8 Predicament

"I n..need to ge..t awa..y"

The corpse was too heavy and my injuries weren't helping.

Every time I moved my arms to push the corpse away, an unimaginable amount of pain flooded my brain.

But I couldn't stop moving.

I had no choice but to move if I wanted to escape.

So I kept pushing while screaming out in agony.

However halfway I stopped.

I placed my arm on the corpse and circulated Aura.

Vupp-

The corpse went inside the storage ring.

"Haah…Haah...Stat..us."

Taking deep breaths to suppress the burning pain, I called the status.

Earlier after killing the shadow fox I received notifications of leveling up. But due to the pain, I was not able to see how many stat points I received.

======

Name: Nathan Hunt

Rank: Meta

Level: 4

Exp: 75/600

Remaining SP – 02

-->Stats:

Strength – 09

Agility – 14

Stamina – 11

Constitution – 09

Aura – 10

Intelligence – 11

Luck – 07

-->Skills:

[Pierce {Common-Rank}]

Extend the tip of your weapon by 5 feet.

=========

***

Strength stat increases muscle mass and density.

Agility increases movement speed. It also affects cognitive processing speed. Nathan's high agility was the reason he was able to react to the shadow fox's attack previously.

Stamina increases endurance to withstand prolonged physical activities.

Constitution increases the ability to tank damage and the recovery speed.

Aura or Mana, for magicians, was the total capacity of the awakener to store it.

Intelligence was the degree of fine control over one's energy and also affects the magic output.

Luck was a stat that wasn't defined properly. It was an invariable stat, it couldn't be increased with stat points. It can be increased only by using artifacts or increasing your rank.

In his current state, Nathan didn't need to think twice before choosing which stat to increase.

***

[Constitution – 09 --> Constitution – 11]

With the increase in the constitution stat, I felt a surge of warmth enveloping my body. As the warmth traveled from one part to another, the pain subsidized a little, leaving a soothing feeling.

Feeling the comfortable warmth, I continued lying for a few minutes before springing back to my feet. 

"Ouch"

The soothing feeling from earlier reduced the pain considerably, but my injuries were still there. It would take a while for me to heal.

Nevertheless, time was running out.

Disregarding the discomfort, I hurried to the edge of the forest.

My head was spinning and I was having trouble running due to my wobbly legs. Constant headaches attacked my mind, along with the feeling of dizziness and confusion.

"Dammit, using the skill three times was too much."

My speed was slow, and I was feeling light-headed. These were the signs of Aura exhaustion.

Earlier I hadn't been able to distinguish Aura exhaustion from the pain. But even if I had, I still would have used the stat points similarly.

Without reducing the pain, I wouldn't have been able to even move. In this state, I could run at least, albeit slowly.

"I need to get off this cliff before other shadow foxes come."

I ran and ran and ran.

Even though my body was as heavy as lead, my pace never seemed to falter. Every time I sprinted, the fatigue subsided slightly and the pain retreated enough so that I could keep going.

By the time I realized, I had reached the edges.

I skimmed through the edges and searched for the nearest chain to climb down.

"W...what?"

My eyes widened in shock.

I dashed along the edge of the cliff while hoping my worries were unfounded, but would that be possible?

The reality in front of me was undeniable.

"No! No! No! No! No! No! This can't be happening!"

There were no chains. There was no path I could take to descend from this cliff.

The ground beneath the cliff had also vanished, replaced by-

Rustle- Rustle-

Swosh-

I swiftly turned around. 

Squinting my eyes I tried to peer through the thick forest. However, I couldn't find anything amiss.

I held my spear tightly but could hardly put strength into my grip.

The fatigue from all the activities I did was catching up to me, trying to drag me into a bewitching swamp. It was telling me to give up, to rest, and let go of my empty struggle.

"I had to struggle to defeat beasts that are used to train children, there is no way I can win against shadow fox... no in this state."

Blood seeped through my clothes, turning my pale red jacket into dark crimson. My limbs felt heavy like mud and refused to budge.

It was hopeless. I was tired. I was hurt. And now I was stuck.

"What to do?"

Should I jump down and hope for the best?

I chuckled maybe I should. 

Today had been too wild. Maybe I was going crazy? That would explain how the complete bottom of the cliff changed.

Growl-

A shadow fox came out of the forest. It was larger than the one I fought before.

My face hardened. This shadow fox was a higher level than the one before.

It growled menacingly as I smelled its dead brethren on me.

However, it didn't rush and moved at a constant pace almost as if it was enjoying cornering me.

I backed away and matched my pace with the beast. I hoped we could just keep walking like this.

But wasn't reality a bitch?

Clunk-

My feet struck a rock and it fell off the cliff. I had reached the very edge of the cliff at last, if I backed anymore than this then...

Gulp-

'A human ketchup'

I looked at the bottom of the cliff and back at the shadow fox. My gaze alternated between them and a helpless smile appeared on my face.

"Leap of faith it is."

Taking a deep breath, I reaffirmed my decision.

"Did you think of me as a weak game? Come here, you wild mutt. I'll show you today who is your dad!"

Did it understand that I was insulting it or did it feel offended that the weak prey was trying to fight back?

The shadow fox bared its teeth and rushed at me without any delay.

The distance between us closed rapidly.

It reached near me swiftly and lunged with its claws raised. Similarly, I raised my spear to intercept it.

Both of us dashed at each other, aiming to finish it with this one move, however, the spear suddenly vanished from my hands and I rolled under the shadow fox.

"AAHHHH!!!"

Before the shadow fox landed on the ground, I stood back and rammed into it from behind!

Not giving it any moment to rest, I exerted as much strength as possible and tried to push it down the cliff.

I wasn't sure about surviving the fall even with the guarantee, thus I was going to make the shadow fox jump first.

I was a firm believer in team spirit! If I was going to fall, I would make sure this bastard falls before me!

"Kuyi!!!"

'What are you doing, bastard? We'll both fall at this rate.'

The shadow fox's shrill cry roughly sounded like this to me. But of course, it must be my imagination.

Besides, I wasn't planning to go down with it.

Teamwork?

Yes, the entire team can work to support me!

Dear shadow fox please jump off my behalf and show me your team spirit!

The beast didn't give up easily, but since my actions were abrupt, it hadn't been able to get a proper foothold.

In a state of panic, it raised its paws to attack me and get me off.

But it was a mistake!

Strong as the shadow fox was, it was still a wild beast with undeveloped intelligence. It had only been moving on its instincts till now.

Raising its paw when it was trying to get a proper foothold only crumbled its posture.

In that state, it could no longer resist my push.

I smirked as it tried to hold empty air and fell. Almost reaching my goal made me relax.

That is why I didn't notice its tail wrapped around my ankle.

***

Darkness

Darkness was the only thing I could see. I couldn't tell for much time I had been trapped in this state.

I couldn't feel my limbs, nor could I see my surroundings.

The last thing I remembered was the winds hitting me and the shadow fox that trying to chew my leg while we were falling.

Couldn't it have fallen alone? Why did I meet such a crazy fox?

My thoughts began wandering as I drifted into the endless void.

'Did the water not cushion my fall at all? Haa... I didn't even get to live a single day in my new life.'

I felt saddened that I could not enjoy my new life at all.

'Well, it wasn't that bad, though. At least I didn't have a weak body that couldn't even walk for a few hours.'

As I was thinking, I noticed three white dots covered by mist in the distance.

The dots slowly became discernable as the mist shifted away.

"Is that moo- Gurgle! Blub! "

Suddenly, my lungs felt like they were on fire as something flowed into my mouth. My vision began decreasing rapidly and I could now feel my limbs.

I quickly realized my current predicament. I was drowning!

My feet and arms thrashed in the water and I swam to the white dots. I could only hope I wasn't hallucinating from lack of oxygen.

"Pwah…"

Coming above the water surface of the lake, I gulped a mouthful of air.

"Haah…haah... I survived."

Stabilizing my breathing, I joyfully shouted.

As I glanced around, I noticed the homogenous thing in front, no, above me.

"It was a floating cliff."

The cliff I had been standing on earlier was floating in front of me and above the lake.

Growl- Growl-

While I was gaping at the sight in front of me, several voices reached my ears.

The voices bought an ominous premonition, but suppressing it I looked around.

"…..Out of the frying pan into the fire."

Standing at the edge of the lake were dozens or so shadow foxes.