Chapter: 8 [Dark Forest] [2]
***
[Status]
[Name: Ascera Leafs]
[Age]: [15]
[Rank]: [G-]
[EXP]: [06 / 1,000] // [06 / 3,000]
[Gain 994 more EXP to level up.]
***
Manual: Mist Breath [Category: 1 Star]
Description: A basic 1-Star manual enabling the user to gain one extra EXP for every hour of meditation. It filters the ambient mana into a thin mist, making it slightly easier for the body to absorb without straining the mana circuits.
***
I stared at the translucent status screen floating in the dim, humid air in front of me and took a deep, shaky breath. After the cascade of disasters that had defined my life since waking up in this world, at least something joyous had finally happened. I had reached the [G-] rank.
After spending three days in that high-end hospital ward being poked and prodded, I had finally been able to practice meditation like the people of this world did. But I wasn't a natural. Far from it. I wasn't able to maintain that deep state of focus for more than three hours a day, and even that was a grueling, exhausting ordeal that left my brain feeling like it had been scrubbed with sandpaper.
It was theoretically the same as inhaling and exhaling, but performed in a rhythmic, unnatural manner while maintaining a razor-sharp focus on the mana flow—the prana—within my body. With each breath I took and released, I had to visualize the energy entering my pores and settling into my mana circuits. This was why it had taken me two full days to reach the [G-] rank, excluding the recovery time I spent in the hospital.
Even now, with my mind sharp from my previous life, I wasn't able to push this weak body to its limits like the original Ascera was able to do. I was frustratingly slow in increasing my rank, a turtle crawling toward a finish line that was miles away.
Nonetheless, it was still better than being stuck at the same rank forever. I was now physically healed—or at least functional—and in the right state of mind. To fund this desperate gamble, I'd had to liquidate every single asset I had on my person. It took everything: my expensive, mana-resistant watch, my heavy gold chain, my rings, and the intricate bracelet. After haggling with a greasy-palmed pawn shop dealer, I walked away with 10,000 BMN.
BMN was the currency of this world, the blood that kept the gears of the three great kingdoms turning. All major works, from the smallest street vendor to international trade, were done in BMN. The name itself was a hierarchy: the 'B' represented the Blue Heaven Kingdom, the 'M' represented the Mythical Forest Kingdom, and the 'N' represented the Nasel Kingdom.
It was a strange, almost clinical way of naming currency, but its importance was absolute. It functioned much like the US Dollar back on Earth, and its purchasing power felt strangely similar. I had sold 25 grams of gold along with other valuables like my diamond ear piercing and my bracelet—both made of black diamond. On Earth, I'd have been set for a long time. Here, I only got 10,000 BMN.
I was genuinely shocked by the exchange rate until I realized the truth: this planet, Aurora, was filled to the brim with resources that were rare on Earth. Gold was just another metal here; diamonds were just another hard stone. Now I finally understood how the entire Leafs Barony was constructed out of those seemingly "priceless" stones and tiles. They weren't rare, demand wasn't high, and thus their market value was plummeting compared to anything mana-related.
Just thinking about the "lost" wealth made my heart bleed. In this world, the real value lay in pills, potions, and alchemical elixirs. They were ranked in six strict categories: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, Perfect, and Legendary.
While "Basic" was the floor, "Legendary" was the ceiling—though I'd learned there weren't any Legendary or even Perfect grade potions in the entirety of the Nasel Kingdom. There were too many varieties to count: syrups to help a mute regain their voice, tonics to grow hair on a bald head, and balms to restore sight or hearing. Most importantly, there were elixirs that could force a mana breakthrough.
The problem? They were obscenely expensive. I had already burned through 4,000 BMN just purchasing a survival kit of Basic Tier Potions: mana recovery, healing, and strengthening. Each one cost 50 BMN, and I bought twenty of each. I also splurged on five Basic Tier Blood Recovery Pills.
Those pills were the real killers at 200 BMN each, but they were a necessity. Potions could knit my skin together, but they couldn't replace the blood I'd lose if a beast decided I looked like a snack.
After a day of relative luxury in a hotel and spending 2,000 BMN on calorie-dense food and supplies, I only had 4,000 BMN left in my digital account. This world was a bizarre mix of fantasy and high-tech; the mobile phones here were lightyears ahead of Earth's. I even had a full signal and network connection in the middle of a primeval forest. I really liked that feature—it was a small comfort to know I could at least browse the news while being hunted.
How did I know my phone hadn't lost its network in the forest? Because I was currently standing in one. Moreover... a very dangerous one.
The Dark Forest, as its name suggests, was a place where the sun came to die. The canopy was so thick that the ground was enveloped in a perpetual, emerald-tinted twilight. The trees were titans; the "small" ones were thirty meters tall, while the elders reached heights of 115 meters, their roots twisting like the limbs of sleeping giants. It was a rainforest similar to the Amazon, though much smaller—perhaps the size of Bhutan or Nepal.
It contained millions of trees and hundreds of thousands of species, ranging from harmless colorful birds to lethal mana beasts and corrupted demonic beasts. There were just too many predators to remember them all.
I gripped the handle of the small, mana-compressed gun in my hand. It was a sleek, metallic tool, strong enough to take down lower-level animals from rank [H-] to [F+]. Beyond that, these guns became expensive paperweights. Once an individual reached the [E-] rank, their mana-reinforced skin became denser than the compressed air bolts the gun fired.
In the upper echelons of society, nobody used these. They were considered "peasant tools"—expensive, hard to manufacture, and useless in a high-level duel. But for me, a "mortal" in every sense that mattered, this toy made me feel somewhat invincible against the smaller threats.
The only problem was that I had never used a gun in my life. On Earth, I was a law-abiding student with a peaceful life. I didn't know how to fight, I didn't know how to shoot, and I certainly didn't know any defense techniques. I was only "stronger" than average because of a healthy diet and protein shakes. But Aurora wasn't Earth. The people here were super-humans, their bodies reinforced by the very air they breathed.
I stayed on the outskirts, hoping to avoid any high-ranking beasts or hostile humans.
***
Two days later.
As i was saying, I was soft. Too soft for this world. I hadn't even killed a spider back on Earth, so how was I supposed to survive in a bloody world that wanted to swallow me whole without even a burp? I knew I needed to change my mindset. I needed to become the predator, or I'd end up as fertilizer.
And here I was, crouched over a small fire, cooking a common forest rabbit. Peeling the skin had been a nightmare—a slippery, bloody mess that left my hands smelling of iron—but I'd managed to make it edible.
It wasn't a sudden change. On the first day, I just climbed trees like a coward, stealing bird eggs and making unseasoned omelets. On the second day, I finally found the courage to aim the mana gun. I was afraid, my hands shaking so hard I missed the first few shots, but eventually, I hit one.
A clean shot. No pain.
I still felt a pang of guilt for the innocent animals, but it wasn't the kind of soul-crushing regret that made me question my sanity. I had to kill to eat. It was that simple. I told myself I just had to get used to this before moving on to the real threats: Mana Beasts and Demonic Beasts.
Mana beasts were just evolved animals—faster, smarter, and stronger. Demonic beasts, however, were the stuff of nightmares. They were mana beasts that had gone "rabid" through infection or corruption, consuming their own life force and soul for a massive, terrifying spike in power. They became invincible within their rank, but they lost their minds, their sanity, and their lifespans—most died within a year.
But while they lived, they were pure, unadulterated malice.
Oh, Why am I telling you this?
Haah, silly me, because right now, the ferns in front of me have parted. A [G] ranked Demonic Bear is staring at me. It is a disgusting, bald creature, its skin covered in weeping sores and glowing purple veins that throb with corrupted mana. Its eyes are milky white, and it smells like rotting meat and ozone.
I'm fucked, aren't I?