Chương 20: What's to come...
The sky above was streaked with shades of orange and red, casting a surreal glow over the forest. Trees stood tall, their branches swaying slightly in the cool evening breeze, while the undergrowth grew wild beneath them. I was far from the explosion now—far enough to not see that huge crater it caused.
I sat in a spring, fully clothed, the cold water biting at my skin. But I barely felt it. My eyes were locked on the shifting clouds, my mind heavy with too many things at once. What the hell was I supposed to do next?
The demon's sudden vanishing act still bugged me, hanging at the edges of my thoughts. But I couldn't deal with that right now. There was too much going on. Arael might have wasted time trying to figure out how we ended up stranded in this godforsaken forest, but I didn't have that luxury. I wasn't him. I had a plan, and I needed to survive. That was the priority.
Two things kept running through my head: get out of this forest, and find her.
"But where could she be now?"
Kira. She'd been on my mind for hours. She was my only shot in this world, especially since I had no bloodline to rely on.
Yeah, she was a villainess.
True.
But…
She was the only person I could trust.
I knew why she became the villainess everyone feared, and I knew that, like me, she had been reduced to a mere stepping stone in this game. But none of that mattered right now. I had to find her before it was too late.
Something was coming—something big. If I didn't reach her before it happened, I'd lose my chance to change things.
I stood up, the water clinging to my clothes as I wiped my hands dry. "I need to move," I said to no one in particular.
Earlier, while scouting the area, I'd come across this lake. It wasn't important then, but now I was glad I found it. Far to the north, across the water, I'd spotted a cave. That was my next stop.
A plan was starting to form in my mind—a way to stay alive, at least for a while. The cave could work. If I remembered right, I could set up a magic circle there. It would protect me from whatever was lurking in this forest.
I'd used magic circles in the game countless times. Back then, it was easy. I didn't have to worry about real danger or consequences. I just memorized the steps, input the commands, and it worked. This time, though, it was different. This was real.
I had enough mana to activate the circle, but that wasn't the issue. The problem was blood.
Magic circles needed mana and blood to work. Drawing the circle with mana alone wasn't enough. And my control over mana? Let's just say it left a lot to be desired. So, I needed blood.
But not mine. I couldn't afford that. I looked down at my arm. I was weak, drained. I didn't have the strength to lose any more blood than I already had.
Cursing under my breath, I started walking. I needed to find an animal—any creature that would do. But it couldn't be a mana beast. I wasn't ready to face one of those yet.
"Think," I muttered, scanning the forest. Twigs snapped under my feet, and leaves rustled in the wind, but the place was eerily quiet. I had no weapon, no way to defend myself if something came after me. Vulnerability gnawed at me, making my skin crawl.
I couldn't afford to feel like this—weak, helpless. There had to be another way. I turned my eyes back to the cave, and a thought flickered in my mind.
What if I just used mana directly? It wasn't the safest option, but it beat wandering around and risking running into something worse.
"Well, here goes nothing," I muttered, setting my sights on the cave.
Nothing ever came easy. And I had a feeling this wouldn't either.
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