30 The storm after the fall

"Much as I wanted those swords, this wasn't what I meant." William swiftly thought, as an anxiety spike struck forward.

There fairly was a lot to be nervous about. Those couple of swords twirled right towards him, and they pierced the air at a grand speed as well! It simply wasn't a comfortable sight.

"Wait a minute, maybe I can..." The boy tried to craft an idea.

Through a bit of effort, he pushed those iron knuckles forward. It was a true hustle to move whatsoever, especially since the young man's own shoulder barely cooperated. An arrow had sunk deep in that same area from earlier on, so any flinch caused torturous pain!

Yet it was imperative to move, as the mayhem only grew in volume, and it didn't plan to give him a break. A new problem dawned once those long, sharp swords finally landed against the boy's iron fists!

Apart from the actual, inhumane pain which this clash caused, an ear-piercing sound echoed as well! Undoubtedly, it was a response to the priorly mentioned collision.

The high-pitched sound was further amplified once it reverberated across this cyclone. The disastrous wind, had somehow granted power to such an ear torture!

But even though that thunderous rumble could spook a soul out of one's body, William was captivated by the pain on his fists. It was unbearable.

So he shouted, "Ouch, ouch ouch! Bad idea! Shouldn't have punched those damned swords!"

If horrendous pain wasn't enough of a complication, that clash of iron against iron had actually birthed other problems!

At first, these long swords had sunk on William's knuckles for an inch, which caused most of the pain he experienced a moment ago. As simply, the impact ignored most resistance his iron-coated skin had!

But after that point, the situation only grew worse as those same weapons became airborne just for a single second. A blink later, they latched somewhere else!

"For the love of..." He had to flinch.

This dilemma didn't fail to enforce a layer of pain once more, as those pieces of metal became one with the boy's suit and abdomen. The couple of cuts that came with this problem, burned more than salt on an open wound!

Thankfully, his dark-coloured leather armour was dense enough to withstand heavy blows, so he evaded what could have been a deadly blow. But yet his suit wasn't indestructible, so those couple of cuts burned badly!

Regardless of those blemishes, William was too angry to give up. So right after, he reached out for the handles of those weapons, and forcefully yanked them to his control!

After a small hustle, the boy extended these same items outwards. For a quick second, he felt like an agile and cunning bird!

It felt mischievous to win against the wind, so he celebrated with a hearty laugh. "Haha!"

Yet this joy wasn't given much space to spread out, as raw mayhem took the lead once more. Since he widened up just a moment ago, the wind used this opportunity to push those swords to its will. Fate itself was written down by disastrous physics!

Once the young man noticed what went on, he shouted. "Hoho!"

This hurricane spun William violently, to the point where he looked like a helicopter blade even, he flew higher by the second! So nothing good could be expected from this point onwards, luck felt nonexistent.

It wasn't easy to find a solution, as even the cyclone's own creators couldn't control this disaster now! Their formation had been broken down, and only god knew how many owls had been killed off.

Balance had been long lost, neither side could expect a good result now. Even if seven hundred owl ancestors gathered up, they wouldn't be able to fix this mess!

"Guh… I hate birds… I hate birds!" He thought.

Perhaps it wasn't the best time to hate a species, but those same enemies had blasted him a kilometer above the ground; anger seemed reasonable.

But once he flew high enough to escape the tornado, it was inevitable to comprehend that the way down would be rougher. Unlike the prior problem, it could not be fought!

Such a realisation forced out a sigh, "Oh… this is gonna hurt like a motherfucker, ha?" 

…

As William slowly woke up, it took him a moment to realise a sour fact; he was upside down! This fate only seemed worse the more he took time to explore its odds and ends.

For example, the boy was beyond physically restricted, to the point where he simply could not move a muscle!

Each glimpse he took of the snug surroundings, represented a shade of dark green, so obviously he was stuck in some collection of plantlife. 

However, this specific entrapment wasn't entirely a bad thing. Survival couldn't have been as plausible if he landed on anything else, the boy would have ended up as a molested pancake.

Yet this entire crash overwhelmed the snakezoid, so he sighed. "Uh... didn't know that luck can be a curse, why can't I just die like a normal person?"

Such an expression was half-minded for sure, but the young man's tantrum could be excused. After all, who would experience stuff like this on a daily basis?

After that complaint, he slowly understood that there was a way out of this… restriction. Sure it wasn't favourable to handle this tiny dilemma, but it was possible to escape it.

On a plus note, William's limbs still worked, so he decided to yield that advantage with the aid of a tiny jiggle. He struggled for a second just to get a hold of something useful.

"Just need to..." The snakezoid anxiously sighed.

Eventually, he managed to wiggle one of those long swords a tad bit. These were the same weapons which had latched on to his leather armour, through the prior windy disaster.

However, even though he couldn't move much, these fine pieces were well-crafted enough to slice all that greenery, quite flawlessly.

With such power on his constricted palms, it was no surprise how the boy managed to break free quite swiftly! This freedom was paired with a face full of mud, but he didn't have enough strength to complain.

As for details about the bits of nature that snuggled him until now, their odds and ends could be easily figured out after this point. Apparently he had been entangled within vines and weeds, this same bundle had likely cushioned his crash!

One peek upwards would help acknowledge all the branches he broke upon the crash, surely a lot of greenery had contributed to his survival.

Yet apparently a few things had been sacrificed in exchange for life. For example, it was already night time here. This gave a good hint that the crash had knocked this boy out cold, for a long while most likely.

But although that thought took a good portion of his consciousness, the young man's focus eventually leaned further towards something else. For example, the mess he had caused upon collision, inevitably broke a bunch of branches.

Once the quantity of obliterated pieces of wood was considered, it was inevitable to get nervous. For a quick second, his heart skipped a beat thanks to a ray of genuine fear.

Likewise, William felt pressured to ask. "System, how do my organs look? Please give me some good news…"

After such a crash it felt reasonable to check on his overall organ health. He survived a deadly crash after all, so it was normal to be curious towards the details which surrounded the matter.

Of course upon request, the lady in his head was swift to react with over-professional images. They showcased each vital organ the boy had, and briefly explained how their condition was, with percentage per scale.

At first glance, it was noticeable that the condition of his liver had fallen down for the worse! Right now, it circled around a dangerous rate of thirty-two percent.

Paired with the fact that his lungs had already been unhealthy as well, it was fair to say that the boy's overall condition wasn't stable whatsoever.

Such a quick result showed alarming details, so William lightly complained. "These aren't good news, system. Just tell me if I'm gonna die soon, pretty sure I won't get too scared about that."

[You're quite close to death, yes. But I'm not sure what you specifically expected, guest. It's not easy to survive a freefall, what else could you ask for?] The system pressured.

That fact was undebatable, so instead he asked. "Okay, but how do I heal myself…? Gratefulness won't keep me kicking."

Punctually and slowly, the system pitched. [Well, water won't be of much help here… and health elixirs aren't quite easy to find up in this mountain. So you'll have to seek raw ingredients that enforce immediate health.]

"Tell me more," The boy requested.

Quite specifically, the lady in his head explained. [If you can get your hands on some black-rhino milk, then you'll have a chance to heal a little bit.]

"Yeah, or I'll get a new hole up my ass." He half-mindedly joked.

And then shamelessly pressured, "How am I supposed to milk a fucking rhino!?"

[That's your problem. But right now, it's the quickest solution that mount triangulum can offer.] The system firmly stated.

And then she specified, [Besides, you're experiencing symptoms of a failing liver already. Can you really afford to waste time?]

For a second the boy couldn't quite understand that concept. But afterwards, he slowly grew aware enough to notice a few changes on his abdomen!

As a start, he figured how the middle portion of his belly had become swollen and plumpy. That aside, the same spot had ached quite a lot until now, but the snakezoid categorized it as just another pain from the crash.

But the system spread out a tab, and listed these exact symptoms as signs of an improper liver. Such details spooked him dearly.

The volumes of pain he had felt until now were torturous already, in their own characteristic way. Likewise, he didn't want to experience the advanced problems, so it seemed imperative to cooperate.

That was why he said, "Guh… okay I'll milk a rhino. I feel scared to ask you about my health, god damnit!"

Apart from the complaint, William wanted to ask where one could find that specific animal. Yet his train of thought was interrupted, by a few more layers of pain!

"Ouch ouch ouch!" The boy had to holler.

What made him huff and puff in pain, was that same arrow which had been stuck on his shoulder from earlier on. This sharpened stick's tail had long been broken off, but the rest of its body was deep within the young man's skin!

It burned like hell itself, and there were some signs of an infection too! It seemed that this same affliction was given enough time to develop, hours maybe? Simply put, his shoulder's condition was severe!

"How long did I sleep? Damn..." William mumbled.

The problems were numerous, and they only counted more in number each time the young man grew aware. After a few moments, one specific feeling forced an anxiety spike forward!

"Guh… gotta breathe." He muttered.

A wave of worry had gone far enough to tighten his chest, yet it was tricky to realize what was wrong. In simple words, he was burdened by an unshakeable feeling that he forgot something!