Alex kept staring at the one-eyed, ball-shaped monster in front of him. Only then did he remember to open his status window and examine the creature, something he had completely forgotten to do in his panic.
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[STATUS WINDOW]
Monster Name: *?**$*@*
Level: *$*@**?*
—————————————
Alex's barely open eyes widened and he almost froze, staring at the status window. The monster's name was just a mess of symbols, like gibberish, or maybe it was hidden by something. Its level looked the same, unreadable or maybe impossible to measure.
What the heck is that? Alex screamed in his mind, his gaze darting from the status window to the one-eyed creature and back again, over and over.
Filled with a shock and reluctance he couldn't put into words, Alex closed the status window and waited, tense and silent, watching to see if the one-eyed ball monster would do anything.
Alex waited, and kept on waiting. His eyelids kept fluttering shut, heavy with exhaustion, and he had to bite his tongue just to keep himself from losing consciousness. Blood was pooling around him, pouring from his wounds, and the pain was so bad he almost wished he could just faint and escape it, rather than stay awake.
After a while, when the one-eyed ball monster still hadn't moved and its gaze was locked on him, Alex realized he had no choice. He had to do something. Gritting his teeth, he tried to reach for the potion clutched in his left hand. His hands were numb and trembling, no matter how hard he tried to steady them. He tried to bring his left palm to his face, to get the potion near his mouth, but his hand wouldn't move. It had stopped working entirely. Only his fingers twitched, weak and shaky. From his shoulder down, his whole arm felt paralyzed, maybe even broken, nerves and bones twisted in ways they shouldn't be.
"Aaarrghhh!" Alex screamed, forcing his upper body to lift just a little. With a desperate effort, he leaned his head toward the potion, his face now just inches away. But the vial was sealed tight, a cork in place keeping the potion from spilling.
"Aaahh!" Alex cried out, tears rolling down his cheeks. His voice cracked with agony as he shouted, "I can't do this anymore. It hurts too much."
Still, Alex forced himself to keep going. He bit down hard on his lower lip and pressed his mouth against the top of the vial. With his trembling fingers, he managed to lift and adjust the vial, bringing it right up to his mouth.
Alex opened his mouth, blood trickling down from his lips where he had bitten himself before to dull the pain. He gripped the cork with his teeth, yanked it free, and shoved the mouth of the vial into his mouth with his broken, barely moving left hand, which somehow found enough strength at the last moment.
The potion spilled into his mouth, some of it running down his chin and neck, but Alex drank as fast as he could, desperate not to waste a drop. He nearly choked trying to gulp it all down at once. The vial almost slipped from his weakening grip, but by some miracle, it didn't fall far—both his hands were limp on the ground, his back pressed against the floor, and all he could do was focus on swallowing the potion.
The potion spilled into his mouth, some of it running down his face and neck as he drank desperately, determined not to waste a single drop. He almost choked trying to gulp it all at once, but the vial stayed clamped between his teeth, even as his left hand gave out and both arms dropped limply to the floor. Lying flat on his back, Alex focused only on swallowing the potion, not caring about the mess or the awkwardness, just wanting to get every bit of healing he could.
And then, like a miracle, the potion started working right away. He felt his wounds begin to heal, new skin knitting over the open cuts. His broken bones snapped and creaked as they realigned and mended themselves.
Finally, the last drops of potion were gone. Alex let go of the vial and it fell beside him with a dull thud, but it didn't break. The glass was sturdy, though he figured it would have shattered if dropped from any higher. Since he was lying flat on the ground, the vial survived the fall.
Alex could feel the bleeding from his lower lip finally stop. He knew he'd swallowed some of his own blood with the potion, and the taste was terrible—full of dust and mud. It left a disgusting aftertaste in his mouth.
When the healing stopped, his body wasn't completely recovered, but most of the open wounds were now covered with fresh skin. He could move his hands and legs again, which hadn't been possible just moments before.
The healing potion must have been top quality, or else he wouldn't have healed this quickly. Still, some wounds stubbornly remained on his knees, back, and face. When he touched his face, he could feel rough calluses on his hand and scars all over his swollen skin. Some spots were still puffy where the elf had punched him.
Alex still had no idea why the elf had been so irritated or disappointed to see him weak. He had never met the elf before—except for that one time in the forest, when the elf was chasing some kidnappers. That was it.
Was it revenge because Alex's father had questioned the elf? Alex didn't know. The elf never explained why he was disappointed in Alex's weakness. Maybe the elf wanted to fight Alex because he couldn't fight Alex's father instead?
There were just too many questions, and the more he thought about them, the deeper the mysteries became. Alex had no clue what the elf really wanted. This was supposed to be a battleground where anyone could kill to earn points, but the elf hadn't killed him outright. He was just toying with Alex, for reasons Alex couldn't understand.
"Haah..." Alex let out a long, tired sigh. There were just too many questions, and even though his wounds were mostly healed, his whole body ached. It wasn't the sharp pain of injury, but a deep, lingering soreness—like the pain he felt after training too hard, when the next morning every muscle in his body would ache. That was what it felt like now, his body sore and tight, muscles burning with fatigue.
Alex needed rest. He needed real food. But the cave was small, and the walls closed him in on every side. The only possible exit seemed to be through the lake on his left. The one-eyed monster still watched him from its usual spot, and Alex turned his head to meet its unblinking stare.
There was so much he didn't know—how much time had passed, and whether the space would shrink again, and that black, sucking hole would appear here to suck away the space, just like it did in the last cave he'd been teleported into.
Alex didn't know much else, but he knew one thing for sure—he needed sleep. Deciding to rest, he summoned his daggers, gripping one in each hand for safety. With effort, he pushed himself to the cave wall, pressed his back against it, and closed his eyes, hoping he could finally get a little sleep.
***
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