...
"O' dear Demon God! They actually killed that monster... Hey! Are you two okay?"
I heard footsteps and...
The damp smell of earth.
...
"Father! I got another 100 points!"
"Yeah."
"I'll definitely be top of the class again this semester! I'm the best, right?"
"It's okay. But don't get conceited."
"If I'm truly good, how can it be called conceit?"
...
"Poisoned... Damn it! Oh no… no no!"
I heard cursing and...
The smell of blood.
...
"How long are you going to sit there? Do you plan to let me endure this idiot's mouth alone forever?"
"Do you know 'idiot' is what people usually call the person they like? Ouch! A hit to the liver... Critical! I demand compensation!"
"Hey hey! Get away, you idiot! Where are you carrying me! That silver-haired guy, help me out!"
"Don't drag me into your couple's quarrel..."
"There's no such thing as a couple's quarrel between us! Let's all three go find a quest to do!"
...
"Why did everything turn out like this?"
I heard crying and...
A bitter taste.
...
"You're much stronger than before. Seems like you haven't just been playing around with that young lady all this time, huh?"
"I told you I would definitely defeat you."
"Then you still have to try much harder."
"Just a little more."
"I'll definitely drag that 'little more' out longer than you think."
"We'll see."
...
"Hey! Don't die! Wake up!"
A dry sensation...
...
"Hey hey!"
"Very good! Slash a hundred more times before resting!"
"Practicing swordsmanship so early in the morning, you two?"
"Hmph! Should we sleep in like you instead?"
"Come on. It's because you wore me out last night."
"Don't talk nonsense in front of our child! Go prepare breakfast quickly!"
"Alright, alright. As you command, milady."
...
"Wait wait wait! There's an antidote in the luggage!"
I felt hope appear somewhere and...
Cold...
...
Freezing to death...
...
"Sensei. Are you waiting for someone?"
"...Hmm? Ah... No? Why you asked?"
"Then why are you sitting here dazed in the rain?"
"...Oh? It's raining?"
"It's been a while. I thought you were pondering about the homeroom teacher next door."
"Haha, no way. I was just thinking about some things for a moment. Is the soccer club still active today?"
"Unfortunately, it's raining, so it's canceled. Usually, it's fine, but since the new season is coming up, we get a little break."
...
"Here. Here... drink this."
"No, don't..."
"No, what are you doing? What the hell are you saying?"
"Save him..."
"The kid? But... tsk... fine."
Something was flowing down my throat.
Hard... to breathe...
...
"Hey. If you could be reincarnated, what buff would you want?"
"Become a powerful mage who can call wind and rain. Of course."
"That's not even a buff, that's a class."
"Then maybe a system? If there's a system, everything is easy."
"You just want an easy life, don't you?"
"What about you?"
"I want a system too. That way everything would be much simpler. After all, we've suffered enough in this life."
"For sure. Who would want to reincarnate into a new life just to suffer like a dog again."
...
I can only see darkness...
...
Am I dead?
...
Hope not. There are still many things I want to do.
...
I don't want to die.
...
"Watch out for the truck!"
I don't... want to die...
...
*Drip drip drip*
Um... Uh...
The sound of water dripping steadily and continuously felt like hammer blows straight to the head, trying to wake the boy up as rudely as possible. Atur's head hurt enough to vomit, but his entire face was numb; he couldn't even open his mouth to groan.
What the hell is this...? Where am I? It hurts! Damn it!
Not just his face, the boy's entire body couldn't move either. He couldn't feel his arms or legs, one eye could only partially open, and even his ears were ringing as if someone had just screamed into them.
But what's the point of opening eyes? The boy thought to himself. Either way, he could only see endless black... Ah no, there was light, a tiny speck his vision couldn't quite catch.
Atur recognized that light; it was created by glowing mushrooms... A unique light he could only see for the first time in this world.
Ah...
Suddenly, a rush of frantic memories about suddenly appearing in a labyrinth flashed through his mind. Atur had been teleported, or so he guessed, to the Demon Continent and had to fight an eight-legged monstrosity. Then he himself was poisoned, fell unconscious, thinking death was certain.
So this damn thing wasn't a dream…
The boy had hoped when he woke up, he would be lying on his warm bed in Roa, with his fiancée lying next to him. The boy would say good morning and then skip work to go with his friends to the edge of the forest, testing the power of his bro Rudeus's magic staff.
Damn it, this is real… It's so real that he just wet himself and couldn't do anything about it.
But being able to pee means being alive. Even though it's bedwetting, that's still good news, right?
"Oh, you're awake?"
Suddenly a voice rang out, in Demon God Tongue. Atur remembered this voice; it was Nelu's. Ah right, he must still be alive.
The clatter of him crawling over gave Atur a headache worse than the dripping water. With every approaching step, the boy wished he had a hammer to smash his own head instead. Worse still, the mushroom emitting that weak, pale light Nelu placed right next to Atur's face was now as bright as the sun, as if it were a cruel torture, just waiting for the boy to die from pain.
If Atur could move, or at least speak, he would surely spit out a curse. But whether lucky or unlucky, the Boreas grandson-in-law could only lie in one place. He was like a prisoner, trapped in his own young but crippled body.
"Oh, the eye is really open." Nelu sighed in relief, his voice sounding exhausted. "Can you move yet?"
Atur remained motionless; the only thing moving was his eyeball, even though that eye could see nothing but a singular blinding white. The only way he could communicate was by blinking.
"Seems not yet, huh? Maybe in a few days, you'll be fine." Nelu gave a slightly bitter smile. "Otherwise, I don't know how to get out of here either."
Then a sigh, followed by a silence long enough for Atur to consider closing his eyes to force himself back to sleep. However, just then, Nelu's voice rang out again, deeper and duller.
"The venom of the Cave Huntsman Spider actually won't kill a person immediately. But it will paralyze the victim for a long enough time to keep the prey fresh for storage."
"I anticipated encountering this type of monster. I bought an antidote, the kind I used on you. That stuff was absurdly expensive, so much so that Jikiki complained to me all afternoon for buying it."
"But I never thought we'd actually encounter one. Because you know, that damn species is at least B-rank, for a small one."
Nelu kept talking; he probably didn't know why he was saying this anymore. The B-rank adventurer was confused; his mind couldn't stay clear anymore. Perhaps this was his defense mechanism, starting to talk about irrelevant things to avoid remembering that all his friends were dead.
"Yet I didn't think I'd actually use it. I don't even know what I was thinking."
"Ah right, your friend is still alive. However, I'm not sure he'll make it."
"Poisoned by an A-rank Cave Huntsman Spider, if not treated after four days, you die, I heard."
Nelu just kept talking like that. He talked about the poison, about that spider, then about how impressively Atur destroyed the monster, with all enthusiasm. Then a second later, Nelu cried, trembling.
Atur tried to move, using his little strength to react but failed.
How is Ken now? Where is he? He tried to speak. Yet even making a sound from his larynx was difficult. Even the cooing of a newborn baby, the boy couldn't manage.
Atur tried like that, not knowing how many times or for how long. Maybe a long time. Or maybe not much. People say time passes differently for everyone. For those who are happy, time passes quickly. But just five or ten minutes of only being able to lie there and move an eye felt endless to Atur.
This helplessness was more painful than what his body was screaming.
All he could do was listen.
And continue to sink into chaotic dreams.
...
This time Atur didn't remember what he dreamed.
He didn't know how many days had passed. But it seemed his fingertips could move. Maybe, Atur couldn't see his fingers anyway. He couldn't even feel if they were touching anything.
Or even if he still had hands, he didn't know. Maybe this was just some illusion of a dying person.
He remembered seeing something similar before dying in his previous life. What was it? Atur never asked himself or remembered what it was. He didn't care about things that happened long ago, yet he chose this moment to wonder.
Maybe because he had too much time?
"Our way back is now a dead end. That place is full of toxic gas..."
That was Nelu's voice. He seemed to be sitting further away than before; the glowing mushroom had also been taken away. Atur felt relieved because his eyes no longer hurt.
But the dripping sound of water was driving him crazy.
"Ah no... I don't blame you. Either way, if you hadn't done that, I think I would have died too."
"This cave seems to connect somewhere. But it's a pity the next path is too narrow for me to continue."
But it seemed the other person in this place was about to go crazier than him.
Nelu just sat there talking. Then silent. Then crying. Then sleeping.
Atur did less. He woke up, listened until bored, then fell asleep again.
...
The next time he woke up, Atur felt his throat parched dry. He felt hungry too, but the thirst seemed ten thousand times more unbearable. Fortunately, his throat was working again—well, only a little bit, not completely.
"Ugh..."
That was all the boy could produce, a single sound, hoarse and weak like a candle flame in a strong autumn wind. Yet Nelu heard it; perhaps in this damn cave, aside from the dripping water, what other sounds were there anyway?
"What is it? Ya throat working again?"
Nelu crawled over clumsily. The demon boy placed his glowing mushroom too close to Atur's face again, but this time the boy seemed to have gotten used to the light; the headache wasn't torturing him excessively anymore.
"Thirsty huh?"
Atur tried to nod. He tried to speak too, but it seemed hopeless. So he blinked, twice in a row as a hopeless signal.
"Alright."
Nelu actually understood; perhaps he also realized it had been a long time since the boy drank anything. Ah, but how long? No one knew anymore, and no one cared either.
Nelu crawled off somewhere again. Atur heard rustling sounds, the *plop plop* of dripping water turning into *thud thud* as it hit hard rock. Then Nelu crawled back, bringing something freezing cold to the boy's mouth.
Water flowed into Atur's throat like a heavenly spring. It made him feel alive for the first time in a long while.
Atur's greedy throat kept gulping down the water, but his body was too weak to do it properly. So he choked, he coughed, but this damn body couldn't do a thing.
His body convulsed as if he were dying. Nelu started panicking, not knowing what to do. It took a few seconds of struggling before the adventurer understood and turned Atur on his side, patting his back gently.
The heavenly water that brought life and hope just moments ago was now flowing out of both his nose and mouth, looking truly unsightly.
More accurately, that kid looked unsightly. Just like a dead person. Hard to believe this was the person who single-handedly killed an A-rank monster.
"Looking at you like this reminds me of when I first met my teammates."
And as usual, Nelu kept talking, even though no one asked. Actually, maybe Atur did ask for it. He didn't know what else to do but listen to Nelu's ramblings to keep himself sane. If he could move, or at least speak now, Atur would surely ask a lot of curious questions. Then he would crack a joke, and they would laugh.
But unfortunately, Nelu was the only one speaking.
"My tribe was actually wiped out a long time ago. I'm the last one, can you believe it? I thought I was dead too. This Vasile region is probably only slightly less wretched than Gaslow. Surviving here alone is basically impossible."
"Then I met Johjoh, the guy whose corpse you found next to that mole you killed. That guy looked tough but was an idiot. I scammed him out of money."
The story just went on like that. Nelu would tell it until he suddenly cried and stopped.
Atur also went to sleep after that, then woke up again. Nelu would feed him and give him water, then recount stories until he stopped from sheer exhaustion.
...
Who knows how many times they did this.
Or even, perhaps they didn't know how much time had passed.
Is this how hell works? Atur wondered again. Pain, eternal torment—that's what they usually say about hell. With what is happening here, it's not much different.
Or is this hell itself? A place where he has to pay for his mistakes in the previous life. The gods of this place decided to give him a seemingly happy life then take it away, leaving him to scream in despair. Then when he dies, will everything repeat? Another world, another life, then lost again.
So Atur continued to sink into thoughts of retribution.
...
*Drip drip*
Days just passed like that. The boy could now move his hands; his legs could shift back and forth. He now knew how narrow this place was.
Just as Nelu said, this place seemed just big enough for him.
Speaking of the adventurer, Atur didn't know since when he hadn't heard Nelu's voice anymore. Everything was silent. Absurdly and eerily silent. Even the mournful crying had disappeared.
Sleeping? Atur wondered, but who sleeps all the time like that. And no one sleeps without making any noise like that either.
...
His hands moved reluctantly; his legs were still numb but could move. His left eye was still swollen along with half his face, but at least now he could be removed from the 'vegetative state' category.
Atur could sit up. His dragon-like golden eye looked around cautiously. But he didn't see anyone in the cave.
What he could find were two swords. One very familiar, a longsword made of some steel he forgot the name of, it was Ken's sword—his bodyguard knight's sword. The other, shorter, slightly curved and made of a brown alloy looking like copper, was Nelu's sword, he remembered, he saw Nelu use it to kill the ants.
Next to the two swords were a few other things like some packs of dry rations, a bag looking like a money pouch, a scorched letter, and an adventurer card written in Human Tongue. It was Ken Cluel's adventurer card, registered as a swordsman, S-rank.
And the other letter, it was what Ken intended to give Atur right before this disaster started. It was a letter from Tristina and Henry, he guessed, but couldn't read it anymore. Most of it was burnt; the rest was blurred by the cave's moisture.
What was I expecting?
He had hoped he could find something to regain hope. But now even words from friends separated for years couldn't be read.
He had hoped when he woke up, he would see Ken, or luckier, both Nelu nearby. They would find a way out of here together. But now what remained of those two were just two swords. They disappeared, perhaps, no, highly likely dead. Died without a body to be found.
Atur didn't even have the chance to say a final word to them. A word of thanks, thanks for saving him.
Now he was alone, in this damp cave with the water dripping continuously like torture.
Why can't I just die already...
But he wouldn't die. If it's hell, you can't die, right? Atur concluded after many days thinking about it. Whoever gods are interfering in his life certainly doesn't want him dead. Oh, dying would be too easy. They would want him to suffer and condemn his sins or something.
Maybe? He doesn't know anymore. Now all he can think about is surviving at all costs.
So now he would crawl, drag, slither out of this cave, though the narrow gaps Nelu mentioned before.
The pain is still there, he's still hungry, sad, lonely, despair and fear of death.
But he will survive. He has to. At all costs.
Yep, for whatever the costs mind be.