Chapter 003 | The Escape

The young man had a vacant expression as he looked at the scene in front of him.

Just a few moments ago, he had crossed the bridge after instructing his young master, and when he turned around, the only thing he saw was endless snow on the other side.

It was as if clouds had become solid and landed on the land. He couldn't help but gulp at this.

'I hope you safely reached the cave, Fang Chen…'

He prayed and looked around.

The danger was not over yet, but there was a sigh of relief when he couldn't find any trace of the enemy in the forest behind him.

"I need to get him out!"

The young man took a deep breath and ran towards the submerged forest on the other side of the bridge.

However, just as he took his first step -

-Siu! Siu! Siu!

-Pichak!

"AH!!" The young man's body was suddenly stumbled from the unexpected jolt he felt on his right arm.

In the next moment, he felt intense pain, and instinctively covered his arm. That's when he felt an arrow stabbed on his arm.

He stood up and looked in the direction from which the arrows had come.

To his shock, there were more arrows incoming, and this time they were more than ten at once!

"...Oh no!"

Without hesitation, he ignored the pain and ran to the other side.

Before the arrows could hit the ground, he was already halfway through the bridge, running as fast as he could.

However, because of the arrow stuck in his arm, there was another fear enveloping him.

'Poison!'

It would be naive to not believe that these arrows were laced in lethal poison.

'I need to find Fang Chen right now!'

He knew Fang Chen had the antidote for the most commonly used poison, especially by the assassins coming after them.

'These fuckers are so persistent!' He thought as he jumped and climbed over the boulder.

Luckily the bridge was built while keeping the chances of an avalanche in mind, and this was why the avalanche hadn't destroyed this bridge.

But this also meant that the enemy could also cross the bridge!

The young man knew this, and he understood that the time in his hands was negligible.

And here, their escape routes were closed - unless… he also hid in the cave!

'No.. that won't be good…'

He cursed his luck as he thought of his injured arm. The blood trail from it will bring the enemy right to their doorstep.

The young man jumped from the boulder and landed on the snow.

He had found the cave entrance!

"Let's hope you're here, young master!"

He whispered as he began digging the snow.

Although because his body was sunk in the snow, and especially his arm - which was now becoming harder to move - were making it hard for him to disperse the snow in front of him, he was still giving his all.

And within a few seconds, he was able to remove enough snow to create half an inch of opening to the cave entrance!

"Young Master!?" The young man shouted with all his might, putting his mouth closer to the opening.

There was no response.

"Young Master!!" He shouted again, and the fear of the worse enveloped his heart.

His hand trembled for a moment and instantly began to claw the snow to remove it further.

The more he dug, the harder it began.

As for his right arm, it was now completely paralyzed.

The only way for him to go on for him was by punching and kicking the snow to break it and then remove it using his other limbs.

He may have had his right hand for longer if he had removed the arrow, but he chose not to.

It's common knowledge the chances of death after removing the weapon are much higher due to bleeding, and the young man didn't wish to take the risk.

His paralyzed arm could be healed once he found Fang Chen, but there would be no way to remain alive if he bleed too much.

Bam!!

With the last kick, the young man finally removed enough snow to create enough space to properly see the cave's inside.

Then, he shouted once more -

"Young Master, are you inside!?"

And as he said, he slowly looked inside.

Just then -

Siu!

"Fuck!"

Another arrow grazed him!

The enemies were here!

Without looking up, he immediately moved and went inside the cave towards safety.

Luckily the arrow had missed his body this time, but now the chances of his escape were even lower!

But that didn't mean he would just wait for his death.

He leaved by the cave entrance and sat right below the hole he had made.

His eyes were now staring at the circle of sunlight reflected on the floor.

He took out his knife and continued to stare at it.

-Thud!

Just then, he noticed a pair of lines appear in the sunlight reflection.

The enemy was here!

The young man lowered his breath and bent his knees, preparing himself to pounce on the enemy.

The two pairs of lines were actually the enemy assassin's legs.

Outside the cave, the assassin took out an arrow with a circular blob at its tip.

And he aimed it towards the dark cave in front of him.

But just when he was about to release it -

Pak!!

The assassin suddenly felt a blow on his back, and before he could react, a knife suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

And that was the last thing he saw!

-Slash!

The young man had jumped and killed the assassin in one hit.

He then immediately went inside and hid.

This was only the first assassin; there were definitely more outside!

"You should come out!"

Just as he was lost in thoughts, the young man suddenly heard a familiar voice and couldn't help but believe his ears.

"Come out; we need to leave before more assassins come!"

"Young Master!" The young man immediately recognized the voice, but after a thought, he frowned and asked, "How do I know you're the person who I think you are?!"

"The last thing you told me was to get to the cave, and you will rescue me."

As soon as the young man heard these words, he knew Fang Chen was outside the cave.

He slowly raised his head and looked up. Indeed, it was Fang Chen!

He used his left arm to get out. Fang Chen was already there to help him as he tried to get out.

Fang Chen pulled him out, but his attention was on the nearby dead body.

The young man didn't pay attention to it and looked around, "How come this assassin is alone? And… how did you escape the snow?"

Fang Chen shrugged, "Reddit."

"Reddit?" The young man frowned, "What is that?"

"...nothing," Fang Chen frowned and looked at the body, "Why is he trying to kill you? And what's with that arrow?"

The young man replied, "The blob on the arrow tip is an explosion. Anyway, let's talk later, we need to get out of here!"

Fang Chen nodded, but suddenly his eyes landed on latter's arm.

"You arm…"

"It's alright," The young man replied as he walked ahead, "Our priority is to get out of here first. This was just one of the many assassins. I am sure they will get here soon."

Fang Chen nodded and immediately began to follow the young man.

He was still processing what was going on and who this young man was.

'Is this heaven? Or hell…?' He thought as they ran as fast as they could. 'If I am alive… where am I? The Himalayas?'

He looked around for a moment, the landscape was pretty weird, and the mountains in the far distance were way bigger than the ones he had ever seen in real life.

"Where are we?" Fang Chen asked the young man, who was now clutching his right arm.

"Avalon Mountain Range."

"Avalon, what?" Fang Chen frowned; the name was quite familiar.

The latter shook his head, "We can talk about this later, Young Master. Please give me the antidote first; we need to find a secure place to hide."

He then glanced at the setting sun in the western horizon and added, "I don't think we will be able to reach the Academy before sunset. We must find a safe place and hide for the night."

Fang Chen frowned, "Academy…?" And after a moment of thought, he smirked, "The… Avalon Academy?"

The young man nodded.

Fang Chen's smile froze, "The… Avalon Academy Of Martial Arts?"

"Yes, the one and only."

"..." Fang Chen gulped.

The Avalon Academy of Martial Arts.

One of the top seven martial academies.

But isn't that from the game that he had developed?

'Where the fuck am I?!'