Chapter 1: Dark Map
Admitting it makes things clearer. But it’s a bit lonely.
My focus reached a higher level. The sensation of speeding through the trees felt just like running, something I’d grown used to. I was getting better.
The enemy, the horned ape, had undergone a transformation.
Its horns spiraled and extended, its black fur had shed, and its white skin was exposed.
At this stage, I understood that any outer defense was meaningless. I responded by discarding my chest plate, which was only in the way.
With my body lighter and my thoracic spine freed, my arms began to play a more dynamic role. As I swung my legs in opposition, I surpassed the reach of a previously unattainable step.
I could hear the wind clearly. The anticipation of a slash tingled as it brushed against my skin.
Kicking off the trunk and leaning forward to dodge the branches, I used the momentum of my weight shift to accelerate again. At the peak of this acceleration, I locked eyes with the horned ape.
We collided.
The impact transmitted through my blade revealed that its power had increased. Whether this was a product of its transformation or due to its enhanced magical strength, I couldn’t tell.
In an instant, we exchanged several blows.
When I slashed diagonally, the horned ape met it head-on and countered with a kick from below. The distance between us was entirely in its favor.
I attempted to evade.
Using the lodged blade as a pivot, I tensed my arm and flipped my body diagonally upwards. As I felt a sensation of floating, the horned ape’s kick cut through the empty space. I saw it from an inverted angle.
The horned ape turned its head to look at my face.
We were both in mid-air. Unable to brace ourselves, we aimed only with our arms—me with my blade, the horned ape with its claws.
A sharp clink as blade met blade, sparks flying.
A fiery clash began.
Faster. I was becoming faster. I could get faster.
I squeezed my adductor muscles. My arm, then my wrist, caught up explosively at the moment of impact. The inertia working on my limbs was out of sync, forcing my body into a strenuous circular motion for each swing.
My arm felt like it would tear off. Surely, many tendons had already snapped.
It was the best. The most fun in the world.
I didn’t know how long it would last. Though my consciousness should have been fully under my control, my body rushed headlong toward ruin. Fighting to live or fighting to die, it was becoming unclear.
My brain felt unblocked, cerebrospinal fluid swirling inside my head. My memories rewound like a real deathbed reflection.
Oh well.
If there’s a next life, let me be born as a more honest-hearted boy.
Thank my parents, talk about dreams I don’t really intend to fulfill with my friends, and in the end, surrounded by a fair number of people in a corner hospital, I’ll pass away.
So, for now, it’s fine. No one is dying anyway.
I’ve fought and fought, and in the end, nothing will be left. It’s fine as long as I’m having fun now. There was nothing I truly wanted to cherish.
Was there anything I built up? Anything I wanted to do?
—What a boring person.
Is that… Heide Marie? Did she say something like that?
I won’t deny it. That’s exactly right. This is who I am.
—Then, become something you want to be.
There was nothing like that. I wasn’t serious. It was a convenient goal, just a way to pass the time.
—Would someone who truly thinks that bury themselves in stories?
…Don’t hit the nail on the head. It just wasn’t possible.
But it’s so much fun.
This place is the best. If it ends here, I have no regrets. I don’t mind leaving everything behind. Maybe, this is what I wanted to do.
The intervals between clashes shortened, making it seem like we were continuously cutting at each other.
The playful attacks had disappeared. Every move carried weight, and any misstep could immediately cost either of our lives.
My senses sharpened. The internal space elongated time. Climbing higher and higher, leaving everything behind, we soared to an unreachable place.
I asked my rival, how about you?
Can you keep up? If not, are you prepared to die?
I am. In fact, that fuels me. The more I accept the danger, the sharper and faster I become.
Alright, let’s settle this—
“Huh?”
Suddenly, my heightened senses picked up noise.
The out-of-place sensation had nothing to do with the battle. It was the faint breath of a weakling on the brink of death.
A human, and a very helpless one at that.
This wasn’t part of the plan. The premise was collapsing. This selfish battle was only possible because I could throw everything away with no responsibility.
I fought because no one would die.
“Sorry! Hold on a sec!”
In the midst of the clash, I made a foolish attempt to stop.
Still facing forward, I leapt backward.
The horned ape didn’t immediately pursue, perhaps sensing something, allowing me to retreat.
Disengaging was easy. I turned my back on the enemy and leapt through the forest.
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I headed straight for the source of the sound.
Focusing my ears, the breathing grew closer. The heartbeat, still struggling to live, pulsed in waves.
At a certain point mid-leap, the sound’s distortion reversed.
I had overtaken the source. I stopped and turned directly behind me. Straining my ears and eyes, I pushed through the underbrush to find the person as quickly as possible.
In the shadow of a tree covered with ferns, a girl lay face down.
“Hey!”
My voice was harsh.
A child. Judging by her height, she looked about seven or eight years old.
I lifted her to check her consciousness and saw her face.
Beast ears sprouted from her head. A demi-human.
I knew this child.
She was the girl with Rita-Heinkes in the basement of the Twilight Owl’s hideout. Rita had called her an assistant.
Why was she here? Did she get separated? Caught up in something?
“Are you okay?!”
“…Ugh.”
As I called out close to her face, she responded with a groan.
“Can you understand? Can you stand?”
I continued calling out.
The girl slowly opened her eyes and, seeming to understand, shook her head.
She was bleeding from her head and limbs. Her torn clothes were stained with blood. It looked like she had been in a fierce battle just before.
If so, she might still be pursued by monsters.
The horned ape should be chasing me even now. If I fight with this child here, it would be incredibly unrealistic.
Time was short. I had to save her before the horned ape arrived.
Since I couldn’t protect her continuously, the best option was to treat her and strengthen her so she could escape to the teleportation array on her own.
I stopped thinking and began administering first aid. She was bleeding heavily. Without stopping the blood, she’d die even if we got out of here.
“[Analyze]”
Gently laying the girl on the ground, I began a scan.
I checked for injuries, focusing on where to stop the bleeding.
Her limb injuries were worse than they looked. Especially the deep thigh wound, causing significant blood loss. Her pulse was already weak and slow, putting her life in immediate danger.
Equally serious was a part of her back gouged by what seemed like fangs. There was a break in the nerve flow. I couldn’t tell the exact state, but it was likely a broken bone obstructing it or, in the worst case, a severed nerve.
This was bad.
“Sorry, but I need to lift your leg a bit. I’m going to tie it to stop the bleeding.”
I spoke as gently as I could.
But the girl’s leg didn’t move.
“Can’t move?”
She barely nodded.
She was struggling just to respond negatively. Silently, I lifted her leg and tightly bound the thigh wound. I stopped the bleeding from the other wounds in order, hiding my agitation.
Blood loss was critical, but so was the nerve damage. Even with treatment and strengthening, she couldn’t move on her own.
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Floor boss is as fast as Vim, is it chilling or something? Well, I take back previous guess, it was Twilight Owl, not Dragon Wings. However, they may be collaborating.