CHAPTER 44: FORTUNE

"Now then. How are we to find our way out of this place? Hmm... maybe if you could scout the area then... yes we can definitely try that."

Thus Noctis started talking to Minerva about the places he remembered and about its peculiarities in order to ascertain a general direction to move at.

It would inevitably take some time depending how far he was from the known parts of the jungle and which direction they explored first, but it was what it was.

Fortunately for him, the critter was as smart as they come, he had confidence in at least not fumbling at that step.

With that Minerva took flight as Noctis started to familiarize himself with the jungle once again.

***

Noctis was sitting on the highest branch of the highest tree he could find in the immediate vicinity, with his back to the truck, one leg tucked while another dangling downwards.

With his eyes closed he was basking in the ever glorious evening glow of the forest, along with it he was focusing his energy on his senses. As one does.

After spending such time in the void, he had much better control as well as perception of this power.

He could even feel the hairs splinters on the body of the squirrels and rabbit in the immediate vicinity as well as the general shape and position of larger animals to a few kilometres.

His depth perception and spatial awareness had improved tenfold as he could now make out the general terrain of the forest, and thus probably walk around the place just fine in this state.

As he was playing around with it, now having much larger reserves of it than before, suddenly a branch holding a ripe fruit came up to him as he took it with a gentle movement.

He did it without even opening his eyes, not only to practice but to settle another, more important matter.

He spread his perception in all directions to as far as could as he bit into the fruit.

He hadn’t had to wait too long however as he soon picked up the rapidly moving animals from a certain direction.

’And here they come...’

He obviously hadn’t forgotten these menaces that made his time worse whenever he even thought of having some sort of fun in this place.

It was obviously another sick sort of challenge that had been kick started the moment he encountered that damn pig after just awakening.

’13,14... 26,27... 39.. 42.. Good lord this place needs some competent predators.’

As he counted and tracked the closing pack of hounds he realised just how difficult it would be to go through them even with his new skills.

For one they weren’t numerous but independent units that he could pick apart and then kill independently, not with their fierce cooperation and the inhumane brutality.

Even if he did manage to incur some heavy losses to the frontline, who’s to say they didn’t have more waiting.

He didn’t have one bit of hope on the fairness of this place.

No, it has to be something else.

With that thought Noctis went through all the memories since the very first time he had encountered the pool of water with the illusory seductress in it.

The only thing he could reckon could give him any sort of hint, the thing that he had encountered and found most intriguing,

’The silver stag.’

It was what helped him free from the seductress in the pool of water, he also found it after breaking through the strange realm.

.

.

.

[Take this time to realise your real self.]

What does that imply?

[Shed your human self]

Noctis thought of all the newly awakened powers as well as the transforming mental plane of his.

It can’t be just about the physical prowess granted by the energy.

Noctis opened his eyes and looked up at the faintly visible moon in the sky as the sunset reached further and further below the horizon.

He felt the connection with the moon. But...

Would it (the stag) be aware of it (his affinity) then?

As Noctis closed his eyes once again in the familiar energy space of the forest, he remembered,

[You are one of forest. You are forest.]

’I am a plant? Do I photosynthesise or what? Forest... How is that going to help here... ?’

The hounds meanwhile kept closing in on him as their energies became more and more apparent.

Ferocious and resilient, they gave off very different feelings from his own or that of the gentleness of the forest.

Noctis’ instincts flared as he sat up straight at the sudden thought.

Energy.

Forest.

’That’s it.’

It’s the energy that is going to help him. Not the effect of it, but the very nature of it. The quality per se.

Noctis always felt before his own energy was quite malleable compared to every other thing he had so far encountered.

It could be an effect of his mental plane or the difference between living beings with a soul and inanimate objects, he would’ve to think further on this, but for now... this could work.

As Noctis once again focused all his energy into his senses and focused firmly this time on the flow of energy in and around the forest he found the pattern that he had encountered once long ago during his temporary tutelage of the giant owl.

With some effort Noctis started imprinting the nature of this gentle energy onto his own energy, something he had learned from changing the nature of void into water and such previously.

It strained on his brain but soon it started resembling the forest just faintly.

In tandem, he felt the one lush green tree in the middle of his white mental plane beginning to bloom magnificently along with many other changes around it.

He didn’t have much time to keep focusing on this however as the hounds came closer and closer until he could feel their veins and muscles of their beefy bodies.

After nature, Noctis quickly changed the flow of his energy into something resembling a small tree in his near surroundings.

Soon the first hound reached just below his tree as it subsequently jumped towards him.