Curse the Mainframe! 23 Survival Tips?

The forest was quiet, which was a rare thing in itself. As time passed by without any intrusive movements, the sound started filtering back. It started with the faint rustling of leaves, followed by the squeaks of little animals as they dared come out of their hiding places.

Alec basked in the sounds of the forest that he had grown so used to.

Taking off the blindfold that Evin had so unceremoniously shoved onto them, Alec quickly scanned his surroundings.

It was not a part of The Great Expanse that he had come into before, whether it be by himself or with his class.

The first thing he did was check his backpack. Nothing was amiss inside, and Bunbun was curled up under a waterproof raincoat that he had shoved on top.

Alec smirked, letting the well-practiced smile fade from his face.

It felt rather strange not to have to keep up the smile at all times now. No matter how much he complained about it, the smile was still a form of armour that his mother had shown him how to use.

Though he still didn't know how relevant it was in the face of things outside of their clan, it had proven to be useful thus far.

Bunbun perked up noticing Alec opening the pack, his little nose poking out to sniff.

Alec took him out, placing the bunny on the ground.

"Go find a water source!"

Bunbun gave and affirmative and hopped off, heeding Alec's orders.

As for Alec, he looked around, finding that the trees in this area were remarkably similar. He furrowed his brows, quickly scaling the closest tree.

He avoided the nest that was on the middle branches, landing on the highest branch. He squinted, looking around in the different directions.

He sucked in a breath when he realized that he was rather far from the clan compound. In fact, he couldn't even see where the trees ended and where they began.

He could faintly make out the Edelles Tree, but it was so faint that he had to squint hard to even see it.

Quickly, he dropped back down to the ground, making sure to avoid leaving any traces.

This was not good. This deep into The Great Expanse, there was a higher chance of meeting monsters that didn't like to venture near the Neil Clan compound.

Instead of going after Bunbun like he wanted to do instinctively, Alec tried to fade his presence, calming his mind. He kept his actions light and efficient. He did not want to attract any monsters to come after him right now.

Not when he was still so weak.

His body had not much muscle mass to speak of, and his strength was pathetically inefficient. Not to mention, he didn't have a direct way of using his Magitype to get him out of any potentially sticky situations.

Alec looked around for branches that had dropped on the ground, gathering them. He made sure to get those that were dry and likely to burn.

Having done that, he checked the amount of light that filtered through the forest canopy and realized that he had to move quickly lest night fall. Sun set early in the forest, and Alec wasn't willing to light a fire at night.

No matter what anyone said, monsters were attracted to the light source instead of being scared away from it.

Alec, of course, was not stupid, and with how weak he was currently, that would just be painting a large target on his back daring said monster to attack him now.

Bunbun appeared without another sound, able to feel Alec's cautiousness.

Alec patted the bunny. How smart.

Along with the branches that he had quickly gathered, Alec brought his backpack and everything else with him to the water source.

With a ten-minute walk, they reached a river.

The river cut across the forest, both sides banked with trees. There were a few smaller animals drinking from the river, but they scattered upon seeing Alec.

Instead of setting up camp next to it, Alec moved away, lingering near the trees instead.

Before anything that could threaten their safety came, Alec filled two pots with water, bringing them back with him to the camp.

With that done, he painstaking kept an eye on the amount of light that was still available, starting up the fire with the dried branches.

Boiling the water to get rid of most of the bacteria, he stored it in the empty bottle that he brought just in case.

Instead of taking the time to hunt today, Alec ate one of the bars and shooed Bunbun off for him to munch on some grass.

Then, he went deeper into the woods to place some traps.

After he was done, the sun was already in the midst of setting for the day.

Alec breathed out. That was quicker than he thought.

He grabbed Bunbun and relocated them to the top of the trees, resting in the branches instead of staying on the ground.

The best option for someone staying alone in the forest was for them to stay above ground, where most monsters were landbound and no threat of him as he was high above the ground.

With all the miscellaneous activities taken care of, Alec even felt like he could stay here for the entire seven days.

Not that he would, of course, since that wasn't the point of this exercise their teacher had set them.

Now that he had everything out of the way, he thought back to his various experiments and attempts of Awakening something.

What exactly was he missing in his attempts?

Everything he tried to Awaken lacked the sentience that had developed in Bunbun and Javor, as well as the Edelles Tree, which seemed like the peak of Awakening magic to him.

Was it feeling?

Along these lines, Alec tried to Awaken the tree he was currently on. He reached into himself, and pulled it out slowly, allowing it to spread along his skin, and enter into the core of the tree.

Alec breathed in and out in tune with the pulse of his magic, and he felt himself being transported into the world of the tree's core.

He could feel everything. From the tip of the leaves, down to the roots. For a moment, Alec even felt like his entire life had been a lie, and that he was a tree instead.

What a strange feeling. He hadn't felt this way any other time.

As Alec's consciousness sank into the tree, he felt like he could 'see' all around him. He was able to sense everything that occurred in a five-meter radius. There was a strange dissonance between his brain and what he was currently seeing. So much so that he felt dizzy.

Alec reoriented himself, 'closing' his eyes. Instead, he turned his senses inwards, seeing the pulse of the tree.

Down where the roots were, the energy of the tree was currently concentrated there.

How would he do this, Alec wondered.

Tentatively, like with the doors back in his home, Alec brushed his magic across the tree, but nothing happened. He frowned, before directing his magic to the tree's 'core'.

Immediately, there was a change in the tree. Almost as if something was born. The developing bond lazily curled around, looking for Alec's magic. When they brushed, Alec felt an electrifying sensation race down his spine.

He blinked, snapping back to his senses. He was no longer 'inside' the tree, but instead back in his body.

That had been highly disconcerting. What exactly had made that so different from his other attempts?

It definitely wasn't the feelings. He had been calm and curious at home, and utterly terrified with Bunbun and Javor.

Was it intent, then?

Alec was about to jump to another tree to test out his theory, when he heard the low, threatening growl from the bottom of the tree.

Chapter end

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