From the next day my live as a "savage" began, during which I built a nice little hut. Since I didn't have an actual knife (my folding pocket knife doesn't count), I had to break off tree branches using my hands, causing numerous scratches and bruises. However. after rinsing my hands in the spring, I once again saw the incomprehensible effect of my rapidly healing wounds. By the evening nothing remained of them. The wound on the back of my head healed completely, and my hair began to grow back. A couple of days later I noticed that all of my hair had grown a few inches and continued to grow at a remarkable pace. A week later, I grew out some long, luxurious hair, which I began to collect into a tail, and later made sure to trim it just enough for it not to fall below my shoulder blades. The color of my hair became absolutely black, although all my life it was gray. Worst of all, it turned out that my beard also grew very quickly. With great difficulty, sharpening one of my knife blades to its maximum sharpness, I began to shave every morning, if that can be called shaving. Having numerous cuts on my face became commonplace. Even though back home, it was enough for me to shave just once a week. I already started getting afraid of all these changes. If everything grows so quickly, maybe I'll start getting old faster as well?
In order to provide myself with food, I had to dig around on the subnote to find some information on the topic of hunting. I regretfully decided that realistically I can rely only on traps for small animals and spears for larger ones. I am unable to make a good enough bow and it definitely will take time to learn to shoot from it. I managed to catch my first "rabbit" only on the second day. I modified the traps that I used several times until I finally understood which of the materials made from local plants works best. It also took me quite some time to find a place to install them. I am really no good in tracking animals, and the computer is no help in this business. My first meat dinner thankfully did not bring any unpleasant consequences. My stomach digested the (poorly) fried meat with pleasure. Then for a long time I worked on creating a spear, which kept flying anywhere it wanted to, except where I needed it to go. For the spear tip I adapted a screwdriver. I hollowed out a hole in the end of the spear so that the handle of the screwdriver cleanly went in and sharpened the wood around the screwdriver, so that it gradually narrowed into the end of the screwdriver. After a week of intensive training I was finally able to kill my first local "deer" from twenty meters away. Although, most likely, I just got lucky. The animal was not too scared of me, and I got in a lucky shot - the screwdriver, apparently, hit in the right place. I did not forget about my other physical training. Rather, I even increased them, I trained three, and sometimes even five hours a day. Sooner or later I will have to meet other people. They could end up being bandits or some other bad guys who might want to hurt me. But at first there was problem with the training. After all, most of the time I was engaged in sports like sambo and judo and there I need a partner to spar with, whom I somehow forgot to take with me on this little trip. Therefore, with the help of the computer, I developed my own training system with emphasis on hitting and the development of flexibility and speed. Of course, I will not be able to stand up against a seasoned professional, especially since training without a real sparring partner is not very effective, but I hope I will be able do at least something with any possible enemies.
I must say that another of the miracles was that after bathing (I dug a hole in which water from the spring accumulated in, so I would be able to swim in it) all of my fatigue quickly disappeared.
A week later, when I fully settled into the nearby area, it was time to explore the area surrounding the hill. I went to out to hike through the nearby area, taking with me a stock of dried meat and a flask of water made from a solid pumpkin-like vegetable. I decided to descend into the valley near the cliff, which had the opening into the station, since the descent looked most comfortable there. An hour later I entered a completely different forest. These huge trees were like nothing I ever saw before. The branches began at a height of about ten meters from the ground and the trunks were as even as ship masts. Climbing onto such a tree would be problematic - not only is there nothing to grab on to but additionally they are from 1 to 6 meters [3 to 20 feet] thick.
It took me about a week to study the territory within a radius of about two kilometers from the hill. There was no need to hurry. During the day I hunted, picked berries and found some edible fruits. In the evenings I sat by the fire (my lighter should be enough for at least another thousand uses), roasting prey and listening to music. Sometimes I yearned for my former life, driving away thoughts about what I will have to do if I'll be unable to decipher the inscriptions in the station, before setting up the guard program and falling asleep. While traveling, I tried not to leave any traces to the best of my strength and knowledge, just in case. Before starting a fire, I removed the leaves and other foil from the forest floor, which I spread back in the morning. During the trip, one thing worried me: it felt like this forest was well-groomed. Like when you get to a place like this, you can immediately determine whether it is a park or a forest. From the hill it seemed that this was definitely a forest, stretching for several kilometers, but now, there were other possibilities. All the trees are of the same age and height, the shrubs grow in a certain order, everywhere - there is a beautiful layer of grass, just like a lawn, and many other minor things caught my eye with their unnaturalness. It looks like I might meet some people after all, or at least some other intelligent beings. Probably someone else in my place would happily accept these signs, but for some reason I immediately remembered the book about Robinson Crusoe when he first saw traces of people as well as who they ultimately turned out to be. Therefore, I increased my vigilance and continued to study the forest, trying not to leave any traces behind me. To capture as much area as possible, I decided to move in a zigzag fashion: first to the outer side of the circle, then back to the hill at an acute angle, and so on. Of course, I will not see everything, but at least I will see most of it. On the third day I finally met with an explicit sign of the presence of man.
I walked slowly along a creek, recording everything I saw onto the computer, which simultaneously built a map of my movements. In the evening, before going to bed, I usually adjusted what the computer generated, and set some reference points on the route, where the terrain stood out. For example, a stream, a strange stone as high as me, a tree standing out among others (there turned out to be many types so my first impression about their similarity was incorrect). I tried to step on hard ground or stones, where possible, in order to avoid leaving footprints. I really did not want to unexpectedly meet the locals. It is better to be ready for that beforehand, or even better - choose the time and place of the meeting. Therefore, when a clearing appeared ahead, I reduced my speed of movement to a slow step, gently pushing apart the branches of the bush with a spear. Looking through the bush's branches, which grew tightly around the clearing, I immediately fell to the ground and crawled to the edge of the forest.
What made me fall to the ground was a small open pavilion, located in the center of the clearing. On the opposite side of the clearing there was a small lake, about twenty meters in diameter. Around the pavilion there was a rock garden arranged in a strange order, very similar to what the Japanese like to do. Grass and flowers grew between the rocks and some trails lead through the garden. A stone walkway stretched from the pavilion to the lake. Zooming in, I realized that this walkway is made of stones, with golden blotches of metal or minerals, perfectly fitted to each other. The lake itself was perfectly round. Looking closer, I realized that it was artificial, lined with a white stone, similar to marble. The stream along which I walked ran into this lake - from the back side there was a drain, through which excess water left, again turning into a stream. This is an ideal place for meditating. Hmm... looks like the theory that this a park has been confirmed. But, if so, why have not I met anyone? And how can I explain the station's presence in a park? Although, if it was there long enough, it could be that nobody found it. It there is no clear reason for the lack of people - it's even starting to bother me. It may turn out that all this land belongs to some local billionaire. Then it is clear why there is no one here. Strangers are usually not allowed into such beautiful places.
I walked around the border of the clearing, looking for recent traces of the presence of man. I did not find anything. I really wanted to take a bath, since I have not bathed for three days already (the stream was too small for this). Examining the surrounding area around the glade, I was convinced that there was no one. Returning, I cautiously left the bushes and went to the pavillion. Looking towards the lake, I understood why it was created there - the view from the pavilion was simply breathtaking. The sun was already approaching the horizon, and it was just above the lake. I sat down inside the pavilion, relaxed and simply enjoyed the view. The sun was already setting, so my eyes did not hurt from looking at it. The area behind the lake went downhill, allowing you to look over the trees. As if floating on a green sea... Coming to, I noticed that it will be getting dark soon. I quickly rinsed myself in the lake. The water was cool and refreshing, and the lake was not deep at all. As I expected, the bottom was made of stone. There was no mud in the lake, which means that it is regularly cleaned. I looked at the sun - by now it almost completely disappeared. I quickly got out of the lake, picked up my spear from the ground, climbed into the thickest bushes that I could find near the edge of the clearing and settled in for the night. I did not want to take any chances spending the night in the pavillion.
As I noticed these last few days, there are no predatory animals here, or they are just somehow avoiding me. Which is strange, since there are a lot of herbivores here. In connection with the discovery of this clearing, I will need to adjust my plan of action. Changing my planned route is not necessary, but I'll need to hunt as little as possible so as to not leave traces of my presence. Who knows how the owners of the park will react to a foreign hunter?
***
In the morning I decided to continue on my route as soon as possible. I lost all the desire to stay in this place for some reason, probably because of the uncertainty. Over the next few days, I found two more such artificial clearings - it cemented my theory that I was in some preserve. The glades differed in style, as if they were created by different landscape designers. There was only one similarity between them - they were all very beautiful. While I was in any of them, I physically feel how my tiredness left the body, and peace returned to my soul. And this is only a very small area that I researched!
A week later, after completing my little trip around the hill, I unexpectedly received a signal from the subnote, which I left at the station. After contacting it, I learned that it had completed the second stage of decoding the inscriptions. The time in which the subnote completed the first two stages was unexpectedly short. Either the language is so simple, or there are some similarities with languages from Earth, but I am very pleased with this result. The completion of the decoding is still far away, but now an estimated time of completion can be calculated. It is not guaranteed that it will be possible to fluently read the decrypted language, it's possible that the computer will only be able to decrypt some of the information. Anyway, let's wait and see what happens. After requesting the time for the final decryption, I was once again delighted. It is probably quite inaccurate, but the subnote promises to complete all of the stages within two weeks. It is a pity that there will be more than one option in the end. They could end up being contradictory to each other and only the computed accuracy of each option can be used to decide which version to use.
Be that as it may, it is time to sum up some results in connection with my latest discoveries. So, people, or maybe other intelligent beings, do live here. For now we will assume that they are people. This is good, because if in the decoded inscriptions I do not find a way to return to my world, I will have to somehow blend in. Judging by those decorative clearings, these people are very close to the people of my world by their mentality, at least they appreciate beauty. The area of my current residence, apparently, is some kind of a nature preserve. This could be either good or bad. It's bad in that by being here I could be violating some laws if this place is a holy ground of some sort (maximum problems) or just a nature conservation (they shouldn't kill me). It's good that before my first meeting with other people, there is time to gather more information. Apparently, this station was not found by the locals, so I could be in a winning position if I learn something from it. It is a pity that it is unknown what kind of people live here. In any case, I need to strengthen myself - if I am in some kind of Middle Ages, my skills will really help me survive. In any case, there will be no harm from doing some extra training.
To enhance the effect of the training, I downloaded a virtual-fighting program from the subnote and installed it on the body-comp and set up the algorithm for my training system. When working with a virtual sparring partner it is very inconvenient to use the glasses, since they fly off from sudden any movements. Therefore I had to use the contact lenses. I do not like them, since after using them for a long time my eyes begin to ache.
Early next morning, I went jogging through the rough terrain, along the route that I previously created, trying to complicate my path as much as possible. I finally got to the clearing that I chose for my training. After a little rest and breathing, I opened the pocket on my belt which housed the body-comp and pulled out the special contact lenses. Frowning, I put them in the eyes and let them adapt. Then I turned on the connection from the lenses to the body-comp. At an arm's length, a three-dimensional menu appeared in front of me where I could chose a training program. Launching the training program for work with a pole in the style of Kobudo Dziosin-Ryu, I took my spear into my hands. A Japanese man with a pole in his hands appeared before me and bowed to me. I bowed to him in return, and the training began.
Obviously, I must say a few words about the virtual learning programs. They became possible, or rather, began to gain popularity after body-comps with sufficient power to generate 3D objects in real time, including people and their physics, became available, plus lens-displays, plus feedback from the brain to the body-comp. Body-comps and lenses are just new versions of the same computer monitor idea as before, but feedback into the body-comp from the brain is something that was developed just five years ago. Scientists managed to create miniature (about a millimeter in size) sensors that can record the electrical activity of the brain at a distance of a few inches from the head, while some engineers and programmers created an electronic-software system that can analyze and decipher the data taken from the sensor. From my point of view, they were the ones most responsible for the success by managing to make the processing happen in real time. Therefore, the creation of route maps during my travel was quite a simple process, even without prior binding to the sides of the world or navigation systems. All of my actions - turning my head to a certain angle, the distance traveled and other data - were recorded using these sensors, processed, and where possible, refined and corrected by external scanners and environmental sensors. The only drawback of all this is the lack of direct interaction with the brain, that is, you can not communicate information back into the brain, bypassing the eyes, ears and other senses. But as I heard, research in this direction was already underway. This technology would have come in handy now.
***
Phew... I fell wearily on the grass. This Japanese guy really drove me into the ground. Three hours of continuously swinging around a spear and I feel like I'm half-dead. Well, at least there is no contact with the sparring partner, or rather, it's bad for training, but it's good now, when I am so exhausted. But I can not go easy on myself. It may be hard to train, but it can save my life when it counts, although I hope that I will not have to fight anyone for now. So, after three hours of rest, during which I will need to make myself some nunchucks, I will learn from Bruce Lee. I have never seen anyone with such accuracy of movements and speed as Bruce. The only problem is to make the connector between the nunchuk handles. I found the material for the handles, the same as for the spear - some hard and heavy wood. I still have to drill holes in it, but the connector seems to be the hardest to make.
During the allotted time, I was unable to make the nunchucks, but I found a suitable plant with very hard thread about five millimeters thick and of sufficient length, but I will deal with it tomorrow. For today I will have to change my plans - I will continue to work with the pole, which still doesn't feel right in my hands. My spear is not very suitable for studies in the Kobudo Dziosin-Ryu style, since they actually use an ellipsoidal pole. It will be necessary to make a separate pole or change this spear. Training with the pole seems to have a positive effect on my internal organs. In fact, the pole is a kind of channel through which my body's energy flows. Knowing the interconnection of energy channels in the body and skillfully using an external waveguide, it is possible to actively influence various parts of the body. Well, at least that's how it works in theory.
As so stretched my days and weeks of training and hunting. During my breaks I read books - thankfully my collection of books was huge. I even grew to like some of the classics, which I used to ignore. I also listened to music. A couple of times I went further downhill and found two more artificial clearings, but I still could not find any traces of human presence. I ate very little, I do not know what happened to me, but once a day is enough for me. Even though I kept hunting, the animals are still not afraid of me. I lost ten kilograms, and my weight stabilized at that level. My muscles became stronger, all of the flaccidity was gone. During the training, I improved my nunchuck skills and the spear now feels like a third hand. However, I felt that for complete satisfaction I lacked some kind of projectile, besides a spear. But there is nothing that I can do about that for now.
Instead of the two weeks that the subnote promised, a month passed.