Valeria is silently taking me to somewhere she didn't show me yesterday. Though I don't feel awkward at the lack of conversation between us, the aura she is currently exuding makes me nervous.
"You are staggering. Are you really so weak, you can't even go on your day without breakfast?"
"N-No. I am just nervous ... You are intimidating me."
Valeria scoffs. "I am not intimidating you; you are intimidated by me."
'That's essentially the same thing,' is what I wanted to say, but I wisely keep my silent. Valeria has turned into a completely different person from the moment she wore her blind mask; I don't know this Valeria well, and I don't want to bet on my luck.
"How is your progress in learning our language?"
At that question, my entire body freezes, figuratively. "Uh... That is—uh... I skimmed through it last night, but nothing stuck in my head." I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth. I trust my gut, and I am afraid of what could possibly happen.
"Hoh? Is that so?" Valeria stops walking, then turns to me, who, at this point, is already 6 feet away from her. "So, you haven't read the book I gave you yet." Although she is wearing a blind mask, I can tell she is quirking her eyebrow at me.
"No, I have read it! It's just... I don't understand a thing!"
"I hate liars."
At the coldest tone I have ever heard from her and undoubtedly from anyone I have interacted with, I wisely choose to accept my mistake. "I beg your mercy, Lady Valeria. This lowly vessel of yours has indeed lied to you," is what I say while kowtowing respectfully.
" Raise your head," Valeria says coldly. "I forgive you. However, this will be the last. Next time you lie to me..."
I immediately stand myself up and straighten my posture. "You need not remind me, Lady Valeria. I am aware of the consequences." I gaze at Valeria neutrally with a small professional smile on my face.
"Very well." Valeria nods her head, then looks at me up and down. "To be able to smile after lying to your mentor—it doesn't seem you really regret what you have done."
"Eh? No. This is, in the world that I came from, a gesture of—"
"Hence, I will give you a punishment. Follow me!"
"Huh? HUH?! W-What is happening?"
I can't process what is currently happening well; everything happened too fast for my brain to comprehend. Regardless of my confusion, however, my body moves autonomously and follows closely behind Valeria as if it was programmed to do so.
...
We are walking toward the forest—the accursed forest!—and it doesn't take us long to enter it. I am honestly afraid of what awaits me ahead, but I am way more afraid to ask Valeria where we are actually going, so I keep my silence the entire way.
A few minutes of a silent walk later, Valeria finally stops in her track, prompting me to do the same. She turns her body slightly to the side, then turns her head to me, who is looking at her like a lost kitten.
"Do you know where we are?"
"Uh... Forbidden Forest?"
Valeria nods her head lightly. "That is correct, but the exact name of this forest is Lost Cause."
"Is this forest that helpless?"
"No. Many people have lost their lives because of this forest, which is why it is named Lost Cause."
I blink my eyes in slight surprise, and muse, 'Okay? I think the idiot who named this forest didn't actually know what lost cause means.' Regardless of the misinterpretation though, I'm glad this world still uses English to name someplace.
I nod my head in acceptance when my thought ended, but then I quickly realized something. 'Aren't I going to be fuc—punished here?!' I forgot about my unfortunate fate for a moment due to my musing.
"Laylow! We are going to start your stamina training now!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Fweet!
Valeria suddenly whistles so loud, it almost ruptures my eardrums. Though nothing serious happens in the end, my ears are ringing because of it.
"That was as awesome as it was annoying." I massage my ears and then look at Valeria in puzzlement. "What was that for, Miss. Valeria?"
"It's your punishment."
'Huh? That is all?' I am wise enough to keep everything to myself, but I am not really impressed with the punishment she gave me. I have expected her to cut a finger of mine or give me a kinky spanking ... Anyway, the punishment was lighter than I thought.
"Turn around, and pay close attention to the red arrows on the ground."
I do what she instructed me to, and immediately see a red, glowing arrow on the ground. "What are these arrows for? Where will they take me to?" I don't know how deep we have ventured inside the forest, but I am sure these arrows won't lead me outside.
"Just follow them, and run as fast as you can. Oh, don't forget to remember the route as well."
"Huh? What do—"
Roar!
At the soul-shaking sound, my entire body freezes as my eyes widened in shock. My brilliant mind instantly figured out what Valeria's word means, and it doesn't amuse me in the slightest.
"Holy shit, I'm going to die!"
"Do your best."
I ignore Valeria's encouragement which doesn't sound like one at all, then run toward the direction the arrows are pointing to. I still don't know where they are leading me to, nor am I sure it will lead me to somewhere safe, but my mind is only filled with one thought—run.
Boom. Boom.
I can hear the heavy step of the abomination following closely behind me, and I can feel the vibration it causes clearly. I don't know what is actually chasing me, but I am sure it must, at least, be as big as an elephant.
"Fuck! I didn't know I can run this fast!"
Luckily, my enhanced body, as I like to call it, is more than three times faster than my previously frail body. Of course, no matter how fast it is, it doesn't have the stamina to maintain the current speed I am running at.
Time seems to warp whenever we are in danger. Likewise, I don't know how long I have been running, but the sweat my body excreted is already enough to fill up a water bottle.
"I need motivation just so I can ignore the fatigue!" Thinking of a good idea, I quickly look back at the abomination chasing behind me. As soon as I can see what is chasing behind me, however, I immediately regret my decision. "Holy shit! What the fuck is that?!"
To describe its appearance simply, it looks like a sabertooth but the size of an elephant. It also has two pointy horns on its forehead, and a third eye in the middle of its temple.
If not for the fact that I am currently being chased by this unique creature, I would observe it in fascination for hours.
"Fuck! I didn't know I can run even faster!"
Motivation is what I needed, and terror is what I got. They are essentially two different things, but for the current me, they give the same effect—pushing my body to run faster.
Roar!
"Gah! Don't surprise me, tiger! I almost tripped because of you!" Talking about tripping, I suddenly develop a great urge to look down on the ground. "Ah, I have a very bad feeling."
When I look down, however, my nightmare became reality. "Where are the red arrows?!" I am sure I have been following them, but it might be just my imagination. "Where should I go now?" Nonetheless, fear quickly overwhelms me.
Looking at my surrounding in alarm, I try to find a way that I believe will allow me to escape from the weird tiger's chase. When I find one, I abruptly pivot myself to the right, almost spraining my left ankle in the process, and shoot toward the direction I am now facing.
Again, I don't know where it will take me, but my gut is telling me that this is the right way. I focus on running, and I don't know what happens in my surroundings afterwards.
I pass through bushes, hit some branches, getting scratches on my face, but I can't register the event clearly. My mind is occupied with the thought of staying alive, and I don't care about what happens to my body as long as I can stay alive.
Bam!
"Oh, no!"
Thud!
Naturally, when you don't pay attention to your surrounding, you will trip over something. That's what has happened to me, and I am sure I broke my ankle because of how fast I run and how tired I am.
"Stand up! Useless body!"
Only when I try to get up from the ground did I realize that my body is extremely fatigued. I can't feel my feet any longer—I don't even register the pain of having my ankle broken.
"Ah, fuck it!" In the end, I choose to lie down. "What a pathetic end." I gaze at the sky briefly, then at the incoming abomination.
Boom. Boom.
Its heavy step makes the ground rumble, shaking my body that is motionlessly lying on the ground.
Sighing bitterly, I close my eyes. "The punishment is really next level."
The vibration is getting stronger, and I can feel the tiger the moment it arrives in front of me. As I am overwhelmed with a feeling of doom, my heart beats faster and I shut my eyes tighter.
Slash!
In the next moment, I die ... Or so I thought.
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