Chapter 8: Mystery after Mystery

Jacob looked around relishing in the rather beautiful scenery of the forest as he rested his back against a tree "I don't have time to rest if this world is truly overrun by the hosts" Jacob tried to stand up on wobbly legs and fell straight on his face as his legs gave out

'Fuck my body hurts like I've been lying on 1,000 needles!' Jacob began to worry about his condition because he'd barely last through the day if he couldn't stand and move.

"I don't care if I have to crawl!" Jacob began dragging himself with his well-toned arms across the forest.

After about 3 hours or so Jacob's arms finally caught up with the rest of his body in terms of pain and exhaustion 'is there nothing but trees on this fucking planet!' Jacob was feeling frustrated and decided to sit up against a tree to rest for a moment 'I'll die of dehydration at this rate! There's not even a river or a pond, just FUCKING TREES!' Jacob's throat was dry and his stomach empty as the sun in the sky was slowly descending

'I've got to find shelter and build a fire or dehydration is the least of my problems' Jacob trained in many things throughout the years and survival training was one of the longest he trained for. He knew that if he was still stranded against a tree at night with his limited vision then he'd be a sitting duck for the hosts.

'Speaking of hosts, I haven't seen a single one since I got here…where could they be?' Jacob's curiosity turned into worry and then anxiety when he thought of the possibility of something clearing the hosts out of this area.

Jacob then tried to force himself to stand after resting for 30 minutes and managed to get himself to stand albeit on wobbly legs 'I can't fight in this condition, I think I'd die even to a non-cultivator at this point' Jacob then started walking in the same direction he was crawling for 3 hours until he spotted something beautiful.

Jacob came through the thick bushes and leaves to see what could only be described as an oasis. A large pond with a waterfall was in his view and he wasted no time in scooping up the water rapidly trying to quell his thirst. He felt like he was in a desert just a second ago with how dry his throat was 'Oh God I love water' Jacob thought as he dunked his face in the water slurping up everything he could before taking his head out and then vomiting it back up.

"Gotta calm down," Jacob said out loud looking up at the evening sky sitting at the edge of the water "I never knew the sky could be so beautiful" Jacob stood up and started walking toward a tree with the one axe that he managed to teleport with and started cutting down small branches and created a fire to warm himself as the temp was dropping as it turned night.

Jacob then lay down next to the calming fire and thought about what he should do now that he was stranded "I need to find a way to survive this hell before I try to escape it" Jacob contemplated deeply wondering what he should do for shelter, food, and defense against the hosts that might find their way into the desolate forest.

...

The next few days consisted of Jacob resting his injured body. He had a few cracked vertebrae in his back and the femur in his left leg was broken in half which explains why he felt nothing but pain and why it was so hard to walk.

Luckily leveling up as much as Jacob did caused him to heal the multiple other fractures and the internal bleeding caused by Charles or he would have already died.

After a few days of resting his worn body, Jacob was on the brink of fully recovering, even in the first stage of cultivation your recovery time decreases astronomically "I need to build a proper shelter and get some food" *RUMBLE* the sound of Jacob's stomach could be heard overshadowing even the crashing of the waterfall.

Jacob then made his way through the forest leaving behind a trail so he could find his way back. He found several fruit bushes along the way but no sign of life could be seen "Why is the forest so desolate? This place is the perfect living condition for almost all animals and even hosts!" Jacob couldn't come up with an explanation and continued searching for more food.

He then came back to the oasis and started building a structure out of a couple of trees around the oasis. Cutting down a few trees was light work for Jacob's late-stage 1 strength.

...

Days passed and Jacob still found no animals, but his little cabin in the woods was finished and he could finally explore the forest and its secrets "I need to start mapping out this forest so I can find a way out of here" Jacob was hoping to find an expedition outpost somewhere in the forest. An expedition outpost was placed by humans to shelter expedition teams and to make a foothold on the planet's surface.

Jacob started walking through the forest, each day he continued to map out the forest while making his way back to his cabin to rest and restock on provisions which consisted of berries and apples that he found in trees. This routine continued for almost a month before he finally reached an opening in the forest and saw a cliff.

He stood on the edge of the cliff, looking out and seeing more trees and what looked like a man-made structure about 30 miles away from his current position "Jackpot!" Jacob was thrilled, this could get him off of this desolate planet and back to the colony!

"Although this has been more of a camping trip than trying to survive on a foreign planet." Jacob thought this was too easy and thought he should explore this place before making his way to the structure "I need to find the truth of this place before I abandon it" Jacob turned around and made his way back to his cabin to formulate a plan.

Once he was back he sat on his makeshift bed and thought deeply about his next move "The first thing I need to do is check out the cave I found" during his month-long stay in the forest he discovered a cave that he thought was the source of the waterfall which was the only source of water for miles!

This caused him to wonder what was in the cave. Maybe there was something on the other side filled with life or maybe it was a human contraption that caused the water to come out, it was also the only cave in the forest. The forest was filled with trees on flat ground and some berry bushes but that was it. It was too normal to actually be normal.

"This place is so safe that it can be considered too safe. There's no living being within 50 miles! There's no way I can live here for a month and not encounter a host! This planet is infested with them!" the more Jacob thought the less this place made sense and the less this place made sense the more Jacob was sure that something was wrong.

Jacob was thinking until sundown and fell asleep with a plan to explore the cave tomorrow.

...

The next morning Jacob woke up while it was still dark and prepared rations, makeshift bandages, and a torch. He then made his way out of the house walking under the bright light of the full moon when he noticed something shining under the pond while he was gathering water for his trip 'just more mysteries after another. I'll check this out after I explore the cave' Jacob sighed and shook his head as he tried to shove the thought in the back of his head

After about an hour later, the sun was rising and Jacob found himself in front of the large cave taking a deep breath, pulling out his torch, and walking into the entrance. He felt the temperature drop a few degrees as he walked further finding nothing but cave walls and running water.

He walked for about 10 minutes and could barely see the light at the entrance when he saw pipes along the wall. They could be considered very primitive when compared to the modern technology of the colonies but they were obviously man made 'I wonder how long this place has been here' Jacob rubbed his hand against the pipe and followed it to see where it would lead.

He walked and walked for an hour but the pipes never seemed to stop and kept running down the walls. Jacob sat down to take a break to drink water and looked where he had been walking from and saw light further down the tunnel, the same light he saw an hour ago at the entrance.

'What the fuck?! Are you telling me I've been walking in place for an hour?!' Jacob couldn't believe it, to be able to put him under an illusion would need the work of at least a stage 5 energy cultivator 'that's impossible! Cultivators didn't even exist when these pipes were made! These pipes have to be as old as the ancient people of Earth which was about 2,000 years ago! Cultivators have only existed for 500 years!' Earth was abandoned millennia ago which was far before ethereal energy was harnessed.

"Such a place shouldn't exist!" Jacob was undergoing a mental crisis as he started putting puzzle pieces together "What if those secluded families and clans have been secluded far longer than we know? If that was the case then why did we have to abandon Earth? Why didn't we fight?" Jacob sat staring at the light at the entrance contemplating his very existence at this point.

'That's why there's no hosts! The cultivators of long ago secluded this place as a sanctuary of some kind…but that means they needed to protect something here which means it should still be here!' Jacob became excited at the thought of finding the legacy of an ancient cultivator.

'First I need to find a way out of this illusion' Jacob began to spread his energy around him searching for the source of the illusion spell. He finally found it right behind him on the wall he was leaning on, it looked like a rune of sorts and Jacob slash through it with his axe. He then felt as if his eyes opened even though he was already wide awake. He then started to follow the pipes again leading him deep into the cave as he spotted a tight space with what sounded like another waterfall on the other side.

Jacob squeezed himself through the cracks and saw a magnificent sight. There was a large opening in the abnormally high ceiling with light coming through and a waterfall. The other side of the tight space was a cave about the size a medium sized town. He spotted multiple abandoned buildings that seemed to be in an old eastern style and started making his way towards them until he heard the screech of a host through the opening in the ceiling.

…