Chapter 29: Exhaustion.

"Huff... Huff... Huff..."

Ragged breaths echoed through the silent, pitch-black surroundings, unheard by anyone except their source—the boy named Dawn.

Having been on the move for the last several minutes, he was growing tired and running out of breath. 

Alone in the inky darkness under a relentless barrage of attacks, he had no one to rely on but himself. Most would have succumbed to despair and given up in such a situation, but Dawn persisted, running desperately for his life.

"Damn it... how much further until the end!?" He yelled, gasping for breath, as he dodged another two 'Nightmare Fishes' lunging at him.

Ever since he'd accidentally killed the first three fishes, he hadn't been able to kill any more. But that was fine; he was simply grateful to be alive. Anyone would be in his situation.

Despite his exhaustion, Dawn kept moving, leaping and dodging while maintaining his sprint. His eyes darted left and right in the darkness. 

Even though he couldn't see the creatures, he could sense their energies—dark, ominous, and nauseating.

But even with the ability to sense them, he couldn't pinpoint their exact locations until they were very close. 

'My detection range is about fifty metres... once they're in that range, I can sense their direction. And once they're within ten metres, I can just about tell their exact location... but by the time they're that close, it's hard to react.'

Dawn had to anticipate their movements and act before they did to stand a chance. He had been doing this non-stop, without rest. The entire ordeal was not just physically draining but mentally taxing as well.

'If it wasn't for the Phoenix Feather, my detection range would've been a lot smaller, and I would've already died.' Dawn concluded as he vaulted over another two fishes.

Upon landing, Dawn rolled, skidding underneath another three fishes before using the momentum to spring back up into a sprint. 

His ragged breaths grew heavier as he kept running, with the pressing question of how much longer he'd have to endure this exertion occupying his mind.

[You sense an increase in your stamina.]

'System, stop throwing notifications at me out of nowhere—it's like a jump scare in this silence, and it's also distracting! That being said, this is exhausting, but I won't die from something like this... as long as things stay this way, I should be fine... Huh?'

Dawn abruptly turned his head to the right, sensing something out of the ordinary. He detected an entity entirely different from the 'Nightmare Fishes'—it was far smaller and immobile.

'What is tha—'

Dawn's thoughts were abruptly cut off, and his eyes widened in shock. In that instant, the previously stationary entity shot past him at an unbelievable speed, tearing a chunk from his arm in the process. 

It was as fast as a bullet, leaving Dawn in disbelief.

'...That hurts!' Dawn groaned, running on while clutching the torn part of his arm. 'Was that a goddamn bullet!?'

His blood was spurting out in vigorous gushes from the wound, while the entity had completely vanished.

'Did its momentum carry it out of my detection range!?'

His head swung left and right in a frantic search. Based on its speed, the entity could easily attack him from outside his detection range before he could react. Paranoia set in as he continued to look around for it.

But just when he thought dealing with one was bad enough...

'...!'

He detected two more of them, evenly spaced above him. They were stationary, but Dawn could sense that an attack was imminent. On top of that, the other 'Nightmare Fishes' were still charging straight for him.

He could never have imagined finding himself in such a dire situation.

In that critical moment, Dawn's body moved instinctively. The energy coursing through him was suddenly redirected into his legs, causing his muscles to bulge. 

The two small entities above launched at him like bullets, but a split second before they did, Dawn powerfully kicked off the ground. The pavement beneath his feet cracked from the force as he rocketed forward at high speed.

He had never moved so fast in his new body, resembling a gust of wind as he soared through the air with his arms raised defensively to protect himself from potential impact. 

He could feel the air ripple behind him as the small entities narrowly missed him. He had successfully avoided them, but the danger was far from over. He still had to evade the 'Nightmare Fishes'.

While still in mid-air, he prepared to use his momentum to immediately break into a sprint upon landing. However, as he was about to touch down, something unexpected happened.

His body felt as if it was passing through something, and suddenly, the scenery changed. He'd gone from pitch-black darkness to a cave-like interior dimly lit by crystals. 

The abrupt change took Dawn by surprise, causing him to mess up his landing. He tumbled, scraping his arms against the rough, rocky floor and leaving a trail of blood.

[You've completed the 'Emergency Quest: The Hunt!']

Still on high alert, he quickly rose to his feet, scanning his surroundings. Behind him was a dark veil, similar to the one he had entered, likely what he had just emerged from. 

He could no longer sense the presence of any creatures; the ominous energy was gone.

"Did... did I make it...?" he asked, squinting and gasping for breath.

Having been in complete darkness, the dim light was almost blinding. But Dawn didn't care. He collapsed onto his backside to rest, panting heavily to catch his breath.

"I... I made it... God, I'm never doing that again..."

Being the first to arrive, he was alone. He didn't feel anyone's gaze upon him, nor did he need to worry about how he presented himself to others. 

For the first time since arriving in this new world, he genuinely felt at peace and relaxed. His heart was still pounding, and blood continued to seep from his wound, yet he felt truly relieved.

But just as he was settling into the peaceful silence, another system notification appeared.

[You sense an increase in your Agility.]

[Your senses sharpen, expanding your perception.]

"Argh, that's the third time you've said that, but I still feel the same—"

Dawn was interrupted by another notification.

[+1 Agility.]

[+1 Sense.]

His eyes widened, and he quickly sat up at the notifications. He swiftly glanced at his status screen to verify the changes.

[HP: 77/100%]

[Energy: 73/100%]

[Strength: 15] (+10)

[Agility: 15] (+10)

[Stamina: 15] (+10)

[Sense: 16] (+10)

'...It really did increase, but why now?' Dawn pondered, resting a hand beneath his hairless chin. His eyes then widened in realisation. 'Ah, I see... This is the third time I'm receiving a notification of a stat increase, meaning the stat itself increases every three notifications.'

In other words, Dawn concluded that he needed to receive a notification stating an increase in a certain stat three times before the stat itself actually increased.

'...So if I continue with these training exercises, my stats should theoretically rise. Not just my agility and sense, but also the others... This training was the most intense of all, which is why I saw an increase in my agility and sense stats the fastest.'

"I can get far stronger this way... perfect." Dawn nodded with a smile. However, his smile quickly faded as he shivered, staring at the dark veil. "Still, I still don't want to ever go through that again—"

Dawn was interrupted by a sudden, painful throb from the part of his arm that had been torn. It caused him to quickly clutch the area in pain.

"Argh, it hurts!"

Dawn glanced at his wound. The blood wouldn't stop flowing; if he did nothing, he would bleed out at this rate.