Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Your everyday drink

-Alan POV-

Okay, let's calm down.

I don't think we are dealing with radioactive water, if that were the case, the soil would have been contaminated and the trees around the river would have died long ago.

So what might be the cause of this light?

Wait, when I was studying I heard about a natural phenomenon called "Bioluminescence", this term referred to some living organisms that were able to produce light (thanks to a special molecule called: luciferin). I am not sure about the details but I cannot come up with a better explanation for this damned water.

*Fiu* "I sure was scared for a minute there, but in the end, water cannot glow for any reason..."

Now the true question. Is it drinkable?

I will ignore the bioluminescence effect for a minute and think about logically solving this question.

If I could, I would love to build a DIY, simple water test, but it involves the usage of soap, which I don't have so I guess I will need to do it the traditional way, the naked eye. I remember there are three things I must be looking for:

1. Check water for any cloudiness within it.

2. Check the color of the water. (I hope it didn't include its brightness here...)

‍3. Check for any strange smells.

That is still far from secure but that's all I can do for now.

...

After observing closely and sniffing the water for a whole 5 minutes, I concluded that this water was as good as bottled water. I don't think I have ever seen water this clean.

This made me worry because you know when you are close to dense cities when the water resembles dog shit.

But this time I won't complain.

I am still worried about the bioluminescence thing but I will take the bet for now.

Slowly, I approached my face to the border of the river and hesitantly drank the water.

"No way..."

You are reading story The modern engineer who didn’t believe in magic at novel35.com

It far exceeded my expectations. I don't know if it will later kill me but at least it will be worth it. Surprisingly the water had flavor. I don't know how to describe it, but if I could say something it would be "freshness"?

Well at last something goes how I want it to...

And this strangely gratifying taste might just be an illusion caused by my tiredness.

...

Okay, what's next...

I guess food and shelter.

Now that I have secured water, I need something to eat.

If I am too late, the night will come, so I would like to take care of this problem as quickly as possible. So I can start searching for a safe place to sleep.

Right now, I cannot prepare any traps for any passerby fish, so I will have to rely on my luck to spot any type of berries or tree fruits.

"And that's where we are at right now"

I was standing right in front of a grove of fruit trees, except as it happened with the water, I had no idea what I was looking at.

"When I was searching for water I got a glimpse at these trees but I decided to prioritize the search for water."

Look, I know how dangerous it is to consume an unknown fruit, but this fruit's color and texture resembled that of an apple, and the only thing standing out was its slightly greater size. As I am no expert in fruits, much less apple's biological information, it might just be a variant (making me ponder even more where in the world I ended up in...).

So as I crossed my fingers while taking a bite out of the newfound fruit I thought, juicy!

As I swallowed what I had left in my mouth I opened my now empty mouth.

"I really can't believe it, how much luck can I have? Well, I don't think that is a correct statement given my situation..."

After that, I decided to take seconds.

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What Alan didn't know was that the water he drank, was also known as "healing water" (water with magic properties) and it could only be specifically obtained, just as the fruits known as "appers", in a very dangerous place, also known as: "The forest of nowhere".

He did not have any idea of the problems he (unknowingly) was later going to cause because of that (mostly to himself).

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