Chapter 62: 62.Forest of No Shade-12

The antler impaling his side twisted at a sharp angle with every spin.

Tearing through thorny bushes and jagged rocks, his face suffered multiple deep wounds.

Thud!

He finally came to a stop as his body crashed into a tree once more.

A low, raspy groan escaped Mylo’s mouth. He didn’t even have the energy left to scream.

...Sensory numb...

Sensory numb...

Sensory numb....

...Sensory numb....

Mylo forced a tiny gap open through his right eye.

His vision was a blurred mess, barely able to make out anything around him.

He spotted an extremely dark, pitch-black patch directly in front of him, distinctly different from the surrounding black forest.

He dragged his broken body forward, crawling inch by inch toward it.

He continued desperately chanting the skill in his mind.

Sensory numb...sensory numb...

Through a excruciating struggle that threatened to overwhelm the skill’s effects entirely, he finally reached it.

It was a small, dug-out hollow nestled into the steep slope he had just rolled down.

It was covered with overgrown bushes from above.

He dragged himself deep inside until his body lay flat on its back.

His eyes shut tight, and a second later, his consciousness completely faded away.

—————————————————–——

Mylo’s chest throbbed every time he took a breath.

It made him want to stop breathing altogether.

His legs jolted with pain every time he tried to move them.

For some reason, the entire left side of his body felt a dull, numbing pain.

It was pitch black.

His eyes could barely make out a faint red shade.

He was in a very small space, so cramped that if he opened his mouth, he could probably touch the wall with his tongue.

His head slowly turned, feeling as though it were bound tightly by several heavy wires.

As his eyes focused on the faint red shade, he caught sight of something piercing straight through his body.

"...!"

’’Haff... haff... ha...! ha...!’’

He jerked up, or at least, he tried to.

"Ah! Ah!"

He cried out in searing pain.

His body completely refused to listen to any of his commands.

Where am I? I was... I was...

Slowly, his memories resurfaced.

He had been fighting the Tkerns and the Vexfangs.

They were tough, but he had almost been able to dominate them and make them scared.

No, no. I didn’t do it!

They weren’t scared because of me!

It was because of that other monster... the Nothrought!

He remembered getting struck and knocked through the air.

His hand slowly reached down toward his side. He touched the wound, and an electrifying jolt of agony instantly made him stop.

Ha... ha...

Deep, shuddering breaths continued to escape his lungs.

He forced himself to look at the object impaling him.

It was a Tkern antler with six sharp spikes. One of the spikes was embedded deep, sitting just under his ribcage.

In that dark hole, the tips of the spikes were radiating a very, very faint red glow, barely allowing him to make out the shape of his wound.

As he stared at it, every single movement he made became excruciatingly vivid.

He wanted to stop breathing just so his chest wouldn’t rise and hurt him more.

But he knew if he did that, he would die.

Looking away into the darkness, he saw the canopy of trees above, tinted in a faint, eerie red.

Did Tritia reach the cave safely, as he hoped? He wished in his heart and prayed that she was safe and sound.

Wait... prayed?

"Ahh! Haah... haa... ha...aah!’’

Instinctively, his hand went to his chest.

The intense pain there made him briefly forget the rest of his body, which was already screaming in pure agony.

Haah... haa...

During his ragged breaths, a system notification flashed before him.

....

[NOTIFICATION]

You have prayed to a nasty existence!

Doing so next time may result in your heart rejecting you!

....

Damn it, I should have known!

He panted hard.

Trying to relax his bod-

Pitter-patter...

He heard it.

He definitely did.

It was the sound of small stones sliding and falling onto the ground outside.

He instinctively pulled himself deeper into the narrow, rough hole.

He could barely make out a few faint movements in the shadows.

The stones were falling from somewhere above the slope.

Who... who could it be? Why would stones suddenly fall?

He remembered what else had been up there beside him.

No way... No way...!

It didn’t... it didn’t follow me down here, did it?!

The scenes from before surfaced in his mind.

The enormous size, the thick, big horns, and then-

Thump. Thump.

His thoughts were cut short as something walked just outside the small cave.

Mylo pulled both of his hands over his mouth.

He refused to breathe even a single particle of air.

He squeezed his jaw shut as tight as he could.

His limp body barely managed to move.

But he tried to push himself deeper into the hole.

Hiding as much as he possibly could.

Thump.Thump. Thump.

The heavy footsteps continued.

He felt the vibrations getting stronger and stronger.

And then he saw it.

A thick, black leg appeared just outside his hole.

It moved forward, followed by another, and then another.

Just like that, four thick legs crossed his narrow field of vision as the sound of the heavy footsteps slowly started to fade into the distance.

He didn’t dare to make a single noise.

He stayed like that for who knows how long.

No, actually, he did know how much time had passed.

Above his field of vision, a small red clock was ticking down.

[13:18:51]

That was the amount of time left for his daily quest.

He almost laughed in pity in his mind.

Without moving any part of his body, which felt like it was about to crumble into ash, he thought about checking his status window.

...Status.

Just as he called for it in his mind, a blood-red screen materialized in front of him.

....

[NOTIFICATION]

Congratulations!!

You have leveled up!!

Level : F(8) -> Level : E(1)

....

His eyes widened in shock.

He didn’t know how to react at first, but soon a ragged smile plastered itself across his scratched face.

...Yes... yes! This is what I wanted!

He felt as if he was finally being looked over by go-Satan himself.

Having played more than enough games in his past, he knew exactly what a level-up meant.

It meant new skills.

It meant new upgrades.

His overall strength would rise.

And what if it also granted him a full recovery?

His dire situation could turn around completely.

Even though he could navigate the system window using just his mind, he still raised a shaky hand, tracing the air as if to swipe the notification and claim his rewards.

Another screen popped up immediately.

....

[NOTIFICATION]

Due to your body’s current condition and your quest in progress, the level-up process has been put on hold.

The process will begin after your quest has been completed and your body has recovered enough to sustain the changes!

Continue! Don’t give up!!

....

’’....?’’

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