Chapter 3 – Breaking out

It's been 10 days since I came to this cave. I have miraculously recovered from my injuries after continuous eating of mosses and algae and have gotten used to the taste of mud. This is a fantasy world anyway so anything impossible might be possible. The possibility of swords and magic also exist here. Maybe even martial arts cultivation.

According to my intuition and observation, eating them would be survivable for me as of the moment. If I feel something weird in my body, I will rush my breakout plan but for now let's take our time because it could be a start of an adventure or an end before it could even start.

On the 11th day I started to prepare for the do-or-die breakout. Priority number 1: Prepare the body. I exercised in my safehaven with minimum noise. I don't dare to peek on the hydra again maybe it would be the end. I made myself jog in place, do some push ups, sit ups and curl-ups. I need to make sure to be fit and strong and fast to escape if required.

'998, 999, 1000…' after only 10 days I can already make 1000 push-ups, curl-ups and sit-ups but this is not enough yet.

I worked out more for another 10 days.

'9997, 9998, 9999, 10000…' After working out for 20days with the help of my nutritious moss and algae diet, I am healthier and stronger than ever since I came into this world. I think it's time to move to the next step of the break-out plan.

Priority no. 2, bring the necessary but bring the minimum. I have nothing to put water into so I can't bring much. I should stay hydrated all the time. I tore my clothes and made them into something like a ball of cloth. I soaked it in cave water to make sure it is ready and is readily available if I get thirsty on my journey. I would just squeeze it to get some water although it won't be much, it would keep me hydrated. Things on my waist are: 1 ball of soaked cloth and moss all the way round for emergency rations. I made a thin belt from the leftovers from the cloth ball I made and it is just enough to keep the water and food with me as I run fully. I tried to jog in place at maximum speed but with minimum sound ofcourse to test if my rations drop. I think these things might make me last at least another day without finding any food and water.

Priority no. 3 would be to find the exit. I could climb from where I fell through but I have made it my emergency exit just in case. Climbing it would even be harder than scouting the cave wherein I can have vision due to the glowing stalactites and water. If I exit from there, and am already halfway and encountered some threat, I can't run or hide, I would fall again and obtain injuries again. I better scout again inside the cave where I saw the hydra. The hydra was enormous so maybe where it entered can also be an enormous entrance. I also heard before that where there is a strong creature, other inferior creatures tend to move away from it and keep distance so hopefully this enormous hydra scare off all other predators.

I brought a sharp rock that I saw just in case of combat, that of course I know none.

Now goes my scouting. I watch my every step; silence and no wounds. Carnivores are sensitive to blood and I think this big guy is one of them. I can now see the large pool of shining liquid and turned to look at my dear friend hopefully. I scanned my surroundings for any dangers and for any place where I can hide and will be my first "savepoint". A savepoint needs to be covered visually and as much as possible audibly. A hiding point where there is a sound of nature to cover my own sound and minimum light.

I saw my first save point. I slowly walked to it carefully and silently. I hid behind a rock wherein there is dripping water from a non-glowing stalactite. I chose this spot to cover any noise through the water dripping. Just as I was already well hidden, I can feel the ground shaking and the water splashing.

'I think it's now or never' – I thought as I know and understand that the big guy moved. I don't dare to peek because maybe it could feel me looking at it and get caught. After a few minutes, the shaking stopped and the sound of water became calm. I still didn't peek maybe it is a trap. I waited for approximately 3hours of my estimates. I looked for my next save point, where I should be headed then peeked to the big guy.

'It really is huge and scary.' – were my thoughts of what I saw. The big guy came near but it's back is facing me. I can approximate around 9 heads and they are sound asleep.

It's about time to start moving. I timed every step with every drop of the nearest drip I can hear. I walked low and well timed. I don't know how long I have been moving but every step and every sound makes me nervous. I am undergoing a serious stress trouble now and consuming too much energy. It is too much taxing but I need to endure.

I reached my second savepoint. I sighed inwardly. I don't have much time to rest but at least relieve the stress for a moment before I move on. I don't really know where this will lead me to but I can't go back now. After approximately 5min. rest, I decided to move on. I am just tracing savepoint after savepoint. Hopefully I would be out or if worse, I could die. It's better than waiting to die or waiting for some cheat code isekai powers to come. This is not a novel that I read wherein I know that the protagonist will see through the end. This is my life and it could end at any moment.

I just went through the same procedure over and over again. I don't really know for how long I have kept my concentration and I don't know how much time has passed. My head hurts like it's going to be broken into pieces and I am starting to feel nauseous. I checked the big guy each time I move and I am moving farther away. It is good news but not too good as I don't know where this will lead me.

On my 30th save point, I felt the wind. It gave me hope to follow where it came from.

On my 35th save point, I saw a small hole where water flows and wherein I can just fit crawling. The problem is that the passage is made of rocks. As I was contemplating whether to pass through or not. The ground shook again.

'I guess it leaves me no choice.'- I thought as I ran to the hole and started to crawl. I don't know if the big guy caught me or what made it move but it is better to be safe than sorry. It is really tight inside and rocks piercing through my skin. I continued to crawl while bleeding and drank the water that flows through this small passage. The rocks slowly began to glow the more I crawl. Then I passed through glowing rocks. I ate some moss that I saved up to give me some energy.

Meanwhile, in the hole where I went in, blood is flowing along with the water. The blood flow through the pool of glowing water and awoke one of the heads of the sleeping beast. The red head hissed like a snake but it did not awoke the all it's head but rather the red head separate from its body and reduced it's size to that of a cobra and began to drink the blood moving towards its source.

I was still crawling without knowing the upcoming threat. After approximately 2 hours of crawling the opening began to slowly expand until I was able to stand and finally, I reached the end of the tunnel but it did not make me pleased at all because I see a red cobra standing tall behind me and the end of the tunnel is a cliff with thick black clouds below.