Lucas took his map out and looked at the place where he believed the city was. As he moved his finger along the path he was going to take, he saw a weird symbol marking the place on the map. He couldn’t say exactly what it was, but he believed it was indicating the Dark Forest.

From what he understood from the tree, a big part of the way through was still within the domains of the Dark Forest. The tree mentioned in previous talks that it only had domain over a small part of the forest and that the dark aspect of it wasn’t only due to the necromancer or the orb, because the forest remained that way for many miles based on what it knew.

“Let’s see what more I can find,” Lucas said, smiling before setting off, leaving Faruk’s skeleton and the clearing behind.

It sounded a bit ridiculous to say using a paper map was a little strange in a world where magic was a thing; however, Lucas had never actually used one on Earth, so it was definitely a new experience for him. The internal compass helped massively in that regard, but he still stopped all the time to check if he was going the right way.

While he traveled, it gave him time to think. There was one thing that didn’t leave his mind ever since that last talk with the tree. The tree didn’t seem to have thought about that possibility, but Lucas wondered: had the tree been given a second chance as well? Was it a part of the Program? The tree seemed to think that the System only cared about the orb and that it was merely brought along as part of the setting. Yet the location where the tree stood was a few miles away from the orb; why didn’t it just leave the tree there if that was all there was to it?

It could be argued that the tree was representing an informal role to help the newcomers claim the orb. But Lucas had seen that the only reason he was able to obtain the orb was his special constitution, and that orb had been there a million years already. Unless the System planned for him to find it and maybe help the tree in return…

That was a scary thought, one that Lucas didn’t like. It suggested that all the things that he was doing were premeditated. If that were the case, there wasn’t much he could do, so he threw away that thought. Regardless of whether it was destiny or just a lucky encounter, Lucas had promised he would look for a way to take the tree out of the forest, and that’s what he would do.

…

Lucas stopped. He had been walking for three hours now and believed he was already halfway through the city. The forest had remained the same the entire time, with few animals around, a few moving vines to keep him on his toes, and the sun blocked for the most part. The reason he stopped, however, was because there was a big cliff in front of him with a waterfall not too far away. He looked down and saw a river running below and the forest beyond. That’s where he should go.

“Dammit,” he cursed. There was no indication on the map that this cliff was there. For him to go around now, it would take more than triple the amount of time it would have if he just went on a straight path.

He looked down again. There was no way he could survive jumping straight into the river; at that height, it would be like falling on solid ground. He proceeded to look at the walls of the cliff. That would be a hard climb, even for a professional. Lucas wondered if the System could assist him in making some type of wingsuit, but in the end, he discarded the idea. Where would he find the materials, in the middle of the forest? In the same vein, a parachute was also out of the question.

“Maybe I should try using a rope,” he muttered. That idea, however, seemed even more stupid than taking the Elanésis seed; this time, if he fell and died, there would be no one to bring him back to life.

Any normal person wouldn’t even consider it and just go around the cliff. But Lucas was beginning to feel pressured; he felt that he had wasted too much time in the Dark Forest. It had been almost a week since he saw the old man’s group, and even back then, they seemed to have found the city for some time already. He was afraid that if he took too long, he would fall behind others.

He had gained a lot from that quest, and he knew it. Not just because of the rewards, but also because he learned how to control the death aura, which had already proved useful in his last battle. Even if it was dangerous to use for the time being, it would be another asset in the future, so he didn’t regret it. However, he didn’t know what opportunities the city might present. Looking at the old man’s group, he had a slight idea: new weapons, a class and maybe some information—that was a lot already.

Looking at the cliff once again, he clenched his teeth. Without noticing, he had already made his decision. Yes, he could take another couple of days to go around the cliff, but that was neither fun nor time-efficient. Without further ado, he started looking for materials he could use to make a rope.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Two hours later, he was holding a rope he had made using fibers from trees. He had tied it to a steady rock nearby and threw the rest down the cliff. It reached near the bottom, as he had predicted, but it took two tries before he got the length right. He had no idea how to do rappel professionally, so he wouldn’t even try. Instead, he would do it the most straightforward way.

As he was making the rope, he remembered that he wasn’t the same as when he started; he was way stronger. He imagined someone strong on Earth had only eight or nine points in Strength, but now he had seventeen. That was almost a superhuman strength, and that meant he should be able to do superhuman stuff. He started climbing down the rope using only his hands, involved in leather.

Five minutes later, he was making good progress and was already halfway through the cliff. However, the first problem started to appear: he was strong, yes, but his skin was softer than ever. He had anticipated a problem on that front and had prepared a patch of leather to protect his palms before he began his descend, but the fingers were exposed and bleeding already.

On top of that, he could feel his palms starting to bleed as well from within the leather due to the attrition. The pain was excruciating after a few minutes, and he began to use his feet to try and alleviate the pressure.

The rest of the descent was pure torture as he began to question his life choices that led to this moment, until finally he reached the bottom and took the leather off, looking at his skinned hand.

“That must be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” Lucas muttered, clenching his teeth in pain. He had saved time, but at what cost? He wanted to stay there until his skin grew back, but he couldn’t. It would make his stupid decision even more stupid if he didn’t save the time he wanted to save. First, however, he needed to clean his hands, as painful as that might be.

He went to the river nearby and started letting the water flow in his hands with a frown on his face. Trying to distract himself, he looked around. Due to the lack of trees near the river, the place received good sunlight, contrary to the rest of the Dark Forest. The water was transparent and beautiful, and the whole place could be considered a paradise for anyone who wasn’t suffering from a skinned hand; but Lucas spotted something at the bottom of the river that caught his attention even through the pain.

“Is that… metal?”

There was a structure at the bottom of the river that was shaped like a metal door. He took his clothes off and swam to the bottom of the river to check it out after the brunt of the pain had passed. The water was icy cold, he realized, but he didn’t mind too much. It was good to clean himself after all that time. He really missed having regular baths, these river baths weren’t so bad either but he sure could use a soap.

The river didn’t go very deep, only about seven feet, so it was relatively easy for him to get there. The object he noticed after he arrived was relatively plain, with only a few sharp edges. It could be a ship’s or a plane’s wall. It also looked almost new. Lucas rose again to take a breath and think.

Were there ships in this world? If so, what happened to this one? Were the main questions on his mind. He discarded the idea that it might be a plane’s wall because that was just too crazy to think about at the moment. He swam to the bottom again, this time deciding to try to store the wall in his ring. So far, he had only put small stuff in, but it hadn’t been so difficult. He just needed to put them close to each other and will for it to happen. However, this time, he didn’t succeed. The metal just wouldn’t go in.

Is it the size?, he thought, but that couldn’t be it. There were shelves of books inside that weren’t much smaller. Maybe I have to be holding the object, was his next thought. It would be a little challenging to hold that heavy piece of metal, but the gravity inside the water was on his side. With that, he fixated his feet on the bottom of the river and lifted the door to the best of his abilities. It left the ground for a few seconds, and it was enough to successfully enter his ring.

He left the river in a better mood. He couldn’t lie; he felt a little like a beggar, collecting trash on the way. However, that wall seemed to be made of good material, and he could use it to make another axe once he arrived at the city. So, he was already starting to feel better about his decision to descend the cliff straight. He noticed that his skin was already starting to heal, so he only waited long enough for the sun to dry him before he moved on.

The forest behind the cliff followed the “dark” theme, no doubt, but the one that he was crossing at that moment was way “darker”. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there were things hiding from him in the dark. Sometimes, he could hear a twig snap or a rustle in the grass, and when he went to look at it, there was nothing. He had the feeling he had walked into a horror movie setting.

That feeling only got worse when he sensed a terrifying presence behind him. It was hard to explain it; it was like his death aura but different and ten times worse. He looked back and saw nothing. Was it far away or invisible? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he better run, and so he did.

He believed he was gaining distance from that terrifying thing, but that was when his feet and right hand got stuck in something, and he stopped. What is this? It was a sticky substance, and he couldn’t get it off. The more he tried, the more entangled he became. That’s when the presence that was following him began to grow closer and closer.

Desperate, Lucas took his axe out and tried to use the blade to cut the sticky thing off his arm, but it just got stuck with it. Immediately, he started using the blade to saw the damned thing, and he believed it was working, but right as he was about to free himself he had a terrible feeling.

He turned around and saw one of the most terrifying visions he had ever seen since coming to Ponos: a giant spider, almost the size of the trees nearby, was walking on its eight legs at a very fast pace. Lucas emanated his death aura immediately, but the spider didn’t even seem to notice as it approached.

Giant Spider — ??

Lucas finally realized that he had been caught in a web. He tried to escape once more, but could barely move by now. And soon after, the spider arrived.

I’m dead.