Boring was an interesting way to define a sprint through an otherworldly forest filled with overgrown wild beasts that were becoming extremely hostile to human life, with some kind of corrupting fire still spreading behind me.

But, as the night fell, that was the best description of my mood.

The run was hard to describe as comfortable, even with all the advantages given by the Stats, but monotonously, it was a good way to describe it. Even the constant attacks of the monsters — with the beasts getting more and more dangerous the farther I had moved from the fire that was still ongoing.

Regardless of the healthiness of such a mood, it meant that I had some time to consider my position. First, my assets: a five-denica piece of silver that managed to stay in my pocket despite all the chaos — the bigger piece, unfortunately, lost — a magical sword that I barely used and a steel dagger that was at the end of its life due to constant use.

I didn't know exactly how much those assets were truly worth, but it was better than having nothing in a completely foreign world.

The other thing I thought about was my skill, one that was feeling dormant since the echo of it had forced me to accept the promotion process, one that gave some kind of … demonic force to make a deal with me.

[Archery of Destruction (0\X)]

The other thing was leveling. With almost halfway to the next level, whether I should level up once I collected enough experience was a question. It was tempting, especially since I was in a position where I desperately needed every scrap of power, but one fact stopped me.

Leveling up created some kind of magical noise, and that noise attracted the aggression of the monsters. Testing whether those monsters would prefer to attack the forest fire or me leveling up was not a question I wanted to experiment with first-hand.

Certainly not when my health was in such a depleted state.

"Time to check my surroundings, again," I muttered as I looked around, looking for an elevated point, which I found in the form of a nearby hill. It wasn't particularly high, but as long as I climbed a tree, I should be able to get a better view of my surroundings.

And, hopefully, discover a sign of civilization.

The increased Strength and Agility once again proved extremely useful, allowing me to climb to the trees with a speed and grace that would make an acrobat die of jealousy, with only one hand, still gripping my dagger with the other.

Not in vain.

I slashed that dagger and a headless snake fell on the floor.

[+193 Experience]

"That's … a lot," I muttered. The snake was the first beast I had killed during the long run that actually granted experience in three digits, which wasn't a good sign about the danger I was in.

Maybe it was venomous and it somehow affected the gain, or maybe there were other factors. I just hoped it wasn't the attraction of the growing fire, getting less and less effective as the distance grew.

I still didn't dare to push forward.

I settled on the highest branch that could still carry my weight and looked around. I only threw a glance behind me, confirming the fire was continuing to grow — and making me feel even more queasy as it grew.

But, I didn't let that bother me too much. Because, on the other side, I could finally see the end of the forest at the horizon, maybe ten miles, even less, and even better, I could see a tower, the first man-made structure that wasn't flying.

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I stayed on top of the tree, watching for signs of activity, Perception allowing me to get a functional glimpse of what was going on.

I lived too long to assume that people would be honest and kind toward a lost stranger, especially if that stranger knew nothing about the world he was supposed to be living.

As far as telling anyone my true origin … a derisive chuckle escaped my lips even at the thought of such an absurd thing. That was not even a possibility.

I stayed on top of the tree, watching from the distance, not daring to get closer. Since Perception allowed me to get a better view of what was going on, it wasn't excessive to assume that the others — especially ones assigned to a tower that was in the middle of nowhere, clearly built for scouting purposes — wouldn't have a high Perception.

Even my current location was a bit risky, but I wasn't as attention-grabbing as the constantly growing forest fire.

My patience paid off. An hour after I had taken my position — killing several smaller beasts that chose to attack me in the process — I noticed another movement in the distance. Four floating metal boxes, similar to the one that the intruders used. The biggest difference was the size.

The device I had momentarily used was a little bigger than a car, while these floating boxes were each bigger than a bus, and each arrived at the tower, a small bridge soon appearing. Several people — soldiers or knights, I reasoned, the glint of their silver armor visible even from that great distance.

I wanted to get out of the forest, but without getting too close to the show. I had picked a diagonal angle, occasionally slashing my dagger to deal with another vermin that decided to bother me while I tried to find my path, moving much slower than my earlier dash, not wanting to get caught.

I climbed another tree in every ten minutes, to get a better view of my surroundings. Soon, I saw another tower, once again at the border of the forest, about ten miles apart from the first tower I had picked. Around it, there were another four large flying vehicles parked.

My guess, they were there for the forest fire.

I started moving parallel to the forest, afraid of getting noticed without the concealment of the forest. Five miles weren't far enough to guarantee avoiding ordinary sentries, let alone supernatural ones.

I was wondering the reason for their lack of action, when I noticed a presence pulling down from the clouds. A flying castle. For a moment, I froze, afraid that it was the same one that I had escaped, but that fear didn't last long.

The biggest clue, the flying castle wasn't surrounded by a deadly crimson glow and had some kind of tentacle monster on top of it. Other than that, the castle had a similar pattern, fancy outer walls, four towers at each corner, and one, shorter, central tower in the middle.

However, one of the four corner towers was shattered halfway, and its flight was hardly steady. Interesting, I thought, especially after realizing it didn't come from the capital, but from a different direction.

I began to get thefeeling that, the broken tower might have something to do with a wild tentacle. A feeling that only got stronger when another fortress appeared in the clouds, this time with one of the towers completely shattered, and two others damaged.

No wonder the fortress didn't try to chase me after my escape.

As these flying castles slowly floated down, I had a feeling that they were preparing to deal with the growing forest fire — a reasonable assumption considering the source of the fire — but they didn't seem to intend to move forth immediately.

And, with the forest fire spreading behind me, I couldn't just stay in the forest and wait for them to get closer.

Especially since the fire was important enough to earn such an intense reaction.

I should get out of the forest in a way that wouldn't alert them. I started dashing parallel to the edge, hoping to find a way to do so. Another few miles later, I heard the sound of running water. "Maybe," I whispered hopefully and kept running.

Soon, I caught a glint, the vision of a river cutting through the forest. It was a large, raging river that sent a chill through me, the water raging and aggressive. If it wasn't for the enhancement of my Stats, I wouldn't have dared to even walk near that, let alone consider swimming. Even with the stats, it didn't sound like a perfect idea — especially since I had no idea what manner of creatures the river might hold.

But still, it was much better than the alternative.

"It's time to use you," I muttered as I turned my attention to my less-used weapon, practicing a few swings — nothing complicated, considering I was going to be underwater. Then, I undressed, turned my clothes into a tight pack, and wrapped it to my back, not willing to lose my meager riches.

I looked at the river, fast and dangerous, then behind me, where the forest fire was slowly growing to be more and more intense…

"How fun," I muttered as I tightened my grip on my sword, closing the distance, taking the last few steps to bring me to the edge, feeling the wetness under my tortured soles. A few more steps, and I would be in the water.

I held my breath and jumped, letting the chilly water cover me even as I pulled myself deeper, my eyes open, stretching my senses to the limit to get a sense of my surroundings.

Just in time, I felt a shadow moving towards my leg.