After a few hours, Dave woke up. He was laying on his stomach and was next to the bag he used as a pillow to fall asleep. He was surprised because, under his head, there were a few leaves. These leaves were similar to the ones the spider previously brought to him; however, the bunch he was on was more numerous.
"What is going on?! And what is on my hand?!"
Dave quickly sat up and looked at his left hand.
"Why are my fingers so sticky?"
Dave brought his hand close to his nose and started sniffing it carefully.
"Nope, it is not that fortunately... however, it only makes me kind of afraid. What could this be, and what could be the cause of this strange sticky liquid? Either way, I must survive no matter what... and I can only do some workout to at least be prepared somehow, but taht was never my strong suit. What could I even do? Pushups? Situps?"
As Dave was talking to himself, suddenly, his stomach growled.
"Breakfast first... not taht I know what the time is, but I presume it is morning."
He opened the backpack and started eating. He ate a great portion of the food he had, and once he was finished, he grabbed his sword and stood up.
"I don't want to go further in the cave; what if more of these spiders came at me; I still need to improve my fighting chances somehow, but if I don't go and search for water, I will die; at least I am sure I will. And since I was very unlucky so far, I assume it is highly possible that I will not find any water."
Dave took a deep breath and continued.
"I also need to learn magic... Yesterday I think I was getting somewhere, so today, I might be able to progress further. But then again, So far, my physical abilities seemed more prominent, so taht could save my butt. I should also practice using a sword; otherwise, it wouldn't really make a difference, or maybe my incompetence with it slow me down. Maybe I should go and start swinging it and try to get the hang of it... is it even plausible?!"
Dave drew his sword close to his chest and was surprised at how light it was. He looked around and slashed the air with the sword, and instantly swung the sword backwards, bringing it above his head.
"I think I can work with it."
Dave started swinging his sword, and after a dozen strikes, he closed his eyes and stopped swinging his sword.
"Concentrated"
Echoed Doni's voice in Dave's mind, and after a few seconds, a slight reddish aura appeared around him. And as his aura formed around him, he unleashed a quick slash. The blade drew a barely noticeable red line behind. Dave kept his eyes closed and kept on slashing, but now with that red aura around him. He kept on swinging his sword for minutes; however, he got tired relatively quickly and stopped practising. He took off his shirt and dropped it onto the ground and did the same with his sword as well.
"I am just as weak as I was; my stamina is terrible. The sword is so light, yet after swinging for a couple of minutes, I got so tired... Fuck... I am still alive because Doni had quite a strong body, and I got mixed with him... "
Thought Dave as he turned around and noticed something that surprised him. Not far from the passage, he could see another bunch of leaves and two larger white objects. Dave quickly picked his sword up and walked over to the objects. He cautiously looked over to the passage and around the items, then walked next to them. The two white items seemed like some sort of container as they were hollow and they contained some sort of transparent liquid.
"Who or what brought these things here? And why? Also, what are these leaves? Could the liquid be some kind of poison?"
Dave carefully put one of his fingers into one of the containers, then pulled it out and sniffed the liquid.
"No scent... could it be water? Let's test it..."
Dave dipped his finger once again, then licked his finger, and then sat down and waited.
"Tastes like water... but what if it is not? I will continuelearning how to use mana; if it is not water, it should have some sort of effect on me by the time I am finished, right?"
Dave looked around once again, and once he was certain no one was around him, he placed his sword next to him, then closed his eyes and proceeded to meditate.
