The disgusting middle finger that nature gave me was literally hanging on my back. Surprisingly, it didn't do anything to me, yet. So I used this opportunity to replenish zaryûn energy.
When I was done absorbing all the zaryûn energy that I could, I drew the zaryûn runes of strength on my chest. I drew it over and over in the same place, leaving enough zaryûn energy for only one spell for emergency purposes.
The overlapping spells activated simultaneously.
The strength won't compound. Multiple runes of the same magic usually only increases the duration of magic.
With a very dim glow from the activated rune, I felt the strength returning to my body, my bleeding slowed down and my mind felt clearer.
I caught both the hands of the creature that went around my neck. I exhorted all the force I could to undo its grip. Every fiber of muscle in my body fought against it. Yet, it didn't budge.
Stubborn bastard. Let's see how tight you can hold on under daylight. I'll drag you out there and wait till it's morning!
Plan B was to see what it could do under sunlight. I don't even know if this night will end, but I'll drag it out of this place into broad daylight even if I have to walk for days.
And so I walked– walked in a cocky and arrogant manner with a cold expression, swaying my shoulders, so full of myself. I could help but behave arrogant while imagining that thing crying and squealing in pain while I bashed a big rock against its skull under daylight.
I walked, feeling more lively than ever.
I walked. Look at how tall that retarded tree is!
I walked. It's just a matter of time.
I walked. I just had to get through this forest.
I walked. How far did I go already?
I walked. Starting to feel tired.
I walked, as the rotting ghoul on my back started to giggle and cry at the same time.
I walked, as the thing on my back got heavier with each step.
Indeed, the weight of the ghoul-like creature increased with every step. It didn't take long for me to arrive at that conclusion.
Khek. You're gonna play dirty, huh? Guess what? It's my turn now.
I wasn't even worth being surprised about anything anymore. My arrogant expression darkened.
But I still walked. Only, I turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
The ghoul-like creature on my back burst into laughter. It sounded queer and that honestly made me feel a little uncomfortable.
I felt awake. I already knew that this whole world was against me and that misfortune followed me wherever I went. But this incident particularly changed the way I perceived and processed information. I couldn't help but grin after planning how to deal with this thing even while blood was spilling out of my mouth. A part of what I found so funny was that I could die trying what plan I had in my mind. Imagining the state of the ghoul-like creature if my plan went fully looked almost pitiful. What was also funny was the fact that I was excited to see how things would play out. It was an adrenaline rush.
I walked all the way back to the tallest tree that I saw while trying to find a way out of this place. It was the same kind of tree that was all over this place, tightly packed. But this one tree was unusually taller than any tree in that place.
I took a deep breath and rubbed my hand together before I started climbing the tree. It barely had anything to hold onto, the beaches were placed very far from each other. I had to dig through the surface of the tree to hold onto it. The ghoul-like creature went silent, not being able to understand the logic behind my actions.
The thing was heavy, but it was bearable thanks to the zaryûn strengthening magic combined with my rock climbing skills.
What a thrill. It felt like a never ending ladder climb where the ladder had no footholds– no, climbing that tree was worse than that. The rotting hobo on my back only kept getting heavier. I wasn't sure if I would be able to climb the tree all the way up, but I was fine with falling off as long as I reached a certain height while the ghoul-like creature was unbelievably heavy.
The bloody climb started to feel impossible after a while. The creature started to grip me tighter, rain drops were falling into my eyes, I was barely able to hold onto the tree because the bastard on my back got too damn heavy, and I was only half way up the tree.
After a lot more climbing, I put my tired hand on one of the tree's branches, it instantly snapped. The thing on my back was getting insanely heavy and I think the strengthening magic is about to end. I had enough zaryûn to draw one more rune but I had other plans for it. Stopping to replenish zaryûn was not an option as I can't afford to stop in the middle of the climb where my hands are already about to give out.
Biting my own lips in frustration, I continued to climb till I reached the highest point of the tree. It got narrower as I climbed. The top of the tree slightly bent due to the waist of whatever the heck was hanging onto my back.
Why does this damned forest look so beautiful from above?
After taking what could be my last deep breath, I kicked up and against the tree, throwing myself into a fall steep enough to kill almost any living thing– except barbarians of course.
The creature on my back let out a muffled cry, then it laughed and then it started making a wired incomprehensible noise as it tightened its grip on me.
"Oi. What's wrong? Are you feeling nervous? Same here." I said, after positioning myself in a way that the creature would hit the ground first.
The disgusting creature started screaming. It sounded like I was scared, but even then, it didn't let go of me.
Its weight multiplied with every passing second due to the motion of the fall. It got so heavy that it broke through its terminal velocity. The speed of the fall got to a point where I couldn't breathe anymore.
"Yyyyyoun…g…sater…" The creature murmured.
What!? Is it trying to talk!?
"o…young…young master…so sorry?"
What is it saying!? Why does it sound familiar? Could it be human tongue!?
I had so many questions, but I didn't have the luxury to think about that. At this rate I was going to hit the ground and die. So I used the last bit of zaryûn energy to trace over the advance rune that Ghaf drew on my injured shoulder. It had been more than two days since he drew that rune and so it started to fade. Hence why I redraw that rune– I wouldn't be capable of drawing such a complex rune from scratch.
It was the zaryûn rune of heightened endurance and armor. It mitigated almost all types of impact, but I doubt it's going to completely save me from this logic-defying fall.
I had positioned myself in a way that the creature on my back would hit the ground first, taking most of the impact and hopefully getting crushed. This position left me facing upwards. My heart beating at an unhealthy rate, I could feel that I was about to hit the ground soo, even though I was looking at the sky.
…Here goes nothing…