Below his chest, it looked like any other human being. Not like any other human being, but a well overgrown human being. There was too much muscle in it. His skin was white, and he held a wooden club in one hand, and a giant bone of an unknown beast in another.
It was over three meters tall, but the frightening thing was on his chest. Aiden couldn"t count them in one glance, but all those faces, attached to his headless chest, stared at him.
A four-legged beast with multiple thick serpent heads attached to its shoulder, a giant eyeball whose body Aiden could not see, or a giant skull that looked at him from the trees.
Aiden could see all these bizarre creatures and they weren"t alone. Among the unknown, he could see many known beasts, such as Vampire deers and thunderstruck badgers. They"ve all been waiting for a chance to attack.
[Maintain speed of 14-15 km/h]
"What are you afraid of? You"re going to die one way or the other. There"s nothing to be afraid of." While Aiden was giving himself empty peep talk, the unhurried voice sounded in his ear.
[Use [Wind Burst] to jump to your left.]
[Skill [Wind Burst] activated. Mana used:2. Remaining Mana: 10]
Aiden"s body has moved on its own. Unlike [Wind Gale], which was used to propel his entire body into the air, [Wind Burst] was a more versatile and less expensive skill. Using it while punching increases the impact, using it under your feet will help you jump higher.
And that is what Aiden had done. As soon as he jumped the trap door under his feet flung open and the pair of mandibles missed his leg by a hair"s breadth. Aiden had already grown numb from the sudden surprises and horrors.
[Use [Wind Burst] to jump. Use [Wind Burst] on your back.]
[Skill [Wind Burst] activated. Mana used:2. Remaining Mana: 8]
[Skill [Wind Burst] activated. Mana used:2. Remaining Mana: 6]
It was surprising, but he soon understood the reason for that. The first one lifted him into the air, while the second one gave him momentum. Then something struck his back like a whip.
He was further propelled by the monster whip, with the initial momentum produced by the [Wind Burst].
"Huh! That tree was alive!" He was, however, more shocked by the success of the combat aid program. "To think it might use the monster"s attack to formulate a plan!"
Success was not without pain, and the burning pain of his back was proof of that. But all he could do was suffer in silence. He didn"t dare think what would have happened if it had hit his neck.
And he was driven by force for nearly 12-13 metres. He did not try to land on his feet but instead rolled on the ground to reduce the impact. But before he could run...
[Use [Wind Scythe] to your right]
[Skill [Wind Scythe] activated. Mana used:3. Remaining Mana: 5]
For first there was very little resistance but then the air in front of him exploded as the blue liquid splashed all over him. A heavy sewage stench almost made him vomit but the machine didn"t give him the time.
He had no idea that there was an invisible beast in front of him, yet now he was drenched in its nasty blood.
[Use [Air Punch] upward.]
[Skill [Air Punch] activated. Mana used:1. Remaining Mana: 4]
He only spotted it as he punched it upwards. If he were a second late, the giant skull hanging from the tree would have bitten his head off.
His hand stuck a hard skull, and the pain forced tears from his eyes. His palm was screaming, and again he could only suffer in silence because he didn"t dare to waste any energy.
While the [Air Punch] was not powerful enough to break the skull, it was sufficient to shock the snaked skulled beast long enough to escape its grasp.
[Increase the speed to 20-21 km/h. Maintain the speed for 85 seconds.]
Aiden had understood the situation only when the 85 turned 84 at the bottom of his view. He saw from the map the density of red dots in front of him, was many times less than his back.
"It"s like they surrounded the whole place to destroy me. Yet I survived." The smile of self-satisfaction evaporated even before it could pop up. "No, it"s not the time yet. I need to escape as soon as I can."
He knew those beasts were bound to be quicker than him and they knew the landscape better. Yet he didn"t back off, and his pace further increased. But...
[Current speed: 25.6 km/h. The host is recommended to retain the speed between 20-21 km/h to maintain efficiency.]
He didn"t even think about it for a moment, and he reduced the speed. He had no intention of questioning the effectiveness of the program.
If it hadn"t been here, he wouldn"t have escaped with a broken fist, a b.l.o.o.d.y line on his back, and a nasty stench. He would have lost a few parts of his body, if not his life. Aiden sighed before he asked for a report.
[Distance from destination: 1,437 meters
Current speed: 20.7 km/h
Expected time: 5:32]
"It"s supposed to be about four minutes by the current speed, but..." Aiden sighed, "It looks like I had to fight a few more. System, what"s with mana? "
[Current mana: 4
Lost mana: 11
Mana recovery: 2 in 2:17]
"That"s going to be six. But I"ve got to recharge [Reduce Drag] and [Wind Skin] in three minutes. So there"s only 3 left. Is that going to be enough?"
The system did not respond, and Aiden did not want to think about what would happen if it failed. Fatigue slowly overwhelmed his energy yet he continued to run.
His head was still wandering around as he ran. The timer continued to decline on its own. The roars, the growls continued to grow on his back. They"ve been gaining on him.
Yet he wasn"t worried about it. He had complete faith in the system.
[Drink 60 ml of mana drink]
"Just when all this was right, it went crazy. You"re trying to kill me faster, too." Aiden couldn"t help but curse in his head. The system didn"t respond as the timer turned 32. He hesitated to…
[Drink 60 ml of mana drink]
… and the system reminded him again.
"What the f.u.c.k! Do you want to kill me? Then just kill me." He took the bottle out of his bag and drank a little.
[Keep the bottle open]
The timer entered a single-digit counter, and Aiden understood the reason behind the last order.
There were about 4 to 5 badgers who were getting ready to charge their backs. It was bright enough that he could see the second line of defence made of vampire deers, snake-headed beasts, and many more.
"There is no way in which these beasts could be so organized. Could it be someone..." he couldn"t finish his frightening thought.
[Run towards 1 o"clock. Throw the liquid on the third step]
As soon as the liquid touched their backs... *Boom* The blast was the result of the explosion of the bottle that was still in his head. The fist, already fractured, had gone numb now.
But it was a success. As soon as the liquid touched their backs, it evaporated, creating a fog around them. It was Aiden"s carelessness that he had forgotten to release the bottle that still contained the liquid, resulting in a blow.
[Jump using [Wind Burst]. And roll on the landing.]
[Skill [Wind Burst] activated. Mana used:2. Remaining Mana: 2]
The system wasn"t generous enough to worry about his pain. On the other hand, he was caught off guard. He was dazed and confused, but the order still came and his body moved.
He could not see in the instant smokescreen, but only when he rolled, he understood that he had just rolled under the leg of a Vampire deer. If it wasn"t shocking enough, then...
[Use [Wind Scythe] on the tree on your left]
Aiden could see a willow-like tree on his left and reach it in three steps. "I don"t have enough of the mana. [Wind Scythe] needs 3 mana." The system did not respond, and the tree was two steps away.
"I"m going to lose consciousness from mana exhaustion." Aiden pleaded, but PADS was silent. It was just a step away now.
"Fu*k, man. Just shock me if I lose consciousness." Aiden wasn"t sure that the shock would wake him up from the unconsciousness caused by mana exhaustion, but he greeted his teeth and activated it. A wind scythe extended from his left hand as he slashed the tree with all he had.
[Skill [Wind Scythe] activated. Mana used:3. Remaining Mana: 1]
"Huh! What happened? "Aiden wasn"t sure, but he still had 1 out of 2 left after spending 3 mana. "It"s illogical." And the logic wasn"t what the system was offering.
[Duck and roll twice]
He ducked and he felt that something had missed him by an inch. It didn"t end up there. The storm continued above him, and every time the branches touched him, they left a red mark.
Aiden stood up after two rolls and began to run again. Only then did Aiden understand the result of his action. The willow-like tree continued to swing its branches, attacking everything that had entered its field of action.
Although it couldn"t move like the tree Aiden had seen before, it was effective enough to stop Aiden"s pursuer. Aiden was curious about something else right now.
"Can this be mana liquid? But it"s never been powerful enough to restore mana. Could it be that the liquid accelerated the recovery of mana because it was the earth?"
[Skill Check: [Reduce Drag]. Time remaining: 1:28]
[Skill Check: [Wind Skin]. Time remaining: 1:29]
[Skill Check: [Wind Skin]. Deactivate in: 1:27]
"Deactivate it, huh? It"s not like I could just use [Wind Skin] with 1 mana." Aiden couldn"t help but sigh to think about it. Without [Wind Skin], he wouldn"t have escaped with just a b.l.o.o.d.y line on the back. "How long will it take until we reach the destination?"
[Estimated time: 1:45]
"Okay. I can do that." Aiden could see the green dot blinking within 500 meters of him, yet he felt confused.
The red dots on his back were continually gaining on him, but what was surprising was that there was not a single red dot between him and the green dot.
"I thought the beast was controlled by something clever, but this is... Could there be something stronger there? Or is that a trap?"
Aiden had no idea what was going on here, all he could do was believe in the action of the system. Soon, in his view, the timer turned 0 and deactivated [Wind Skin].
[Skill [Reduce Drag] activated. Mana used:1/14 mins. Remaining Mana: 0]
Dizziness overcame his mind. At the same time, an electric shot buzzed around his neck. Aiden could no longer control his weak body and slumped.
The dark sky was staring at his face, the rumbling on the ground was increasing, yet he could not move.
"I have to move." He yelled in his mind, "I have to kill him. Please move." His right hand was just as heavy as lead. His thigh was throbbing like crazy. However, no matter how much tears his eyes had leaked, his body was not listening to him at all.
And the system came to his rescue.
[Hormone level reached the threshold value. Time to break down: 0:54]
His body began to sweat like crazy. His heart was like pumping blood like there"s no tomorrow.
[Hormone level reached the threshold value. Time to break down: 0:53]
His lungs were pumping air like gigantic bellows. His body had grown lighter now.
[Hormone level reached the threshold value. Time to break down: 0:52]
His hand was no longer painful as he jumped to his feet. Blood was leaking out of his nose, but he didn"t know about it. He ran as if there was no tomorrow.
The tide of the beast was less than 20 meters away from him, yet he felt no fear. He ran in the direction to which he was directed.
[Link established.]
[Identifying the owner: Second officer Levi.]
[Condition: Critical]
[Cure: Inject a dose of Ck30]
The system had no idea whether Aiden was listening to it or not. It was only when the shuttle appeared in Aiden"s view that he responded again.
A few bodies of badgers have been mutilated by the earthen spike. The body of the unknown beast was crushed under a giant rock. And a four-legged beast with multiple snakeheads was struggling to get out of the quicksand.
"Did Levi kill them? "The scene was shocking enough for Kinoya to break the trance. But Levi was more frightening than that.
He stood there like a statue. His left face was black, charred. That was the smallest wound, though. Something had a part of his stomach, the intestines were spilt in front of him. And his right hand was like a thin, dried stick. The black line was spread over his chest from the shoulder.
[Opening shuttle.]
[Distance: 32 meters]
"What the h.e.l.l has happened to him? He could kill these beasts, and yet he was reduced to such a state." Around this time, he realized that the warm blood that ran out of his nose was coming into his mouth.
"Just a little more," he asked his body again. Although the timer showed 0:39, he knew very well that it wasn"t going to last that long. He just moved to avoid the reach of one of the snakeheads and grabbed Levi.
"Have I used too much strength? "Aiden wasn"t sure, but the left side of his face and his right hand crumbled as soon as Aiden touched. Some unknown part of the body leaked out of Levi"s wound, but he couldn"t spare a glance at it.
[Hormone level reached the threshold value. Time to break down: 0:24]
The notification arose as soon as he entered the shuttle. "Close the shuttle. Charge the multi-directional taser."
He put Levi down. Aiden wasn"t sure if Levi was alive or not, but he was looking for the medicine and it was a success. He had found multiple vials of Ck30 and many anti-poisoning potions.
[Taser charged to maximum.]
"Fire it as soon as they get close." He poured the anti-poisoning potion down his throat. And he injected a Ck30 on his thigh, and another on Levi"s.
"Bell. Monster. Kill me." Levi yelled, startling Aiden.
"What?" Even before he could understand what Levi was talking about, he had already fallen unconscious.
He wanted to check whether he was alive or not, but Aiden began to cough. He was coughing up blood.
Blood flowed out of his nose and mouth. He didn"t know how to stop them as weakness washed over his body. He lost consciousness, as the cold, unhurried voice spoke.
[Mission Accomplished.]