Chapter 3: Discovery: The Trap-Field

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The current situation was not favorable at all. He found himself surrounded by a thousand arrows, each one poised to strike him down with deadly precision. The tension in the air was palpable, and the slightest wrong move could spell the end for him.

He felt like a hedgehog, bristling with fear and anticipation, knowing that the slightest misstep could transform him into a pincushion. To make matters worse, there was a distinct possibility that the arrows were coated in poison, waiting to flood his system with deadly toxins.

The mere thought of it made him shudder. He had only managed to regain half of his mana since his intense confrontation with the beast, and he knew that half his mana pool was almost as bad as running out completely.

His specialty was lightning, but he knew that using it would put a huge strain on his already depleted reserves. He tried to move carefully, avoiding the arrows' deadly trajectory, but before he knew it, one of them was hurtling towards him at terrifying speed.

With a stroke of luck, he managed to catch it by the shaft, but his relief was short-lived. Suddenly, all the arrows turned towards him, and he was left in a terrifying ordeal, trapped between a wall and a hard place with no escape in sight.

He found himself in a difficult situation as he was faced with little or no time to react and counter the attack. As he contemplated his next move, time suddenly slowed down. The lightning that had been coursing around his body froze and transformed into static energy.

The energy around his skin increased tremendously, becoming denser and harder to hold in. He began to glow with a bright white light, like that of the sun at noon. However, the strain on his body was immense and he couldn't maintain this state for long.

Suddenly, the metal heads with wooden hilts closed in on him at lightning speed. Zen was thrown off guard, but then it clicked. He had been trying to wrap his head around what was happening, but he finally understood.

As I stood there, I couldn't help but notice the sound of mechanical gears contracting. I was intrigued by it, but it suddenly stopped, leaving me baffled. However, my confusion was short-lived as I realized that this was all part of a magical trap.

The ruins used here were of high-tier grades and it made me wonder why someone would place such a trap in a non-dungeon area. I mean, there was no mana being emitted from the walls, which is highly unusual for a dungeon.

Normally, dungeons are places with high mana density. But that was not the issue at hand. I was standing on a trap floor, and I could sense that there was a mana string connected to all the arrows. As I stepped on the floor, the pressure reduced, and the arrows moved closer to the center of the target. It sounded absurd, but the arrows seemed to go static when I stayed still. However, I couldn't stay still for long as my quivering leg could no longer bear the pressure, and I knew that I was going to drop it soon. I braced myself for the inevitable pain that was about to come.

With both arms stretched out as far as they could go, he let out a deafening roar. The energy he had been storing up inside of him was now unleashed in a circular wave of white lightning, shattering everything in its path. The arrows that had been flying towards him were no match for the power he had accumulated, blown asunder.

Gasping for air, he felt his mana pool depleted entirely, leaving him on the brink of collapse. His complexion was drained of all color, and his eyes were lifeless as he struggled to recover. He knew that he couldn't risk moving around the treacherous cave with an empty mana pool, as it would be akin to asking for death.

He needed to recover at least four-fifths of his mana before attempting to navigate the dangerous terrain.

While he lay there, he tried to make sense of the strange cave and the traps that he had already encountered. He had discovered the cave after infusing mana into a tree, which should have led him to a secret dimension. However, he was puzzled as to why a secret dimension would have a trap-field.

He had been stuck in a loop in the forest for a whole week, wandering aimlessly without any end in sight. The fact that he had encountered a trap field meant that the dimension was not as secret as he had thought. It just didn't make any sense. The thought of being trapped in an endless loop was terrifying enough, but the deadly traps that littered the cave made it all the more perilous.

He shuddered at the thought of what lay ahead, realizing that this could be far worse than the forest, and he had to be cautious.

[|>>]

As I cautiously tread through this dark and eerie cave, I can't help but feel a sense of dread. The numerous traps scattered throughout the area seem to be strategically placed with the sole intention of killing off unsuspecting wanderers. The intricate mechanisms and sharp spikes reveal the cruel and twisted mind behind their creation. I can't help but wonder who could have possibly come up with such sadistic designs. 

And that bear, it was clear that the poor creature didn't spawn from this cave, so how did it end up here? I consider the possibility that it was intentionally placed here as a trap for unsuspecting victims but quickly dismiss the idea. The look in its eyes told a different story. It was clear that the bear had been starving to death and was simply unlucky enough to wander into this trap-filled cave. 

As I ponder this, I realize that the bear's survival must have been miraculous. How did it manage to avoid all the traps and loops? Was it pure luck or did it possess some sort of sixth sense? My thoughts were then interrupted by the realization that this might be a no-return trap field. The only way out might be to keep moving forward, no matter how treacherous the path ahead may be. 

I steeled myself for the challenge ahead, knowing that the only way to survive is to remain focused and vigilant. Every step I took was calculated and deliberate, every corner I turned was done with caution. The constant fear of triggering a trap is ever-present, but I refused to let it consume me. I was determined to make it out of this cave alive, no matter what obstacles layed ahead.