Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56The chimera continued to advance until only five meters remained between it and me. After that, the beast also stopped and began to scrutinize me. The air around me became colder than it was already, then, I began to perceive something strange, it was a new emotion, I realized that what I was feeling was the killing instinct of the beast in front of me. Its violent "aura" made me shiver.
I realized I had to put myself back together as soon as possible, and then study my opponent.
Its eyes were not completely white, nor could I see mushrooms attached to it, so I found that I was not dealing with an Errant.
'If it is not an errant ... what is it?!'
I stood still, but on guard, waiting for my opponent's move.
Its tail began to wrap, while the end of it soared upward, curving forward at the height of its external ax-shaped skeleton. The way the beast moved its tail vaguely reminded me of a cobra.
'That tail of its seems the most dangerous thing'
The beast began to take a few steps toward me, I tightened my grip with both hands on the sword.
*gulp
I realized that it was finally time to fight.
Arriving only 2 meters from me, the beast threw its tail at me. I was expecting such a move from it and so I prepared to parry the impact of its bone ax with "Chaos".
*Swin
"WHAT ?!" Its tail veered in flight, dodging my sword. Now the ax of the beast was directed, with nothing more to block it, towards my face.
Instinctively, I let myself fall backward, however, I did not make in time to completely dodge the blow of the beast, which superficially wounded my right ear.
Immediately after that, I crawled back from it. The beast, in response, jumped on me, so, I rolled to the right and then got up.
The beast gave me no time to regroup.
'I have to exploit the environment ...'
I turned and ran away from the beast. It started following me at full speed.
*TUM!
"AHK!"
I felt an excruciating pain coming from my right side, shortly after I found myself rolling ruinously to my left, until hitting a pine trunk with my back.
"Ahkh" This last blow completely broke my breath, I spat some blood.
What struck me was the tail of the beast, however, fortunately, that blow did not manage to cut my fur. It was thanks to that incredible magical fur coat that Tsinzia had given me.
Suddenly I felt powerless, yet I couldn't afford to pass out. Luckily, during the impact, I had not lost my sword in hand.
The chimera started running towards me. Meanwhile, I tried to resume regular breathing as soon as possible.
With the strength that I had left, I got up and jumped to the left moments before the arrival of the beast, which just before had jumped with certainty towards me. The chimera could not stop its jump in time and, therefore, banged its head against the pine on which it itself had previously thrown me.
This mistake of its gave me some time to regroup. I looked around, seeing if there were things I could exploit in my favor, yet there was nothing.
'F*ck, has it already recovered?! ... but ... maybe this beast isn't that smart ...'. I realized that if I couldn't win in terms of strength, I had to win over inventiveness.
Due to the impact against the tree trunk the beast had sustained a wound, however, it did not seem to care much.
The beast approached me, I timidly took a few small steps back, holding my sword with both hands in front of me.
The beast began to wiggle its tail as it had done a few moments before.
'It wants to attack me like before, huh?'
'Mmh…'
"Heh …" for the absurd idea that came to my mind at that precise moment, I couldn't help but smile. However, in my head, that seemed like my only chance.
The beast launched a swipe of its tail, identical to the one that had injured my ear. History repeated itself, I tried to parry the blow with the sword, however, its tail veered and, exactly as before, it aimed at my face.
*Grin
I smiled like a madman.
Everything went according to my expectations, in fact, as soon as the tail of the beast veered in flight, I went down on all fours and then pushed myself forward with my legs, holding the sword in front of me with both hands. Like an arrow, I aimed at the chimera's "forehead". The beast did not try to dodge my blow, on the contrary, it stood there still.
My sword finally stabbed the target, piercing the space between its two eyes for a few inches.
'I did it-' unfortunately, I celebrated too soon, the tail of the beast, which I had lost sight of, hit me in the back making me crash to the ground.
"AHKH!" Upon impact, I could not hold back a vomit of blood.
…
I was lying on the ground. Slumped on my stomach on the bed of brown pine needles that formed the soil throughout the area's forest. My head became heavy, my eyes narrowed more and more, and my conscience seemed to slowly drift away from me.
How long did I stay in those conditions? I could not know, at that moment I was no longer aware of either the time or the environment around me. The only thing I was still vaguely aware of was the fact that I hadn't been devoured, and because of that, I knew I'd been able to defeat that cursed condor-headed beast.
'Ahh ... I did it ...' I felt a thread of pride in me, but above all, what I felt at that moment was an indescribable relief, combined with contentment. I had managed to save Marie, Tom, Leo, Lilya, and all those at the inn.
Unintentionally, a few tears fell from my eyes.
These first feelings slowly changed. There was still a hint of relief and contentment in me, which, however, slowly turned into pain, fear, cold, anger, and regret, and finally, perhaps the worst feeling came, an abnormal sense of relaxation.
…
..
.
"Not HERE!!" I screamed out loud. This caused severe pain in my chest but also rekindled a small fire in me.
I wanted to "live".
I gritted my teeth and with the last strength I had, I stretched my right arm forward, towards my sword, grabbed it, and with it helped me to get up. As I got up from the ground, I also saw a small pool of blood at the height of where my head was before.
With each breath, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, and every moment standing up I felt more and more pain in my back.
During the time I had been on the ground, it had grown dark around me.
'How long did I stay on the ground ... ?!'
I asked my magic compass to show me the way to the "Brown Bear" inn, therefore, I walked towards it.
I walked staggering, carrying "Chaos" in weight while crawling with the tip on the ground, and my eyelids became heavy.
After a few minutes of walking, I saw a light in the distance, they were two men, one of them with a lantern in his hand.
I walked over to them and tried to get their attention, however, I was no longer able to speak.
Fortunately, one of them saw me in the darkness of the forest, pointed his finger at me, and both of them then ran to help me with faces that were both happy and worried.
I let out a smile, then, unwittingly, my eyes closed.
That would be my last memory of that day.
{TO BE CONTINUED}
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Flames of Fate What warms the heart
At the moment of my awakening, I found myself in a rather familiar room, it was the bedroom where I had my first sleep in that world. I was therefore in the residence of Rivorio. 'How did I end up here ...' I noticed that I did not feel pain along my body, it surprised me not a little, so I tried to sit up, however, as soon as I tried to lift my torso, an excruciating pain ran all over my back. "AHHKh!" As absurd as it may sound, the back pain I felt at the time was even worse than what I felt during the fight with the chimera. I remembered, then, that it was the same in football, and similarly in all sports, when you recive a foul, the real pain comes at the end of the day when your body has cooled down and the adrenaline in your body is reduced. Because of that pain, I could not help but lie down again. *Gurgle My belly began to grumble, I was incredibly hungry. Unable to move, I realized that my only chance to get Rivorio to notice me was to scream, although I didn't like the
Flames of Fate The substance that shaped the history of the world
When I was left alone in the room, I finally cleared my mind about what had happened.'This time I really risked dying ... however, having managed to defeat that chimera ...'My actions last day made me happy and proud at the same time, after all, in the world I came from I was certainly not considered a brave person.I checked my pants pockets. As I suspected they were empty.'So they used the flowers I picked for Marie…' Of course, I couldn't be sure without asking Rivorio, but I was convinced it went just like that.I looked around, I saw my fur coat hanging on a small clothes rack, placed next to the wardrobe to my right. As absurd as it may seem, I only noticed in that instant that I was not wearing it and that both my clothes and my body were clean.'Hmm, I guess I have to thank Rivorio for that ...'Not being able to leave the room, I stayed all day staring at the ceiling above me, thinking back to the absurd first two days spent in my new home.'So this will be my new home ...
Flames of Fate Mana
"What idea do you have about mana?" Rivorio suddenly asked me."I don’t know ... but ..." Having no direct experience with this "energy", I focused on thinking about fantasy stories or video games from my world where it was present."Mana ... I think it is a kind of energy present in nature ...and which can be absorbed and fruited to do absurd things ... like spells or other ...""EHH, of course, of course, I was asking you more in detail ...". Rivorio muttered, "well, actually mana itself is hard to describe, as its nature is changeable and sometimes it behaves as if it were made of matter, other times it feels like something else ... mana, as you said, is present everywhere in nature, and sometimes it is also present in objects… ”. He paused with thoughtful faces, "For a human being, imagining mana is difficult, that's why first of all you need to learn to perceive it ... after you are able to perceive it, you will finally have an idea of what mana is ..."'Oh … mmh, indeed, if I ex
Flames of Fate An almost peaceful day
I followed Marie to the inn, where a small banquet organized by Lilya and Tom was waiting for me. Like the first time, as soon as I walked through the door of the inn, everyone inside turned their attention to me, however, this time their gaze was filled with gratitude.Some people approached me, thanking me and shaking my hand as a sign of respect, and others asked me how I had done it. Finally, they invited me to drink and eat with them, I couldn't tell them "no", and so, a kind of party began, a party that gave off a familiar warmth, in which, strangely, I never felt out of place.The food wasn't much, and the beer wasn't the best, however, everything in there seemed to taste better.We danced and sang in chorus for hours, not worrying about the noise we made, until it got dark.Many began to doze off on the ground and the party slowly faded away.Only Tom, Lilya, Marie, and I remained awake. We sat in creaking chairs and around a circular table. As soon as I sat down, my head beg
Flames of Fate A sad past
As soon as I asked him, I saw in him a reaction that I did not expect. It wasn't irritation, that in his eyes was fear, fear of rethinking the past.We sat facing each other as we ate breakfast on the table in the living room.He didn't seem to have had a hangover from the previous day, maybe he had drunk some of his potions.I strangely did not feel bad, just a slight headache.I had just asked Rivorio why he didn't leave the house.He tried to sidetrack the question by changing the subject several times, however, his tactic didn't work for me. I wanted to know about his past, my grandfather always told me: >."I don't want to talk about it ..." Rivorio finally admitted that there was something in his past that he didn't want to talk about."Mmh ... but ... if you tell me about it I cou
Flames of Fate Growth
I spent most of the following months training and studying the plants and animals in the area, which I needed to survive out there.First of all, I had to learn how to perceive mana. To do this, I followed the advice of the book that Rivorio had given me.As Rivorio had also told me, the book explained how the simplest way to achieve this was to risk your life in deadly combat with preferably magical beasts.However, as much as I wanted to perceive mana as soon as possible, I would not have willingly wanted to risk my life. For this, I decided to follow another path described by the book, based on meditation, breathing exercises, and physical effort.Meditation, thanks to the herbal tea for which Rivorio gave me the recipe, turned out to be quite simple, in fact, already after five days I was able to meditate for hours and hours without getting tired.Physical exertion, as reported in the book, served to make the body aware of mana fluttering in the air, and was obviously achieved wit
Flames of Fate Sad goodbyes
Rivorio then began to tell me in detail about the northern part of the region we were in, advising me to choose the fortress city of SaarKal as the first stop on my journey. SaarKal was not a very large city, having a population, at the last census, of about 18,000 inhabitants; it was, however, the fastest-growing city in the region. Tom then spoke to me of many rumors that indicated this city as the city with the strongest body of knights in the region, and that, that was the reason for the splendor of the city. Rivorio then showed me the roads I should take to get to SaarKal. This city was northwest of where I was and it would take me three weeks on foot to reach it. 'Mmh ... and those two cities ...' I noticed two cities quite close to each other, these seemed bigger than SaarKal. "Sorry Rivorio ... and these two cities?" They were located in the extreme northeast of the Saar region. "Ehhh ..." At my question, Rivorio frowned. "These two are the cities of Fo and Vert ... they
Flames of Fate towards SaarKal
When the sun went down we decided to settle on a natural clearing among the trees, staying close to the road that led north.Fortunately, the first day of walking ended smoothly, in fact, we did not meet anyone that day.The group of merchants I traveled with consisted of three people: a man in his fifties named Ruh, a woman and a man in their thirties, named Sofie and Rick. Apparently, the latter had decided to start a family when they arrived in SaarKal.Ruh had a massive physique, was tall, and dressed in a dark gray medieval tunic. He had blue eyes and short blond hair. The first time I saw him he gave me the idea that he was some kind of Viking or something, he didn't look like a merchant at all, and instinct told me he was very good at fighting.Sofie and Rick, on the other hand, didn't have the same "aura" as him, they looked like two normal merchants. She was dressed in a dark blue suit, now a bit worn, while he had a thin physique, and did not seem to hide much strength. They
Latest Chapter
- Flames of Fate
SaarKal
And so, Ruh told me his story and how he had met Rick and Sofie.Ruh, as I had guessed, was once a warrior, or rather, a knight belonging to an order called "Lion's Heart". This order, as the name suggests, was made up of the bravest knights of the Saar region, and was born about seventy years before my arrival in that world.When this order of knights was born, this world was at the dawn of the advance of the Plagues armies, especially the first Plague from the north, in the Saar region.All the craziest and most complicated missions that were devised to try to stop the Plagues were given to the knights of this order.Ruh was born in a small town northwest of a few inhabitants named Vidù. This town fell to the First Plague army when Ruh was only 8 years old. Almost all the inhabitants of Vidù were massacred.Ruh was one of the few who escaped this massacre, hiding in time by his parents in a secret underground closet. Ruh, that day, from that closet, heard the screams and the bodies
- Flames of Fate
towards SaarKal
When the sun went down we decided to settle on a natural clearing among the trees, staying close to the road that led north.Fortunately, the first day of walking ended smoothly, in fact, we did not meet anyone that day.The group of merchants I traveled with consisted of three people: a man in his fifties named Ruh, a woman and a man in their thirties, named Sofie and Rick. Apparently, the latter had decided to start a family when they arrived in SaarKal.Ruh had a massive physique, was tall, and dressed in a dark gray medieval tunic. He had blue eyes and short blond hair. The first time I saw him he gave me the idea that he was some kind of Viking or something, he didn't look like a merchant at all, and instinct told me he was very good at fighting.Sofie and Rick, on the other hand, didn't have the same "aura" as him, they looked like two normal merchants. She was dressed in a dark blue suit, now a bit worn, while he had a thin physique, and did not seem to hide much strength. They
- Flames of Fate
Sad goodbyes
Rivorio then began to tell me in detail about the northern part of the region we were in, advising me to choose the fortress city of SaarKal as the first stop on my journey. SaarKal was not a very large city, having a population, at the last census, of about 18,000 inhabitants; it was, however, the fastest-growing city in the region. Tom then spoke to me of many rumors that indicated this city as the city with the strongest body of knights in the region, and that, that was the reason for the splendor of the city. Rivorio then showed me the roads I should take to get to SaarKal. This city was northwest of where I was and it would take me three weeks on foot to reach it. 'Mmh ... and those two cities ...' I noticed two cities quite close to each other, these seemed bigger than SaarKal. "Sorry Rivorio ... and these two cities?" They were located in the extreme northeast of the Saar region. "Ehhh ..." At my question, Rivorio frowned. "These two are the cities of Fo and Vert ... they
- Flames of Fate
Growth
I spent most of the following months training and studying the plants and animals in the area, which I needed to survive out there.First of all, I had to learn how to perceive mana. To do this, I followed the advice of the book that Rivorio had given me.As Rivorio had also told me, the book explained how the simplest way to achieve this was to risk your life in deadly combat with preferably magical beasts.However, as much as I wanted to perceive mana as soon as possible, I would not have willingly wanted to risk my life. For this, I decided to follow another path described by the book, based on meditation, breathing exercises, and physical effort.Meditation, thanks to the herbal tea for which Rivorio gave me the recipe, turned out to be quite simple, in fact, already after five days I was able to meditate for hours and hours without getting tired.Physical exertion, as reported in the book, served to make the body aware of mana fluttering in the air, and was obviously achieved wit
- Flames of Fate
A sad past
As soon as I asked him, I saw in him a reaction that I did not expect. It wasn't irritation, that in his eyes was fear, fear of rethinking the past.We sat facing each other as we ate breakfast on the table in the living room.He didn't seem to have had a hangover from the previous day, maybe he had drunk some of his potions.I strangely did not feel bad, just a slight headache.I had just asked Rivorio why he didn't leave the house.He tried to sidetrack the question by changing the subject several times, however, his tactic didn't work for me. I wanted to know about his past, my grandfather always told me: >."I don't want to talk about it ..." Rivorio finally admitted that there was something in his past that he didn't want to talk about."Mmh ... but ... if you tell me about it I cou
- Flames of Fate
An almost peaceful day
I followed Marie to the inn, where a small banquet organized by Lilya and Tom was waiting for me. Like the first time, as soon as I walked through the door of the inn, everyone inside turned their attention to me, however, this time their gaze was filled with gratitude.Some people approached me, thanking me and shaking my hand as a sign of respect, and others asked me how I had done it. Finally, they invited me to drink and eat with them, I couldn't tell them "no", and so, a kind of party began, a party that gave off a familiar warmth, in which, strangely, I never felt out of place.The food wasn't much, and the beer wasn't the best, however, everything in there seemed to taste better.We danced and sang in chorus for hours, not worrying about the noise we made, until it got dark.Many began to doze off on the ground and the party slowly faded away.Only Tom, Lilya, Marie, and I remained awake. We sat in creaking chairs and around a circular table. As soon as I sat down, my head beg
- Flames of Fate
Mana
"What idea do you have about mana?" Rivorio suddenly asked me."I don’t know ... but ..." Having no direct experience with this "energy", I focused on thinking about fantasy stories or video games from my world where it was present."Mana ... I think it is a kind of energy present in nature ...and which can be absorbed and fruited to do absurd things ... like spells or other ...""EHH, of course, of course, I was asking you more in detail ...". Rivorio muttered, "well, actually mana itself is hard to describe, as its nature is changeable and sometimes it behaves as if it were made of matter, other times it feels like something else ... mana, as you said, is present everywhere in nature, and sometimes it is also present in objects… ”. He paused with thoughtful faces, "For a human being, imagining mana is difficult, that's why first of all you need to learn to perceive it ... after you are able to perceive it, you will finally have an idea of what mana is ..."'Oh … mmh, indeed, if I ex
- Flames of Fate
The substance that shaped the history of the world
When I was left alone in the room, I finally cleared my mind about what had happened.'This time I really risked dying ... however, having managed to defeat that chimera ...'My actions last day made me happy and proud at the same time, after all, in the world I came from I was certainly not considered a brave person.I checked my pants pockets. As I suspected they were empty.'So they used the flowers I picked for Marie…' Of course, I couldn't be sure without asking Rivorio, but I was convinced it went just like that.I looked around, I saw my fur coat hanging on a small clothes rack, placed next to the wardrobe to my right. As absurd as it may seem, I only noticed in that instant that I was not wearing it and that both my clothes and my body were clean.'Hmm, I guess I have to thank Rivorio for that ...'Not being able to leave the room, I stayed all day staring at the ceiling above me, thinking back to the absurd first two days spent in my new home.'So this will be my new home ...
- Flames of Fate
What warms the heart
At the moment of my awakening, I found myself in a rather familiar room, it was the bedroom where I had my first sleep in that world. I was therefore in the residence of Rivorio. 'How did I end up here ...' I noticed that I did not feel pain along my body, it surprised me not a little, so I tried to sit up, however, as soon as I tried to lift my torso, an excruciating pain ran all over my back. "AHHKh!" As absurd as it may sound, the back pain I felt at the time was even worse than what I felt during the fight with the chimera. I remembered, then, that it was the same in football, and similarly in all sports, when you recive a foul, the real pain comes at the end of the day when your body has cooled down and the adrenaline in your body is reduced. Because of that pain, I could not help but lie down again. *Gurgle My belly began to grumble, I was incredibly hungry. Unable to move, I realized that my only chance to get Rivorio to notice me was to scream, although I didn't like the
