Chương 5: First Run

Time until next Elemental Storm: 6 Days and 22 Hours [Health: 73. 3%] [+30 Credits] You could've avoided that fight if you just trained your detection with your Talent enough, Ethan reprimanded himself. He took quick, sharp breaths after the battle was done. With every intake of air, the cuts across his body seemed to hurt again. Ugh, damned tree… The clouds above seemed to echo his sentiment, thundering angrily. Even worse than Ethan's wounds was the spear stuck in the monster's body.

He placed a foot down onto its stump, and pulled as hard as he could to get it out. It came out sudden and quick, and he had to brace against another tree to stop himself falling. The motion only brought the pain back into the front of his mind. The wet streaks of blood rolling down his skin and sticking to his clothes. It'd only grazed him, and yet that was enough to take a quarter of his life out of his health bar. At least this one won't come to life.

Ethan clenched his teeth tight against the pain, and moved back to the treant's corpse once more. You won't be needing that life force anymore, He thought as he kneeled near the creature. Once again, Ethan took a hold of the energy coming off the creature. The bits of life he could see, he grabbed with his Life Control. At first it was only a single tendril, but then Ethan grabbed another and another till it was balled up in his hand. With it, he began healing.

He started with the closest cuts, since those would be the easiest to reach with his skill. When he layered in the life force, the wound closed and a satisfying warmth spread across Ethan's body. Another. He repeated the process with the next few cuts and closed them up too. When the last strands of the treant's life essence had turned to death energy, Ethan had closed nearly a third of his wounds. [Health: 79. 3%] It stings like a bitch, but it's a start…

He wished he could've used the essence from the normal trees to heal himself, but they dropped such a small amount it would've taken him all day to harvest. His remaining wounds would have to wait instead. He used the death essence to feed his Talent. Lightning crackled overhead by the time he was finished harvesting anything of use from the treant. He thought to take a few minutes to rest, but he wasn't afforded even that.

The sudden loud snap of a large twig from afar caught Ethan's attention, just as a light downpour began around him. They were both a reminder he needed to get a move on. Seriously, I can't even get a breather? He started along one open path through the meadow, jogging along and trying to nurse his wounds. The sounds behind him got quieter, but somehow never faded. Damnit, something's on my tail. And no way am I going to take it on in this condition. It was faster than the treant too, or else he would've lost it.

Ethan focused on his one skill again while keeping pace. The forest faded away as he honed in on the tangled mess of life force that was his body. Just a few strands wouldn't hurt, would it? He plucked them from the core of his being, layering them across the cuts and blemishes on his feet. He got carried away with the healing though, stopping only when he noticed his Time to Live. [Health: 84. 3% Estimated Time to Live: 12 Hours 37 Minutes 24 Seconds] I've gotta be real careful I don't get myself killed like this.

He may not even have needed to worry about that, truth be told, considering that the sound of footsteps behind him were getting louder and louder. Ethan glanced back just in time to see the shadow of a giant wolf duck into the treeline. The idea of it chomping down on Ethan's throat made him swallow a lump. How far am I from that village? He looked up, and it seemed it'd only come a step closer in his view. Worse yet, his breathing was growing more and more ragged.

Three days of training, even aided by life reinforcement, wasn't enough for him to outpace a natural predator. But still, Ethan persisted. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Not dying, not here, not before I even get the damn quest for this realm! Ethan grit his teeth and sped up even further. He ducked under branches, stepped over stones and passed bushes that rustled when he came near.

It was like the forest was coming alive around him, as more and more rocks rose up to reveal themselves as living beings, hydrating off of the rainwater. And others still dug deep into the ground to escape the rain. He tried to ignore them and keep running, but the sound of the wolf grew louder and louder behind. Faster, faster! A few cuts sprouted across Ethan's arm as he brushed against a branch he didn't see coming. The world narrowed around him and he focused solely on the next step.

Faster, faster, faster- Until the steps behind him faded out. Ethan came to a stop and turned with spear in hand. But there was no one there. The wolf had run off, and Ethan was victorious. He let himself smile, only to drop it a second later. Because another noise caught his attention from behind. He turned, noticing for the first time where he'd stopped. In front of a ruined looking town of huts shaped for kids.

He could see straight into the centre of the town, where a group of human-sized bodies lay bleeding, with a group of green goblins over them. The goblins tore at the flesh of the bodies, giggling as they stabbed their daggers in and brought them back out. They didn't even seem to notice their prey had already died, or that their eyes were blank and cold. When fear threatened to shake him, Ethan steeled himself.

He'd seen enough carcasses being wheeled through the hospital before, and pre-med school had helped him be comfortable around blood and viscera. He'd had death around him for nearly his whole life. He wasn't going to buckle now. Ethan didn't say a word to announce himself to the goblins. He simply found the nearest path that would lead him away, and slowly slinked towards it. That was, until one of the goblins started shouting. In a shrill, throaty voice, the monster screamed, grabbing its comrades' attention.

The entire group of them, two dozen or more from what Ethan could see, looked to his location and locked eyes with him. When the clouds cracked with lightning, another dozen appeared out of nowhere to join the group. Oh, hell no … Ethan stomped onto a puddle, fixed his spear to his duffel bag and started running once again.

Rock spears and arrows sailed over Ethan's head. Combined with the rain becoming a heavy downpour, it made running hell for Ethan. His only solace was the trees that helped him not get stabbed through the back. That, and the newfound wealth of stamina that had sprouted from his being somehow. Those little monsters were deceptively fast, and knew how to navigate the forest under rain much better than Ethan. Any puddles of mud or monsters that came to life in their path, they seemed to avoid.

While Ethan had to deal with wet, heavy clothes and painful wounds. But at least he was making progress. He could see his destination coming into sight in front of him. The dome surrounding the village had closed fully though. Haha! God, it'd be just my luck if they don't answer knocks at the door, wouldn't it? He stopped himself from following that thread of insanity any further, focusing on the path ahead of him instead. Yes, he might've been soaked, tired, in pain and being chased, but he was still alive.

And that meant he still had a chance. The downpour grew even worse, so much so that it felt like he was basically pushing against a wall of water with every leap of his feet. Sounds drowned out, and only leaves buffeting the rain let him keep his vision. The goblins threw more spears at him, but the water wall made their aim askew, and they landed on wood and waterlogged earth instead.

"How much more f&%! ing water are you going to pour?!" Ethan shouted into the air, only to be met with roiling thunder in response. The forest opened up to a river, one somehow not flooded. Oh my gods, it's made entirely out of rainwater… But that didn't make it any less shallow than a real river. The goblins behind him were fast approaching, so Ethan jumped from his side of the river to a rock in the middle. Then he leaped again, but his legs slipped. Get up! Ethan admonished himself as he rose.

The rainwater took the mud off his eyes and let him watch his pursuers close in. But when the goblins waded into the river, they couldn't fight the wave. Ethan didn't stick around for the goblins to find a way across. He began running again, the entire forest floor now flooded up to his ankles. He almost couldn't see where he was going, but the leaves of the trees shaded him from the rainfall and let him find a path through to the end.

When he passed far enough, he saw the legs of the domed village come into sight, and his waning strength returned just as he exited the edge of the forest. Yes! The water was reaching higher and higher now, and Ethan's run had been reduced to a jog before finally turning into a wade. The water was up to his waist just before he finally reached the base of the village and grabbed onto a metal support. Tired and blinded, he reached around until he found grooves and stepholds, and started up immediately.

The grooves were made to withstand rain, but Ethan wasn't. He was buffeted by what felt like a firehose, forcing him to push up one awkward step at a time. His muscles in his arms burned, his life reinforcement flaked, and he couldn't even feel his legs anymore as he climbed higher and higher. At the midpoint, Ethan heard something whistling through the air. He turned and opened his eyes, and a rock spear came within inches of his face. But it hit the metal instead, clanged, and fell back into the rising water.

Ethan looked down to find the goblin who launched the spear staring at him hatefully. It was being swept away in waves of water, just like the rest of the world around him. The rain continued for what looked like miles, sparing no one and turning the spaces between mountains into massive rivers fit for giants to swim around in. Holy… Ethan stopped himself. He should've known that phenomena made by a God like Ather would be on a scale he couldn't imagine. But still, it surprised him.

How the hell does Alphome think he can beat this? He shook his head and continued his climb, rung over rung, bit by bit. By the time he reached the top, his fingers had turned to prunes. He clenched his wet fist and slammed it against the surface of the dome. Once, twice and thrice, before he started screaming.

"HEY! LET ME IN! LET. ME. IN!" After a few more knocks, he heard a zipping noise and saw an alien in hazy vision. His hand stopped awkwardly when it couldn't hit the dome again, and he unclenched it. More figures crowded around the first alien, but Ethan couldn't make out their features. He wanted to hold onto consciousness for a bit longer, but as soon as those grasping hands picked him up, Ethan fell limp.