[GODDAMNIT!]

There, I said it! And if you don’t like it, well… screw you too.

Don’t take me wrong, it was nothing personal, I was just extremely frustrated at the moment. Every time I thought something good was finally going to happen to me, I got whacked over the head with all kinds of natural disasters.

Like now for example! I was just flying through the forest, minding my own fucking business, not bothering anybody, when a big cat, something similar to a black panther, jumped at me and tried to eat me!

I barely just escaped from the Wendigo, and then this?! Oh, give me a break!

Not long ago I used to be the king of the world. Well, not literally, but still, I was close to the top of the food chain back in Neloron. Granted, I didn’t explore the entirety of the continent so I might have missed some powerful beings, but most beasts I could fight as an equal if not a superior! I was free to go and do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Nobody could stop me!

But now… In the span of a few minutes, I was already unlucky enough to encounter two creatures I could not beat! This is unfair! I was supposed to be the top dog in this world, not the bottom bitch, damn it!

I am getting tired. My speedy flight is draining a lot of energy, and the damn mutt isn’t letting up either. I must be going almost 200km/h and the damn beast is happily following along.

It’s actually crazy how nimble it is. I can barely avoid the tree trunks at this speed while getting whacked in the face by low-hanging branches. Meanwhile, he is happily chasing my ass.

[Get that cheerful expression off your ugly mug! No way I’m becoming your meal!]

Don’t let his expression fool you, this beast nearly bit my leg off at the first chance it got. I barely noticed it in time to dodge. And now…

Ugh… I really didn’t want to do it, but I don’t think I have any choice.

[Eat my laser!]

Solar Point, straight in yo face!

I pointed at the panther chasing me and fired off the most powerful concentrated beam of light I could muster. In a split second, a third of my remaining power was sucked dry, transformed into a blinding scorching ray that illuminated the murky woods.

[OW!] My finger! It hurts!

So much energy went through in such a short time, it’s a miracle I still have all my digits. I completely forgot about this tiny detail! I can’t be so reckless or I’m going to destroy my own body... again.

But wait… It seems my strategy worked! I don’t know when it happened, but when I looked behind me, I couldn’t see that damn hound anywhere.

Success!

I quickly changed course and then stopped flying when I found a dense canopy to hide in. I turned off all my magic and tried to do my best to blend in.

As quiet as the grave, I stayed motionless, compressing my aura inside my body so nothing leaked out. Simultaneously my skin started shimmering and my body turned transparent as I blend in with my surroundings.

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I’m not really transparent, it’s just an illusion. I simply bent the light around me so it misses my body, giving the impression I’m not even here.

Utilizing my great Magic Eyes, I scanned the forest in a 100m circle. I didn’t care what was underground or in the sky, I was only interested in monsters walking on the ground for now.

[The coast is clear, good!]

I slowly moved my head to look around the tree trunk and… Fuck! I immediately shrank back.

It’s there! It’s fucking there! The damn animal is still alive even though it took my most powerful spell straight to the face! Well, it’s burnt and bleeding, so it wasn’t exactly harmless… But how the hell did it find me?!

I completely changed course after losing it so it’s impossible it was by chance. Let me take a look again…

Oh god, it’s looking right at me! Wait no, it’s smelling me! Damn it, your snout was burned and is bleeding and you can still smell through that charred scent?! I need to get out of here, this is too dangerous.

Removing my invisibility I slowly tiptoed along the thick branch away from the monster. Not taking any chances, no sir! I have already died once due to my arrogance and overconfidence, not doing that again.

Luckily it seems my attack blinded it. Blood is flowing out of what once used to be its eye sockets. I can only imagine what happened to its eyeballs as they were flash-boiled by my laser. Yuck!

Slowly and carefully I advance, further and fur- Wait!

I used my Magic Eyes at full power and looked through the wood again to where the beast was. There’s nothing there.

Huh? There’s nothing there? Was I imagining stuff?

Quietly as a mouse, I took a peak… Nope! It’s still there, what the hell! I can’t see it with my Magic Eyes?! That’s bullshit! Cheater! How am I supposed to feel safe in this immense forest if monsters can avoid my detection?!

Yup, I have decided! I’m out of here. Ciao! Now, just a little bit of gravity manipulation to soundlessly float away and...

HOWL!

I have been discovered! Run!

The Howler, I just decided to call it that, howled at me, duh, and the tree I was just standing on a moment ago got absolutely obliterated!

And by that I mean OBLITERATED! Chopped into a thousand pieces, turned into firewood and tinder! Centuries-old tree, gone, just like that! Poof! In seconds!

What the fuck! I was standing on that! My heart is pounding like a war drum right now! Were those Wind Blades?! But there were hundreds, and super fast and powerful! Even I can’t do something like that!

…

Oh, right, I’m not the most powerful around anymore… But still, this is crazy! I can’t take on something like that! I don’t wanna be turned into minced meat, I’m not insane! So there is only one sane thing to do. RUUUUNNNN!

Fly as fast as you can, damn it! It surely can’t follow me forever, especially since it’s wounded!

And I was immediately proven correct. The Howler was lagging behind. Having been blinded just minutes ago, it is much slower as it is now carefully traversing the forest floor, running while avoiding trees and rocks by… Wait, how is it doing that?

Doesn’t matter, because I am gone! See ya, sucker! Haha, another successful escape! May we never meet again!

----------------------------------------

Okay, yeah… I might have figured something out.

After being on the run for a while, and getting attacked by a dozen different monsters, the hungry motherfuckers, I realized that flying might not be the most low-key way to travel. Who knew?!

Also, it seems that the ability to detect magic fluctuation in living creatures is quite common here. As I was holding a tiny squirrel in my hand, I couldn’t detect a single trace of its Aura. It’s like it’s not even there. No matter how I strained my Magic Eyes, it was invisible to me.

But on the other hand, by looking at it normally, I could see it perfectly fine, squirming in my hand as it was trying to escape.

[Afraid, are you, little guy?]

Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you. You can’t even be considered a snack. I scratched its tiny head and then slowly let it go. As I watched it disappear under the dense foliage, the forest became tranquil again.

But make no mistake, I know they are there, the monsters. I can smell them, hiding in the shadows, watching, waiting for an opportunity to strike. That’s fine by me. Just keep waiting, see if I care!

Now that I know how they are able to follow me, I can plan and use this to my advantage.

But first, I have to lower my presence, diminish my blinding aura (Not really, it's pretty dim compared to some of the beasts here), and mask my scent with earth and mud.

I become a part of nature. I am a tiny deer feeding on grass.

I am a scared little bunny, easily spooked by the rustling of leaves.

I am but a worm, digging through the soil.

I am a bacteria, invisible to the naked eye.

I am Gerald, and I am... gone.