Dahe looked at his hands. They were as he made them, metaphorically speaking. He began to stretch, one arm across his body, then the other. Lifting his knees, walking in place. Touch toes. Touched. It was a new feeling, an amazing feeling, to be at the height of physical fitness. He realized that in the future, he would be even stronger, faster, and more flexible.

The first task to take care of, was to inventory his belongings. He slipped his rucksack off his shoulders and it plopped down in front of him. Inside, was a hunting spear, an unstrung bow, a packet of spare bow strings, preserved food, and a spare set of clothes. The clothes matched what he was already wearing. A baggy cloth pair of pants, an undershirt that had a little toggle to close it, and an overshirt that was heavier but also provided moderate protection. It went down to his waist and when closed it formed a double layer on his front. On a slim belt was a knife in a sheath.

Having taken inventory, he put all his supplies back in his rucksack except his spear and bow and arrow quiver. Those he put into his storage pouch so they could be accessed easily.

Dahe took a moment to look around. He was in a forest, but he had to make sure he wasn’t going to climb a poisonous tree. His mental library opened, his forestry skills expanded and made themselves available. He looked around for an appropriate tree.

That one. It would be fine to climb to get his bearings, and it wasn’t covered in anything poisonous.

He was surprised at how quickly he was able to shimmy his way up a tree. And he realized his fear of heights was gone. That was a pleasant surprise. Once he was near the top, he was able to wedge himself into a branch. He slid his backpack off a shoulder and searched inside. He found the astrolabe by touch, and pulled it out. Carefully, so as not to drop it, he put it up to an eye. Accessing the instructions for the astrolabe, he was able to take a bearing.

Snapping off a twig, he tossed in the direction he needed to go. Then descended from the tree and after removing his spear from his storage pouch, walked off in the direction he had thrown the twig.

Walking was interesting. His new body was excellent, but he could tell the gravity was slightly higher. Each footstep took just a bit more force as he walked.

The forest was a mixture of dense and thin. Sometimes Dahe would come across a game trail. Using his new forestry skills, he would attempt to figure out what animal had made its tracks. He found Bruoghs, which were like warthogs. Then some deer-like species, Odocos, which had a set of straight spiraling horns.

Day eventually faded away into night, and now Dahe could use his camping skills. He began preparing a campsite. After clearing away a suitable space, he pitched his tent and dug a fire pit. Once everything was properly set up, he started making dinner, using the supplies from his rucksack.

He divided his attention between his food and the forest. He tried to keep his breathing slow in order to be able to hear if something was close. Thankfully nothing happened, and he ate his meal in peace.

Sitting in his tent, he decided to start using his energy collection method. Dahe took a deep breath to start with, and then began to mentally reach out for any energy he could feel.

‘Breathe in, breathe out’ Dahe mentally chanted. Attempting to feel with your brain as if it were an antenna, is quite difficult. Shortly after, with no results, he shrugged his shoulders and sighed. ‘I don’t want to die just because I wasn’t paying attention.’

Deciding to wait until he was somewhere safer, he went to sleep.

As the sun began warming the air, Dahe Feng Ji awoke with a yawn. He stretched, still amazed by his body’s fitness.

After packing up his tent and bedding, and leveling out the fire pit, he set out once again towards the Flowing River Sect.

As he walked along, he delved into his mental library. It was time to educate himself. If he didn’t even have common sense, he wouldn’t get anywhere.

First he did a review of the language of the area, spoken and written. Then some basic math, and other things that a villager should know. Once he got through Village level, he moved on to Small Town, then Town, then Large Town and finally City level. Once he was done with City level it was time to camp again for the night.

After setting out again the next morning, he explored his City level knowledge and then went on to Hub City, then Capital City, then Empire Seat. Of course, there were various levels to those as well. Such as what would be taught to which group. Whether you were a poor villager, son of a tailor, a merchant’s son, or nobility, had an effect on your education.

Once Dahe was finished learning about the world, he sighed. This world was dangerous. It was supposed to be civilized, many countries tried to talk about how civilized they were. But as soon as trouble started, they were quick to rattle their sabers.

The only good thing was how much honor and promises were valued. It acted as a major restraint on those who might otherwise take shortcuts to their goal. There were actually stories of those who would set out with a group, only to be the only person to return alive. If this happens more than once, it can seriously impact a person’s reputation. That’s why most people only resorted to betrayal as a last resort.

That night Dahe didn’t bother trying to cultivate. He was dealing with the realization of his situation. He really was a stranger in a strange land. He spent quite some time staring at the ceiling of his tent. Breathing softly, he tried to meditate on his new world. Finally he rolled over on to his side. There was no choice to be made. He had to live his new life. There was no going back.