Chapter 15
Unaware that the delay was a one time deal due to his magic testing, copying, and assimilating the game code so that his magic could recreate the traps as spells, Harry stopped setting up traps and stood frozen with fear for several minutes.
The nearby howls of hunting wolves broke Harry from his stupor and he quickly dropped down onto his knees and used his shovel to enlarge the hollow inside of the stump enough so that he would fit inside of it. Tears poured down his face once more as there was yet another delay before the shovel removed the dirt like it was supposed to. Harry feared that whatever had happened to him earlier had corrupted all of his in-game Skills when it was only his magic assimilating yet another Skill.
Before he could completely panic, the loud crunching of many large paws running through the layer of ice and snow that covered the forest floor reached his ears and he bolted into the hollow and used his shovel to shift the dirt from the floor in an effort to block off the entrance; his magic would interfere with that process as well and made it so the thin wall of dirt hardened to rock and blended in perfectly with the outside of the stump; effectively hiding the hollow.
Trembling in terror and praying that the flimsy wall would protect him (completely unaware of the changes that had been made to the wall on the outside), Harry scrambled to return his shovel to his Inventory and took out his dagger as he pressed his back up against the wall of the trunk as far away from the entrance as he could get. The pack of wolves that had been hunting him broke into the clearing just seconds later and he could hear their faint snarls and growls as they tried to find him. A sharp yelp was followed by the faint snap of the hangman's snare he'd set being activated; the sound signifying that at least one wolf had gotten caught by his faulty traps.
That the trap had worked made Harry feel just a little better right up until he heard claws scraping at the side of the stump where the entrance sat. His heart rose up into his throat at the thought of being caught like a rat in a trap with no where to go. Just when he thought the wolf was going to break into the hollow, the pack let out a chorus of howls and growls before they left the clearing. Harry sagged in relief and let out a soft sob over how close he'd come to being found by the Monsters when he was in no condition to fight them.
His relief was short lived though as not more than twenty-five minutes after the wolves had fled the clearing, he picked up the faint sounds of something large entering the clearing outside of his stump.
The footsteps grew louder until they were right outside his stump where they began circling all around him and Harry began having trouble breathing as he strained to listen to what sounded like the growls and grumbles of some large Monster over the pounding in his ears as his heart rate shot through the roof. He had to choke back the scream of pure terror that climbed up the back of his throat when he heard something heavy thud into the top of the stump he was hiding inside of; knowing that if he made a single sound the Monster that had driven off the wolves would find him and kill him.
He had no idea how long he sat there paralyzed with fear while some creature hunted for him before it seemingly gave up and left. Even after it sounded like the Monster had left, he dared not leave the stump for fear that the creature was merely waiting for him to show himself and he eventually drifted off to sleep propped up against the side of the trunk with his dagger still firmly clasped in his hands. His dreams would be plagued with nightmares and phantom pains.
Harry remained holed up in the hollow stump for three days, sleeping off the lingering pain and exhaustion from the glitch that had nearly killed him before the annoying buzzing of the system telling him that his Inbox was full pulled him out of his depression. Harry reluctantly opened his message box to find a hundred messages from Agil and he felt a small flash of guilt over ignoring the man for so long. He didn't bother with the first ninety-nine messages; skipping over them to open the most recent one and read through the frantic letter.
Where the hell are you!? What happened to you!? Why aren't you answering my
messages!? I know you're still alive; so why won't you tell me what the hell is
going on, man!? Talk to me, buddy; let me help you. I can't help you if you don't
answer me.
Please, James, please answer me!
Harry sighed and hit the reply button. He then stared at the screen for several long minutes before he typed out a reply trying to explain what had happened to him. He erased his response twice before he finally settled on a rather short reply that he hoped would placate the gruff, but kind, older man.
Sorry, I worried you. I'm safe for now. Don't know when I'll be back.
Harry hit the send button before he could change his mind yet again. He then meticulously deleted all of the unopened messages in his Inbox before closing out the Menu. After that, he used his Listening and Detection Skills in order to determine if there were any Monsters lying in wait for him just outside of his hiding place. When he didn't hear or sense anything, Harry carefully tore down the wall he'd made and hesitantly crawled out of the stump. Out of habit, he glanced over to where he'd set up the traps three days earlier and saw that all of the traps had either expired or been sprung while he'd stayed hidden inside of the stump.
After staring about the small clearing without really seeing it for several long minutes, Harry tried to get his bearings so he could determine the shortest, safest route out of the forest. He was just pulling up the partial map he had of the area when he received another message from Agil. Harry hesitated a brief moment before opening it.
Thank kamisama! I was really starting to get worried. Where are you? I'll come
get you.
Harry sighed and closed his eyes in pain as his heart ached with the fear of losing his only friend as he imagined the man hating him the moment that he learned the truth about Harry's age. Biting his lip, he stifled the urge to bawl as he sent back an even shorter reply.
I'm fine. You don't need to get me.
.
.
.
.
.
👀The novel is available in PDF, visit my Patreon store👀
🚬Patreon.com/BlackGoku222🚬
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット