Chapter 8: Chapter 8 - Humans Don't Change
Adam's shirt enveloped the beast's head and obstructed its visual perception. The surprise attack was too much to handle when it was dragged into the water.
'Stop struggling.'
The incomprehensible situation in which the wolf found itself suffocating underwater made its demise quicker. The animal struggled to escape from Adam's binding but failed in the end.
After confirming its death twice, Adam spread his clothes over the dry land. The wolf's corpse was also pushed ashore while Adam enjoyed his bath moments.
***
The realisation that the lake is probably a drinking hub urged Adam to quicken his activities.
"Now...where is this guy's crystal?"
After dressing up, Adam knelt near the wolf corpse and inspected it. Since he found the crystal inside the goblin corpses near to the heart, Adam tore its skin and flesh using a sharp stone.
'Aha! as expected.'
The blood dyed crystal was suspended right next to the beast's heart and it was slightly larger. So the size of the beast determines the crystal size, Adam deduced.
For a wolf relatively larger than its typical cousins, the crystal was almost two inches long. Previously, Adam assumed that the blood attributed the red colour to the crystal. But after a thorough wash in the running water, the crystal's reddish-orange hue was revealed.
'I wonder what this stone can do.'
Raising his head, Adam noticed that the sun had begun its descend. His hands continued to fidget with the crystal while he stepped in a direction. His figure soon disappeared in the woods without a trace.
***
Walking further north, Adam came across a grassland by the arrival of dusk. The sky was painted with an orange-golden shade and the birds were promptly retreating to their nests.
'I should find a safe spot to sleep.'
Standing at the border of the grass plains and jungle, Adam turned his head around to survey the area. After a few moments of contemplation, he decided to scale a tree and spent the night away from the predators.
And as the night enveloped the world in darkness, Adam was currently about 20 ft high up on a tree. The unusually strong branches with abundant leaves gave enough cover while maintaining a safe altitude.
'I guess I'll eat this stone.'
After fidgeting and observing the crystal for a while, Adam decided to consume the core. Within a few seconds, his teeth broke a fragment of the crystal and it went down his oesophagus.
"...burp!"
That was completely unintentional and unanticipated. Adam couldn't contain the abrupt noise which escaped his mouth. He could only shut his mouth tight and hope that nothing heard his burp.
After a few minutes of solemn vigilance, Adam deemed the surrounding to be hostile-proof.
At the very instant, Adam felt a surge of energy brewing inside him like a miniature tornado.
'Ah, the energy from before.'
At the first sensation itself, Adam recognised the soothing course of power travelling through his bones and flesh. It had an abnormally comforting feeling which melted Adam's heart with bliss alone.
No, now is not the time.
Adam remembered the first and last time he exerted this unique force through his body. Not only was it amplifying, but it robbed him off of his senses the very moment the energy dissipated.
I must study this peculiar form of energy.
He had lived on Earth long enough to witness the advent of nuclear energy. Though he doesn't know the in-depth characteristics of these energy states, he could compare them with another and arrive at a conclusion.
But...
"How am I supposed to learn this bizarre energy?" Streaks of black line crept up his face as he found himself standing at a dead end. There was no manual or guide available to pick up a thing or two regarding this power.
Yet, he wasn't disheartened. Followed by the dilemma, Adam began to pull off tricks with this newfound energy. He soon learnt that he can retract and imbue this energy into external objects as well as himself.
But the fact that delighted him the most is that he could store this energy in his body without even the slightest possibility of dissipation.
*yawn*
Somehow, a few tricks and self-tutorials proved extremely exhausting and Adam couldn't help but yawn out loud. He was unable to keep the sluggishness at bay and thus fell asleep within a few minutes.
If one focuses enough, they could hear faint rhythmic snoring with the backdrop of silence.
***
Kyu...kyu...kyu...
It seems like Adam has a charm for birds. Wherever he goes, his sleeping posture attracts birds. But this quickly turned into a nuisance as he was pierced by sharp avian beckoning.
Shooing off the birds, Adam unlocked his eyelids with a blissful smile plastered on his face. The slumber has restored his form to peak and he could tell the brimming vitality in his body.
As he was about to attempt to descend the tree, he remembered the wolf crystal from yesterday.
"Here you are." With a gleeful grin, his breakfast went down his throat after chewing thoroughly. And as he was expecting, a burning surge of energy materialised in his thorax.
'Almighty...this thing is too powerful. I must take it slow.'
Experiencing the results of ingesting a crystal as itself, Adam re-drew his conclusion from those sensations. I should take it slow, Adam wrote his verdict in his heart.
"...Walter, behave yourselves. I won't tolerate your behaviour."
'Uh, what?'
A feminine voice resonated in the air and finally fell in his ears and Adam frowned at its contents. It looks like there's a pervert in the vicinity.
"Tara, lower your voice! Do you want to be the target of savage beasts?!"
A relatively muffled, yet rebuking voice could be heard. The owner seems to be maintaining a low profile.
Adam pivoted his head around yet he saw none. There was nothing other than trees and vegetation in the sight.
"Tell that to the pervert!"
The feminine voice reflected her frustration with a shout and Adam almost screamed out loud. And when he was wondering where the owners of the voices are, his ears picked up the rustling of leaves on the ground.
At once, his head was tilted downward and Adam could barely perceive something moving under the veil of camouflage. The faint distortion from the refraction of light piqued his attention.
Staring intently at the slow-paced convoy, Adam felt a sting in his eyes at the very next moment. Biting down the agony, Adam was forced to close his eyelids to alleviate the sting.
Meanwhile, he could hear the muffled conversations between these unidentified individuals. Other than a few names, Adam couldn't get any information.
'So there are species which talks English! Glad to hear.'
As an Earthling, English was his mother tongue. Though he has learnt other languages, none were as dear to his heart as English was.
'Wait...they have gone?'
The train of thoughts in Adam's mind was shattered by the fact that he has lost the tail of the beings who spoke English like him. Thus he abruptly opened his eyes and scanned, in vain.
"But according to the trajectory, they might have gone...that way."
Adam quickly analysed the glimpses he caught of those veiled figures. Fortunately, they walked in a straight line and their path was heading toward the grassland ahead.
But rather than being happy, he was in contemplating at the moment.
'What are savage...'
Before he could complete his query in his heart, a deafening roar send powerful shockwaves at him. The sensation was endangering and Adam was pale from the exposure. He was never expecting this and was completely unguarded.
"That...came from...the other side."
Beyond the grassland was a spooky forest with a hostile aura looming over it. Adam couldn't notice this yesterday, but he could clearly feel the threatening aura emitted from the depth of those woods.
And as he was wondering about those passersby a few minutes ago, four figures emerged from the woods and were fleeing for their lives.
'Yes, they are humans!!'
The Homosapien skeletal structure was indisputably similar to his. Thus, at a glance, he verified that they are humans. Further to confirm his assumptions, two of them was cursing each other, one was preparing some visual gimmick and the last one was charging ahead to safety with all he had.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone