The Fall
The ragged sound of labored breathing echoed through the forest as I sprinted between the trees. Behind me came the chaotic clatter of armor and weapons rattling against each other. I glanced back and saw the black knights closing in at terrifying speed.
“Damn it…!”
“How the hell are they so fast?!”
This was completely outside my expectations. I had chosen to flee because the enemies were heavily armored undead with relatively sluggish movements. But this… Shit. At that speed, they’d catch us in no time.
“Tsk…”
I clicked my tongue and picked up the pace. This deadly game of tag had already been going on for thirty minutes. My lungs were burning, and every breath felt like fire scraping my throat.
-Twang! Shwoooosh!!
Another arrow whistled through the air. I was about to chant Blink to dodge it when a sudden gust of wind whipped past.
“Crossing Wind!”
-Crunch!
A blade of emerald light shot out with a short incantation and shattered the incoming arrow. Maharet, still cradled in my arms, had cast the spell.
“I’ll block the attacks, so you just focus on running!”
She spoke while already gathering mana at her fingertips again. I forced a nod. Despairingly, my legs were reaching their absolute limit. I had been running on severely accumulated fatigue from the start; the fact that I hadn’t collapsed yet was a miracle in itself.
I clenched my teeth to steady my blurring vision. This wasn’t going to work. The place where the horses were tied was still at least thirty minutes away. My stamina stats weren’t high enough to endure that long. I’d probably collapse around the twenty-minute mark.
And… at this distance, they’d catch us while we were mounting.
Beyond the forest lay open plains, which would only make their pursuit even easier. Thanks to this godforsaken situation, there was only one option left.
We had to lose them here, inside the forest.
But… I couldn’t think of a way.
The enemies’ speed far exceeded my predictions, and our stamina was hitting rock bottom. On the other hand, they were undead. Unless their heads were severed or they were purified, they wouldn’t tire or fall.
Damn it…! What the hell do I do…?!
While I racked my brain desperately, Maharet intercepted another volley of arrows. Thanks to her wind magic trait, the air around us roared like a storm.
-Flutter…
Amid that chaotic turbulence, something caught my eye. It was the map fluttering wildly from the front of Maharet’s outer robe. A detailed topographic map of this very forest.
My gaze flicked across a corner of the paper, and I found a clue that might become our breakthrough.
The gorge at Mutan River…?
About two hundred meters from our current position was a massive gorge carved by a river. Its height was forty-three meters, and the gap between the cliffs was eleven meters.
This is it…!
If we could reach it and leap across the gorge, we might be able to shake off the undead.
After running several quick simulations in my head, I shouted toward Gold Tae-yang, who was running ahead.
“Gold Tae-yang! Run fast and take the side path! I’ll lure the bastards!”
“What?! Then what about you and the young lady?!”
“I have a plan! Shut up and move!”
“Damn it! Fine!”
Following my order, Gold Tae-yang quickly changed direction. I jumped around wildly to keep the knights’ attention on me and not on him.
“Over here! You corpse bastards!”
As soon as Gold Tae-yang vanished into the underbrush, the knights accelerated even more fiercely. I had no choice but to increase my own speed to match.
My breath grew tighter, and my lungs burned like they were being torn apart. I forced my eyes open against the stinging sweat and kept pumping my legs. In the distance, the edge of the gorge finally came into view.
“Ah, there’s a dead end ahead!”
“I know.”
Maharet cried out in shock at the sheer cliff suddenly appearing before us. I tightened my grip on her wriggling body to hold her steady.
“W-wait! What are you trying to—?!”
“We’re jumping. Across that gorge.”
“E-excuse me?!”
“Hold on tight.”
The edge of the gorge was getting closer. Below the massive cliff lay a bottomless abyss. Forty meters, was it…? Falling would mean certain death. Even if there was a river below, the impact against the water’s surface would turn us into strawberry jam.
A cold bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. I steadied my ragged breathing and prepared to leap. Five steps remained until the jump point. Only one chance.
I can’t die here.
I planted my final footstep and launched myself powerfully into the air.
“Kyaaaaaah!!”
Maharet let out a piercing scream of terror. Ignoring her, I fixed my eyes on the opposite side of the gorge. Even in my exhaustion, my balance in midair didn’t falter. It was a perfect jump.
Ten meters to the safe zone. The exact right distance. I moved my lips with that arrogant thought.
“Blink(10).”
-Crackle!
The moment I chanted, my vision flickered and my body shifted. Naturally, the ground on the opposite side of the gorge should have been beneath my feet…… Wait. Why am I still floating in the air?
I had definitely used Blink, yet there was no ground beneath my toes. What the…?
What entered my panicked eyes was the opposite cliff, still two meters away. The distance was short. My calculations should have been perfect…?
Just before my upward momentum stopped resisting gravity and the fall began, a familiar mechanical sound rang in my ears.
Skill 'Blink' has been used 10 times.
Skill 'Blink' has only 8 uses remaining.
Correcting usage count from 10 to 8.
The blue windows flashed before my eyes. Only then did I remember that I had already used two charges earlier to block the arrows aimed at Maharet.
Ah… Fuck.
My body’s ascent ended, and the descent began. I quickly hurled Maharet’s body toward the opposite cliff with all my strength.
“You…?”
Maharet looked back at me as she flew through the air.
“Run… now…!”
I couldn’t answer her call to the end. I was already plummeting into the deep abyss.
The blue sky flashed in my vision for a brief moment before rapidly receding. -Raiden…! I thought I heard Maharet’s scream, but it quickly faded. The wind slapped my face violently, and the horrifying sense of speed sent shivers through me.
I was slicing through the air, falling toward death. Far below, I could see the calmly flowing river. My body would probably turn into pulp the instant it hit the surface.
They call it a flashback, right? For a moment, memories from my previous life surfaced. Come to think of it, I had died falling like this back then too. I wonder if it’ll hurt as much this time…
The thing that snapped my panic-frozen mind back to reality was another system alert.
Skill 'Blink' has gained 1 charge.
Remaining uses: (1/10)
Next charge in 1 hour 29 minutes 59 seconds.
A bitter laugh escaped me. What good is a charge now? In three seconds I’d hit the water and my body would look like a tomato smashed against a wall.
Even while thinking such cynical thoughts, my mouth was already moving.
“Blink…!”
With a burst of sparks, my body teleported right next to the cliff face. My hand had already drawn Bitan from subspace.
Using the shop would be too slow. I needed to be even a little faster to increase my chances of survival. I gripped Bitan tightly and slammed it into the cliff beside me.
-Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!
The blunt scabbard pierced into the rock. A violent tearing sound rang out as stone fragments exploded upward. It was a crude method, but there was no other choice. I had to reduce my speed and lessen the impact on my body this way.
Still… I can still…!
My speed was already at its peak. Even with this desperate maneuver, I might still die. But there was still a reason I couldn’t let go of my will.
-An unhappy person who does not know happiness.
-I know that you have always wished for a happy life.
-This system can grant that user’s wish.
I wanted to know. If happiness ever came to my life, what form would it take? In what world, with what people, living what kind of daily life? Whether someone like me could truly become happy.
I wanted to know.
-Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!
The water’s surface stared up at me with greedy eyes, as if it would snatch away my breath the moment it had the chance. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the impact that was about to come.
And at that exact moment……
-Splash…!
A violent shockwave engulfed me, stealing away my consciousness.