DRIP!DRIP!DRIP!
The sound of water splashing over the ground resonated slowly.
The crunching sound was followed by the occasional creaking sound of insects.
CRICK!CRICK!CRICK!
A long slimy bug wriggled across the person's face and was about to prick but the person woke up in time.
CRUNCH!
Opening his mouth, he directly took a bite and spat it on the floor.
"Yuck! It's disgusting."
His expression was distorted.
The wriggling movement woke him up and the first thing Lucas saw after opening his eyes was darkness.
Everything was dark and blurry. He couldn't tell how much time had passed and where he was. His limbs felt numb and seemed to be devoid of sensation.
There was no warmth in his body and it was frigid with an icy sensation.
The last thing he remembered was hitting the tail of the beast to get rid of it. After which, he unwrapped the root ropes he made and after kicking the beast down, he threw the loop hoping for it to stick on some rock or a tree growing at the edge of the cliff.
The beast tried to bite him again during the fall but Lucas shoved the sword into its throat after which his vision became blank.
"Am I dead? Is this afterlife?"A hoarse voice emerged from his lips.
After a few moments, his blurry vision receded giving him a sight of his surroundings. Darkness was still present due to the night time but he could identify the scene around him.
"Wait! Is something wrong with my vision? Why is everything looking upside down?"
Lucas's mind took a moment to process his thoughts.
With a great difficulty, Lucas shook his head and found himself hanging upside down. On raising his face upwards, he saw a knot over his ankle and the extended rope stuck over a branch on the tree and supported him. He was now hanging in mid-air, a few feet above the ground.
Lucas tried to move his hand, but a painful groan escaped from his lips.
On seeing the condition of his left arm, he was startled for a moment. The holes over the arm had been closed and the torn gash had clot over it.
The discomfort persisted due to the itching sensation and dislocation of the socket from the shoulder blade.
"How is this possible? Am I hanging here for days?"
"No, this might be the effect of the blessing. Since the energy persists in me, it is increasing my healing speed."
"How can I forget this?"
While for lower realms, blessings can aid in breakthrough,the people of higher realms use them for safety purposes.
Blessing can quickly heal your wound and can even grow back your limb. Until your head was cut, you can come back alive from fatal injuries until it is exhausted.
Lucas then took note of his condition.
There were scratch marks on his back and the flesh over his right shoulder was torn. All of this was done by the beast but it had almost healed leaving scar marks.
Fortunately, it was dead.
[You have killed an early 4-Star. You have gained 50000 experience points.]
Lucas heaved in relief seeing the notification.He could see a dark body drenched in blood few metres away from him.
Taking a few moments to catch up his strength, Lucas pulled his tired body to unwrap the loop across his feet.
Swoosh!
Though Lucas fell on his feet, he wasn't able to keep his balance and his face slammed against the ground.
"Cough...Cough..."
Feeling exhaustion washing over him, Lucas felt that his end was near.
"Sir Harris, you should have at least given me some time to prepare my will."
........
On top of the hill, beside a small wooden cottage, a man sat over a log with a flat top.
Warming himself in fire, he barbequed a piece of meat while humming softly.
Looking at the thick fog and greeny scenery hidden behind it, he mumbled softly.
"It seems he is here."
On raising his chin, he caught the sight of the boy walking up while supporting himself with the long staff-like branch.
He had a wounded shoulder and a fatigued appearance with blood-drenched over his body. His eyes were dark, sunken with big dark spots.
From afar, one might mistake this person for a zombie.
Getting up, he immediately ran towards him.
"Lucas."
Crouching his tired body, as soon as Lucas's eyes fell on Sir Harris sitting comfortably and enjoying barbeque, Lucas wanted to curse at him but as the person was an elder, his teacher he suppressed his urge.
"Lucas, how are you?"
"Are you alright?"
Seeing Harris's worried expression, Lucas's heart softened a bit.
'It seems at least he cares for me.'
"I am alright Sir Harris. Just a bit tired."
"Seeing your appearance, I really can't believe this," Harris murmured in a surprised tone and started to walk in a circle around Lucas and observed his condition.
Lucas felt confused hearing his words.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, I just thought you would lose one or two limbs at best or die somewhere along the way at worst,'' Harris said with a saddened expression as if his expectations had been betrayed.
Hearing his words, Lucas coughed blood and almost collapsed on the ground.
'Fuck you. This guy is a fucking psychopath."
......
Lucas didn't know for how long he had passed out but on waking up, for the first time in his life, he felt as if he was in heaven.
His body had been crying and begging for rest but Lucas didn't dare to take a rest for fear of encountering another fierce beast and hurriedly trekked the hill.
"Do you feel better?"
Lucas rubbed his eyes and saw Harris sitting beside him holding a coffee on a wooden stool while he was lying over the straw and hatchets which felt more comfortable and warm than bed for some reason.
"Hmm!" Lucas nodded.
"So, did you learn something?''Harris asked casually but it caused a big ripple over Lucas's face.
Lucas's stomach grumbled for food but he suppressed his desire.
"Sir Harris, it seems I am nothing without mana."Lucas gave a bitter smile.
"That's common. Most of the show stars of today are useless without mana. Anything other than that."Harris spoke nonchalantly.
"It seems, I had picked up too many bad habits during my recent fights. I am running and fleeing too much to the point that my body has become accustomed to it."
"Lucas."
Harris cut Lucas sharply and spoke in a rigid tone.
"Your swordsmanship has deteriorated."
"Huh!" Lucas's eyes flashed in shock upon hearing his words.
"What do you mean? I...I have always followed your words."
"Don't worry it had nothing to do with your temperament or training," Harris assured Lucas.
After calming down, he started to explain.
"Listen, Lucas, you might have already felt this but let me tell you the truth. You don't have a talent in swordsmanship."
Lucas's breathing halted for a moment.
"You don't have talent in any weapon art nor do you have a good aptitude for magic. In the end, you are just a bit better than mediocre, however, you have patience and persistence which others don't have and after breaking to 2-Star, your talent can be said to have improved from mediocre to average surprisingly.''
"You were doing well Lucas."
As Lucas stared at him confusedly, Harris explained further with a darkened face.
"But for some reason, you have grown beyond what you can handle. It should have taken a year or less for you to advance to the intermediate level but you became one in such a short time that you aren't ready. It's like a child that started running without learning to walk and knowing about the sense of direction."
"Your sudden growth messed up your foundation and the bad habits you picked up, had started to destroy you from the inside."
Lucas noted Harris's words carefully.
"So, what am I going to do now?"
Harris stood up with a smile.
"Isn't that obvious? We are gonna fight."
"Fight until I beat the shit out of those habits you picked up."
"Every time, you make a wasted moment. I will beat you to death. I have fed you a healing potion and now you have recovered to the peak but in this training, no matter how much you cry and beg, you aren't allowed to use your potion to heal."
"Is this a training or a torture?"Lucas asked with a bitter smile.
"My training is synonymous to torture? It's up to you whether to train you or leave."Harris answered sternly.
"No, I will train with you but before that where the hell are we? What about the classes?"
"Didn't I write about this on the parchment?"
"No, you didn't."Lucas glared at Harris who scratched his head.
"Sorry, I forgot. We are in a B-rank dungeon. The rights of this belong to one of my friends. All monsters above 3-Star had been killed. You are just unfortunate to come across a beast who made a breakthrough that day."
"For some reason, I am not surprised," Lucas spoke indifferently.
"As for the classes, I applied for 10-15 days' leave on your behalf.5 days here is equal to two days on the outside, so we have 35 days to set everything."
"So, are you ready?"Harris asked.
"Yes!"Lucas nodded in excitement.
After a light meal, both of them walked outside.
Harris asked Lucas to use that red sword.
"Sir Harris, why do you give me this stick?"
"It's a sword, Lucas. Don't disrespect a sword. And believe me, this is one of the greatest swords of this world."
"Yeah, yeah. I believe you."Lucas scoffed.
If Dwarves heard this, they would die laughing and would piss on it.
"Sir, Harris, where are your weapons?"Lucas asked, seeing Harris empty-handed.
"It's here, "Harris, speaking casually, pulled out a toothpick stuffed in his mouth, seeing which Lucas shouted.
"Are you kidding me?"
However, before his words fell, something went past him and a deafening roar sounded.
BOOM!
On turning his head, Lucas gasped in shock seeing a huge boulder behind him crushed into pieces and as dust dissipated, Lucas spotted a toothpick stuck over a piece.
'I am gonna die.'
'Damn, this guy might kill me for real.'
This chapter is updat𝓮d by fre(e)webnov(l).com