Ken and Ren dashed through the forest. The trees cracked behind them as the horde of monster-like bears followed; their growls shook Ren's bones. Every second that passed could mean death for Ren.
"Run faster!"
"I'm… going… ahh… as fast as… I can…"
Ren panted as he tried to speak. He was using every ounce of strength he could just to run away.
"Turn left."
Ren followed, and so Ken smiled.
"Good, at least you can do that right. These Adams hate any place where there isn't snow. That also includes rivers, but since we're in Artis, rivers freeze, so we'll be able to escape on the surface going straight while Adams are forced to go around. Of course, we could even wait on the lake if need be, but I prefer to move the plan along."
"One, why the hell are these monsters called Adams? Who the hell gave them a simple name like that? Two, why are they even scared of anything that's not snow?"
"You really are an idiot, you know that, right? Wait, no, I shouldn't be mean to a newborn… technically a newborn since you don't have memories. There's still so much I need to cover about the world, and there's also my vow. You might think that my vow is over since you agreed, but you're wrong. The vow continues until EVERYONE dies. Just focus on running for now, I'm trying to remember everything I can about them."
"I thought you already did!"
"I thought of how to attack and escape. I can even predict the terrain, but the one damn thing I can't predict is you! And you just had to make the worst damn possible action."
The trees had finally given way, and right ahead was a frozen lake as Ken had said. It was wide, and the other side of the lake was barely visible to the naked eye.
The crackling of the trees breaking was growing fewer and farther, and the growls had almost been drowned out by the sound of the falling snow.
Ren started to slow down. His heart was beating as fast as his steps, his blood was circulating as fast as it could, and his muscles could barely move. His body ached all over, and his mind was clouded by pain and thoughts running rampant.
"Finally, I'm safe."
"HAHAHA, you think you're safe in this hell?! I'm really about to die laughing because of your stupidity, HAHA, it's just so damn funny. The reason why the Adams in Artis avoid anything that isn't white is because it's the only location that isn't dangerous. Everything that isn't covered in snow is basically a sign to them that there's something stronger there, so think, what could be able to scare a Rank 9 Adam? It's obvious, isn't it? It's a Rank 8 monster. HAHA."
The ice broke right behind Ren's back. His face turned pale as he realized his mistake.
'I'm… such a fool, this damn world really is hell.'
He never really stopped running. His legs immediately started running like before, maybe even more. His mind was screaming at Ken for not telling him something as important as that, while Ken was laughing, almost dying again just from laughing.
"Just HAHA just… just run faster. I'm out of breath from laughing at your stupidity. Okay, this time you just need to make it across the river, then you can take a small break considering we need to find food."
"Can you tell me at least what the monster is? I feel like not being able to look back right now is gnawing at my sanity."
Ken grinned.
"Sure, sure. The Rank 8 monster is known as Diamondback, not because it's literally made out of diamonds, but rather because its skin is comparable to the durability of diamonds. As such, none of your weapons would be able to harm it. It's similar to a snake, or like a giant worm that can swim underwater. Its main weakness is fire, but no normal fire would be able to harm it."
"Then… actually, how fast can it kill me?"
"Mmm… faster than you think. It would take only a second and you'll be dead. Not only is its jaw force strong enough to make your bones and muscles useless, it's also able to break normal armor just as fast."
After a while of constant running and slightly maneuvering away from the most shattered parts of the ice ahead of him, caused by the ramming of the Diamondback while it chased Ren with hunger—
Ren was about to cry out of sheer joy simply because the distance from shore was becoming closer and closer, and yet it was too late, for the Diamondback had already opened its mouth right behind Ren, mere inches from encasing him in its jaws.
'Agh, of course a Rank 8 would be faster than me. No matter how much the ice slowed it down, I still wouldn't be able to run away simply because I'm weaker. So is this the end?'
"Automatically recorded, page three opened."
With that, everything collapsed. The fabric of reality folded on itself, the skies were crackling, and the rivers seemed to have changed color to black. Yet it changed back almost as if it was an illusion.
Ken's voice crackled in the back. His voice was coming from everywhere and yet right next to him.
'The illusionist?! Wait, no…'
"Did you have fun in this little ability of ours?"
"What… what's happening?"
"Ren, think long and hard… fast and hard about the last time reality for you seemed to be broken. What was the first thing I told you?"
Without even being given a chance to think, the words came out of his mouth, and the world changed back to a familiar scene.
"Run." Those were the words that came out of his mouth without even himself knowing it, and as if listening to his words, his body moved. They were already running, but now they were taking longer strides, and he was also able to avoid all the upcoming obstacles, for he already knew what was going to happen.
And right before him once again lay the frozen lake where the Adams had slowly stopped their pursuit.
This time, he did not hurriedly run onto the ice, for he knew what lay in its depths.
"Ken, explain now."
"Well, it's simple. It's a part of OUR abilities. I simply activated it for you so you can naturally feel how to use it. Of course, I'll now be unable to do this for a while because I need to gather up more energy, it's really such a pain. Think of the skill as a sort of revelation, but honestly, it's not a skill. For now, you wouldn't even be able to understand a fraction of it for a second."
After a while of carefully avoiding the perimeter of the Diamondback's location and glancing at Ken's form, he noticed that Ken seemed to be more pale than even Ren was in the reflection. The sun was already retreating back, and yet that only made them both tense. They knew it made them tense, but it was hard to think which was more tense than the other.
They carefully reached the shore. Ren tested his footing on the ground almost as if it might burn him alive or maybe even eat him.
"Please don't bring back those memories, Ren… just walk. Artis isn't that dangerous once you get used to it."
'I'M NOT USED TO IT, THAT'S THE PROBLEM!'
Ren screamed in his mind, not daring to speak out loud, as he was too wary of alerting any possible monsters.
"So overall, we ended up attempting to hunt an Adam and someone failed miserably. We ran quite a bit, then you met the Diamondback snake and ended up… would have ended up dying if not for it being a revelation of sorts caused by yours truly."
'We literally ended up doing nothing the entire day.'
"That's where you're wrong, Ren. You will come to learn how to use the skill/ability that I used for you. We were able to conduct an assessment on your physical and logical abilities and your ability to live in hell. You've also grown the tiniest bit stronger. That run might as well have counted as a marathon, and yet you were able to mentally continue, even enduring the pain and realization of imminent death. So overall, Ren, not a bad day."
'You're the only one who could say that with a straight face, you know that?'