Project: iaseki

Chapter 2: Little fox

After he got a few hundred meters away from the city, he recalled what he knew so far. In a game, or even in real life, the one who holds more answers will be able to strive more. In the words of a gamer like Lu, "information is king".

He thought that since he has feathers that work the same way as they did in Monitum, the new world might just work similar to how it did in the game.

"In that case, I should have that too..." He told himself, stretching his right palm forward, and his left held on to support it. A golden cloud puffed out of his hand and gradually dissipated after a short while

There were three types of hex in Monitum. Body hex called life which is, unlike in most videogames, not represented in a green bar. It is instead felt, similar to how it worked in real life for the immersion.

Mind hex is called mana, which is used to summon and control feathers. Once depleted, the player no longer has access to the feathers. Again, it is not shown, unlike in most videogames where it is fepresented in a blue bar.

The last is spirit hex called animus. It is used for breaking the laws of the universe. The only certain thing about it is that its forms vary from person to person, and can be used three times, then in case of emergencies, once more. The last use has more powerful effects than the first three, but will make the player faint from exhaustion.

Lu shook his head. He couldn't figure out what his animus can do. "So much for info is king" he thought.

He sighed and walked forward. The more important problem to tackle on is his survival. He walks forth headstrong, not looking back.

***

Lu wanders aimlessly through three days and nights without any food or sleep or even a simple break. Not seeing any impending danger does not mean there isn't any.

Some moments he would wonder if he should sleep for a few hours, but the thought of being eaten alive by who-knows-what while helplessly dozing off prevented him from doing so. For the past three days he hasn't encountered anything, and the more time passes by the more he thinks he's safe. However, when your life is on the line, you have to dismiss any other idea that has less than the highest chance for survival.

His heavy eyelids closed for a brief second involuntarily. In that short time, he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Lu..."

His eyes instantly opened when he heard it. He looked around to look for the source of the sound, but as he expected, there was nobody else around.

He was in a location where trees appeared only every thousand steps. Had he been walking in a rainforest, he'd build himself a secure shelter, even if he would just pass by one. However, he wasn't lucky enough to encounter any, and carrying a trunk to the other until he could build a shelted didn't seem so wise. Not even if it only took two trees.

"Lu", he heard it again.

He turned round and round, spinning until he was dizzy enough. That was when he saw the woman with black hair in the distance. He wanted to tread over there and take a closer look, but he soon realized who it is, or rather, who it was supposed to be.

"Leila..." he whispered in his soft, shaky voice. He almost shed a tear if he didn't know any better. At the exact moment she smiled at him kindly he knew he was hallucinating, just as how it felt like when oneself realizes that they are in a dream.

She got closer everytime he blinked. He decided to get away from his delusions and turned around, only to find the same smiling woman behind him only a few inches away. He suddenly lost all his will to fight it and fell down on the soft grass, instantly snoozing off.