However, Achylys suddenly noticed something- minute white cracks were forming on the forest king’s body. The cracks were very minor, but they made Achylys feel a hypothetical shiver go up his spine. His gut instantly told him that things were getting dangerous. So, he did the best thing he could think of. He pushed himself up and ran, not caring about the debris. All he felt at that moment was staying close was dangerous; the farther he ran, the better.

So, he ran and ran. Despite the blood that was steadily leaking from his stomach, Achylys pushed himself to keep running. His eyes were fixed firmly ahead, scanning the horizon for any sign of safety, a place to shield himself from the debris and the monster’s wild attacks. He had to keep moving, or he’d die before seeing what those white cracks were and what would happen. Something in his gut told him he didn’t want to miss this.

As he ran, the debris from the monster's rampage flew past him, narrowly missing him time and time again. But luck was not on his side, and soon enough he felt the sharp itch of a tree branch slicing into his arm. He gritted his teeth and pushed on, his heart racing with adrenalin. He couldn’t lose too much blood. He wasn’t immortal, after all. Well, he was, but he could still die.

Then, he noticed it- a pile of trees that had stacked up. Sure, they could collapse, but they did seem like a pretty sturdy place from which he could sit and observe. For a time, it seemed as though he might just make it to safety, to behind the trees.

He could see them coming closer and closer, so close that he could (well, hypothetically, he couldn’t actually) basically touch them. But fate had other plans. Just as he was beginning to feel a glimmer of hope, a massive tree trunk came crashing down behind him, striking him in the back with bone-shattering force.

Achylys let out a scream of mock agony, his body crumpling to the ground in a heap. God damn, he hated the itching sensation. He’d prefer pain over it any day. At least he was used to feeling pain, unlike feeling like thousands of cockroaches were crawling under his skin.

He knew that he was badly injured. There was no way his spine hadn’t been snapped in two by the force of that impact. However, he still did not black out. It seemed that, contrary to his expectations, his body was actually very, very sturdy. Well, he did survive being stamped by the Forest King for a hefty amount of times, so that was only to be expected. All he could feel was a numb itch that crawled through his back and his stomach, confirming that he had indeed broken his spine.

He could see the monster, still struggling and rolling against the floor. Now that he knew he’d probably not faint any time soon, the curiosity returned to him. He wanted to see what those cracks were; he had a hunch that it was the thing that’d kill the Forest King. After all, the did say that water had killed it two times. If his guess was right, and those effects of water had fully transposed themselves onto dirt, things were about to get interesting.

The white cracks started to deepen, slowly creeping over the creature's skin like ivy on a wall. It was a sight unlike any he had ever seen before, and he watched in fascination as the cracks continued to spread, twisting and turning like a river carving its path through the earth.

Achylys could feel the energy building in the air around him, as if the very fabric of reality was being torn apart. The beast writhed in agony, its body convulsing as the white cracks continued to spread. The sound of cracking and churning filled the air, and he could feel the ground beneath his feet begin to shake even harder with the force of it. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

And then, in a split second, everything changed. The white cracks exploded outwards, engulfing Achylys's vision in a blinding light. He tried to shield his eyes with his arm, forgetting he’d broken his spine, but he, well, couldn’t, so he settled to squinting against the brightness.

And that was the last thing he remembered. The bright white light.

For he died.

*

Welcome back to your… sixth? Fifth? Well, a reversal. No point in keeping track. Welcome back, host.

Total disintegration was what led to your death.

Though, to be fair, the breaking of your spine did play a rather major part.

Your spine has been strengthened by 0.01%

1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 chance of gaining the mutation, has been acknowledged.

Your luck was not sufficient. Please try again later.

“I’m glad to be back, system.” Achylys replied, not reacting to the various series of notifications. He did feel a bit disappointed his luck was not sufficient this time, especially since the mutation was written in bright gold letters, making it seem rather appealing, but no matter. He was long used to this bad luck of his. The Department of Magic and Anomalies made sure to drill it into his very skull, that he was very, very unlucky.

What’s the plan for this time?

“It’s simple.” Achylys replied, a smile on his face. “Can you bring me to the core?”

Gladly.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Achylys instantly dived into the threads as soon as the Core opened, finding the thread of the forest king within a few minutes. And then, without any delay. He edited the section once more.

Then, once the letters morphed, he told the system, “Get me out of the core.”

Whatever you say, dear host.

For the first time, Achylys exited the Core out of his own will. As soon as the all so familiar forest came into view, he asked the system, “Can you show me the minimap?”

As the translucent blue screen shimmered to life in front of him, it illuminated his features with a cool blue hue. The screen transformed into the all so familiar 3D map within a second. The map was vast, stretching out endlessly in all directions, as far as the eye could see. The trees seemed to go on forever, forming an impenetrable wall that surrounded him on all sides.

And there, on the edge of his map, was the red dot. It pulsated with an eerie glow, indicating the presence of his target: the Forest King. This time, however, he did not flick the screen towards the boss.

Instead, he checked to see what the exact opposite direction to the boss would be, and he began running. Without pause. He ran and ran, not even caring if the itch began taking over his lungs, or if he could feel the iron like scent of blood in his throat. Sweat dripped down his hair and drenched his back, but it made no difference to him. As if on cue with his running, the ground began to shake, along with gut wrenching howls.

The system, after a while of mindless running, seemed to also get curious, as it asked,

Why are you running, host?

Achylys didn’t pause. Instead, he spoke to the system in his mind. It’s simple. The boss is going to explode. And I don’t want to be in its range of explosion.

You should’ve come far enough, right? Not to mention, you already must have incapacitated the boss at the very canyon itself.

Has paranoia ever failed someone? Achylys simply asked. If he wasn’t running, he’d surely flash a misplaced sage-like smile. The farther away, the better.

…whatever you say, host.

Achylys however, couldn’t care less about the System’s sarcasm laced reply. Then again, there wasn’t much he cared about at that moment except for running. He could have suddenly seen a man in a joker costume tap dancing in the middle of the forest, and he still wouldn’t stop. Well, he probably would, but he digressed. It was the spirit of the matter that mattered.

In the end, Achylys only paused when he felt the sensation of blood touching his throat. Pushing his body any further wouldn’t be ideal; he didn’t mind damaging his body, but he didn’t really want to die until he saw the results of his experiment. Right when he caught his breath and was about to begin running once more, the ground stopped shaking.

And then, Achylys saw it. The leaves of the trees that towered above him seemed to become translucent, and Achylys could see the sky- all that filled it was a bright white light.

As Achylys stood beneath the towering trees, his heart racing with anticipation, he couldn't help but be awestruck by the breathtaking sight before him. The brilliant white light that now illuminated the sky seemed almost too bright to behold, and yet he couldn't tear his gaze away. It was as if the very heavens themselves had opened up to reveal a glimpse of their true majesty, and Achylys couldn't help but feel humbled by the sheer magnitude of it all.

Through the translucent leaves that swayed gently in the breeze, he could make out the faintest hints of color in the sky beyond. The brilliant white light had dispelled the stormy clouds that had once roiled overhead, revealing traces of a canvas of purest blue, one that stretched out to infinity.

For a split second, Achylys felt his breath caught up in his throat. It was beautiful. That was the only way he could describe it. Beautiful. Suddenly, all traces of the light immediately disappeared. Instantly. It was like it was never there in the first place.

That was when the waves of vibrations came. And so it was that the very concept of the world around Achylys shattered into a thousand fragments, each one hurtling past him at breakneck speed. The leaves of the trees disintegrated, along with the branches. The dirt below his feet flew into the air, like it was a blanket someone had lifted to dust. The air itself seemed to tremble, as if the very threads of reality were being torn apart at the seams.

Achylys flew with them. The branches and countless debris cut deep, ragged wounds in his flesh, their sharp edges cutting through skin and muscle alike with ease.

Congratulations! You have completed the goddess’s task!

You have slain the king of the forest, the fifth inheritor of the sacred blood of , the tenth descendant of {Origin}.

You have reached Level 25.

The 1/20,00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 chance to gain the unique mutation, the has been acknowledged. The probability has been hijacked by the traits, , , and .

The probability has been increased to ½.

Congratulations! Your luck was sufficient. You have gained the ability, .

You have gained a point of providence from the due to completing the task.

You have gained a point of providence from the {Time God, Eriket} due to impressing him by your completion.

You have gained a point of providence for killing one of the five Elemental Kings and fundamentally changing the strata of this world.