Mountains and Buffalo.

Chapter 1.

I was immediately faced with a difficult situation, and I started to panic. Here I was in the middle of nowhere with a broken carriage and a dead man next to me. His corpse was disturbing, but I have undeniably seen worse. I didn't want anyone to see me and get the wrong idea, either. There was another issue as well; the issue of where to go.

I recalled all the important bits, but my memory of after I left was gone completely. I was probably riding that carriage for a few months already, and that being the case, trying to walk back to Buffalo Village was an impossible prospect.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. My mind already raced to frustration and blaming bad luck, but I managed to calm myself down. I thought rationally for a minute; I had money, though I only brought enough for simple expenses, and the carriage had resources. That is, unless a group of bandits caused the wreck. I wanted to confirm that before anything else.

The mess of wood that was the carriage was hard to maneuver, but with all the goodies that were in it, I was sure to find some by only removing a few pieces of wood. Once I did however, I didn't find anything; no water, no food, and my flasks and syringe were missing.

And worst of all, so was my tome.

"..."

It wasn't easy to stay composed. But at the very least, I found out that it wasn't just a freak accident.

The carriage was undeniably raided.

"So, why am I still alive? And why do I still have money?"

I checked my pocket to find that the sack of coins was still there. I made sure they were well hidden, but they were so noisy that it didn't matter. For whatever reason, I was left with the money.

I wasn't one to stare a gift horse in the mouth, but I was still confused.

I snapped out of it, though. Asking questions wasn't gonna help me. I was still stranded in God knows where with nothing to eat and drink, I had to find someplace to go.

There was a cliff to the left of the trail. I walked to the edge and peered over it. All I saw was more badland, both upward and forwards. Judging by the... no, there wasn't anything to judge. Because of King's Peak's blessing, the air was as fresh here as it was below, so I had no way to judge what elevation I was at either.

"...Damn it!"

I tightened my fist and followed the trail, praying for good fortune.

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I overestimated myself.

Let my skills be what they may be, I wasn't a boy ready for the heat. I wasn't ready for the thirst, the famine, the difficulty of just making one foot move in front of the other. I was convinced, not even half an hour into my trip, that I would pass out.

I took out my tendril to catch my fall. It didn't do the greatest job sadly. Now I was on the ground, and the blazing heat was unapologetically assaulting me.

Maybe it was time to take this jacket off. I refrained from it, trying to respect Anabelle's work, but an interesting thought came to my mind: she probably wanted me to survive more than to wear her coat.

Still, the sun was too much. I could manage to stand again, and my sweat could finally do its job, but I still had the feeling that I would faint any minute. I still had the tendril out, so with a little bit of internal mana manipulation, I made it transform into a Watery-Gad-Blossom and poured its sparkly liquid into my mouth.

It tasted amazing. I made another one and did it again. I was feeling infinitely better.

"If only I had... a plant that made food..."