I stored my last remaining Medium Potion into the Inventory function, and immediately began moving again. I had no idea how much time I had before that wolf monster started to hunt me down again. Judging by the way it had just watched as I ran, it probably wasn’t in too much of a rush as it thought that it could track me down anytime it wanted.
Where could I find a water source however? Every direction in this endless forest appeared virtually identical in the pitch black, with only some light plants dispersed here and there.
Screw it, might as well just keep running in a random direction since there’s no way I was going to be able to climb those impossibly tall trees. With my newfound energy from the potion spurring me on, I dashed into the darkness, looking for any thicker or darker vegetation that might possibly indicate water.
As I ran, the eerie forest seemed to come alive, twisted branches clawing at me and bizarre noises coming from every turn. Bright pairs of eyes could be occasionally seen in the darkness, seemingly watching my every move. Holy hell, it feels like I’m in some awful horror movie from the 80s. To make matters worse, my shoulder began aching intensely again and panic began to set in. My breathing grew ragged, and my lungs began to burn as I ran in fear that something was right behind me.
If there’s someone watching over me right now, I swear if I make it out of this I’ll start going to the gym again and never skip cardio or leg day.
After about 15 minutes of desperate running, Melchior suddenly spoke and said, "Detecting large amounts of minor lifeforms in vicinity. There is a high likelihood of a water source in this direction.”
Sure enough, I soon heard the trickling sounds of a running river and quickly made my way over. Huffing and puffing, I took a moment to catch my breath. I don’t think I’ve ever run like that before in my life, not even when Costco had a 2-for-1 special on toilet paper rolls. Despite drinking the potion earlier, I was still extremely thirsty so I quickly bent down and drank my fill, hoping the river didn’t have a massive monster just waiting below to snatch me up.
Lady luck was on my side this time, and I then spoke to the little white orb by my side, ”Alright Melchior, do your magic. Where’s the nearest Amanita plant?”
“Proceed 45 meters to your right and look for a white, bulb shaped plant with brown spots.”
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Near the river bank, I easily spotted a cluster of plants exactly matching Melchior’s description and plucked them from the ground.
“Melchior, how many of these do I have to eat?”
“Calculating from your body weight, height, liver and kidney function, fat reserves. Consume 2 Amanita plants to enter suspended animation for approximately 77 hours, which should provide ample time for the Lycophs to leave the area. However, I humbly suggest that you find a suitably secure area before consuming them as you shall be completely defenseless.”
Easier said than done. I had no clue where in the world could be defined as a safe area here, or what other strange monstrosities might lurk. The clock was ticking as well, and I didn’t have the time to run around looking for a nice-looking spot.
Ok, looks like I’m going to have to bury myself. Since I didn’t have to breathe anyways after I ate the plant, it’d probably work out.
Despite only having a single arm, fortunately the soil around the river was damp and very easy to dig out. I quickly dug a very shallow, makeshift “grave” and lowered myself in. I filled it in and placed a bunch of plants I’d gathered nearby over my head to completely seal myself in. It wasn’t perfect, and there were signs of my digging everywhere, but hopefully it wouldn’t matter.
I immediately began chewing on the 2 Amanita plants I’d placed into my mouth beforehand and soon felt my mind drift away into the blessed embrace of sleep.
------------------------------------------------------
The Lycoph, which had been gorging itself on the entrails of a delicious, soft Portal prey, suddenly raised its head. One of the Portal prey it had been saving for last could not be heard anymore.
Well, it was alright since there was plenty of prey here to go around. Hundreds of corpses in various states of consumption surrounded it and its brethren as they feasted.
It had been worth the days of waiting next to the Portal since it had appeared. One of those scary blurry predators had ordered them to wait there and promised they would fill their stomachs.
Those blurry predators had shown up here one day and drastically changed the world it had lived in, turning the small forest it had once lived in to an ocean of trees. They forced the other inhabitants to do their bidding, and killed any that had resisted. Strange things, things of all shapes and sizes began entering the world through the Portals that had appeared. It instinctively knew that if it approached those things, it would the one becoming the prey.
But, it wasn’t complaining. After all, it had never in its life been able to eat something as delicious as this. Baring its teeth, it turned its head and growled at the last remaining Portal prey that had been kept alive.
Whimpering, the human spewed flames from his hands and began grilling another set of corpses as the Lycoph howled in triumph.