Chapter 18：A Scurata (1/2)
After a few hours without any progress, Mack chose to take a pause and rest a bit while eating.
He took an alien dried fruit that looked like a banana but was pink and had some small protuberations. If Mack was not completely sure that this came from the food category from the Cube he would probably think it was some alien sex toy.
Mack took a look at the banana thing for a few seconds and a message in the right corner of his vision appeared.
(Dried Scurata, common grade, made by Cube Inc)
”At least I'm getting the hang of these nanororobots.”
Said Mack, already putting the suspicious food in his mouth.
After a few more minutes of rest, Mack decided to take things step by step. He would focus on small gains. And the first thing for that was to know his limit.
He chose to try and see the exact number of steps he could sustain outside the safe zone.
Having made his mind, he walked of the safe zone and kept walking in circles close to the line drawn on the floor.
”Twenty.”
Said Mack, counting the steps.
”Fifty”
...
”Seventy”
...
”One thousand”
Said Mack, already feeling hard to continue. But he needed to know his true limit.
...
”Two thousand twenty-five”
Now Mack already felt sluggish and difficult to even raise his foot.
...
”Two thousand thirty three”.
~plop~
Mack fell with his knees on the floor.
And to make everything worst another increase was made when he touched the floor again.
Mack chose to do this close to the safe zone exactly because he could feel safe going to his limit. Worst case, he would drag himself along the floor to the safe zone.
Seeing he could not take anymore, Mack threw his upper body to the right side and fell inside the safe zone, with only his legs remaining outside, but he quickly pulled his legs with his arms. And the area outside the safe zone came to normal again.
Reaching his limit was important to measure his own progression in the days to come.
”What should I do now?”
Mack knew that the Will was the key to everything. But it was a strange thing. It was the same thing as trying to control his heartbeat or the feeling of having an invisible arm. You could touch things, but when you paid attention to it, there was nothing.
”At each step a new test.”
Said Mack, remembering what was written on the sign close to the door.
”Maybe the step is not only referring to the literally steps taken. But its referring to the safe zones too?”