprised that he could stand all that.
This is truly an awesome ability!!!
Is there a way to increase it???
When he arrived, Cliff's eyes widened,
In this small space the energy was dense and almost omnipresent, Cliff felt that this space was like a miniature version of heaven.
In this small space there were many luminous crystals, there was a row of stones of a myriad of colors, and in this crack of rocks there was... water.
Cliff rushed, he set up the fire again, unlike earlier his fire caught much faster, when he had finished, he knelt in front of the spring with his two palms together, he gathered water and brought it to his mouth.
Greedily, he drank this fabulous beverage, which he had missed so much.
In his throat, Cliff felt like a river...no, like a river rushing down, making its way to his stomach.
A tide of emotions poured into his head, without being asked, he undressed, and got naked, there was a pool in front of him, that was the destination, the water flowing from the rock .
Cliff dove into the pool, and took what might have been called a good bath.
When he came out of the water, Cliff was surprised by something that excited him to dive back in and spend another half hour.
It was his wounds, they were closing...
Before his eyes, where there should have been three cuts, only one remained, the deepest one, now it was just a simple scratch.
This was an unprecedented event for Cliff, in his old world, if he told about these kinds of experiences he had in this forest, no one would believe him, at least those who are sane.
Not letting his mind be preoccupied with this nonsense, Cliff shook his head slightly and continued with what was on his mind.
In this strange room, there was a lot of "mana", as soon as he arrived Cliff could sense it.
It was completely different from what he had felt when he was outside, it was like a strange feeling, as if the energy there was almost palpable.
Cliff had an idea.
Why not absorb the energy in this room?, if he could directly drain this energy, wouldn't he be stronger?, and moreover, if he managed to use this energy lots of possibilities would be offered to him no ?
Maybe I should comply, right?"
Cliff sat down, it was a strange feeling to sit naked on a large rock, the worst part was that it wasn't even silky.
He complained;
It's a really weird feeling!"
Cliff focused on this feeling of energy surrounding him, his sensitivity although small, he still tried to drain this energy inwards...
He used his airways, he sucked in a large amount, but the energy could not be stored.
At least he knew he just didn't know how to do it.
He had failed.
But he wouldn't give up, Cliff got up and took one of the stones that glowed in multiple colors, and inspected it.
It looked very much like an emerald, it was about a foot long and barely twenty inches wide, but Cliff was convinced that it was not a silicate, because what he was holding in his hand, he could feel perfectly well. ...
Mana!!
This stone full of mana that he had in his hands was as if it were made of it.
Bingo!!
Cliff's eyes sparkled, if he could absorb the mana that this stone held, he could succeed where he had failed.
My mind is screaming at me to try!
Cliff focused on the stone in his hands, he tried to extract its component.
The Stone shone in his hand, Cliff felt an energy invade him, under his skin, In every fiber of his body, it settled there.
Cliff moaned, gritting his teeth, he sped up the process wanting to end this self-inflicted torture, which increased the pain exponentially.
"Uhg...that feels maaal!!!!!!
Cliff growled.
He continued the infusion, his veins were swollen and burning, his body was screaming at him to stop, but Cliff continued what he had resolved to do.
[You have absorbed a large amount of unpurified mana]
[You have absorbed a large amount of unpurified mana]
Unpurified!!??
Oh yes, that's why it hurts so much!!
Normally, I would never have to torture myself for that!!
Damn, to hell with ignorance!!
At that moment Cliff wholeheartedly wished he had a skill that would allow him to purify mana.
If he had a person to guide him, tell him not to do this or that, this mistake could have been avoided, without letting go of anything, he absorbed the mana from the stone.
Cliff gritted his teeth.
[You have acquired the purification skill]
"Purification!!!
Cliff barked, his voice echoed in the room, he was even startled by the latter.
The pain was decreasing, Cliff was also speeding up his absorption, he was drenched in sweat, the size of the stone in his hands was decreasing at high speed.
Cliff was delighted, for once the strange voice had responded to his wishes.
What strange feelings!!
A few minutes later, nothing was left of the stone, it was no longer there, as if it had never existed...
And Cliff felt saturated, full of energy, and drunk at the same time, he got dressed again, he approached a smooth, dull stone.
He dozes off.
[Your mana has increased]
The voice continued to speak but Cliff didn't care anymore, he was tired.
The day was long and dangerous, he had to rest.
He took a well-deserved rest.