The messy library had become cleaner. Well, the bones had been moved to a corner of the cavern. The ruined book shelf was gone. The desk was piled with books though. It had taken him the better part of two days to get the hang of the language.

Since then, he had not moved much, finishing book after book while occasionally fetching meat from the tunnel. His shoulder was healing well, and didn’t appear infected.

His worries about the meat were unfounded. At night it got cold enough to freeze the meat. Coupled with the fact that there was no sun, the meat stayed frozen long enough for him to cook it. Though he was quickly getting tired of eating nothing but monster meat.

That also meant that the nights were cold for him as well. He would fall asleep next to the fire, yet wake up next to its coals shivering slightly. He had scraped the flesh from the hide of the blind creature, but it made a poor blanket.

It was far from easy living. His supply of wood had dwindled, considering all he had was an old bookshelf and a broken bed. While the booshelf had given him plenty of wood, having a fire burning everynight consumed the wood quickly.

He had polished off twelve books so far, not including the one in mostly English. The humanoid appeared to have been some kind of researcher. He had also found several books that appeared to speak of some arcane power. He set those aside as hocus pocus, but most of the library appeared to refer to this arcane ability.

His curiosity eventually gave in, and he picked out a book that was translated into “The arcane and its beginnings”. He quickly regretted it.

The book gave an overview of the arcane. But that wasn’t what made him regret, it was the history lesson attached.

‘For as long as our people have fought the wild, we have done so with the help of the arcane. Using this power that permeates throughout Pandel, our people have been able to fight back the monsters and establish homes. Few however, attempt to research the arcane thoroughly…’

Pandel.

He rechecked the translation. Three times. It was obvious that the book was talking about the land the humanoids resided in. That was not the problem. The problem was that there was no such place known as Pandel on earth. He had purposefully ignored it before. The fact that this language most definitely was not known on earth. He had ignored the fact that what he currently ate for sustenance, the monster, did not exist on earth.

He could not however, ignore it when the evidence presented itself in the book. It was the last nail of the coffin, and it sent him into a severe depression. He should have known, really. It’s not every day that someone doesn’t die after jumping off a skyscraper. It told him that the laughter he heard as he jumped, was most likely real, and the reason he was currently here.

He had attempted to cheat the game by killing himself, and something wasn’t happy. He had cheated, and the being had cheated. It was a miracle. It broke the foundation of what he thought of as true.

He had been an atheist for as long as he understood the basic premise of religion. It had been so obvious that it wasn’t true. Even as he was forced by society to learn so much about the many religions, he never batted an eye in his conviction that the otherworldly was a delusion. He did not commit suicide to go to heaven, he had done so to stop the game called life.

Now, he had irrefutable proof that the otherworldly existed. He was not sure in what form, but the laughter he had heard had undoubtedly sounded female.

This realization would change his life. Firstly, it made him even more jaded, as there were all powerful beings, and yet humans were allowed to do the things humans do. Secondly, he took a second look at the power the book spoke of, the arcane.

“If there is a god, or gods. Then this power the book spoke of may be real. And I might be able to use it…”

This realization that the arcane might be real, took several hours. He had been laying on the cold hard ground for a while before coming to this realization. But once he did, he threw himself into studying the book. He finished it in only a couple hours, and started reading more. Every book that spoke of the arcane, he read, and reread, until he completely understood the information. Another ten days past during this time.

The stack on the desk had started to become excessive. The entire desk was covered in books. He had read through nearly thirty books in his quest for knowledge. To be fair, the books that focused on the arcane werent as long as the other books. Most of them were less than one hundred pages, yet they were still quite large, due to the large letters they were written in.

There were only around twenty books left, most about the histories of several countries. His shoulder had mostly healed, the muscle having pulled together and closed. There was only a small scratch left, and a nasty scar.

Though he read books all day, that’s not to say that he believed everything in the books. For example, the first book had spoken about the basics of the arcane. It had broken the studies into several categories, resembling basic things in nature. Water, fire, sky, earth, light, dark, life, and death. The book even had a very detailed sketch that somewhat resembled Yin and Yang, yet included all the elements. He did not believe it in the slightest. He had the truth of science. He understood that the difference in the states of water was the movement of its electrons.

He was aware that magma was actually superheated earth, and plasma superheated air. He understood that lightning was really a tremendous electrical discharge, and how to create it. Air was simply gases, be it oxygen, nitrogen, and the like.

Earth was simply dirt, stone, and different bits of metal. His weakest subject would be darkness, because all he knew of it was that it was the absence of light. Light was energy radiation on a visible spectrum.

The only thing he had trouble deciphering was the most important part. The pure arcane energy. Apparently people could either feel it or not. Those that could not were somewhat looked down upon by those that could. The book spoke of it as a feeling, that tickled the heart or brain. This was important, as the studies and practices of the arcane branched in two different directions.

The heart path depended on using the heart to pump the arcane into the muscles through the blood, enhancing the warrior. It would allow the user to become stronger, faster, fight longer, and survive mortal wounds easier.

The brain path depended on using the brain to concentrate and control the arcane through intelligence, wisdom and willpower. Hand gestures helped, though the more skilled one became the less dependent the practioner became on them.

There was only one problem. He wasn’t sure which was better. He also didn’t understand why both paths could not be followed. The author of the book also hypothesized that as well, wondering why it was always one or the other. The author hinted that the feeling in one could block out the feeling from the other, blinding the user to the other path.

To him, it sounded plausible. So he decided to try it. Day after day, he would practice and meditate on the arcane in the morning, and read books through the afternoon and night. It became so monotonous that he had to start doing exercise to burn off his extra energy. It ensured he slept well, and helped when he eventually went out searching for firewood.

He was in a forest after all, and there was plenty of dead wood covering the ground. There had been several close calls though... Those monsters knew where he resided, and would periodically roam near his home. Luckily, the monsters had no discernible intelligence, and thus lacked the capability to ambush him.

He had collected a large pile of wood, but did not have any more meat to cook. He had burned through more than half the meat he had collected. It wouldn’t be long before he would have to search for more.

Another ten days passed…

His food supply had dwindled to almost nothing. His shoulder was fully healed though, so he felt confident in attempting to hunt. He continued to meditate in the morning, and read at night, and searched for food during the middle of the day, when it was brightest. Some berry bushes added to his food, but he had no chance at catching the small animals in the forest.

The morning he finished off the last of the monster, he sat down dejectedly to meditate. He tried to clear his mind, but the lack of food worried him. He hadn’t finished the books here, and didn’t want to leave. He also wasn’t sure he could protect himself. These worries stressed him, and that sweet smell that wouldn’t go away didn’t help.

“What the hell is that smell!” He shouted, finally having had enough. He kicked at the bones of the skeletons and walked around frustrated. He couldn’t calm down. That’s when the pain hit.

An ache. It felt like a heart attack, and the world’s worst migraine, at the same time. The words in the book echoed in his mind, confusion evident. He doubled over in pain.

“The book had said that the user would feel one or the other. I’m feeling both. God damn it hurts!” He writhed on the ground as the pain crippled him, all thoughts of anger lost. Unnoticed to him, a powerful vacuum sucked in the sweet stench, tearing it from the forest outside and concentrating it in the cavern. More and more of the stench condensed itself in the cavern, and rushed into him. This caused many of the creatures to avoid that section of the forest, as something dangerous loomed there.

Not that he noticed, he was far too busy almost dying.

He had never felt the arcane before. He was from earth, where it wasn’t present. These days that he had lived in the cavern, his body was slowly building up more and more of the arcane power. It was the sweet smelling odor. That’s why he could notice it, his body was collecting it from the air in large amounts, drawing it from the surrounding area. The meditation only made his body absorb it faster. It was finally turning to fruition, but it wouldn’t be painless.

His cells were decaying, dying off only to be replaced by new cells that accept the energy. The little fat he still had from his days on earth was quickly consumed by the process.

It took hours of extensive pain before it started to lessen. Ever so slightly, his body seemed to ache less. His mind could stand small thoughts. Eventually he could sit up, and his thinking became more aware. The pain finally dispersed, and he felt completely different.

He was covered in a black grime that hadn’t been there before. It was the reason it had been so painful. Between the pollution on earth and the cigarettes he smoked daily before, there had been plenty of toxins in his body, toxins expunged from his body along with his dead cells.

The arcane naturally acted as a purifying agent, forcing his cells to discard the built up toxins as it rewrote his genetic code. He had become a citizen of this world.

He could also feel the arcane energy flow through both his heart and brain, he had been successful in walking both paths. He would have to balance them if he wanted to continue, but it was worth it.

The black grime was not the only changes to his body though. He had gained muscle. His nails looked as healthy as they’d ever been. His eyes had a clarity and fire that they didn’t before. They had even slightly changed color. Going from the light brown they were before to an almost gold color. He had lost all of his hair, yet it grew back just as quick. Though it was not as long as before. He now sported an unkempt beard, which before had been quite long. The grime ensured that the hair that had been lost stuck to his body.

He didn’t care though. He simply made his way over to the stream and washed himself and his clothes. He felt great, and couldn’t wait to try out the arcane. Hygiene came first though. It took him longer than he thought it would to remove the black grime and hair. The lack of soap didn’t help. He even tried to use the knife to scrape the residue off of him. It worked, but he nicked his finger in the process. It bled very little, and healed faster than ever before. aside effect of the body strengthening itself, but a very useful side effect.

Eventually he sat down and meditated once more. Both his heart and brain tingled as they controlled the arcane energy. The sweet smell was no longer there, but he felt the power inside him.

“This, this is amazing! I feel wonderful!”

Excited by his new powers, he tried to create flame. It was a simple test. What he didn’t expect was for the fire he created to reach the cavern ceiling.

“Woah!”

He cut the connection, and the fire dispersed. Luckily he wasn’t injured by the flame, though the room had become somewhat toasty. If not for the fact that he had been next to the stream instead of the library, all of those expensive books would have went up in flame.

He still needed practice. Lots of practice. He couldn’t help but smile though. He would be able to fight the monsters and gain food now. He could make a freezer once he got more control of his power.

"Hmm, if fire is simple enough to make, i should be able to do other things. two hydrogens per an oxygen make water. There should be both naturally in the air. If i tried, im sure i could create it. Wait! if i turn all the oxygen in the air into water, what will i breathe? Lets save that one for later."

He was lost in thought when he noticed the ring he had pilfered shining a golden light. He went to touch it with his other hand, inadvertently wiping the leftover blood from his finger wound on it. His heart and brain tingled, the arcane rushing out of him and into the ring. It continued to glow brightly, and he felt it. The ring was no mere ring. It seemed to be larger than it really was.

There was space inside the ring. He didn’t understand how he knew, but there was. There was a lot of space inside. At least twice the size of the cavern. And it was mostly full. He was astonished at the sheer wealth contained inside. Gold, jewels, books, weapons, coins, and many things he didn’t recognize were inside. He had hit the mother lode.

What really excited him though, was the food kept within. It did not seem to have gone bad. He recognized boxes filled with different meats, and more with vegetables he had never seen before. Well, he assumed they were vegetables.

His stomach growled.

He concentrated on the ring, unsure of how to remove the food. As he thought of removing the food it appeared in front of his hand like it was there all along. His arcane power tugged as it did so. He understood, the ring used his power to access the space.

He wasted no time getting a fire started, and making himself the first real meal he’d had to eat in a long time. He found a pan inside the ring, and used it to cook the meat and greens, because he wasn’t sure they were vegetables, on a roaring fire. The greens got a little burnt, and the meat was a little over done, but he ate it as if it were five-star cooking.

He relaxed for a while before deciding to test the ring out some more. With a full belly he sauntered over to the food supplies he previously taken out.

At first he tried to will it into the ring, but nothing happened. He tried resting his hand on it, and willed it again. It disappeared so fast he didn’t notice it, and his organs tickled, telling him he was using the power.

He had an idea.

He made his way over to the stack of books torturing the desk. He gently placed his hand on all the books he had finished, and they disappeared, safe in his ring. The desk now sat empty.

Now that he had eaten, and discovered the greatness of the ring, he was excited and happy. However, he wanted to test his powers out more. He rushed out of the tunnel, hoping there was a monster nearby to fight.

He had dropped out of the tunnel and almost started marching off into the forest when he remembered the weapons in the ring. He connected to it with his mind and searched amongst the treasure.

“There, a perfect weapon to protect me from the monsters while I test my power.”

A spear appeared in his hand, pristine and white. The spear was longer than he was tall, and the tip was as long as his knife, with a leaf shaped blade. It would ensure the monsters could not get too close while he practiced his arcane powers. There were many other weapons inside the ring, but he would not know how to use them.

Feeling like a superhero, a stupid smile on his face, he trudged into the forest.

He encountered… Nothing.

There was nothing near his part of the forest.

He felt disappointed. He wanted to fight something.

He continued to walk, careful to keep his path straight, and mark the trees as he went, making a way back. He didn’t value his chances of making it back to the cavern otherwise.

“I wonder how long this forest continues for…”

The forest did not change much, and an hour seeped by as he searched for suitable prey.

The trees began to part in front of him, and a familiar sight reached his eyes. It was a rock face, so similar to that which he lived in he might have mistaken it for it, had he not been marking the trees during his walk.

“If there are cliffs at my front, and my back. The only chance of leaving this forest resides in me going left or right…”

A small lake bordered the rock face, its water misty. He approached the water’s edge cautiously, watching for movement. He had seen too many ambush predators that hunted at the water’s edge to just aimlessly walk up to it. Still, after some time passed, he did approach it.

He didn’t trust the water to drink from it, but he did stick a hand in. It was pleasantly warm. A ripple danced across the surface of the water. He watched the ripples caused by his finger spread out. Then he noticed the ripples coming toward him.

“Hmm, the ripples are coming toward me, that would mean…!”

He threw himself backward, the back of his neck tingling. His rump landed in the soft soil of the lakes edge.

Not a moment too soon, as the lake erupted.

Just above his muddy boot prints, water raining down from it, a creature from myth snapped its mouth shut in the space he had just vacated.

“Oh shit, if I hadn’t moved!”

He let the thought drop as he stood and directed his spear toward his new adversary. Its head was a dull grey, and big enough to swallow him whole in two bites. The sad part was, the rest of the body was unseen. A sturdy neck flowed into the water, and he could see no more than a few feet past the surface of the water.

Truthfully, he wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted to know just how big the creature was.

It directed its attention back towards himself. Eyes as large as his palms glared at him threateningly. His legs shook a little.

Without any warning, the creature snapped at him again. His spear met it, and glanced off its mighty scales. It made his stomach turn in fear. His weapon couldn’t even put a scratch on it! It only got worse when he realized the thing had been testing him, seeing if he could hurt him. It had determined, he couldn’t.

“This thing wants to eat me! What the fuck is wrong with this place! No… No! I can’t panic, I’m stronger now, I need to focus. That’s right, focus on the tingling inside. Let’s see if fire will do anything to this thing!”

He braced his spear with one hand and pointed his palm at the creature. It took it as a sign of weakness. A rancid mouth of long jagged teeth appeared before his eyes. This time though, he did not panic. His body tingled, and flame roared from his hand.

This column of flame was much larger than the last time he had attempted flames, yet the target was only a few feet away, mouth open.

A deafening roar nearly knocked him over. The creature had reared back as the flames assaulted its mouth. The flames weren’t even scratching its scales, but the sensitive mouth of the creature was already blackened and still on fire. It was choking on the fire.

The head retreated back into the water, dousing the flames in lake water. They burned no longer, though steam rolled off the top of the lake. The temperature was hot enough to scald someone now.

Eyes that stared down prey, now glared with hatred. It had been injured. The thing in front of it was a worthy foe. It had been foolish to expect an easy meal.

He didn’t give the chance to mount a counter attack though!

“I need to get the fuck out of here!”

His spear disappeared into his ring as he bolted back to his cavern. Several roars chased him, but the creature did not seem willing or able to follow him into the forest.

He did not stop until he was safely inside his refuge. His heart beat frantically and his lungs burned.

“Not doing that again!”