A Close Call
[ 2 Minutes Ago]
"We have to go NOW," Dhaka urged, his voice trembling and his face pale as he stored the communication token.
"What... what happened?" Alida, the succubus-like snake lady and archer of their group, asked anxiously.
"The Savage is coming. Karsha said we should move to the next location," Dhaka explained, hastily storing the bodies of the monsters he had slain. Despite their hasty departure, he ensured that no monster bodies, cores, or orbs were left behind.
"We have to go after him," Killian, the shieldbearer, said, his face equally pale. Though they were Tier 7 snakes, the gap between them and a Tier 7 Terror was like comparing a pond to an ocean.
Confronting the Overlord was beyond their capabilities, so fleeing was the only logical choice. However, Killian, along with the others, was determined to save Karsha, the Tier 5 human in their group.
As monsters, they knew they had an inherent advantage over humans, especially those of the same Tier. Their strength and speed were naturally superior to those of normal humans.
Seeing Karsha perceived as weak made them apprehensive about leaving him behind. Even Ayarr shared the same sentiment. However, Dhaka, the leader, swiftly intervened.
"He insisted we should depart and assured us he would join us later. I believe we should trust his judgment and comply with his instructions. Besides, how can we assist when we lack the means to defend ourselves against such savagery? Our best course of action is to depart and trust that he will catch up to us."
After a few seconds of contemplation, Alida retrieved the boat and started flying away from the Fangtongue Forest. Given the structure of the forest, it would take them approximately an hour to escape the territory of the Fangtongue Vampire Snake.
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"Damn it, how can I feel so small in front of a monster I'm training to kill?" Karsha cursed aloud as he sped toward the Blazing Desert. Thirty kilometers behind him, the nearly one-hundred-meter-long snake chased him dangerously close.
Pushing his speed to the limit, Karsha berated himself for his perceived weakness. Indeed, he felt weak, and he knew it all too well.
In the coming days, he would face ten such behemoths, and at this moment, he couldn't even confront one for a single second without fleeing like a frightened child.
"Am I this weak?" he wondered. Though he felt his strength surge every time he killed a monster, when a real threat appeared, he ran away like a rat.
"If I'm this weak, how am I going to face the being who brought me to this world? Damn it!" His speed surged again as the system added 10 more points to his agility.
The agreement he had with the being was to duel in 1,000 years. He had already wasted a year, leaving him with 999 years to prepare. But to face someone many regarded as a maniac who relished crushing his opponents, he had to become exceptionally strong—so strong that even a World Boss wouldn't pose a threat to him.
"I need to get stronger and faster. I need all the help I can get. I wish to become stronger and faster," Karsha muttered to himself, doing his best to escape the behemoth closing in on him. Unbeknownst to him, deep within an unknown area, red eyes opened, and a small smile revealing white teeth appeared in the darkness, reminiscent of Thanos's smile in *Avengers*.
"Your wish is my command," an icy voice spoke. A dark orb flew out and dispersed into sparkles.
Oblivious to the double doom he had unwittingly summoned upon himself, Karsha continued to run with a singular focus, intent on leading the monster away from the shadow guards.
Thirty minutes later, Karsha could still feel the snake relentlessly pursuing him, slowly bridging the gap. Initially, there had been 30 kilometers between them, but now, after half an hour, the overlord had closed the distance to 10 kilometers, pressing Karsha into a corner.
Following in the shadows was the dark orb, which seemed to possess consciousness. Unlike typical orbs obtained from killing monsters, this particular orb appeared of its own accord and, instead of entering Karsha's body, chose to follow him, waiting for an opportune moment to act.
Karsha remained oblivious to the dark orb following him. His movements were steady and unchanging, despite running for the past 30 minutes.
His plan was simple: lead the Overlord far away and then use the life-saving treasure Elder Ben had given him to teleport back to the flying boat. He had left it inside the boat, anticipating an event like this. Since he didn't want to lead the monster to his teammates after killing five of its immediate subordinates, he led it in the opposite direction, far away from them.
With the artifact safely on the boat, all he had to do was wish to be teleported, and he would be.
Forty-five minutes later, the monster closed in to within 5 kilometers, and it would soon be close enough to attack. Sensing the tension in the air, the black orb flew and merged itself with Karsha's back.
At that moment, Karsha received a message from the system:
<Alert: Unknown entity has merged with the host. Proceed caution.>
< You have received a Gift from ?????????????. Do you wish to accept >
Without hesitation and disregarding the system's warning, Karsha opted for "yes." His mental fortitude surged as he swiftly shifted between movement combinations.
As Karsha confirmed his decision, the next message nearly caused him to trip over a sharp stone. Glancing back, he gave the monster one last look before teleporting away.
The snake, realizing it had been deceived, roared in anger, its fury shaking the entire forest. Despite its rage, there was nothing it could do at that moment. However, the seed of hatred had been firmly planted in its mind, and the next encounter between them would likely involve a serious confrontation about playing pranks on elders.
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[ The shadow Guards ]
Forty-five minutes ago, when the shadow guards decided to heed Karsha's instructions and move toward the Crystal Cavern, there was no joy aboard the magnificent boat. Ayarr, who had a closer bond with Karsha despite her indifferent demeanor, kept turning back every few seconds, her anxiety palpable.
Both were on high alert, knowing that escaping from an Overlord was no easy feat.
"It's been over 30 minutes, and he's still not back. We shouldn't have left him," cried Killian, his frustration palpable.
"We didn't abandon him. He asked us to leave, and that's precisely what we're doing," Dhaka tried to sound positive, but even he struggled with a guilty conscience.
"He will be fine. He escaped from an Overlord once; he can do it again," Ayarr said, bringing some resolve to the apprehensive shadow guards.
Two days had already passed on their quest, but because Karsha always separated from them whenever they traveled to the next location, they didn't have much time to interact with him. During their rides to the next destination, he spent most of his time meditating or training inside the subspace. They lacked knowledge of Karsha's true power, and because of that, they struggled to accept the reality before them, despite their belief that he was the famed Annihilator, destined to rise to the pinnacle of strength and unleash rage and fury upon his enemies.
As they continued toward the Crystal Cavern, Ayarr couldn't shake the feeling of dread gnawing at her. "I hope you're right, Dhaka," she muttered, her eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of Karsha. "For all our sakes, I hope you're right."
Just then, the air shimmered, and Karsha appeared on the deck of the flying boat, breathing heavily but unharmed. His sudden appearance startled everyone.
"Everyone, we need to move quickly," he called out, catching his breath. "The Overlord will not forget this, and we need to be far away before it decides to come after us again."
"You... When did you get here? Do you have any idea how worried we were?" Ayarr exclaimed, tears streaming down her face. Alida and Tifa wore similar expressions of relief and concern.
"Snakes can cry," Karsha thought, cursing himself inwardly. He could feel the emotional turmoil of all the shadow guards, a clear sign of how much they had been worried about him.
"Sorry about that. I wanted to lead the monster away so you could have a clean escape. I'm sorry I made you worry," Karsha said, doing his best to comfort the ladies.
He aimed to rise to the top as the strongest, yet he would always be weak when it came to ladies. His one weakness. Karsha had a soft spot for ladies, especially damsels in distress. Seeing three incredibly beautiful snakes shedding tears made his heartache.
"How about this: we spend the next three days collecting all the things I need so we can return to the Sanctuary. We need to rest before the big day," Karsha suggested, holding onto Ayarr and Tifa.
They all nodded, which made him feel a little better. "Also, we won't separate again. We'll stick together, and once I acquire what I need, we'll move to the next location."
After comforting them a little longer, Karsha moved to the back of the boat. He could sense that something bad had happened, something that needed to be investigated.
Originally planning to teleport back to the boat after leading the creature away for over an hour, Karsha changed his plan upon seeing the message from the unknown entity.
Sitting down, he turned to the system. It was time to see what he had accepted into his life.
However, the moment his eyes scanned the first message, his heartbeat skyrocketed.
< You have been Cursed >