Chapter 37: Lost
Chapter 37: Lost
Arthur:
"Where the hell am I?"
"..." I turned around myself several times. Wherever I looked, I found only gigantic trees, each one resembling the other.
I stood still, cold sweat appearing on my forehead as I thought of one idea. No, no... it can’t be... really? No... let me look again. I looked around once more and repeated that several times.
It seems I’m truly lost.
Where did I come from? From here? Or from there? Or from behind me? All the trees look almost the same. Even footprints don’t exist, as the leaves cover the entire ground, along with a breeze that moved.
What do I do now? I placed my head on my forehead.
"System, do you know where I should go?"
[What? Do you think I’m a location-tracking app? I’m just a system that helps you manage your ability. Don’t overestimate me. Only if you learned a way to locate yourself, maybe you would gain a skill that helps you know the direction you’re in.]
[Show me what you learned from watching anime? Or playing video games.]
"..."
Can you shut up for a bit??
[...]
I put my finger on my lips. My plan was to escape into the forest, and after getting far enough to avoid the wolves, I was supposed to move through the forest alongside the road until I got far enough from the camp to reach a dirt path. From there, I’d continue until I reached a village, and from the village, I’d head straight to my family’s castle to face the knight commander, Carlos.
I lifted my head after it had been staring at the ground, but now my plan was starting to fail.
So be it, I’ll choose a direction I believe is right. I have no better solution in my head than just standing here.
So I moved my feet toward a certain direction, not knowing where it would take me. I hoped to find a way out.
I walked and walked and walked until the atmosphere of the forest began to change, where light started entering through the gaps of the trees. The visibility became a bit farther and brighter.
What a wonderful feeling... a small warm breeze passed through my body. It was the feeling of sunlight and freedom. I reached a certain point through one of the gaps between the trees to enjoy the sunlight.
Life began to return to the forest, from the chirping of birds and strange sounds from time to time, making you feel the terror of ignorance eating your heart piece by piece.
"Arrrrrrrrrrrgh..." I held my stomach with my hand. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and on top of that, I had consumed a lot of energy, and my wound hadn’t healed yet. I looked at the claw marks on the right side of my stomach.
I need to eat something, quickly. I searched around while moving in the same direction. It didn’t take long until I found, near a giant tree, a mushroom.
It’s known that mushrooms are edible, right? This is not the time to think... come on, come on, time to eat. I started collecting that mushroom with the shiny blue color, so beautiful it looked as if you were staring at the sky.
I gathered a good amount and sat near a certain tree. I placed the mushrooms down to gather a few branches.
I put my hand on those branches.
"Burning Hand."
I used my skill to ignite the branches, and with a bit of blowing, a good fire started.
I took the mushroom and a straight branch, sharp at one end, skewered it, and started roasting it over the wood.
After some time flipping it and avoiding burning it, I thought it was ready. I took the first bite — a delicious taste entered my mouth with amazing juice. How tasty this mushroom is.
I began to eat my breakfast eagerly.
I ate and ate... until my stomach was full.
[Hmm... do you think using your Burning Hand skill in that way deserves a new skill?]
"Yes, I think so."
[...]
[Restrictions on skill Rapid Cell Evolution have been lifted.]
The wound started to heal noticeably, with light red steam coming out of it.
"Ahhhhhh..."
After that, I sat in my place for a while — I don’t know how long — but I know it was enough to rest. The system ignored me all that time, making me feel bored. I stood up and continued moving in the same direction I had marked with an arrow on a tree trunk.
After a long while,
The forest with giant trees began to flourish with various flowers and strange plants. It looked as if I had entered a flower shop from my previous world.
The scenery was magnificent, full of dazzling colors.
And among all those flowers and plants, I spotted a strange one — it had fangs and was large in size, reaching up to two meters in height. It resembled that plant from the game of the man with the red hat who saves his princess.
It was clearly very dangerous. It’s known that this kind of plant ambushes its prey suddenly, devours it, and melts it inside with its poisons and acids, according to my fantasy knowledge.
This doesn’t bode well. Am I really moving toward a dirt road? I don’t remember passing through an area like this.
It seems I’m truly lost. And while I was thinking, suddenly my stomach started to hurt badly. I grabbed it and fell to my knees. What’s happening?
[Ah... that mushroom was poisonous.]
"Argh... you bastard! Why didn’t you say that before I ate it?"
[Because you didn’t ask.]
"..."
I kept suffering until the pain started to fade.
[Skill II Greater Pain Resistance (Level 2)] —> [Skill II Greater Pain Resistance (Level 3)]
[Assistant System]
[You have met the requirements to activate your ability]
[Your Body Learns]
[Skill]
[Skill I Poison Resistance (Level 1)]
[...]
—
[States]
[Character:
– Name and surname: Arthur Field
– Title : Wolf Killer
– Ethnicity: human
– Ability: Learning – Rank S
– Level 5 (1600/570)
– Statistics Points: 0
]
[Properties:
– Strength: 17 + (81)
– Agility: 8 + (47)
– Defense (Vitality, Resistance): 7 + (22)
– Intelligence (mana): 15
]
[Skills:
– [Skill I I’m not thirsty (Level 1)]
– [Skill II Stacked Damage Resistance (Level 2)]
– [Skill I Sword Art of the Field Family (Level 2)]
– [Skill II Rapid Cell Evolution (Level 2)]
– [Skill I Burning Hand (Level 3)]
– [Skill II Warrior Miner (Level 3)]
– [Skill II Blood Will (Level 2)]
– [Skill II Greater Pain Resistance (Level 3)]
– [Skill II Big Muscles (Level 1)]
– [Skill I Street Fighting (Level 1)]
– [Skill II Beast of Lightning (Level 1)]
– [Skill III Muscle Rage (Level 1)]
– [Skill I Fatigue Resistance (Level 1)]
– [Skill I Poison Resistance (Level 1)]
]
"Special Skills <Passive>:
– [Lightning Move]
"
"Special Skills (positive):
– [Rage :
– Effects: Strength attribute increased by 50%, agility attribute increased by 25%
– Duration: 10 seconds
– Cool down: 5 minutes
]
"