Zeke barreled down the tunnels like a runaway train, his speed and injuries mingling to undermine any sense of control and sending him skidding into various cave walls as he tried to follow the tunnel’s twists and turns. Meanwhile, a horde of trolls were in hot pursuit, enraged by the murder of their fellows. He’d barely caught a glimpse of his pursuers, but what he’d seen had told him that this was a fight he simply couldn’t win. There was a huge difference between standing against long odds and committing suicide, and he had no illusions which category fighting the rest of those trolls would fall into. So, he ran, his bare feet slapping against the rocky ground as he traversed the maze of tunnels.

When he’d first been reincarnated in the blasted troll caves, the path had been relatively straightforward. However, soon after that first cavern in which he’d experienced his racial evolution, the cave system had spread out into a spiderweb of caverns, tunnels, and crevasses. Until this point, Zeke had simply followed his instincts when choosing a route, which had led him ever upward, his choices reinforced by the fact that the trolls continued to get stronger the further he went. That strategy had backfired, though, because he’d obviously angered what seemed like an entire village of the monsters, and he knew that if they reached him, he wouldn’t survive for long. Certainly, he might take a few with him, but there was no way Zeke could defeat so many – especially considering he’d been disemboweled and pushed to the end of his rope by only three.

Clutching his wounded belly, Zeke fled as fast as his feet could take him, randomly choosing his directions. And soon, he was rewarded with the discovery of a wide stream that crisscrossed a gargantuan cavern. Or perhaps it would’ve been better to call it a river, considering that it was at least fifty yards across. Stepping up to the edge, he peered down the length of the river, and he discovered that it soon disappeared underground. Just as Zeke was trying to figure out what to do, agony exploded in his shoulder as something slammed into him. The momentum of the blow was so great that it lifted him from his feet and sent him careening twenty feet towards the middle of the river.

Mid-air, another burst of pain erupted in his lower back before he splashed into the black water, the pain of his myriad wounds reaching an unprecedented level. Zeke fancied himself a fairly tough guy – and his experiences supported that assessment – but there was a limit to human endurance, a threshold he seemed to have finally reached. Unconsciousness threatened to overwhelm him, but it was staved off by the freezing water that enveloped him.

For a moment, panic seized his heart, but with a mental effort, he shoved it aside. After all, he’d been tempered by his months’ long, life-or-death struggle with the various trolls, so one more brush with mortality wasn’t enough to send him plummeting into panic. Quickly, Zeke took stock of his situation, noting that he had a pair of long, wrist-thick poles jutting from his body. Spears, his sluggish mind realized. These trolls had graduated from clubs to spears. And they were obviously skilled at using them, too. He’d been running at a breakneck pace, skidding across the tunnels without much rhyme or reason, and they’d still managed to hit him from forty yards away. Zeke would have been impressed if he wasn’t on the verge of passing out from blood loss and exhaustion.

The current was incredibly swift, and before Zeke could really take stock, he found himself being pulled beneath the water and below ground. Suddenly, one of the spears in his back snagged against the water-filled tunnel’s ceiling, and with an explosion of blood, the weapon was ripped free. Zeke let out a wordless scream, swallowing what felt like gallons of water as he was swept further down the underground river.

Thankfully, with his increased constitution, the necessity of breathing had been mitigated. He still needed oxygen, but it wasn’t as necessary as it had been before his rebirth into the new world. So, he didn’t run the risk of suffocating anytime soon. But he also had no idea when he’d get the chance to resurface, either. So, it was with mounting trepidation that he stopped wasting his energy on fighting the current; he couldn’t swim against it, anyway, so his only option was to ride it out.

At least he’d left the trolls far behind, though. That was the only bright side to his current situation, as far as he could tell.

No sooner had he thought that than he was spat out of the river, only to find himself in freefall. He windmilled his arms, but he was no more capable of flight than before, so he was soon plummeting down a steep, vertical shaft. Zeke fell for a few seconds before he splashed into a wide pool, soon banging his head against the unforgiving bottom of the pond.

Stars floated in front of his eyes, but his survival instinct, coupled with his monstrous durability, kept him conscious enough to push himself to the edge of the pool, where he soon collapsed upon the smooth rocks. Behind him, the waterfall roared, but otherwise, he was alone. It seemed that the trolls didn’t want to kill him badly enough to follow into the river. Though he had a sneaking suspicion that if they had, they wouldn’t have fared so well as him.

He lay there on his stomach for some indeterminate time, wallowing in his own pain. The wound in his stomach had broken open again, but at some point, his stomach wall had reformed, so at least he didn’t have to worry about his organs spilling out anymore. Still, the laceration was deep, and it had plenty of company. Wounds from his battle as well as his trip down the underground river crisscrossed his body.

Finally, a creeping numbness in Zeke’s shoulder reminded him of the spear still sticking out of his back. The thing had struck him just above his shoulder blade, so it wasn’t a life-threatening injury. But it hurt. A lot. And the wound wouldn’t heal until he removed the obstruction. So, reaching back with his other arm, he awkwardly grabbed the shaft and yanked the spear loose.

An anguished whimper escaped from between his lips. Without the adrenaline coursing through his veins, he could feel each laceration, every bruise, and the numerous broken bones throughout his body. And he wanted nothing more than to simply give up, then and there. The pain, he could mostly deal with. It wasn’t pleasant, but he knew it would eventually fade. However, he’d spent months climbing through the caves, and suddenly, he’d fallen back to the very bottom. What’s more, he’d found a challenge he couldn’t meet head-on.

Until now, Zeke hadn’t actually tasted defeat, and he’d grown confident in his strength. But now? He’d run away like a coward. Certainly, it was the right decision. Rationally, he knew he didn’t stand a chance against a dozen trolls or more. He had struggled with three, after all. But just because it was logical didn’t mean it sat well with him.

Oberon had told him that this new world needed heroes, and he had long since decided to answer that call. But what kind of hero runs away from dangerous monsters? Retreat was a valid tactic. He knew that. It didn’t make him feel any better about his obvious weakness, though.

Zeke lay unmoving for hours as his body repaired itself. Long after he normally would’ve risen, he remained motionless as he wrestled with his own feelings of inadequacy. It was the same as it had ever been; growing up, he’d never met his own expectations. Sure, he had been an elite baseball prospect with a bright future, but with each at-bat where he failed to get a hit, he couldn’t help but dwell on his shortcomings. He wanted to be perfect. That was the goal. And in a game where seven or eight times out of ten, you were likely to fail, that was not a productive attitude.

Zeke knew where it came from, too. His father had been a harsh taskmaster who demanded perfection at every turn. And what’s worse, he wasn’t shy about verbally abusing Zeke when he did fail. He’d been yelled at, both in public and in private, called a hundred derogatory names. It had been humiliating, especially in front of his friends, and it had given him something of a complex about failure. He had thought that, with his father’s sudden departure from his life, he’d conquered it for good, but lying there in that cave, it resurfaced anew. And it was at least as overwhelming as his other, more physical injuries.

After a while, Zeke realized something, though – he might have lost the battle, but it didn’t mean he had to lose the war. Sure, he wasn’t strong enough now, but who was to say how strong he could become? In a few levels, he might be able to take out an entire army of the monsters. And as for his father? Well, the man was dead and gone, and it wasn’t likely Zeke would ever see him again.

Zeke had died and was reborn. He had left the old world and his old life behind. It didn’t even exist anymore, according to Oberon. He’d fought tooth and nail so far, and he’d already overcome great odds. So, it was high time he left his old insecurities behind. With a mental push, he shoved his issues into the back of his mind and focused on what really mattered – survival.

Climbing the rest of the way out of the pool, Zeke examined his body. Every inch of him still ached, and some of the deeper wounds – most notably, the one in his belly – were still far from entirely healed. But he was mostly out of the woods, in terms of survival. Which left him with one more task to do before he resumed his long journey out of the cave system. When he’d killed the three trolls, he’d gained a level, so, with a little anticipation, he opened his status page.

After a few minutes, Zeke decided to split his points between agility, endurance, and vitality, allocating six points in agility, four points in vitality, and the remaining five in endurance.

Name

Ezekiel Blackwood

Class

n/a

Level

4

Race

Human (G)

Alignment

Isphodel

Achievements

First Blood, Hasty Evolution

Strength

45

Agility

41

Dexterity

40

Endurance

48

Vitality

47

Intelligence

39

Wisdom

37

Unassigned Attribute Points

0

Judging by his starting point, Zeke’s stats truly were getting monstrous, and he couldn’t help but wonder if other people had gotten the same opportunities he had. Surely, he hadn’t been singled out, but he found it difficult to believe that others would’ve chosen to mix the mushrooms and the water; most probably wouldn’t have even tried, instead rushing through the caves to reach the top. Perhaps it was a test, of sorts.

Shaking his head, Zeke rose to his feet and stretched. He couldn’t help but shiver. Not only had his clothes long since been ripped to shreds, but the caves were damp and clammy, which reminded him of the curious rock he’d looted from the troll. He took it out of the pouch he’d tied around his waist and injected a bit of many, causing a spark. If he could find something to burn, he could make a fire, but that was a big “if”, considering that the only wood he’d seen was his club and the spears the trolls had thrown at him.

Next, he looked at the small, stone-bladed knife. After running it across his arm, he found that it was sharp enough, but he knew it would prove too brittle to use in battle. Its original owner had probably thought the same, considering it hadn’t tried to stab him with it. Still, it was a good find, and he replaced the items in the pouch.

Finally, he examined the spear, and he was happy to note that it seemed well-balanced. It also had an iron tip, which made it far more suitable for battle than the knife. Though it was crude, it seemed solid, with the head held firmly in place by some sort of rawhide. Zeke suspected that it would prove a worthy addition to his arsenal, but he very much preferred his club, which he’d miraculously held onto during his trip down the waterfall.

With that done, he settled down against the cave wall to recuperate. At some point, he dozed off, and he slept a thankfully dreamless sleep.