I was perched on the top of a tree, teetering on the edge of collapse at any moment.

The Drifter swung his powerful sword against the base of the trunk.

Once again, Hell had caught me off guard.

The wind rustled through the leaves, whispering of impending doom.

I grabbed my chain and untangled myself from the trunk, holding it tightly in my hands.

I wanted to throw it to another tree, but they all seemed too far away.

Or perhaps it was fear that paralyzed me.

After all, there was a sheer drop of over 20 yards beneath my feet, and a creature eagerly awaiting to devour me.

But I didn't have time to dwell on the desperate aspect of my situation.

I twirled the chain above me like a lasso with my hands, then launched it towards the nearest branch.

As the chain made contact with the branch, I took control and made it secure a solid hold.

I had a good grip; now all I had to do was jump.

My hands trembled as I tightly wrapped the chain around them.

There was no room for error.

I felt the tree start to sway.

No time to waste, I jumped.

For a moment, I fell until the chain caught me, propelling me towards the tree trunk.

I used my feet to cushion the impact as I hit the trunk, immediately bending my legs.

Now, I had my hands raised, gripping the chain, and my bent legs pressed against the tree trunk.

I had successfully made the jump.

I glanced towards the branch where my chain was attached and began pulling myself up using my arms while keeping some of my weight supported by the tree trunk with my legs.

I took only a few steps before feeling the trunk vibrating.

"Oh no," I thought.

I didn't need to lower my head to know what was happening.

The Drifter wasted no time in trying to knock me off this new tree.

He continued to strike with all his might, wielding his massive sword.

I gripped my chain and began climbing, the fear of death giving me strength.

I needed to quickly find a new tree.

Once back on the branch, I checked the time; it was 4:25 in the morning.

I had two hours until sunrise, maybe less.

And I had 20 EP points left.

I struggled to see how jumping from tree to tree could save me.

I was going to run out of EP before daybreak.

Moreover, even when I tried to limit the use of my chain, it still consumed a lot of energy.

I tried to figure out the best way to escape this predicament.

Running away and trying to lose the creature was unimaginable in my current state.

I had nowhere to hide.

And I had no reserve points to rely on.

No matter what I did, Hell had me trapped.

"Again and again and again!" I thought, hitting my head with my fist.

I was frustrated with myself.

It was like a superpower to constantly put myself in danger like this.

How did other players do it?

Did they also have to face such difficulties?

I felt the tree starting to sway; I didn't have much time left.

One idea remained stuck in my head: to fight.

I was only level 3 with few EP points left, but my HP was full.

I had invested points in the strength of my chain, and I knew well its durability.

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If I could bind the Drifter with it, I could immobilize him.

The idea seemed crazy but it seemed like the only viable one.

Fleeing would get me killed.

I took a deep breath and fixed my gaze on the Drifter.

The creature swung his enormous sword with tremendous force, leveraging his entire back.

The weapon was perhaps twice the size of the trapped Drifter's.

A single blow from that sword would be the end of me.

"If I could disarm him, it would be enough to be safe in the tree," I thought.

I decided to use my chains to immobilize his arms, then I would have all the time to retrieve the sword.

The idea seemed insane.

No, what was even crazier was that this idea was the only one that made sense.

I descended, using my chain like a rope and refraining from controlling it to save my points.

Once on the branch just above the monster, I could see him up close, feeling the vibrations from his powerful strikes.

He didn't seem to pay attention to my movements; he was focused on the tree trunk in front of him.

I took my chain in my hands and let it slide just above him.

Then I waited for him to strike the tree again.

Each time he struck, his sword got stuck for a few seconds.

That was enough for my chain to immobilize him.

As expected, shortly after, his powerful blow to the tree caused his sword to get stuck.

I dropped the end of my chain onto his shoulders.

Quickly, it wrapped around under his armpit, then went over his neck and wrapped around his other armpit.

In moments, the chain had coiled around his shoulders and arms.

I held the other end of the chain from my branch to maintain control.

The Drifter removed his sword from the tree and looked curiously at the chain coiled around him, then he gathered momentum with his arms to strike the tree again.

He didn't care about it at all.

At that moment, I commanded the chain to tighten.

The creature seemed uncomfortable, his face even showing signs of pain.

With each adjustment, the chain constricted further.

His arms began to be pulled back, and there was no way for him to break free.

"Just a little more, and he won't be able to move!" I thought.

I felt my heart pounding, and the hand holding the chain trembled.

I knew this technique consumed a tremendous amount of EP, but I was so close to achieving my goal.

Suddenly, the Drifter raised his head, his white eyes reflecting the moonlight, his teeth white, and his pale skin contrasting with the red of his lips.

He looked at me as if he were angry.

Then he began pushing his shoulders forward and his arms to the sides.

He was trying to loosen the grip.

I thought it was too late, but then I felt the links of my chain stretch.

In a panic, I quickly undid the link and brought the chain back to me.

If this chain broke, I had no way to escape or fight.

It was my only means of survival.

Once the chain was released, he looked at me again.

I could have sworn he smiled at me.

Then he gathered momentum and struck the tree again.

I had failed, utterly.

I opened my profile and saw that I had 8 EP left.

The tree was about to fall.

I needed a new idea quickly.

"He is too strong for me to capture, and also too strong for me to make him drop his sword," I thought.

I couldn't see any way to neutralize him.

My level was far too low to confront this creature.

"I might have a chance if another Drifter attacked him, or even the roots," I thought, looking around.

But the roots had completely disappeared.

As I watched him strike with his massive sword, I realized that the only solution was to use his own strength against him.

"If he strikes like that in the void, his sword would fly away. The energy he releases is impressive," I thought.

I lay on my stomach, on the branch, my eyes fixed on the Drifter.

I was unusually calm, as if my body knew I would make it through.

That gave me even more confidence.

"I don't want to do it, but I see no other choice," I thought.

I grabbed my chain and attached it to the branch, then descended from the tree.

Now on the ground, I commanded the chain to detach, and it fell to the ground, one end still in my hand.

I was about ten meters away from the Drifter.

He removed his sword from the trunk and looked at me.

I wondered what he could be thinking.

His eyes revealed nothing.

My chain was closing in to his ankle and attaching to it.

"What a terrible fate for a player, to end up like this," I thought, looking at the creature up close.

The creature charged at me, preparing to strike with its extended arm and sword.

Fortunately, speed wasn't its strong point.

I could see the attack coming.

I had attached the end of the chain to its ankle, and as expected, it didn't even attempt to get rid of it.

When I saw its shoulder begin to pivot, I quickly ducked.

Anticipating its attack was a good decision.

The velocity of its charged strike was such that its sword almost disappeared.

I felt the air from its attack nearly throw me off balance.

At the exact moment its strike was launched, I used my chain to bind its ankles together. Another part of the chain slid up to its wrist and tightened abruptly.

The element of surprise and the power of my chain forced it to release its sword.

The sword flew, hitting a tree before falling to the ground.

My eyes widened in astonishment.

The Drifter seemed to be just one yard away from me.

Its menacing gaze fixed on me.

I stood up and started running, chain in hand.

I could feel it behind me, attempting to free itself from the restraint on its ankles.

Just before it could break free, I released the link and brought the chain back to me.

This maneuver had bought me enough time.

I had managed to put several yards between myself and the creature.

The sword was right there.

I grabbed the hilt and positioned the heavy sword on my back, with the chain wrapped around my chest to hold it in place.

Then I threw the other end to a nearby branch, while requesting the sale screen to appear.

The creature was just a few yards away, running towards me.

I gripped my chain and climbed.

The creature narrowly missed grabbing my foot.

I kept climbing, but I quickly felt my strength fading; I must have run out of EP.

Turning my head to the screen, I saw that loading symbol.

It seemed endless.

I couldn't climb anymore; I only had enough strength to hold on for a few more moments, suspended between the ground and the branch.

Just below me, the creature had its head raised.

It must have suspected I was running out of energy, looking at me like a meal about to fall from the tree.