Volume 1 - CH 5
Act 1-5: It was Night When I Entered The Cave, But When I Came Out From The Other Side, It Was Noon
Later in the night, I suddenly got the urge to urinate. So, I woke up, left my tent, and rushed into the forest.
Normally, doing it in the vicinity of the camp would not be a problem. However, if I met another attendant of Rose during that time, it would become troublesome. Therefore, I went even deeper into the forest.
The forest had become even darker during the night. The moonlight couldn’t penetrate the forest since the trees were huge and their branches piled up on top of one another. Walking into the forest at night made me feel like I was falling into a bottomless swamp. After I had walked for a while—although I had been startled many times due to the cries of small animals—I was stunned to see a red-haired man dressed in a black robe suddenly appear out of nowhere from inside the forest.
Woah! That startled me for real this time! The man’s sudden appearance almost made me pee on my pants. I mean, this place was supposed to be a hinterland without human settlement right! Moreover, even though I had tried my best not to talk to the others unless it was really necessary, I still remembered the faces of Rose’s attendants. This man wasn’t one of them. There was no doubt about it. Could he be a hermit who lives around this area? I thought.
「Uhm, excuse me, do you live around this area?」
My mother, who was a hunter, had told me before that sometimes, eccentric men lived deep in the mountains for research, such as sorcerers. This man clad in a robe might be one of those people.
「An unexpected situation right off the bat, huh…」
The red-haired man did not reply to my question. He just touched his unshaven beard and went into deep thought for a while.
「Well, I guess there’s nothing wrong with playing for a while. I still have some time before the mission starts, after all.」
An evil smile appeared on the man’s face. I just caught a glimpse of that sadistic smile, and yet, that was enough to make me shrink back in fear.
「Ah, I don’t mind even if you try to escape though. Rather, escape quickly. Things won’t get interesting otherwise.」
The man just snapped his fingers, and several pairs of beastly eyes appeared behind him.
「HIIIII!?」
The moment I saw those eyes, I felt a chill run down my spine. I couldn’t help but let out a light scream.
Then, the figure of a beast resembling a black dog slowly emerged from the darkness of the forest.
There was no doubt about it. This red-haired man controlled this beast and the others. And from what he said, it seemed he was going to let those dog-like beasts torture me alive.
Why? Why is it always me?
I held back the impulse to cry as I ran away as fast as I could. My breathing became dishevelled. My heart seemed like it was about to explode. My legs screamed in pain, begging me to stop running. Despite all that, I forced myself to keep running since I could feel that those beasts were still after me.
Due to my gift, 【The Most Incompetent in This World】, I had become too slow. Those beasts should’ve been able to easily catch up to me. However, they just leisurely followed me as if they were trying to slowly drive me into a desperate situation. Ironically, the only reason I was still alive was that the red-haired man, who controlled those beasts, wanted to enjoy hunting the fox, which was me.
I had no idea where to run anymore. I randomly ran according to my instincts. By now, I had already delved deep into the forest.
When I finally came out of the forest, I arrived in a place that resembled a small basin under a waterfall.
DAMMIT! I was completely cornered. I had no choice but to hide behind the waterfall. Well, it was much better than becoming those beasts’ food.
Forced with no other option, I ran into the waterfall under the small basin. There, I saw a small cave, large enough for one person to enter it.
If I follow this cave, I might be able to escape from them!
I felt really lucky to find a hiding place when I needed it the most.
Thank God! I headed inside the cave since I thought I wasn’t safe enough yet.
After god knows how long I had run for, I noticed a change on the wall and the ceiling of the cave. Instead of being made from natural soil formation, they were made of artificial stone created from reddish-brown soil.
Dozens of minutes later—No, maybe it wasn’t even ten minutes since I started running—I felt that my limbs, lungs, and heart had already reached their limit. Suddenly, I saw light at the end of the cave. Thank god! The other side of the cave is really connected to the outside. But, it’s supposed to be midnight, right?
「Eh?」
The place I arrived upon passing through the other entrance of the cave was a wasteland devoid of vegetation. Moreover, the sun was shining brightly above me.
What, in the hell, is this place? I mean, it was night right before I entered this cave under the waterfall. Yet, when I came out from the other side, it was day. What sorcery is this?
Okay, let’s calm down first! My body is already on its limits after running for so long. Let’s find an appropriate hiding place first. I should look around this place first. It might be a hidden place.
This wasteland was around 500 miles in radius. High cliffs surrounded it everywhere. Several dead trees were spread around the cliff, and there was also something that looked like a fountain. Moreover, there was a temple standing solemnly right in the center of the wasteland.
It seemed to me that this place had been built to hide that temple. Well, I had to quickly find a hiding place since the beasts could catch up to me any time. Even if just for a short period, I could at least fool those beasts by hiding in that temple. However, each of these beasts had a keen sense of smell, so ultimately, I had to prepare myself for the worst.
I turned around to check whether my pursuers had already entered this place or not, but―
「No way…」
This was the biggest shock I had received today. The entrance through which I had entered this place was not there. It had disappeared without any trace.
I rushed forward for a confirmation, but the result was the same. I couldn’t even find a trace of the entrance.
My mother had told me about this a long time ago. Some ruins had traps that blocked their entrances. This might be one of such traps.
I was trapped, but at the same time, saved from those beasts. That-red haired man might give up the pursuit. After all, for him, I was nothing more than a game to pass the time. He could lose interest in me if he couldn’t find me for a few days.
Since that was the case, I planned on using these few days to look for a way to get out of this place. That was the only option for me.
The first thing that I came with was the temple; it could be the key to escaping this place. Therefore, I decided to search that place first.
Later in the night, I suddenly got the urge to urinate. So, I woke up, left my tent, and rushed into the forest.
Normally, doing it in the vicinity of the camp would not be a problem. However, if I met another attendant of Rose during that time, it would become troublesome. Therefore, I went even deeper into the forest.
The forest had become even darker during the night. The moonlight couldn’t penetrate the forest since the trees were huge and their branches piled up on top of one another. Walking into the forest at night made me feel like I was falling into a bottomless swamp. After I had walked for a while—although I had been startled many times due to the cries of small animals—I was stunned to see a red-haired man dressed in a black robe suddenly appear out of nowhere from inside the forest.
Woah! That startled me for real this time! The man’s sudden appearance almost made me pee on my pants. I mean, this place was supposed to be a hinterland without human settlement right! Moreover, even though I had tried my best not to talk to the others unless it was really necessary, I still remembered the faces of Rose’s attendants. This man wasn’t one of them. There was no doubt about it. Could he be a hermit who lives around this area? I thought.
「Uhm, excuse me, do you live around this area?」
My mother, who was a hunter, had told me before that sometimes, eccentric men lived deep in the mountains for research, such as sorcerers. This man clad in a robe might be one of those people.
「An unexpected situation right off the bat, huh…」
The red-haired man did not reply to my question. He just touched his unshaven beard and went into deep thought for a while.
「Well, I guess there’s nothing wrong with playing for a while. I still have some time before the mission starts, after all.」
An evil smile appeared on the man’s face. I just caught a glimpse of that sadistic smile, and yet, that was enough to make me shrink back in fear.
「Ah, I don’t mind even if you try to escape though. Rather, escape quickly. Things won’t get interesting otherwise.」
The man just snapped his fingers, and several pairs of beastly eyes appeared behind him.
「HIIIII!?」
The moment I saw those eyes, I felt a chill run down my spine. I couldn’t help but let out a light scream.
Then, the figure of a beast resembling a black dog slowly emerged from the darkness of the forest.
There was no doubt about it. This red-haired man controlled this beast and the others. And from what he said, it seemed he was going to let those dog-like beasts torture me alive.
Why? Why is it always me?
I held back the impulse to cry as I ran away as fast as I could. My breathing became dishevelled. My heart seemed like it was about to explode. My legs screamed in pain, begging me to stop running. Despite all that, I forced myself to keep running since I could feel that those beasts were still after me.
Due to my gift, 【The Most Incompetent in This World】, I had become too slow. Those beasts should’ve been able to easily catch up to me. However, they just leisurely followed me as if they were trying to slowly drive me into a desperate situation. Ironically, the only reason I was still alive was that the red-haired man, who controlled those beasts, wanted to enjoy hunting the fox, which was me.
I had no idea where to run anymore. I randomly ran according to my instincts. By now, I had already delved deep into the forest.
When I finally came out of the forest, I arrived in a place that resembled a small basin under a waterfall.
DAMMIT! I was completely cornered. I had no choice but to hide behind the waterfall. Well, it was much better than becoming those beasts’ food.
Forced with no other option, I ran into the waterfall under the small basin. There, I saw a small cave, large enough for one person to enter it.
If I follow this cave, I might be able to escape from them!
I felt really lucky to find a hiding place when I needed it the most.
Thank God! I headed inside the cave since I thought I wasn’t safe enough yet.
After god knows how long I had run for, I noticed a change on the wall and the ceiling of the cave. Instead of being made from natural soil formation, they were made of artificial stone created from reddish-brown soil.
Dozens of minutes later—No, maybe it wasn’t even ten minutes since I started running—I felt that my limbs, lungs, and heart had already reached their limit. Suddenly, I saw light at the end of the cave. Thank god! The other side of the cave is really connected to the outside. But, it’s supposed to be midnight, right?
「Eh?」
The place I arrived upon passing through the other entrance of the cave was a wasteland devoid of vegetation. Moreover, the sun was shining brightly above me.
What, in the hell, is this place? I mean, it was night right before I entered this cave under the waterfall. Yet, when I came out from the other side, it was day. What sorcery is this?
Okay, let’s calm down first! My body is already on its limits after running for so long. Let’s find an appropriate hiding place first. I should look around this place first. It might be a hidden place.
This wasteland was around 500 miles in radius. High cliffs surrounded it everywhere. Several dead trees were spread around the cliff, and there was also something that looked like a fountain. Moreover, there was a temple standing solemnly right in the center of the wasteland.
It seemed to me that this place had been built to hide that temple. Well, I had to quickly find a hiding place since the beasts could catch up to me any time. Even if just for a short period, I could at least fool those beasts by hiding in that temple. However, each of these beasts had a keen sense of smell, so ultimately, I had to prepare myself for the worst.
I turned around to check whether my pursuers had already entered this place or not, but―
「No way…」
This was the biggest shock I had received today. The entrance through which I had entered this place was not there. It had disappeared without any trace.
I rushed forward for a confirmation, but the result was the same. I couldn’t even find a trace of the entrance.
My mother had told me about this a long time ago. Some ruins had traps that blocked their entrances. This might be one of such traps.
I was trapped, but at the same time, saved from those beasts. That-red haired man might give up the pursuit. After all, for him, I was nothing more than a game to pass the time. He could lose interest in me if he couldn’t find me for a few days.
Since that was the case, I planned on using these few days to look for a way to get out of this place. That was the only option for me.
The first thing that I came with was the temple; it could be the key to escaping this place. Therefore, I decided to search that place first.
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