Limits

I recalled the title of the book. It was called "Experience of Death". This in itself was a weird title. The book's name itself fitted the dream I had all this time. In that case, I died at least 30 times. I thought 'But why did it change? Why did I survive after the 1st attack and didn't wake up?'

I didn't know the answers to those questions but the more I thought about this weird book turning into dust the more certainty I had that the cause of my weird dreams was that book. Yet I had no clue as to how I could resolve those dreams. I knew of one recipe that was mind calming but the herbs used to make it were very rare and I haven't seen them on our travels so far. Even if I had that medicine, solving this dream problem was not guaranteed.

I had no way of doing anything, maybe besides learning that weird language the dark figure spoke. I already noticed differences after so many times listening to the same speech. I also knew that the dark figure was using some sort of skill in order to punch me or kick me. I didn't know why I sometimes survived and sometimes I would die instantly but I was certain of one thing. The figure was saying the same thing over and over again.

I would have to study the language more when I fall asleep, for now I needed to improve my other skills instead of worrying about stuff I was not able to affect. I first trained using the pose from the 1st modified diagram. To my surprise, I lasted 12 minutes before I had to stop. It seemed that the more I starved myself the stronger I could get. I was not keen to test this idea but I was happy that there was something beneficial in all of that.

I then started my training with the puppets. I needed to master the control of 4 puppets with 8 fingers excluding both thumbs. I trained for couple of hours like this and decided it's time for break. I called out to Shelly who was training its other senses "Shelly! It's time for food". Shelly came over with the mask attached on its head without stumbling or hitting anything.

I took the mask off and said "Let's eat before we continue. We still have loads of meat left from the previous hunt and so we don't have to worry about that for now". Shelly nodded its head and waited for me to start the fire and cook the food. When I cooked some meat, my hunger intensified. I was hungry a bit after all the workout but the moment I saw cooked food, I became like a starved wolf.

I alone devoured enough meat to cover 2 wolves while Shelly as if competing with me ate enough meat to create 3 wolves. I cooked the rest of the meat that was leftover in my bag. I couldn't take all the animals we hunted because although the bag could probably fit this much stuff inside, I would have to carry this bag with me all the time and it was as heavy as the amount of stuff stored inside. I also found out something interesting about the bag Nick left for me. The food inside could stay fresh for a longer period of time. The effect couldn't last for very long but it could preserve the fresh meat for couple of more days without spoiling it whatsoever. This would be very useful in the future if we are short on food. After we ate out food I started to wonder 'Where does all the food go after I ate it? It didn't go straight to my stomach. It was as if the food disappeared even before it got there'.

I couldn't get fatter either. I was always skinny like a walking skeleton. It was as if the food changed into pure energy and was absorbed by my body instead of depositing in my stomach. I also didn't know how Shelly could eat even more than I did. It spent a lot of energy when moving very fast but surely a wolf that weighted about 30 kilograms or more would be more than enough for a turtle the size of half a metre.

I didn't expect an answer but I asked anyway "Shelly, how come you can eat so much and not get bigger? I also eat so much and stay pretty much the same. How is that possible?". Shelly looked at me confused as if I was asking the most obvious question in the history. Shelly just looked down and didn't know how to respond. After a while Shelly draw something on the ground and it seemed to say that it was always like this.

I looked at Shelly and thought 'Indeed, it was always like this since I started to travel'. It all started from that rock lit by moonlight and continued through to my slavery and now those dreams. I thought 'If I'm supposed to be like this then so be it. I shall accept this as normal from now on'.

When I thought of this like that and when I came to that realisation, something inside of me calmed down and I felt more at peace. I continued on with my training until late evening and when we took breaks for food, I would always store some leftovers in case I need it after the night's sleep. We were also fortunate that these parts were full of animals because otherwise we might not be able to get food that easily.

In the evening, I tried to modify the 2nd diagram. I knew it would take me much longer compared to the 1st diagram. I needed much more experience in order to predict what would happen when something was changed in the pose. It would take a long time but I had the 1st diagram to practise and master. I was in no rush to complete the modification of the 2nd diagram but I wanted to at least put in some work and maybe I would be able to figure it out sooner rather than later.

After a while of thinking and changing the pose, I fell asleep and braced myself for the weird dream that was about to come. When I opened my eyes, I stood in front of the dark figure that started to talk away. I listened attentively and looked at any gestures the dark figure did. I looked and listened for anything that would give away what types of words the dark figure was speaking.

After a while, the dark figure stopped talking and ran at me in order to attack. I was paralyzed as usual and awaited the blow. The dark figure arrived and punched with its fist that was covered in dark smoke. "Boom" I received the blow and flew couple of metres back. I was still alive because the dark figure punched me in my stomach.

I looked down and again saw a gaping hole in my stomach. I didn't try anything else and simply listened to and looked at the dark figure. A short while later, my consciousness started to fade and I could barely stand in place when the dark figure stopped talking again and ran towards me with another punch.

I didn't survive this blow and the lights went out. When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted with the same scene. I thought 'It's time to suffer, I guess'.