As his vision slowly returned, Damon felt a sharp pain in his head. It felt as if someone had hit him with a hammer. As he tried to get up, he realized that he is now in a different environment. As he breathed in, he saw something that resembles energy mingling into the air, where they formed delicate shapes before disintegrating, leaving a trace of themselves in the world. He pondered, "It could be traces left by that person who sent me here."

  A thought appeared in his mind, "Should I try to-", then he shook his head. It's already good enough that the person left after rescuing him without any strings attached.

  Looking around, he tries to figure out where he is. The environment was unlike anything he had ever seen before. But then again, he never traveled to places far away. The tall grass was a deep yellow-green, but sparse in the breeze. The sky was that murky grey that comes just before a storm and there was a faint violet color lingering. The forest off to one side was host to a great oak at its center and a cluster of pine trees. The air was thick with an unfamiliar scent. Damon wondered if he was dreaming, unconscious from his previous injury.

  As he tried to stand, he noticed his body felt different, lighter almost, and his movements were more fluid than he was used to. Damon looked down at his hands and realized they were glowing with a soft white light. He flexed his fingers, and the light flickered, almost like a flame, before disappearing.

  He frowned, "This forest..." It was painfully evident that the forest wasn't ordinary, but there was nowhere to go... so he could only explore further. Without hesitation, Damon began venturing deeper.

  He felt a tingle of electricity in the air as he stepped beneath the canopy of trees. The shadows seemed alive, almost as if... they were dancing around him. He heard whispers in the back of his head, making him uneasy. Or perhaps, it is just paranoia. Being so far away from home for the first time and kept being thrust into strange places, he could only keep himself sane by not overthinking. He felt an intense pang of regret - why did he agree to the teenager?

  The forest seemed to have a strange energy about it. Even the plants swaying in the wind seemed to have an otherworldly presence about them. The leaves glowed faintly with a bluish hue, and Damon could feel their energy radiating off them as he walked past. Everywhere he looked there was something that made him question what was real and what was not.

  He continued walking deeper into the woods until he found himself standing at the base of a large tree with intricate carvings on its trunk and roots that curled up around a boulder as if they were protecting something within. There was a gap on the side, and by craning his neck, he saw something shifting inside. It was a beautiful, vibrant purple and orange pentaceraster cumingi. But unlike what the ancient books said, instead of being 6.9 inches long in diameter, it is around 2 meters. Taking the chance that it was still dormant, Damon ran away as fast as he could.

  Although his injuries healed through unknown means, he did not believe for one moment that he magically grew stronger. He is inside the library so much that he might as well live in it. The only time that he touches grass and exercised was when he helped out his family in the fields. This is also why even 5-year-olds can beat him in physical strength.

  Speaking of physical strength, after running for around 20 meters away, he was already gasping for air. Sitting down, he sighed in frustration, realizing that he had overreacted.

  When his heartbeat finally returned to normal, he clumsily stood up and looked around. The sky is cloudy with the threat of rain, and nighttime is approaching. Shuffling through his memories, he tries to find information about wilderness survival and found... none. With a scowling expression, he wandered about, only to find himself back where the starfish was. This caused him to remember another thing - his directional sense is trash. Resting against a tree, he looked up at the sky, mindlessly muttering, "No wonder mom said one year of experience outweighs ten years of studying."

  Thinking that he won't be able to survive one night in the forest when there would be ferocious beasts wandering around, he gave up and went up to the starfish. As he squatted down, he saw that the creature was not moving. Squeezing into the inconspicuous crack, he was prepared to meet his fate only to see clean rooms behind the starfish. Widening his eyes in surprise, he carefully walked inside.

  Stepping into what appears to be the living room, Damon found an aged man snoring away. A young man came in with a blanket. He gently laid the blanket on the elder before speaking, "You can borrow the room on the right and stay for the night. But after that, take the starfish with you and leave."

  Before Damon could reply, he spoke again, "Don't worry. It can protect you. I know you need it, especially since you can't even run 20 meters without panting. As for why we are giving it to you, it is because the damn creature is a glutton. We don't need someone to protect us anyways."

  When his brain finally came online and started processing things, he found himself inside the guest room. Recalling what the other person said earlier, Damon blushed. So they had seen how he had a fool of himself.

  Marveling at the unknown technologies in the room, he opened a door that led to the bathroom. Not knowing how to use the things, he had to tinker with them. After playing to his heart's content, he finally lay on the soft bed. Sinking into the thralls of sleep, he began to think about what had happened today. In a small corner of his heart, he wants someone to tell him that what he has gone through was just a dream. Maybe he just read too much and had a rare occurrence of lucid dreaming. Perhaps tomorrow, someone will shake him awake from this nonsense. With thoughts flickering in his mind, he eventually fell asleep.