I know you're all dying to find out what that creepy sound deep in the jungle was... but let's be real—I'm not trying to get myself killed! So yeah, I ran in the opposite direction.
Maybe that's disappointing to some of you, but let's be honest, I'm just a normal guy. I'm not crazy. I'm not a masochist. A little farther in, I found a tall tree with a sturdy branch. I built a little nest with some leaves and slept up there for the night.
When I woke up, the sun was already up. I decided it was time to build a proper shelter near the beach, 'cause I was starting to realize this jungle's way more dangerous than I first thought.
A few days passed. I kept myself going with workouts, weird fruits, and working on the shelter. I built something basic: a few thick branches as support, walls made of leaves and sticks, a center post to slope the roof, and a small hole for smoke to escape.
You might wonder how I managed all this? Well, I think I've got something like an "adaptation" ability. I'm already twice as strong as I was on day one. I can drag tree trunks, my skin's gotten tougher, and even that scorpion sting mark is gone. So I decided to push myself. How far can I go? 'Cause out here, it's survival of the fittest—and I'm not at the top of the food chain.
I spent a week training. I used tree trunks as weights, threw punches and kicks at them. I'm not saying I turned into a hero or anything, but I don't flinch when I see a goat anymore!
Then I set out to explore deeper into the island, but from a different path this time. I saw colorful birds, some new fruits... I tried one—huge mistake. It was so sour I had to lick a tree just to reset my taste buds. My muscles still tighten just thinking about it.
I went looking for meat and ran into a ram. But not your average ram—this one was three meters tall! Seriously, why is everything on this island some nightmare version of itself?
It charged. I grabbed a rock and threw it at its eye—missed. Yeah well, I didn't expect it to just stand there. I scooped up some dirt, waited for it to come close, dodged, and flung the dirt in its face. Blinded, just for a second. That's all I needed. I smashed a stick into its neck and slashed its throat.
At that moment, I felt something... like the stick hit harder than it should've. Like I boosted it somehow.
I hauled the carcass back toward the beach. My clothes were barely hanging on at this point. I skinned the ram with a stone, used palm leaves to build a drying rack for the meat.
Fire. Roast. Eat. Again. Honestly, at least the food here's not bad!
But let's talk about that new power. I think it's some kind of "enhancement"—not just on myself, but on anything I touch. That stick I used to slash the ram? Shouldn't have done that much damage. So... maybe I can boost things by touching them?
Got excited. Tried focusing that enhancement on myself. At first, nothing. But after a bit of real concentration, I felt it. Power. Pure strength. I punched a dry tree trunk—peeled the bark right off... along with the skin on my own fist.
God, it hurt. A lot. But weirdly... I wasn't in bad shape. No fever, no dizziness—just raw pain. Maybe this adaptation power goes deeper than I thought.
I washed the wound with seawater—regret of the century. Thought I was gonna cry. Tore up my shirt, made a bandage, wrapped my hand.
Then I tried boosting a stick. It got way sturdier—solid weapon material. Started enhancing anything I saw: stones, even the bandage on my hand...
Next thing I knew, I was out of energy. This power drains the hell outta you. I dragged myself into my shelter...
And my eyes shut on their own.
Tomorrow… I need to decide exactly what I'm gonna do with these powers.