Chapter 6 - A New Chance [2]

- Hm?

That's strange. Now it doesn't seem so toxic anymore, and the smell... it's much more pleasant! The fragrance is really reminiscent of grass, although still weak, it's much better than before.

Did I, do it? As far as I can tell, maybe so, since when I touched the herb again, my hand didn't glow like before.

Now I'm even more curious about this glow. It appeared all of a sudden and now that I want to do it again, I'm not sure how to go about it... or rather, I don't even know where to start.

Can I do it if I concentrate?

- Grr...

My posture is embarrassing. As if I thought I was capable of magic, I stretched out my hand, trying to reproduce what I did before. But nothing happened. It just made me feel even more embarrassed, even though I was alone.

The glow appeared the moment I picked up one of the herbs, and it returned to its normal hue - or at least, I think that's what it was.

Will it work if I take it again? Well, I've got time on my hands and nothing to lose. I'll give it a try.

I looked at the ground, surrounded by the herbs, and pulled one of them out by the roots. Now I just need to concentrate. With it in my hand, it should be easier.

Shinin~~

Here it is! It only seems to work to purify these plants, but this time, their hue changed more quickly as I held them.

Amazing! Now I can take the opportunity to better understand this glow.

In fact, my hand feels warm and velvety. Now that I'm focused, I can keep this glow going for a while.

For now, it's only on one hand, but its green color is very pretty and bright - it doesn't illuminate the cave much, but it's still useful, since we have a little light.

So does this glow have the ability to cure toxicity? From what I saw earlier, I imagine so.

I ran my hand over my body and realized that the glow felt safe. When I touched my arm, it felt lighter. The same happened with my belly, which was heavy, but not anymore.

When I touched my chest, I noticed that my breathing became softer, as if the weight on my chest had lessened.

So, is this a healing glow? No... Is that healing magic? But does this glow last for long? Does it...

- Grr...

Concentrating once more, the glow disappeared, but now I feel I can activate it at any time. I don't have to pluck the grass anymore. I can conjure it up whenever I want.

It's surreal! Am I... doing magic?

Is this a world of magic? Is it real? Like in anime and novels? I always thought they were just stories... And now, it feels like I'm in another world... of magic?

I feel like I could scream with euphoria, but my pride stops me. Even so, it's a completely insane feeling.

Now I want to test it further. And actually, I think I have some ideal targets here in the cave. Well, now I have something interesting to do.

***

As there were a lot of herbs around me, I ended up overdoing it a bit. But in the end, everything was cleaner - at least where I was, since the rest of the cave was still impure.

After I managed to purify the area, the smell was much more pleasant, even a little sweet.

It reminded me of the smell of mint or spearmint. I'm not an expert on herbs, but my sense of smell reminded me of those mint candies.

But while I was doing this, I could tell that my body was a little exhausted. Using this power seems to really sap my energy, which is strange since I didn't even notice it before. Maybe my body is warning me not to overdo it. I think it would be wise to listen to it.

I'm tired, but not like before, when I was doing the reports. This tiredness is temporary. If I rest a bit, I think I'll recover.

Rooonc!

And now... my stomach is rumbling. It's clear that I'm hungry.

It makes sense, since I've apparently slept for a long time. And now, without much thought, I know that this plant will be my temporary food source. Still, it seems a bit inappropriate to do.

- Munch

That's really strange. I've tried a salad with sweet herbs, and I must admit it wasn't a wonderful experience. But it's not so bad, and I feel like I can keep eating until I'm full. Being reborn, once again, to eat herbs and moss in a cave... It was nothing I expected to do.

Normally, poisonous plants have immediate effects when ingested. If that were the case, I'd have intense stomach pains, a high fever or rashes. But I'm not feeling any of that.

When I ate it, I had the same sensation as when I drank a strong tea - of course, without the sweet liquid part. My breathing, which used to be labored because of the deep sleep, is now lighter. I feel more refreshed. This herb definitely has medicinal properties.

Although it's important information, it's not the focus for now. My stomach rumbles again, and I think I'll just... keep eating.

***

I don't really know how much time has passed since then; maybe it's only been a few minutes, or maybe an hour. The truth is that I have no concept of time, and there's no way of determining that precisely, for various reasons. I may now be living through a clear day or a dark night, and I can't even tell.

Somehow, I ended up getting distracted by what I was doing, but in a completely wrong way. I'm acting like a real herbivore right now, and despite everything, I've continued to chew those herbs, but for a very different reason now.

The sensation is still strange, like eating a mint salad. The taste is strong at first, but soon, as I chew it, a softness begins to spread through my mouth, all the way down to my stomach.

These herbs have a curious effect: they give me a feeling of satiety, even though I'm not hungry. The more I eat, the more satisfied I feel, which is strange, to say the least. The most surprising thing is that as I eat more, I feel less hungry. I know that sounds obvious, but it's like something different from anything I've ever experienced.

Before launching into this consumption, however, I ended up going a little overboard with the use of this... magic? I don't know if that's the right word. I still don't quite understand this concept, which is as incomprehensible to me as herbs.

It was during this experiment that I discovered something interesting. The more I use this magic, the more I feel the weight of exhaustion, but even though it's a double-edged sword, I don't see any disadvantages to using it.