Chapter 30 Ch. 30: Survival Test [2]

—Slash!

Péréz cut the branch that got in his way.

He stomped his feet loudly and his face contorted with anger.

"Adrian this, Adrian that, to hell with him!"

—Slash!

"And why is everyone always defend—huh?"

Brown things scattered at the trees' roots caught his attention.

He approached them and mushrooms came into view.

"Ha! Look! There are many foods here! I don't even need his help!"

He yanked out a mushroom and ate it, but hastily spat it out.

"Urg, taste disgusting."

He stared at the mushroom in his hand for a few seconds before heaving a long sigh.

"Stupid survival test."

Afterward, he took another bite and begrudgingly swallowed it.

"I hate it."

—Crunch!

A crisp snapping branch sound was heard.

Péréz darted at it and met with a pair of brown eyes.

"A deer."

Péréz muttered under his breath and instantly threw his weapon.

—Squeak!

The deer shrilled in agony and collapsed onto the ground with its belly impaled by Péréz's spears.

Blood gushed out of the wound as the animal flailed its legs.

Yet, to his surprise, the deer managed to stand up and flee into the woods.

"Ah!"

Without further ado, he chased it.

—Rustle

Péréz shoved the bushes that blocked his path and a spear covered in blood was seen lying on the ground—it was his.

"Huh?"

His hazel eyes scanned the surroundings but the deer was nowhere to be found.

The boy picked up his weapon and furrowed his brows in wonder.

He was pretty sure the deer wouldn't be able to run very far considering how badly it was injured, which was weird.

Despite his confusion, he continued his search by tracking the blood traces.

"Cough!"

A dry cough escaped his mouth.

Péréz didn't know how many minutes had passed, but he was thirsty and tired for some reason.

—Crunch! —Crunch! —Crunch!

A faint breaking sound in the distance entered his ears.

Péréz followed it and his step came to a halt when tall bushes obstructed his view.

He used his hands to push them away and a large brown furry beast sitting with its back facing him was revealed.

—Crunch! —Crunch! —Crunch!

Right behind it, he could see the deer he was looking for.

"Ha!"

The boy scoffed in disbelief.

Now he understood why he couldn't find his prey; it turned out the deer was being eaten by this damn bear!

Péréz tightened his grip on the shaft and without much thought, he ran toward it and thrust his spear.

"Eat this!"

"Rooaarr!!"

The beast groaned and the boy was floored.

"What…?"

Green blood spurted out from the cut and drenched his hands.

"It's not—"

He looked up but before he could see anything, something huge struck his body and Péréz was sent flying.

He hurtled through the air until he collided with a tree trunk.

"Urk!"

Blood jumped out of his mouth and he landed hard on his backside, disoriented and in pain.

Thanks to his armor that protected him, if not he would surely break a bone or two.

"Urg…"

Péréz clutched his forehead, his head was hurt.

He had no idea what was going on, it happened so fast that he didn't have time to react at all.

He tried to regain his bearings but the sight before him left him frozen in dread.

—Drrtt —Drrtt

The ground below him shook as the creature rose from its seat.

"Ah…"

His eyes stretched wide in terror and his heart began to skip a bit the moment it glanced at him.

Péréz could feel how the hairs all over his body were standing up, fear washed over him.

The boy just realized that he had made a mistake—a very very grave mistake.

That was because the horrifying creature who stood right there was nothing close to a bear.

It had a height of over 3 meters and its massive body was covered in thick dark brown fur.

The beast had two black horns and its menacing yellow eyes were locked on him.

However, the most prominent were its ferocious sharp teeth and long claws that were dripping with red liquid—it was the deer's blood.

Péréz knew he should have started running by now, but as if rooted to the ground, his body refused to budge.

"Grrr…"

The monster emitted a low ominous growl and the boy's whole body began to tremble.

He was scared beyond imagination.

"Roooaarrr!!!"

The beast let out a deafening cry, startling the nearby birds into flight.

Readying its talons, it charged toward the boy and the ground beneath its feet shook.

'Move! Move! Move dammit!'

Péréz recited the same words over and over inwardly; in the hope his body would listen to him.

·ƈθm Nevertheless, even after the beast came closer, it was fruitless.

'Move! Please! Please!'

His fear grew potent to the point that he wanted to weep, especially when he saw how its razor claws rushed at him.

"Aarrrghh!!!"

With a burst of adrenaline, he sprang into action and landed flat on the ground.

"Haa… Haa…"

Péréz panted heavily and his heart raced uncontrollably, somehow he managed to dodge the blow.

—Boom!

The boy peered at the sound and saw that the tree he used to lean on was chopped off.

And unthinkably, the monster turned its head, making his hazel eyes in contact with its feral yellow eyes once again.

As his instinct kicked in, Péréz frantically stood and sprinted with all his might.

"Huuaaaa!! Mommy!!"

"Rooaarrr!!"

The monster shrieked.

Even without looking back and judging by the thunderous footsteps echoing behind him, Péréz knew it was after him.

"Ugh!"

Péréz was abruptly brought down to the floor by an unknown force.

He gazed at his feet and found a red, long, spiky thing wrapped around his left ankle.

His eyes followed where it came from and flinched upon discovering that it was the monster's tongue!

"Aaaaaa!! Help!!"

Péréz's screams pierced the air as he was forcefully dragged backward.

"Help!! Please!!"

The sound of his nails scraping against the ground overlapped with his cry and tears streamed down the boy's face.

Péréz felt completely helpless and the thought of his impending death haunted him.

He was terrified of what fate awaited him.

If… only…

If only he wasn't too emotional.

If only he wasn't too egotistical.

If only he had listened to his friends and forgiven Adrian, all of this could have been avoided.

He had always been too proud of himself and now, he faced the consequences of his actions.

It was often said that people change when they face death, which seemed true in his case.

He regretted it.

But—

Péréz rolled his body and used his right foot to kick the tongue off of his leg.

"Let me go, you bastard!"

His expression transformed from one of fear to one of unwavering determination.

—as a Knight, he refused to surrender and died at the hands of a monster!

"Let go!!"

—Whack! —Whack! —Whack!

After numerous attempts, Péréz was able to break free, and wasting no more time, he swiftly got up and ran.

Just like he who was not willing to give up, so did the monster.

It continued to pursue him.

"Cough, cough!"

Ignoring his parched throat begging for water, Péréz chanted a runic language in his hoarse voice.

"קיר אדמה!!"

However, due to his average incantation skill, his spell took a few seconds to cast.

And upon seeing its prey running away, the beast lashed its tongue once more.

Just a few centimeters away before it could strike the boy, a loud thud resounded; its tongue slammed against an earth wall that suddenly emerged.

"Groowwll!!"

Brushing off the monster's wailing, Péréz kept on running.

But, something weird occurred.

"Huh?"

His head began to spin and his steps became unsteady.

"Ugh!"

Péréz fell flat on the ground and his body trembled.

He clutched his throat at the unbearable thirst.

"Water… water…"

His voice was croaky and desperate.

He pushed himself to get up but all effort was in vain.

His entire body felt oddly weak; he didn't understand why this was happening.

"…מים..."

Péréz chanted the runic language to summon water from the ground.

Nevertheless, it failed to materialize because he vocalized incorrect syntax and intonation.

"Cough, cough! Wa—"

—Boom!

He glanced over and noticed that the Earth Wall he had created was crumbling.

Through the pile of rubble and dust, the monster silhouette was seen lurking; it closing in, ready to attack.

"...dammit…"

Péréz cursed at the wind.

Just when he thought that he had escaped it, reality hit him hard in the face.

Shortly, he used every ounce of strength he had left to drag his body into motion.

Even though he knew it would be futile, he kept on moving.

—Drrtt —Drrtt

The monster ran and swung its sharp talons toward the boy.

—Boom!

A thundering thump echoed as a giant block of earth shot up and struck the beast.

"Rooaarr!!"

He darted sideways and the monster was seen rolling on the ground several times before crashing into a nearby tree trunk.

Péréz couldn't help but furrow at the scene.

Although his sight was blurry, somehow he could still make out the entire sequence of events.

"What is… happening…?"

He mumbled in his rasping voice and veered around his head.

Soon, his hazed eyes caught a fluttering white hair in the distance and everything went blackout.

=====

A/N:

Hello, my fellow readers! It's been a while!

Btw, starting today, I will only be updating 1k words per chapter, so there is no more long chapter~

Adios!