[Why aren't you moving?]
"…Are you sure I should head left? What if there are more that way?" Davin asked, his voice thin—clearly just an excuse.
[There are no other presences to the left. I'm certain of it.]
"…"
He hesitated, then bolted in the direction the system had pointed out.
[Did you doubt me earlier?]
"No… not really. I think I was still a little sleepy."
[Hmm. Then you're still a dumbass, huh?]
"Wh—what did you mean by that?!"
[A host must rely on intuition or skills when making split-second decisions. Not me...]
Davin fell silent as the systems words sink in.
That's when something rustled ahead.
A blur of red shot out from a bush like a bullet—headed straight for him.
His instincts screamed, and he threw himself to the side.
[-5 HP]
[HP: 155/160]
"Huh?!"
A warm liquid trickled down his cheek.
Pain followed.
Then the faint, metallic scent of blood bled into the cold morning air.
He looked up—and froze.
A monstrous ladybug, at least a meter tall, stood watching him with hungry, unblinking eyes.
Its black head twitched slightly as it's mandibles wiggled.
The deep crimson of its shell gleamed wetly, almost as if stained in blood. Two front limbs—long, jointed scythe-like appendages—clacked open and shut, shaped like the vicious sickles of a mantis.
Its wings suddenly flared out, two pairs buzzing as the shell split apart.
[So. Why did you listen to me?]
"Why… I don't know..." Davin replied quietly, his gaze locked on the beast.
It lunged for a second strike.
The immediately jumped to the side, and without thinking, he turned and ran—feet pounding the forest floor, each breath ragged.
[It's an aerial-type beast. Running won't help in your current low agility attribute.]
"…"
He didn't answer.
He just kept running.
This was the first magical beast he'd encountered since entering the forest—and he had zero combat experience to lean on.
That made his situation all the more dire.
Then, out of the corner of his eye— he noticed a red blur move.
The ladybug was flying low, its massive body curving to intercept him. It was trying to flank him, to cut off his momentum and close the distance.
Davin's pulse spiked.
He suddenly got an idea which was more of a gamble.
'If this works, I can widen the gap between me and that fucking thing… if not, I'm dead.' He swallowed hard, sweat trailing down his jaw.
[Interesting.]
The system hummed, having read his thoughts.
He ignored it.
He didn't break stride, didn't give any sign he'd noticed it.
This prompted the predator to increase it's velocity towards its prey.
Closer…
Ten meters... five meters.
Until when he could practically feel the wind of its wings behind him.
Then—at the last second—he quickly dropped to the ground...
Sliding across the damp forest floor like a baseball player stealing home.
The bug's scythe-blades swiped through the air just above him, missing his head by a hair's breadth.
It screeched in frustration.
Mid-air, the ladybug tried to twist, adjusting its trajectory—but its momentum betrayed it. The force of its dive sent it crashing into a tree trunk with a sickening thud, with bark and chitin cracking alike.
Davin rolled out of his slide, by pushing himself off the ground, and sprinted in the opposite direction.
His gamble was a success, what was left now, was to gain distance.
He aimed for a dense part of the woods where the trees clustered together and tangled—hoping the thick clustered trunks would hinder the beast's flight.
[-16 Stamina]
[Stamina: 44/90]
"What? I didn't fully recover after sleeping?!"
[That will be impossible since you stayed two whole days without eating.]
"Shit—this is bad!" he cursed, panic rising in his throat.
But he didn't stop.
His legs burned, lungs heaved, and vision blurred—but he ran anyway. In fact, he increased his pace.
This was a matter of life and death so he could care less about anything else.
Up ahead—a tree with an open gap in its trunk. Just wide enough for him to slip through. And not wide enough for the overgrown bug to follow him into with its bulky exoskeleton.
Hope bloomed.
A grin broke out across his face, with relief washing over him at the thought of finally ending up safe.
Almost there…
But as all his attention was focused on his sole hope, he failed to see the red blur approaching fast!
[Warning]
[Feralkin Beast Approaching]
"No, no, no!" he gasped.
He pushed harder, legs screaming, heart punching against his ribs.
His body was already weakened from starvation, so he wasn't at his best right now.
Still—he forced himself to run.
'I won't die. Not today. Not before I get to know what having a girlfriend feels like!'
That dumb, stubborn thought became his lifeline.
But sometimes—willpower isn't enough.
Five meters from safety...
Something slammed into his right shoulder like a sledgehammer—hard and razor-sharp.
[- 80 Hp]
[Hp 75/160]
[Warning]
—You are losing a lot of blood.
[Bleeding effect: -10 Hp per minute!]
His system screen notified him as his body flew sideways, tumbling across the ground.
Blood sprayed out in red arcs before he landed in a heap of dirt, unmoving.
Pain roared through him.
He couldn't move his right arm. And could barely even think.
The ladybug hovered near the tree he'd been running toward, perched sideways on the tree's trunk, like it owned the world.
Its scythe-limb glistened with blood.
With a wet slurp, it dragged its mandibles along the blade, licking it clean like it was savoring the taste.
Davin lay there, gasping, golden light beginning to flickering in his blurred vision.
"I… don't wanna die…" He gasped.