Leo sat next to the smoldering remnants of his fire, playing with the azure brineleaf listlessly in his fingers. He had picked it up yesterday, hoping it would be useful, but now he glared. With no other meat to salt, it's useless as dead weight. He let out a sigh and tucked the leaves away in his makeshift pouch.
His stomach rumbled—a gnawing, empty hunger pained his belly. He was famished. Berries weren't ideal, but they'd have to do for now. He stood, stretching his sore limbs, and grabbed a sharpened stick before going out into the open air of the forest.
Cool morning air, with the scent of damp earth filling his senses as he pushed through the underbrush. Leo moved slowly, his God's Eye talent flashing to life as he examined various plants. The labels of the ability waltzed across his eyesight, helping him determine safe berries from deadly ones. He picked up a generous bunch of dark blue berries with a sour but harmless description and walked around a group of red-spotted ones that would paralyze the unlucky victim.
Satisfied with his catch, he went upstream to drink. Kneeling on the riverbank, he scooped cold water into his hands, enjoying the refreshing taste. But just when he was preparing to rise, something caught his eye.
A sticky, amber-colored liquid flowed from a close tree, leaving small globs on its bark. Leo, curious, extended his hand and touched it. The sticky sap clung to his fingers, stretching slightly before retracting.
His God's Eye lit up.
—High Adhesion Tree Resin—
A plant-based sap, naturally occurring, that, upon drying, forms a high-strength bond. Used in tool making, fletching, and ancient adhesives.
Leo's head spun with possibility. This could be exactly what he needed to upgrade his tools and weaponry. He pulled out one of his rough satchels made of braided grass and gently scooped up as much of the resin as he could before heading back to the cave.
In the cave, Leo set down his finds and scouted out his equipment. His eyes drifted over to the rabbit body from the day before, now stripped of most of its meat. He took up one of its longer bones, noticing its sharp tip. An idea was born.
Catching his sharp stick, he scraped the tip of one end softly until it made a notch, then drove the sharp tip of the bone into it. The resin was to be an adhesive, but it was still soft. He would need to get fire so it would dry properly.
Leo crossed over to his fire pit and used a flat rock to pick up a small ember, holding it close to the resin-covered area. The flame hardened the resin in a few seconds, gluing the bone tip to the wooden handle. He exhaled, turning the new weapon over in his hands.
It wasn't a sharpened stick any longer.
It was a spear.
A small sense of pride had been nestled in his chest, but his rumbling stomach brought him back to the present. He hadn't found any animals today, and it worried him. Did the Bloodclaw scare everything away? He shook off the thought and shook his head.
Leo leaned back against the stone wall, his thoughts drifting to his classmates. Were they all right? Did they manage to get organized without him? Did they even realize he was gone?
He snorted. Of course not.
Even when he was entering this world, he remained on the outskirts of the group. He didn't fit their dynamic, and he sure wasn't popular. Rika, the class president, was the one holding everything together, not him. If anything, his disappearance would probably be a relief to them.
He closed his eyes for a moment before suddenly feeling something. off.
A shiver of unease tingled at the base of his neck. His eyes flew open, and he slowly rotated to face the darkest part of the cave.
Something was amiss.
A cold shiver crawled down his spine as he took a step forward, drawn toward the space without conscious thought. It was only then that he saw something he hadn't previously.
Footprints. Not his.
His breathing became labored as he dropped to his knees, examining them. They were faint, nearly human but distorted. The more unnerving thing was the handprints smeared across the wall—as if someone had crawled.
A cold sweat broke out on his skin.
An overpowering presence suddenly weighed him down. It wasn't tangible, but it was something else—something intangible. He felt observed, although no one was there.
His eyes darted to the mirror on the cave wall.
It hung quietly, its surface abnormally clear. Something drew him closer, his own reflection regarding him. At first, everything was fine… but then, something was amiss.
His reflection wasn't moving properly.
Leo blinked. The laggy glitch in its movement made his stomach turn over. It was tiny, but palpable. His reflection's eyes lingered just a fraction too long, his arm didn't fall simultaneously with his real one. It was behind.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he stepped back.
The crushing sense of being watched intensified, but there was nothing else in the cave with him.
At least, nothing that he could see.
His fists clenched. He forced himself to turn away from the mirror and abandon his fire. He sat down, cradling his new spear, his mind racing in fear.
Something was deeply, seriously out of balance with this cave.
And for the first time since he had come to this world, Leo knew he had no clue if he was alone