CHAPTER 3 – ESCAPE

It had been over ten years since Arsene was born, but he knew very little about the outside world.

This is because the only way he could learn about the world was through the sagas of knights and servants who could go out and about, or the stories of other adults.

Their stories were a mixture of facts, bravado, and superstition, making it impossible to tell what was real and what was fake, and most of them were unreliable information.

As they said in the first place, it would be absurd for the chief servant and the soldiers to be smashed by a gang of looters.

When he talked about his saga, didn’t he say that he slashed dozens of marauders with a single swing of his sword?

Contrary to their bravado, they were helplessly defeated and killed by some looters who may not even be in the hundreds or thousands.

‘From here on out is the territory outside the fortress…’

Walking a little further past the barrier, commonly called “The Fortress,” there was a part where the color of the land changed.

The interior of the fortress, where he was born and lived, was a brown soil no different from the earth, but there was a section where the color of the ground changed as if an invisible wall had split it.

The light purple soil made him feel bad just by looking at it.

Since crops couldn’t be planted on this land, people had to eat the meat of the hunted beasts or a small number of crops grown in the narrow fortresses and sell the hides and bones of the beasts to merchants who come and go from nearby forts or territories.

[The air outside is simply awful. A trained person like me can stand it, but an average person will get dizzy and fall to death even if they walk around a little!]

He recalled the words of a soldier who was engrossed in his pride with a sullen face over a glass of wine.

It was not possible to determine whether Arsene, who had awakened his mana, would be able to withstand it better than the soldier, or whether the young body would be able to withstand it even if it had mana.

In the first place, he had never learned exactly how mana works.

According to the stories he picked up over his shoulder and his own experience, it was certain that he had a much stronger physical ability than the general public, but would it give him resistance to external poisons?

If there was no resistance, the only thing waiting for Arsene after leaving the citadel was death.

[I heard that if you eat the one-year-old grass, it reduces the poison.]

[Didn’t you hear that eating a horned wolf’s heart strengthens the ability to withstand poison?]

He remembered all the folk remedies that other adults taught him, but there was no way to trust them nor practice.

The one-year-old grass was weak, but it was a plant that was stepped on and removed as soon as it looked poisonous, and the horned wolf was a kind of magic creature.

Except for the method of using materials that are not available right away, all that was left was the tale that if you step on the ground with only one foot, less poison enters.

He couldn’t openly say “You’re talking nonsense” in front of the servant who told him the story, but that was the only answer he could think of when he heard it.

‘I have no choice but to go.’

For safety reasons, it is best not to breathe outside air, but this citadel was no longer safe.

Lord Lenock, who usually returns within a few hours if he goes out hunting, did not return, and the fortress that was not guarded by any living person did not play a meaningful role other than to prevent poison.

It was only normal for soldiers to shoot bows from the citadel or swing their spears and defeat small looters, but now they were all dead.

If rumors of a fortress that has already been targeted and looted spread and another gang comes to use it as a shelter, he will die or become a slave immediately.

Arsen, who had learned this, mustered up his courage and took a few steps out of the realm.

“Well.”

As soon as he came outside, the smell of the air itself changed.

There was a sweet, disgusting smell from an old trash can.

In case he felt dizzy later, he took a few deep breaths with his feet slightly crossed in order to quickly pass the area, and after he got a little used to the disgusting smell, he didn’t feel weak or dizzy anymore.

Arsene, having confirmed some degree of safety, moved forward.

The destination was the Beluan Territory, which is said to be located all the way west of Lenock’s fortress.

As the sun was setting soon, he had to navigate through the constellations, sleep in the woods, and then set off.

The choice of this method was largely influenced by the fact that he heard the story of Sir Lenock, a knight in my own way.

The night is safer than the day. Most beasts sleep at night. If you don’t make a commotion, there’s little risk of being attacked. Only the looters attack at night.]

The reason is unknown, but the beasts do not attack at night. When an enemy attacks, it moves for self-defense, but does not attack preemptively.

It wasn’t 100% reliable information, but he decided to believe it and go to sleep in the forest.

At least he knew which direction was west of the citadel, so he kept walking with his back to the citadel until sunset.

He was worried about what would happen if a gang of looters or beasts appeared, but he was lucky and never encountered the enemy.

After walking like that for several hours, perhaps thanks to the awakening of his magical powers, even at night, his field of vision did not narrow as much as he had expected.

Previously, even inside the citadel, the lights were rarely turned on at night, so even if it was a little late, he could not walk around, but now he could see the objects around in considerable detail only with the faint green moonlight.

It’s much more inconvenient than during the day, but at least it’s enough to identify trees and judge the surrounding environment.

Perhaps because of the moonlight, he felt like he was wearing night-vision goggles.

Arsene himself did not notice, but his magical eyes were shining like a wild animal’s in exchange for seeing through the night.

‘I think I’ll go to sleep now.’

The night was a good time to travel as you weren’t attacked by the beasts, but if you do not arrive at your destination by the next morning, you have to sleep among the beasts who are actively roaming around looking for prey.

On top of that, he was very tired because he was nervous after going through the crisis of life and death several times that day.

He picked out a bush nearby and reached out to sleep, but pulled out his hand in a stinging feeling.

“Oh, s*it.”

Maybe it was because it was night and his vision was blurred, so he didn’t know it was a thorn bush, he reached out and stabbed his finger.

Sucking on the tips of his bloody fingers, he carefully scoured the surrounding bushes, and plucked out the thornless ones to create a light hideout.

Surprisingly, nearly 80% of the bushes in that area were thorny.

‘A world that does not welcome other creatures…’

Thinking that even the plants outside were surprisingly combative, Arsene, who made simple beds and blankets out of bushes, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Despite his uncomfortable bed, his consciousness subsided as if he was falling into the sea, perhaps due to fatigue.

Despite being so tired, he had a dream.

In the dream, the man Arsene had beaten to death the day before appeared and swung a sword at him.

Over and over again.

The next morning, Arsene opened his eyes in a dreary mood, feeling the sunlight coming down through the trees stinging his eyes.

He lifted the thicket covering his body and took his sword and bag, thankful that he didn’t fall asleep forever overnight due to the poison.

First, he took out a piece of jerky from his leather bag, put it in his mouth, then put some water in it.

It was one of the techniques he learned while living in this world, as the jerky soaked in water and made it soft and easy to chew.

Because he was thirsty, he drank water occasionally and ate a piece of beef jerky before he got back up and started walking.

The only answer was to go west in the direction secured yesterday.

The sun was shining brightly, but unfortunately, the surroundings did not look beautiful.

The ground was still a dull purple, and the trees were growing from side to side. Some grew up twirling around like a spring.

Sometimes, there were hard and sharp leaves, so I had to cut off the branches that blocked his way with the sword he brought, instead of just using his hands.

It occurred to him that if looters lived in forests like this, he would understand their madness and violence.

It was such an unkind and bizarre space that even high-class religious people would complain of mental illness.

How long did he walk? A subtle tap came from Arsene’s sensitive ears.

Realizing that it was the sound of footsteps, Arsene immediately stopped and listened.

Something was approaching at high speed from the back.

He tried to look around for a place to escape, but the sound of footsteps approached him in an instant and appeared through the grass, revealing its identity.

It seemed that he was planning to attack from behind at once, but when he saw the blade, he hesitated a step and barked as hard as he could to express his resolve.

“Bark!!!”

What appeared was a wolf-like low-level beast, a horned wolf.

It looks quite alike, but it was about half as big as a wolf, with its jaws split from side to side and a goat-like horn.

There was a myth that eating its heart would help you overcome the poison.

Other than that, there was absolutely no information about the horned wolf that Arsene knew. At times he saw the bodies of the hunted horned wolf.

Unfortunately, the information he knew was of no nutritional value, as he was looking at the horned wolf in front of him now.

“Grrrrr!”

Unlike the appearance of the horned wolf, he roared low and hovered around Arsene.

He probably came to hunt because he thought it was a wounded animal after smelling blood.

However, the opponent seemed to be in conflict because he was a human holding a knife without any sign of injury.

The area around there was near the Krata castle, where the horned wolves were frequently hunted, so the humans were judged to be a natural enemy rather than an easy-to-eat prey by the horned wolves. That’s why it didn’t immediately attack but hovered around.

To the horned wolf, Arsene was smaller than other humans and looked like a cub, but with the same sharp fangs.

“Come on, come on, doggie… Let’s break up with each other, huh? There’s nothing good about fighting.”

Arsene stepped back slowly with his sword out in front.

It reminded him of a story he had picked up from Earth, that when you ran into a beast, you should never turn around and run.

It was not known whether it was applicable only to cats, all wild animals, or even the beasts of this world, but at least it was clear that running back and being attacked was the worst development.

Because he didn’t know how strong the horned wolf was, he didn’t know if he could win by fighting, but if he started bleeding while fighting, it could gather all the beasts of the forest.

In line with Arsene’s slow retreat, the horned wolf also slowly advanced and barked as if threatening.

Unfortunately, it soon became clear that it was wrong to confront the horned wolf.

A little distance apart, the horned wolf raised its head toward the sky and let out a long howling like a wolf, and a howling sound similar to that of the horned wolf was heard in the distance.

‘You’re telling me it is the same as a wolf?’

The horned wolf was also a pack animal, even though it was much bigger than a wolf.

Realizing that he had no choice, Arsene clenched his teeth and swung the sword at the horned wolf in front of him.

It was a much faster and stronger swing than that of an average person, but due to lack of skill, he couldn’t cut off its head and just injured its shoulder.

When Arsene rushed in, the horned wolf, who was charging against him, jumped undauntedly despite its injury, and when Arsene instinctively raised his left arm and tried to block it, it bit his arm.

Arsene shrieked at the sharp tooth sensation, swinging the sword in his right hand and cutting the horned wolf’s belly.

“You son of a bitch!”

After several stabs and kicks with his feet, the weakened horned wolf pulled its strength from its jaw and fell to the ground.

The sight of blood spurting from the hole in his arm made him sick, but unfortunately, there was no room for first aid.

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There were three additional horned wolves appearing through the bushes here and there.

“Oh, Misters Wolves. This guy here wasn’t killed by me… You wouldn’t believe me if I said that, would you?”

Arsene, who had a gut feeling that the lie had failed as they growled with their teeth exposed, immediately turned around and ran as hard as he could.

The howling heard from behind was full of hatred for the prey that killed their companion.