Chapter 3: Adaptation

"Wow… I know that I'm not the most intelligent person ever, but that was harsh, man." I've been visiting Albedo at his laboratory for a few days now. I'm still physically recovering but I've managed to be able to get up and walk around without too much problem. I thought Albedo and I got along relatively well and all, but here he is, more or less calling me the most stupid man he's ever met.

"I think you misunderstand me. When I say 'dense' I mean it quite literally, the amount of mass for your volume is quite abnormal. Is this a familiar trait where you are from?"

I just kept looking at Albedo with a blank stare. I was not quite sure what to say, but before I could say anything he flipped through some papers and handed one out for me.

"As you can see here, the amount of mass you possess despite the fact that you've lost considerable amounts of fat AND muscle tissue these past few weeks are quite staggering."

"110 kg!? Aw hell no, that can't be right at all! I weighed 90 kg before all this!" I couldn't believe what I was reading. I should be weighing around 75 by now! This must be a mistake!

"Normal for your height of 1.86m, your density should be around 0.9g per cm3. But you-"

"yes, yes I understand." I disrupted Albedo with an irritated groan as I scratched my head.
"I'm sorry about that. But… How is this possible?! Is this why I've been feeling so sluggish? Why I get so physically exhausted so easily? I mean, I know that all this laying around and such does a number to the body, but my muscles ache after a few minutes of walking around!"

"I would assume so. Probably a factor on why you almost drowned a few weeks back."

I was at a loss for words at this point. What does it all mean? Is it a side effect from the medication I've been given recently?

"When did you do these calculations? Could this be a side effect from the coctails you've been given me or..?" I asked with a little hint of hope. If we know the causation we will have an easier time to figure out what we can do about it.

"highly unlikely. I did these calculations two weeks before you received any form of medication from us."

Welp, there goes that theory.

"So… What now? What does this mean?"

Albedo went silent for a few moments, he placed his right index finger and thumb around his chin as he slowly walked over to a drawer across the room.

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. But I would like to have sucrose take a look at your blood sample. Maybe we can get more answers from there." He pulled out a syringe from one of the drawers and took off the safety cap as he walked back over to me.

With a sigh I took off my shirt as I sat down on the nearest chair and reached out my arm to Albedo.

"Are you sure that you're not a vampiric math teacher?" I asked with an obvious smile that I tried to hide.

"I'm not following. Why would I be anything like that?" Albedo asked, confused as he pulled out a chair for himself to sit on.

"Because…" I already started to giggle. "Because you seem to like to take blood tests." The room was filled with my snickering as I looked over to the victim of my bad jokes with wiggling eyebrows. Albedo without a hint of emotion just kept cleaning my wrist with alcohol.

"An intact sense of humor is a good sign of recovery at least. Despite its quality."

I was about to object to his statement. My humor is like a gourmet banquet fit for gods. But before I could do so I could feel how Albedo pressed the needle against my skin so I looked away. I can't say that I am a fan of needles. But I could feel him pressing the needle against my wrist again, and again. Over and over.

"This… Is interesting." Albedo said to himself as he took a closer look at the syringe."

"What is? Can't find a vein?" I asked puzzled as I looked over to Albedo.

"I can't penetrate your skin." He explained calmly as he showed me the needle. The delicate top was bent. As a syringe, It was now completely useless.

It's been a few days since I got the strange diagnosis from Albedo. Even though it was a tad difficult to accept it, it brought some clarity to my mind. I've been doing all sorts of exercises to get my body up and running again. It's infuriating how old my body has been feeling, I could hardly do three push-ups when I started. And just walking to the Animo archon statue and back felt like a mile. But that is all behind me now. I've been moved from the church to the barracks of the knights of Favonius since I spoke up about how I hate being pampered and taken care of.

Apparently it was Aethers request that the knights of favonius were to keep an eye on me and assist me where needed. It was Jean that told me that 'the honorary knight', as he is known around here, is also from another world. I guess our shared experience of ending up in a whole new world brewed some sentimentality in him. I got to properly thank him once I get to see him again. Apparently he's visiting another country at the moment, from what little Jean told me it seems that Aether is Mr popular wherever he goes. With a body and charisma like that I can see why.

My thoughts got interrupted by a few gentle knockings on my door. I quickly looked over to the mirror that was hanging on the wall next to my bed. The new clothes I got had a much better fit. The whole outfit was light and comfortable, apparently used by new recruits that underwent scouting training. My hair looked like it was actually taken care of now. Never in my life have I been happier to get access to bathing water. And let's not talk about my facial hair. Blegh, there is a reason why I keep myself shaven at all times.

Another set of knocks woke me up from my 'deep' thoughts. I looked ready at least, now it's time to test that theory out.

"Good morning, Martin! Ready for your first day outside the city walls?" Amber greeted me with excitement as I closed the door behind me.

"Ready as one can be, ma'am." I responded as I straightened my back. I grew up with the military on one side of my family. The way of speaking was more of a habit than anything else.

"Please, you can just call me Amber. Or are you thinking about joining the Knights of Favonius for real?" She giggled with a smirk.

"Alright, Amber it is." I answered back. "Are you sure I can tag along for today? I heard that you're one of the best scouts this place got. I'd hate to slow you down."

"THE best if I may correct you." She said matter of factly. "And yes, today wont be too eventful. We're just going to walk from Starfell lake, down to Windrise and at last Springvale."

"That doesn't tell me anything, but I'm excited!" I answered truthfully. For all I know I could have agreed to walk around the planet five times over.

"You might want to pay the library a visit in your free time! Miss Lisa has every kind of information that you'll need to get to know this place inside out!" She proclaimed with an ensured nod. The amount of energy this girl radiates by talking alone kind of makes me regret my decision. Now that I think of it, she never said how many times we would take this trip today.

"Sounds like a good idea. Now, shall we?" I smiled as I nodded my head gently down the hall. I must not give out any kind of signal of weakness. Girls like her can smell insecurities ten miles away.

"That's the spirit! Follow me!" Amber almost roared out as she headed down the hallway with eager steps. I made one last mental sigh before picking up my pace and joined her towards my first adventure outside… For a long time at least.

The air outside was refreshing to say the least. We promptly got greeted by two knights that were standing guard outside the Headquarters that saluted Amber. During their reporting and casual talk I could tell by the way they glimpsed at me that I wasn't much in their eyes. I do not hold that against them though, having a civilian fed and dressed for no other reason than existing is never a popular sight in military life.

As we left the guards to their duties I could glimpse the top half of the statue in front of the cathedral. It sure is quite the sight. It's impressive what wonderful art humans, even from other worlds, can create. But I gotta confess that the windmills are still my favorites! It's something about them that looks so… Hom-ey.

After a several set of stairs later we found ourselves at the center of the city.

It was rather early in the morning, so the amount of people that were outside was as much as one would expect. If you don't count the guards that were stationed here and there.

Will be nice to take a stroll around here during the day and see how lovely this place can be.

As we headed out from the huge gate we were greeted by another set of Knights that were guarding the bridge ahead. As Amber went for another small talk with the guards I was drawn to the bridge.I didn't have to go far to see the majestic sight before me. On the right side of the bridge I could see all different sizes of cliffs and lush forests, the only word that comes to mind is that it all looks so…Untouched. Another windmill and some cozy cottages could be spotted not too far away. But if you looked further beyond the windmill you could see the most splendid mountain could see how the top of the mountain was covered in ice and snow and a heavy snow filled wind raging around it.

If it wasn't for the sound of Amber's footsteps approaching I would've been mindlessly staring at the mountain for a lot longer.

"Quite the view, huh? The windmill you see over there is Springvale, our last stop." She was leaning against the railing like me. Probably taking the chance to admire the view as well.

"If I wasn't convinced that I was not at home anymore, I sure as hell am now." I admitted, still staring at that wonderful mountain. That probably came out a little bit more depressing than I intended it to be, because I could feel how the atmosphere sank like an anchor.

"Don't worry, things will work out just fine! Come, let's focus on the objective!" She commanded as she started to head down the bridge. I could tell that she tried to sound happier than she probably was. She's a nice girl, I can see that she tries really hard to make everyone around her feel happy.

"Right you are, capt'n" I said under my breath as I let go of the railing and followed Amber down the bridge. As we got to a fork in the road Amber motioned to the left.

"The way to Starfell lake is down this path! Now pick up the pace! I'm not going to hold back for you!" She called out to me with a determination in her voice. This is what I was afraid of, but this is for the sake of my body. Can't progress if I do not stretch my limits.

"Oh! We're going through that forest down the road?" I asked as I hurried up to Amber. But to call it a road is not entirely correct. It was more a path than anything else by this point. It even had a broken down waggon just rotting away close to the entrance.

"Jup! We're going to stop by a special statue at the end of the forest! You're going to love it!" She sounds legit excited for this. I can assume that she's been traveling these woods more than thousands of times through her whole life, and here she is, getting excited to show a newcomer a statue. I gotta be honest with you all, her carefree attitude is starting to grow on me.

The path through the forest was actually pretty nice. Sure, we had to climb over some rocks here and there but it was a nice forest overall. Amber told me how this place got its name. If you listen really closely, the leaves that flutter in the wind may sound like whispering. I couldn't hear it, but I was probably too focused on not letting Amber see that I was starting to get tired.

As we got to a puddle covering a fork in the road Amber stopped and pointed up towards the path to the right.

"In that direction, you can see a Hilichurl camp! But don't worry! We cleared that yesterday, so we shouldn't be bothered by them for a few days!" She proclaimed proudly. I guess that she took part in said raid.

"A Hili-what now?" I was confused, it sounds like a forest being designed to scare children so they won't wander too far from home.

"No one has told you about the Hilichurls yet?" Amber asked, surprised.

"Not that I can recall, no. Are they dangerous or something?" This was getting interesting.

"A single Hilichurl, no. A pack of them, yes. They are like weird little people-thingies that attack wanderers and merchants whenever they get the chance. They even sometimes group up with other tribes and attack villages, but that doesn't happen too often, thank Barbados." The more I look up the path, the more primitive structures I can see. I can't imagine what they look like, but if Amber says that a group of them are a problem then I will take her word for it.

"But don't you worry about that! As I said, that camp is cleared from all Hilichurls! The only thing we could bump into around here is a boar or two!" She said nonchalantly as she continued the path away from the camp. I was about to protest and tell her that the last thing I want to 'bump into' is a fucking boar. But maybe the boars in this world are less dangerous than those of my own.

We continued on the path until it ended thanks to a series of rocks in the way. My first instinct was to walk around it to the right. It even looked like there was a path to walk there, but Amber? Nono. Amber decided to sprint right ahead, jumping up against the SMOOTH side of the rock and started climbing like she was fucking spider-man. Not only was her jump height ridiculous, but she managed to get to the top of the rock in less than three seconds.

"This way, Martin! The statue is right behind me!" She said with glee. I just kept on staring at her for a few seconds.

"How the hell did you do that?!"

"Eh? Do what?" Amber asked genuinely. Like climbing a smooth surface like it's nothing is a common thing around here.

"That rock!? You climbed it like it was nothing!"

"Uh, yeah?"

"It's H!" I exclaimed as I waved my arms towards the rock. "If it was horizontal you could stack a house of cards on it!"

"Oh yeah! I forgot that you're not a vision user! It's hard to explain, but I can use my vision to hang on to almost any surface. It's like second nature for me." She said with a laugh.

I took a deep breath and walked AROUND the rocks. Not only am I too heavy for this world, but people here can climb like spiders. Great.

As I got around the stones I was met by a beautiful sight. Right in front of me was a big pond with a rocky platform in the middle of it all. And on said platform was a statue that reminded me of the animo archon one from the city. But smaller.

"Ah? Didn't I say that you'd love it?!" Amber giggled as she walked up to me.

"It's beautiful alright! Kinda want to take a look at the statue, though!"

"Well, why don't you?" Amber asked encouragingly.

"Because apparently my body is now too heavy for swimming. For the time being at least."

"ooooh, right. That. Sorry." She apologized with a sheepish smile.

"Don't worry about it. It's not everyday you meet someone as dense as me, right?"

"...Remember that you said it, not me." She retorted while sticking out her tongue childishly.

"... Yeah that one was on me." I admitted with a laugh. She joined in with the laughter but suddenly stopped. "What's wrong?" I asked before I could hear it. It sounded like a group of drunk football hooligans heading towards us from our right.