Together In A Pickle...

Internally, his eardrums rang with a piercing and aching noise that severely blurred his sight, and the harder he tried to forcefully regain clarity, the worse his migraine became.

Physically, his bones felt like they had lost all the strength within their marrows as all the joints within his body ached like hell.

[Young Lord! Young Lord! Please, talk to me!]

Sensei kept rambling in panic as he sensed the chaotic nature of Ji Min's consciousness.

"Sensei quit yelling; I just want to rest a bit to catch my breath!" Ji Min didn't realize he was speaking very weakly.

Sensei knew Ji Min was critically injured, exhausted, and mentally tired as he had just been hit by the bloodline attacks of two 3 Star Lord Stage beasts fueled by rage and desperation.

He knew even an expert at the 5- or 6-Star Lord Stage wouldn't be able to shake it off, talk less of Ji Min who had just stepped into the Lord Stage not too long ago.

He already saw it as a miracle that Ji Min didn't die on impact, but now, he could also tell that Ji Min had begun to feel a distinct sensation of absolute peace calling out to him.

Sensei knew that should Ji Min succumb to that feeling and decide to seek it out, his consciousness would slip away forever, never to return and that could spell the premature end of Ji Min's current adventure.

[Young Lord! Don't yield to that feeling of comfort; you're still encircled by danger!]

Sensei tried to prevent using any death-related word to keep it from appearing as an option to Ji Min; so, he kept yelling, because that was the only option he had left to keep Ji Min awake.

[Damn it, Sensei; even if this enticing feeling of comfort doesn't kill me, your noise will.]

Ji Min blurted as began to grasp his clarity a bit at a time despite lacking the energy to move his body.

Scooter! Squeak! Scooter!

The moment he regained his hearing and slightly better sight, the sound of rodents squeaking and scuffling around the area painted a picture of Ji Min's immediate environment into his mind.

He could see about a dozen rabid rodents swarming towards him with the desire to shred him to strands brimming in their bloodshot eyes.

"Fuck my luck; why did you have to pick a red portal planet?" Ji Min cursed his luck as tried to summon the required strength to move his arm.

He failed at that task because his fingers showed no desire to even twitch slightly.

Realizing the meaning of his current plight, Ji Min simply closed his eyes and prepared himself for the inevitable.

'Sorry, Yama I failed to heed your warnings and ended up entering a red portal. I failed to complete such a simple and glaring task.'

Sorry Sun, I tried to resist my opposition, but my opponents were just too many and powerful.

Sorry Valpak, it's looking like I would be unable to live the life you wishfully envisioned for me.

Sorry guys, but it seems you won't be getting any ounce of rest, as you might have to start searching for another progeny.'

Ji Min was busy lamenting within himself when a loud explosion suddenly jolted him out of thought.

Shortly after, several painful squeaks and the sound of rodents scrambling away from his position rang into his ear.

Stand to your feet, stupid!" A panting feminine voice then pierced into his ears as his eyes snapped open like he had been pierced by a hot needle.

"Ji Qing?" He blurted in surprise, before trying to angle his head toward the intruder.

"What are you still doing on the floor?! Talk about a reckless time to take a nap!" Ji Qing added with her back turned to him.

Ji Min then angled his neck further to see the rodents in the distance, hatefully growling at Ji Qing like she stole their buffet.

Ji Qing faced off against this beast, and to Ji Min, she looked really valiant, worthy, and stupid at the same time.

On one hand, she looked like a warrior who was showing her fearlessness in the face of being outnumbered.

She looked worthy because she was there trying her best to defend and protect him from his untimely end.

But on the other hand, she had no knowledge of the strength of her opponents, and to him, rationally, it was a very stupid thing to do, and that made him wonder if she would do the same if she was aware of the strength of her opponents.

"Hey! Snap out of it; get up and fight. You know I can't handle this many rodents by myself, so stand up and help me!"

Ji Qing screamed at him once again; she had noticed earlier that his eyes were closing alongside his consciousness, and that it was her yelling that had jolted him awake.

But despite the fact that he managed to open his eyes, Ji Min who she thought would have stood up to fight alongside her wasn't moving at all.

She had planned to ask him to perhaps be her competition in killing the rodents, but Ji Min just lay there and was simply staring at her.

Normally, she would have appreciated such a stare, especially coming from someone like him, but she knew something was wrong with him.

Whilst she knew he must have sustained critical damage, she didn't know the power level of the white rodents or the others, so her estimate of the level of damage Ji Min sustained was wrong.

She thought it was simply critical, but only the duo on the receiving end knew it was a very fatal one.

"Sorry Qing, you need to run; run as fast and as far away as you can possibly go." Ji Min spoke, oozing lethargy, even from his tone.

The moment Ji Qing heard that statement, she froze.

An expression of shock and anxiety appeared on her face as her mind seemed to be replaying Ji Min's statement in her head, echoing the words; 'run' and 'away'.

"No way; there is no way I'm leaving you here! Where do you want me to put my face if the entire Southern Family gets to know that I fled for my life and left you here to die?" She blurted vehemently in decline.

"Stupid girl; you won't have any face to save if you die here! Can't you read the atmosphere?!" Ji Min then snapped at her with the little strength and clarity he had left.