The Chase

[Episode 14]

The moment I teleport in, the fresh breeze of air gently caresses my face while the scent of soil and flora tickles my nose.

Standing around me, rocks and trees greet me as they scatter to form the rest of the forest.

So this is the Bowa forest.

Since I was in a panic before, I didn't get a chance to get a clear look around.

Despite this being another world, it looks just like a normal sightseeing forest on earth. The only thing strikingly different is the two oddly shaped suns.

Treading through the trees, I notice a reasonably sized flat rock.

"This one should do."

The best way to sharpen my keys would be to use rocks. By rubbing them against each other, the keys should get sharper.

In no less than a few minutes, I yell in frustration, "Gah! I'm done! I give up!"

It's been a while now, so someone please tell me why this rock seems to be getting sharper than my keys! My keys don't look any sharper than before, it's actually becoming blunter.

"Damn... What should I do now?" Sitting down for a few moments pondering what to do next, I notice something interesting. "Woah... This rock weirdly looks like an axe head."

Change in strategy! I'm going to sharpen this rock and another rock together to use as a weapon instead.

It looks good!

I stick up my nose and my eyes glow in pride. Grinning, I declare my love for the rock, "How dare I stain thy beautiful and dashingly pointy peaks with mine presence!? Thy sides are so sharp that, if a peasant dares to touch without care, they can receive a fatal blow!"

*GAAAAAWWK*

What in the world is that?

Shortly after humouring myself, a high pitched, cold growl spikes through my chest. It's a sound so terrifying that I can feel it more than I can hear it. It makes the peaceful and calm scenery feel haunted in just a few seconds.

Crow-like creatures scatter, retreating from the trees, into the sky.

Leering out from the corners of the trees, a miniature creature with skin, almost camouflaging with the leaves, dawns before me. As it approaches me, it leaves prints similar to human hands on the ground.

The monster gives a harsh growl ripping from its throat warning me of its evil intentions. It covers itself with a mere strip of fur around its waist and carries an arrow-like stick as its weapon.

This thing. This creature. This, Goblin?

Hold on! One of the weakest characters in video games is here? Perfect! I always one-shot those things! I can't help but grin at such an opportunity to test my new axe head out and level up-

Scathing my skin, an intense object darts past me, impaling the dense tree hovering behind me. In an instant, my confident smile washes clean from my face.

"I'm so dead..."

Without a second to lose, I run in the opposite direction with a grim shadow cast over my face, screaming for help with tears in my eyes.

How is the weakest creature in video games so powerful?! And that was a normal stick, right?!

The shock makes me stagger for a while, but I promptly collect myself and continue to sprint past the trees, clutching my new weapon.

The Goblin dedicatedly sticks to my back like glue, darting several more jagged sticks.

"Arrghhh! I can't just keep running like this!" It's getting increasingly difficult to breathe steadily. When will that ugly thing give up on chasing me!

I look back to see how close the Goblin is to discover that it's only a couple of steps behind me, and if that wasn't enough, its face, drooling excessively as it stares needles into my back almost seems to be screaming, 'You're my next meal!'

I harshly stop in front of a row of trees and spin aggressively facing the goblin. Its taunting cackle is extremely nerve-wracking but I must attack it now!

Despite my extreme hate for the skill because of its distasteful name, I need to activate 'Coward Trotter'!

Swiftly reading the instructions and barely dodging the deathly blows by jumping to the sides, I realise that I've already met the requirements needed to activate the skill.

The user must run away at least once during a battle and reach a heart rate of 140bpm or over.

"Wait, 140bpm?! isn't that kind of high?"

But the blue tick next to the skill probably means I can use it.

I'm that unfit huh, I should probably start working out if I want to survive. But for now, I need to focus, so here I go!