The Extra becomes the Villain's Bodyguard-Chapter 40: TESTS

Seven days. His home was now a hollow within the trunk of a colossal, blue-barked tree—its interior dry enough to sleep in, its thick walls blocking the wind... he had placed broad leaves on the floor and as a curtain on the entrance by poking a long stick through it.

Placing a small fire by the entrance.

It wasn’t comfortable, but it was shelter.

Each dawn Neville ventured out. He had begun mapping the terrain in his mind, marking landmarks strange trees but he also was marking them with his knife as he moved.

These were his reference points, his only navigation method against getting hopelessly lost in the forest.

Hunting was a lesson in frustration.

The small creatures here were almost familiar... almost Earth-like but just different enough to be maddening.

Birds let out high-pitched noise and then fled. They moved too quickly for him... sometimes even when he wasn’t hunting them they screamed just because he accidentally got too close.

Then there were the rabbits.

At first glance, they looked like cute rabbits... furry, long-eared, twitchy-nosed. But their eyes were too large, their pupils slit like a cat’s, reflecting light in an eerie glow. And their speed...

They moved in quick bursts. One moment, they would be nibbling on a leaf, slow and cautious. The next, their powerful hind legs would launch them through the undergrowth in a blur, leaving Neville stumbling after them, breathless and empty-handed. He had tried setting snares from the tough, sinewy vines, but the creatures were too clever, too wary.

Gathering was no easier. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He had learned... though through painful trial and error... which fruits were safe to eat (the dull ones) and which would leave him vomiting for hours (anything brightly colored or bioluminescent).

He only ate what he saw insects, birds, and rabbits ate... he avoided those they avoided.

His days were a routine cycle: cautious exploration, hunting, meticulous foraging for food and wood for fire.

Within the seven days, driven by the primal need for resources and a desperate desire to understand his surroundings, Neville had cautiously explored an area roughly within a 5-kilometer radius of his hollow tree shelter.

Beyond the immediate, densely packed foliage surrounding his camp, the terrain remained predominantly foresty, but with subtle yet significant variations. To the east, the trees grew taller and their bioluminescent patches shone with a more intense, casting the undergrowth in an eerie, shifting glow. The air there carried a heavier, sweeter scent, almost cloying, and the chirping sounds of unseen creatures were more frequent and complex.

Venturing west, the forest floor became rockier, with outcroppings of sharp, obsidian-like stone jutting from the damp earth. The trees here were more sparse, their bark a rough, grey texture, and strange, vine-like plants with razor-sharp thorns stretched across the ground, making passage treacherous. He’d also noted a distinct lack of the rabbit-like creatures in this area, replaced by larger, insectoid forms that hid and scuttled amongst the rocks.

To the north, a slow-moving stream passed through the trees, and his primary water source for bathing... it had been seven days and he had yet to drink water... he didn’t trust the stream water and he wasn’t going to risk it.

Southward, the terrain gradually sloped upwards, leading to what appeared to be a series of low, jagged hills in the distance, their peaks shrouded in a perpetual mist.

He decided that when he was ready he’d follow the stream downhill...

Despite his efforts, the 5-kilometer radius still felt like a minuscule speck in an overwhelmingly alien world. Every direction offered new, potentially dangerous variations of the same overarching theme: a dense, unpredictable, and utterly unfamiliar forest.

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[NEV POV]

Between the endless search for food and the heart-pounding flights and failed hunting of creatures I couldn’t even name, I started to experiment. On this weird ability... I was still eating the fruits that I think gave me this power. I wasn’t sure if it was from the weird stuff I was eating or if it came with the system.

Then, those damn rabbits. Luminous-eyed freaks, deceptively slow one moment, a blur of speed the next.

I have been doing tasks to test out this ability.

Instinctively, I started to feel out its boundaries, creating unspoken rules in my head:

Starter: I needed seventeen repetitions of a task/activity for me to start noticing the aid.

Physical Fatigue & Energy Depletion: My body still screamed under strain. Push too hard, rely on that unknown power too much, and the crash was always worse, leaving me trembling and useless. I also had to eat a lot to gain energy. I haven’t had water in days too so that’s also a factor.

No Return on Skill Improvement: The huge gains I would get wouldn’t be kept permanently. My body had its own hardwired limits of speed and endurance. The ability seemed to offer a slight nudge, not a complete rewrite of my physical capabilities.

Overuse Injuries & Repetitive Strain: That extra push came at a cost. My muscles ached in new, deeper ways. A stiffness settled in my joints, a constant reminder that I couldn’t just sprint endlessly. Rest was still crucial; ignoring the pain only led to sharper, more debilitating consequences.

Psychological Burnout: The constant focus, the mental strain of trying to coax even these minor effects, was exhausting in itself.

Situational & Environmental Factors: A slippery rock, a tangle of thorny vines, the sudden downpour that turned the forest floor into a treacherous mudslide ... the environment remained the dominant factor, instantly resetting the momentum id build up.

Biological Recovery Requirements: Sleep was non-negotiable. Trading rest for futile experimentation left me sluggish, my reactions dulled, any potential System boost rendered useless. My body still ran on blood.

Task Complexity & Novelty: This strange energy seemed tied to simple, physical actions. Trying to use it for anything more complex ... yielded nothing. It also doesn’t increase on any knowledge I have about a topic.

It was slow, frustrating, and often felt pointless. But in theory, if I have enough energy I can run the ability infinitely that’s if my physical body is infinitely durable.

On day five, during a particularly reckless attempt to outmaneuver one of the larger, insectoid creatures, my knee had twisted violently. Agony had lanced through my leg, leaving me hobbling and vulnerable.

But over the night, something strange happened. The searing pain dulled, the swelling subsided at an unnatural rate.

By the next morning, while still stiff and sore, my knee felt... better. Not fully healed, but significantly improved, as if time had compressed the recovery process.

So there’s a possible healing factor too to this ability... if it can improve internal processes does that mean it can also improve on thought processing, growth, and recovery?

But as always I had to eat a lot to compensate.

It was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure. Terrifying because I had no control over it, no way to gauge its limits or its cost. Was it draining some hidden reserve? Would pushing it too far have unforeseen consequences?

It was exciting to have powers though.

The experience instilled a new sense of caution. I couldn’t afford to treat my body as expendable, relying on this unknown ability to patch me up. So, I started to focus on making myself stronger the old-fashioned way.

Food became even more critical. I doubled my efforts at foraging, prioritizing the starchy tubers and meat, anything that might provide sustained energy. The rabbit-like creatures, still infuriatingly difficult to catch, became a high-value target, their lean meat a precious source of protein.

Exercise was a necessity, not just for immediate survival, but for long-term resilience.

I found a relatively clear patch of rocky ground and started with simple movements... squats, lunges, push-ups against a sturdy tree trunk, testing my injured knee with increasing caution.

Weightlifting took a more... creative approach. I scoured the forest for dense, manageable rocks, lashing them together with thick, pliable vines to create makeshift weights. Lifting these crude dumbbells and barbells was slow and arduous, my muscles screaming in protest, but the dull ache felt productive, a tangible effort towards strengthening my battered body.

The healing factor was a wild card, but I couldn’t rely on it blindly as i don’t know the possible cost of this. My priority now was to make my body as strong and resilient as possible, to minimize the need for this unpredictable ability. Eat, exercise, lift.