The Face of Death

[Location: Exit from the secret tunnel of the Capital City - Kingdom of Tevell]

[1 Day has Passed]

I looked into the tunnel, the light of the torch was no longer visible, I hoped that Sarah had returned to the city without problems, I was still assimilating what happened moments before she left, I shook my head to return to reality and get back on my way, Sarah was a great help and she risked a lot helping me, I couldn't allow her efforts to be in vain if they end up trapping me here for being with my mind in the clouds.

-Zyrus: Ok... back to the game.

First I tried to get as far away from the tunnel as possible by going down the hill and into the forest, I could see traces of a path on the ground but it seemed that nobody had used it in years, this must be where the smugglers moved, I decided to continue this road hoping that hopefully it will take me to a safer place where I can check the map more calmly and set a direction.

"I don't know what will happen from now on, but I'm not going to die, I'm going to survive, whatever it takes"

I was trying to cheer myself up, to increase my morale as I continued to walk the abandoned smugglers path in the forest, I could feel the noise of birds, a slight icy wind blowing across my face, hopefully I would reach the end of this path without problems, after several minutes walking the path I reached a point where the path itself disappeared, there was no longer a path to follow, nature erased all traces of it from this point.

-Zyrus: Now what.....?

I looked around and not far away I thought I had seen water, I headed in that direction to end up in a small glade next to a pond, I thought it would be a good place to rest and review the map, I left my suitcase and sword next to a rock and I sat leaning my back on it, I took my suitcase and took out the map to check where I was and where to go.

-Zyrus: Let's see....according to this, the capital is here and due to the location of the tunnel I should have exited through the eastern part of the city....here...

I kept looking at the map trying to locate my current position, the layout of the map was simple and not very detailed so it was easy to get lost if you didn't have a good clarity of the area

-Zyrus: If only the maps application on my cell phone would work here, it would be very helpful now.

What was noticeable on the map were mainly the roads and the towns and cities within the kingdom, the nearest village was a bit far from my current location, I let go of the map for a moment to clarify my ideas but they were overshadowed by the sound from my stomach

-Zyrus: It's true.....I haven't eaten anything since yesterday, I would have liked to have breakfast before all this started, well there's no other way.

I put my hand inside my suitcase to take out the dried meats that I had bought, and I began to eat a few, I had to save since I didn't know when I could buy more food.

"I don't know what I was thinking, all this money and it didn't occur to me to buy more food for a long trip"

With some luck I hoped to come across trees with fruits to complement, I took the canteen from my suitcase and gave it a few drinks, I was wondering if the water here would be drinkable, but being in another world with all kinds of things I would prefer not risk getting sick or getting jumped by a giant monster fish.

-Zyrus: And you...

I looked at the sword that they gave me in the castle, the one that I supposedly stole, I was thinking of starting to put the sword to good use, I took it out of its scabbard, it was somewhat heavy but it was very beautiful, the design of the hilt was very elegant , in the hand it felt comfortable and its blade shone with the light, it was the first time that I held a real weapon in my hands, in a certain way I felt more secure, I got up to see what I could do, I put myself in a position similar to those who practice kendo and i started swinging the sword, it was heavy but also unwieldy and for some reason every time i waved it forward the weight of the blade moved the sword more to the right, i thought at that moment it was me for not knowing how to use it but no matter how much I repeated the movement, the result was always the same.

-Zyrus: It's useless, I'm not good for this, I'm not a swordsman, much less a Hero.

I kept the sword back in its scabbard, I was thinking maybe to sell it in some town, use the money to hire people to escort me to my destination and put an end to this.

-Zyrus: Well, that's enough rest, I have to move before it gets dark.

I put all my things in the suitcase, I checked the map for the last time and decided to take the eastern road to the nearest town, due to the distance I don't know how long it would take me to get there but I had no other option, I grabbed my suitcase, the sword and I set off.

-Zyrus: This is bad, maybe I should have asked Sara how long it would take me to get to the next town, at this rate I'll have to sleep outdoors.

A few minutes later, going through the forest, I could finally see the main path to the east exit, I felt relieved but at the same time a little worried, I hoped I wouldn't run into any Tevell soldier without confirming that my capture had not yet been made public outside of the city, I continued walking along the main road for an hour and a half seeing very few travelers go by which was a relief, I saw someone in the distance who caught my attention, he didn't look like a soldier so I didn't worry, as I got closer I was able to distinguish him, he was an older man, his face showed several wrinkles and with white hair and beard, he wore a hat and a long brown coat, he was accompanied by a mule that carried various things with him, we reached the point run into us and look at his mule which I could see was carrying vegetables.

-Zyrus: Excuse me, do you sell fruits by any chance?

The old man stopped and looked at me with a peaceful look, as if nothing in his life worried him, he waved and nodded.

-Old man: That's right, I'm going to the capital to sell these vegetables and fruits to an old acquaintance of mine who lives there.

-Zyrus: Really? Well, I was wondering if I could buy you some of your fruits, because the truth is I'm going on a long trip and I didn't buy enough food and I don't know how long it would take me to get to the next town.

I let out a light chuckle in embarrassment as the old man also let out a light laugh upon hearing my situation.

-Old man: Well of course, I have no problem selling you some of my fruits.

-Zyrus: Really!? brilliant! thank you!

The old man looked at me with a smile but before we could do business, he began to look at me in detail, almost as if he was checking something, at which point I began to worry.

-Zyrus: Is...Is something wrong?

-Old man: You know? there is another nearby village, it does not appear on local maps so its location is only known by those who live there or have already been there.

I was left with a confused face before what he told me, I thought he had recognized me from some wanted poster or something like that but I didn't expect that, I took out the map to check if it was true.

-Zyrus: Really?

-Old man: That's right, I don't live there but I have a friend who does, I go to that village twice a month to collect their crops and I take them to the capital to sell them, then I buy some things that I need and I return them to them.

The older man approached me and began to see the map that he was holding in my hands.

-Old man: Let me see, here, from this hill if you go down the river road you will reach the village I am talking about, if you reach that hill by the main road, you will reach the village by tomorrow.

-Zyrus: Wow, that would be great, I can stock up and rest to travel to the next town, but...why are you telling me this?

I put the map away and looked curiously at the old man who was coming back with his pack mule.

-Old Man: Those who live in that village like to stay hidden away from the rest of society, but they are good people and I can see in you that you are a good person who is going through a bad time.

-Zyrus: Hehehe... you're not wrong about that.

I chuckled slightly at the truth of what the old man was in, I wasn't in a good situation and but I don't even have a place in this world to call home so I'm basically alone, the old man approached the cargo of his mule and I take some fruits from it and pass them to me.

-Old man: Here are some fruits, I hope they will serve you until you get to the village.

I put the fruits in my suitcase and took out some silver coins to pay the kind old man.

-Zyrus. Here you go and thanks for his help.

-Old Man: Don't worry, I wish you luck, oh and if someone asks you how you got there, just tell them the Chief's good friend sent you.

After that he continued on his way to the capital, this certainly suited me perfectly, not only did I get more food but there is a village closer to the one on the map, all that was left was to continue along the main road until reach the hill the old man spoke of.

-Zyrus: For tomorrow, huh? then I'd better get going.

I returned to my path along the main path, and it could be said that everything had already been a matter of luck, escaping from the capital, running into that old man, I only hoped that things would continue to improve, even though I think I spoke very quickly since once An hour and a half later I ended up finding a checkpoint, I hid behind the trees and looked closely, there was a small cabin, soldiers standing guard and others checking the belongings of the people and carts that passed by.

"I still don't know if Sarah was able to retain the information of my capture inside the city but she also told me to stay away from the checkpoints, I guess I'll have to take a detour into the forest"

I didn't want to do it given how dangerous it can be to wander through a forest with what kind of things living in it, but I think it was better than charging head-on through the post, so I went into the forest on the right hand side. along the way, the deeper I went, the stronger I got the feeling that I was making a mistake, after a few minutes walking through the woods I began to hear voices in the distance.

-Tevell Soldier: This way! come on, hurry up!

At first I was scared, I thought the soldiers had found me but the fear passed me by when I saw several of them running in a different direction from the one I was in, going down the hill towards where they were running with weapons in hand, I immediately began to feel strong seismic shock followed by screams of pain, my whole being told me that I had to get away from there.

"Shit! Shit! What was that!?

Who knows what those soldiers were up against but I ran as far as I could while in the background I heard the sound of trees falling followed by more screams of pain, I started to panic and I was afraid that whatever was coming after me then out of nowhere a body flew out in front of me that crashed into a tree and fell to the ground, I stopped by reaction and looked at the body, by appearance, it was a Tevell soldier but his armor was destroyed and covered in blood It was horrible to see, fear invaded me but I had to keep running.

-Zyrus: Fuck it, get moving!

It was then that I could feel how strong footsteps were approaching me at great speed, I did not want to know what it was so I kept running but in an oversight I tripped over an exposed root and fell to the ground, while trying to get up the footsteps stopped behind me. I did not want to turn around but my body reacted on its own and I turned around slowly to see that it was and before me was a huge beast, with huge fangs stained with blood, when the light passed over it, it showed its appearance, it was a wild boar but not just any, he was almost the size of a light pole, with cuts and wounds everywhere but what stood out the most was the scar that replaced his right eye.

-Zyrus: .....what the hell is that thing?

I felt how fear took over me, my legs did not react, I was almost sure that this thing was going to kill me but at that moment, I felt like someone whispered something in my ear, they were my own words "I'm not going to die, I'm going to survive, whatever it takes" then I could feel myself regain control of my body again, the boar seemed ready to run over me but I wasn't going to let myself be killed, not today.

-Zyrus: I'm...not...going...to...Die!!

I took an apple from the suitcase and threw it with all my might into its only good eye and crashing into it, making the boar start to go crazy and charge wildly against the surrounding trees, that gave me time to stand up. and run as much as I could, it was a short time that passed until I felt the aggressive footsteps of the wild boar chasing me again, I ran through soft terrain, jumped over fallen logs, got into the trees, everything to delay the aggressive race of the wild boar until I finally my vision began to reduce due to the amount of branches, ivy and leaves that were between each tree, I jumped over another fallen trunk and thinking that I would fall on something solid ended up being a false floor, covered with leaves, mud and branches in which ends up falling and rolling down a very steep hill.

-Zyrus: Ugh...pufff...argh.....

When I finished falling I looked up, I think the boar got bored of chasing me, because it looked down and turned around, it was good at least I was still alive, well more or less, but slowly I began to lose consciousness, I think the blow was stronger than I thought, my vision blurred and finally my eyes closed.

"Well that couldn't have gone worse"

-????: I think you did well.

"Who are you?"

-????: Don't think about it now, just focus on moving forward.

"But everything hurts, I don't know if I can continue, I'm tired"

-????: okay, okay, you can rest, but you must keep going and no matter what happens, never give up, remember: You are Zyrus Corvus.

I'm not sure if that conversation really happened or it was just an illusion I had because of the strong blow I gave myself to the head but for some reason it made me feel better, little by little I started to regain consciousness and when I was finally awake the first thing I I saw the sky already darkened, I felt pain all over my body, I was breathing slowly trying to analyze my situation.

-Zyrus: (Coughing)...ughh.....this...isn't...well, Sara's healing magic...(Coughing)...would come in handy...

At that moment I remembered that I had bought some healing potions from the alchemy shop, I just hoped that they had not been damaged by the fall, with the strength that I had left I put my hand in the suitcase, it felt a bit sticky, it must be because of the fruit that It was crushed in the fall, at the bottom I managed to feel one of the vials and I took it out with my fingers, fortunately the vial did not have any damage so with my other hand I tried to remove the lid and proceeded to drink the potion until the last drop .

-Zyrus: (Swallow)...ugh...that tastes horrible...

I dropped my hands to my sides and released the empty vial, I just hoped that at least the pain would go away so I could move, there was no point in doing anything, my body hurt too much to move, I just had to wait for the potion to dispense effect.

-Zyrus: The alchemist...said....the potion...takes effect...ahhrgg...after...ooff.....5 minutes....

I stared at the sky while holding my heavy breathing, until I slowly felt the pain subside, I could begin to move my hands more easily, I tried to take my phone out of my pocket to check the time only to find myself in surprise. screen had been completely damaged leaving the phone completely useless.

-Zyrus: Fantastic...

I dropped the phone but already feeling less pain I began to move to remove the sword from my back that was bothering me, now I was more comfortable, I slowly began to move each part of my body in search of a serious injury but it seems that I only had blows, some bruises and scratches, something to be happy about, I stopped moving, my breathing had already calmed down.

-Zyrus: Right now...I'd like to have one of those...cheat skills like in those animes.

I remembered at that moment that the chancellor said that apart from adapting my language to that of this world, I also had a Blessing, but until now it had not manifested itself at any time.

-Zyrus: He...hehe...(Sigh)....this is almost unfair.

It was a freezing wind but honestly the ground below me felt pleasantly warm, I felt my stomach growling, it was normal, for what time it must be and I only ate a few dried meats in the afternoon, I tried to get some dried meat out of my suitcase that I still had, they were somewhat wet from the crushed fruits but I still ate what I could slowly.

-Zyrus: (Eating) What the fuck.....I bought that fruit...for the trip and it ended up being.....a fruit sauce in my suitcase.

I was tired, sore, lost my phone, hardly any food and in the middle of a forest in a world I don't know and having no one to depend on, things didn't look good but for some reason I wasn't depressed instead I felt optimistic.

"Maybe tomorrow things will get better, yeah, tomorrow they will get better I'm sure of that"

After eating I tried to put the hood on and just decided to sleep until tomorrow.