Freedom

Viers slowly opened his eyes, the sounds of flowing water entered his ears. He tried to move his body and it felt surprisingly light.

'I am... alive?'

The refreshing sting of crisp air filled his lungs as he inhaled. He slowly raised his upper body and checked his condition. He looked at his arm injury first. It was no longer bleeding, pinkish new skin had formed on the wound. Even someone like him felt that such quick healing was unbelievable.

Viers touched the skin with his fingers to make sure. He did the same with his stomach, the bloody clothes were the testament he was wounded badly but now he was already healed. He no longer felt pain from any part of his body.

He stood up, he moved his body around, still only half believing the phenomenon that had happened to his body. "I am healed, how could this be?" Only the sounds of water answered his question.

'Did the god or gods save me? Oh?' His thoughts were interrupted when he laid eyes on the center of the little island he was at. 'There was a flower here, I'm sure of this, now there's only a patch of black ash where the flower was supposed to be.'

He moved closer and carefully cupped the ashes with both of his hands. "Are you the one who saved me, little one?" He whispered to the ashes. As he expected, there was no answer.

'Whatever happened to me, the flower must be the cause. I watched too many movies and read too many novels with the same cliché.'

"Thank you, white flower, whatever your reason is... you've saved my life." Viers then dug a little hole with his bare hands and put the ashes inside before closed it up with respect and gratitude in his heart.

'Performing burial on a flower? If there're other people seeing this maybe they think I'm crazy.'

Viers washed his hands in the river around him. His clothes were still wet because he fell to the river earlier and dirty with blood and dirt. 'My clothes are wet, how long I've passed out? I hope I don't get sick. It would be very troublesome otherwise.'

He contemplated the circumstances he was in as he looked at his own reflection in the clear water. Wavy dark brown hair at medium length and a confused face reflection could be seen.

'Reincarnated, attacked by poor-looking men, fell into the river, washed out into a cave, healed or revived by a mysterious flower... that's about it. If you asked me, this is the classic start of a novel.'

He felt a little chilly and thirsty.

'I can't stay here doing nothing, I've to get out of here, seek clean water, food, and civilization.' Viers decided to find the basic necessities for human life. He could see there was a bank where he could walk around, about twenty meters across the river.

'Time to swim then. It's been a long time since I swim, I hope I still remember how. The current is not strong here, worst comes to worst I can just doggy paddle to the other side.'

Viers jumped and ferried his chubby body to the bank. The endeavor was a smooth sailing, he half expected there would be a big white snake acting as a guardian blocking his path.

'Let's not tempt fate, you big fatty idiot. Now, which way should I go? Should I go upstream or downstream... I got here from upstream, and the way downstream seems to be going further underground, looks like I only have one choice.'

Just as he was about to go forward, he turned around to the river. He wondered if he should drink some water from the river.

'No, despite the seemingly clear water, it is unsanitary. I should hold off drinking raw water. Only if there's no other way.'

Viers slogged through the bank, sometimes the road broke and he must continue by swimming. The river was quite deep and the currents were getting stronger as he went upstream. There was some vegetation in the caves, mostly moss and grass, nothing unusual. The river branched many times and went through many different tunnels, Viers didn't know if he could find his way back to the place where he found the flower should he ever returned.

Viers continued to walk in silence, he thought back about what happened at the encampment. 'The attackers seems like farmers, the clothes and weapons made it clear. I saw a fireball that one time at the first strike, a magic-user among them? Why did they attack the caravan? To rob? Desperation perhaps? Life gets hard in the village so extreme measures must be taken?'

Viers sighed. 'Life is suffering, no matter what world you are in. Is Rohwin okay? If he didn't manage to get away… then he is most likely dead, poor guy. I have known him since I was little… he had two kids…'

Depressing thought in his head made his steps heavy. 'The robbers, will they come after me? Shit, what should I do? Since I went upstream that means I went closer to the site of the attack, closer to them… damn it.'

He took a deep breath and exhaled them, his trembling hands subsided a bit. 'If I can't outrun them, then I must assume the worst. Most likely I would die if they catch me but I won't simply roll over and die... I will fight to the end, perhaps I can bring a few down with me.'

Time kept flowing like a river, the thirst was getting unbearable. He sat down on a rocky clearing to rest for a while. 'I should drink a bit, I hope it's safe to drink,' he drank a few mouthfuls from the stream.

'Please let there be no parasites inside the water,' Viers wished in his head. He felt thirsty but unexpectedly, his body wasn't as tired as he thought. He only felt moderately tired.

'Time to go, no annoying random encounter with monsters thus far, keep hiking fatty, burn that cholesterol.' He thought while mustering his will to continue. Eventually, he managed to find an opening, a bit of steep cliff but he could make it through by climbing slowly and carefully. When he could see the sky again, he quickened his steps until he went out of the cave. Viers spread out his arms and allowed himself to enjoy a bit the taste of joy.

'I made it! Thank goodness! Good, good, oh I'm so hungry now… I should be looking for food, but it's already dark, wandering around to the woods at night is folly, who knows what's out there prowling, searching for prey… Eh? My sight isn't as bad as I thought, without my glasses, it should be quite blurry.'

It was still nighttime, the place of the cave's exit had enough clearing so Viers had a wide unobstructed vision. The sky was clear from clouds and the stars were beautifully in display. Thousands and thousands of little lights. Since ancient times, humans bestowed names upon these faraway lights in the night, depicting gods, sacred objects, and legends. The majesty of the vast new world around him left Viers speechless for quite some time.

'Whoaaa… I can only see this kind of thing in the movies back on Earth, but the real thing doesn't do it justice. There is something else here, something… more.'

Viers sat down. He rested his back on a rock, the sounds of water and bugs entered his ears like background music.

'The sense of freedom.' He thought, and let his mind wandered as he looked again at the stars. 'Two moons, incredible.'

'Viers Isuel… This will be my name from now on. Now, what should Viers Isuel possessing miscellaneous knowledge from Earth do?'

While resting his exhausted body, Viers was contemplating the situation he was in. About his next course of action in this new world.

'Let's break this down, what do I want? Do I want to go back to Earth? Mmmm... no, not really. I don't have much attachment to my life on Earth...'

'I... I want to be free, not chained by duty, I want to do what I wish, not because others told me to. I want to see the wonders of the world!'

'Is this selfishness? Yes! Yes, of course it's selfishness, no doubt about that. But so what? This is my life, why should I use it for others? Love? Family? Friendship? Oh they are beautiful things I can't deny that, but TIME! Time you have before your life is over is finite!'

So much of one's time consumed nurturing those three and other similar things. Because to have those, one needed to have INVESTMENT in them, they must be a part of society. Like a gardener tending a delicate tree, it needed to be watered, it needed to be given fertilizer, made sure no pest ruined it, and a bunch of other things.

To be in a society means to be integrated into structures. Family, organization, community, country, those are structures. Every society exists to exploit profit from those in the bottom or from the outside, society was most beneficial to those sitting at the top. Without profit, society could not continue existing and turned into charity, which also could not survive without profit or donation from elsewhere.

Naturally, society must also provide benefits to its members. From ancient times to modern times, those sat at the top continually refined their ways of leading society. Providing them food, shelter, safety, assurances, and so on. Making the illusion that society benefits were their benefits. The powerful made things as close as possible to that advertisement, made the masses content with what they already have.

He realized this fact on Earth but what could he do about it?

He wasn't the only person realized this on Earth but what could they do about it?

No, society and structure were not a bad thing. Without it people wouldn't thrive, the fact that humans are the dominant species on Earth proved that. Without society, there wouldn't be civilization. Without structure, there would be disorder and chaos. Therefore the betterment of society must be put before the need of individuals. The group must survive and thrive even if there were some who suffered. All, for the greater good.

When a clash of benefits happened, conflicts would erupt. Society benefits were the enlarged version of personal benefits. Thus when society clashed against one another, the members of said society were expected to contribute. This phenomenon was called war, a clash of benefits on a grand scale.

'Humans are social beings that seek companionship. We seek solace in others when we are sad, hoping the burden we bear would lessen. We share or brag our joy and success with others because we carved their attention and praise. Because humans are weak! We cannot survive alone, and the strength of one cannot defeat those of many…'

'BUT NOT HERE! In this world, there are many stories and legends of super-humans, one person can have the power to smash mountains or cut open the sea! The strength of one person can triumph over many! One can have the power to forge their own destiny! One can extend their lifespan beyond a few decades! I must seize this power! Make it my own!'

Viers's eyes were blazing with determination. His heart burned with passion. His will tempered by purpose.

'First, I must continue to Luxore town, I originally was going there for education anyway. I need the basic introduction about how to be stronger. I'm still weak and lack the experience and ability to travel around safely in this world, I almost died already on the first day I woke up here. Although I will enroll in the academy, my own safety and benefits are my highest priority, more than others, more than anything else.'

'The path ahead shall be full of hardships, filled with corpses of my enemies… or my own.' There was a glint of worry inside his eyes but it was gone the next moment.

'The price of freedom is always steep. How could there be gain without risk? What I walk is the path of battle and sacrifice. I must steel myself, consider every step to maximize my gain and minimize my loss, I must not make stupid mistakes.'

Viers stood up and climbed on top of a big rock, the highest vantage point around him, he turned his head to the direction of the rising sun.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. The cultivation way in this world is aptly named indeed… the Path of Power!"

As the first light of the day enveloped him, Viers felt like he was infused with new life.