Free Web NovelChapter 21: Not Again
I snuggled back into my rabbit hide, covering myself against the cold of the night. "That was quite a ride, wasn’t it?"
I hadn’t directed that question towards anyone, but I hope that Zenith heard me.
These nights do get a little lonely. After all, without all the servants, good food, and lavish decor, life does feel a little less exciting.
Oh, who am I kidding? I love to fight.
Closing my eyes, I force myself to try to go to sleep.
Yet, deep inside, a nerve keeps getting triggered. Each time I drift off, my mind gets thrust to consciousness. Closing my eyes only forces me to confront what had just occurred.
The spiders. They keep showing up in my head. Clattering with their little noise, attacking me with their jets of mana.
’Zenith, can you make sure I’m safe?’ I asked internally. My entire body was shaking, not from the cold, but from something else.
Am I scared?
[You may go to sleep in peace. I will alert you if something approaches.]
Those words of reassurance truly did their job. Zenith is reliable, so I’m sure that what they said is correct.
Taking a deep breath, I cushioned my head with my hands.
No point thinking about it.
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The sun’s glow formed a warm blanket over me. Typically, the feeling would’ve been a nice one, but my legs were too sore.
I’ve been walking for hours, and nothing. No kingdom wall, no signs of the forest, not even any monsters. Just nothing.
The moon was beginning to peek. It’s starting to turn dark, so I think I’ll set up camp here and find something to eat. That way, I don’t have to siphon off of my mana to survive, as Zenith said I could.
Looking to my side, a plethora of rabbits skittered across the forest greenery. I took it upon myself to try out the new skill I got.
I saw it. The mana within me. Before, I only directed it to where I needed it to be, even willed it to enter my flesh and grant me power. But there was more to the equation.
Like an artist would with clay, I shaped it, gave it intent. It took a while, but I was able to get it to take the form of a sharp needle. "Gyah!"
Throwing my shoulders to guide my skill in the direction I needed, it pierced the rabbit in an instant. Not a sound, not even blood. Just instant loss of life.
The other rabbits didn’t linger. They ran off into the distance, leaving me and the small animal. I picked it up, holding it between my two hands.
"Not too shabby. I think I’ll have to work with that one a little more, though."
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It was night, and before me was a campfire.
Using a twig as a skew, I held the rabbit over the flame, rotating it to cook all sides.
Looking at it again, this isn’t a whole lot of food. Perhaps I should’ve killed more than one.
Hm, I guess it doesn’t really matter. Maybe it’s because I’ve been out here for so long, but I’m not feeling all that hungry anymore. It’s only the third day, though, so I won’t speak too soon.
One the rabbit turned a golden-brown, I took a hearty bite.
Not too bad, the texture isn’t that far off from chicken.
Once I finished eating, I placed the stick to my side, moving one of the logs by the fire to use as a pillow. As I placed my head down, I found it to be a lot more comfortable than I remembered.
"Looks like I’m getting used to this lifestyle."
[Good, but don’t get used to being out here.]
I nodded, pulling my big rabbit hide over my shoulders.
Wait.
"Zenith, did you just talk without me having to ask you a question?"
A quiet buzz resonated through my head, almost like a hum.
Now that you mention it, Zenith has seemed more like a person lately. Perhaps they’re more sentient than I gave them credit for.
[Warning. Large mana signature nearby.]
Wait, huh?
Kttrrrkkkkkk, ktttrrrrrkkkk!
Oh my god.
The sound came from all around me. Even more spiders, except, this time, there was an army of them.
"You have got to be kidding me." Throwing the rabbit hide away, I jumped to my feet, coiling my fists with enough power to shatter a tree. "You guys are going to find that you ambushed me at the wrong time."
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"Koff... one hundred-eighteen." I was holding the last spider by its throat. Gripping it tighter and tighter, it squirmed wildly, fighting back. Then a squelch. I severed its head from the rest of its body. "And one hundred-nineteen."
I fell back, using to ground to support me. Drenched in sweat, I was heaving so much air that my lungs went sore. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
This is crazy. Out of nowhere, these spiders are coming after me. Did I do something to piss them off?
Hey, now that I think about it, maybe one of the spiders from before escaped and got the others to go after me.
I won’t let that happen!
Using Magic Sense, I surveyed the area. But nothing, besides the vibrant purple thrumming through the atmosphere. "Seriously?"
This doesn’t make sense. How exactly are they finding me? freeweɓnøvel.com
Even more, it seems like their numbers are growing.
The more I thought about it, the worse my eyelids weighed down on me. My entire body pulsated, weeping at the strenuous work I just put it through.
"Regen-"
[Do not heal yourself. Your mana is beginning to deplete, I advise that you allow yourself to naturally recover.]
Seriously? I suppose that makes sense, but if they keep coming for me, I won’t have a chance to recover.
Although, if I waste mana on things like regeneration, I suppose that the next time I face off against them again, I won’t be able to worry about things like these because I’ll have too little mana to survive.
No point thinking about this, then. Nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t fix.
With that, I crept back to my campfire, picking up the rabbit hide I’d discarded earlier.
"Here’s to a good night’s sleep."
As I closed my eyes, I lifted off--already falling asleep. Such thoughts of fighting and safety had already left...
...
[Warning. Large mana signature nearby.]
Like usual, I jumped up with shock from the sudden exclamation. My mind rushed, my heart pounded.
One glance at my surroundings, and the reality sunk my chest.
Another horde of spiders, so abundant that they hid all of the forest’s green.
Oh god, not again.
