Darkness enveloped Owen. He could see nothing. He could hear nothing. None of his muscles obeyed his commands. He couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open or closed. Despite that, he was aware of himself. He could feel his own body. A cool sensation enveloped his legs. In contrast, throbbing pain gripped his chest. It burned, but he couldn’t tell how bad the wound was in this darkness.

Ah, this is the same feeling like whenever I got knocked out in the ring, he realized.

Indeed, he recalled experiencing something similar whenever he lost consciousness in matches. Even when it lasted only a few seconds, it would feel several times longer. He remembered the first time it happened like it was yesterday. It had been during his first professional match. Although he had asked his coach if that was how everyone felt like when falling unconscious, the oaf only replied with a shrug. Others often mentioned not experiencing anything at all.

Until this moment, Owen had forgotten about those occurrences. In fact, he had often wondered if he simply fell into a dream-like state whenever it happened. Now, however, the intense pain from the deep cuts on his chest forced him to accept that it was something more like half-consciousness.

For what felt like several minutes, he floated in this state. All he could do was wait for some external source to force his body awake or to wake up naturally. Luckily, it ended up being the former. A cold droplet of water splashed against his forehead. At least, he hoped it was water based on the feeling of it.

As soon as the droplet hit him, his sight slowly returned. The darkness gradually retreated starting from the center of his vision. It was like a heavy fog dissipating under the morning sun. Unfortunately, his surroundings were still mostly dark aside from a blueish-white glow dancing on the stone walls of the cave.

His hearing gradually returned as well, almost as though his brain was raising a volume meter from zero to full. Unsurprisingly, the only sound to greet his ears was that of a slowly trickling underground stream, but occasional squeaks from small bat-like creatures or intermittent water droplets splashing in pools from overhead stalactites broke the monotony.

Now that he was fully conscious, Owen took mental stock of the dull pain throbbing in his bones and muscles, but the searing pain on his chest stole most of his attention. Before checking it, though, he raised his hands to his head, grunting in the process since it irritated the chest wound. He gently touched his skull multiple times. It didn’t hurt aside from some minor bruising. Hoping he didn’t sustain a concussion after losing consciousness mid-fall, he carefully raised his head to observe his surroundings.

Although he was still in the cave, he couldn’t see the hole he fell through anywhere above him. That was weird. After realizing that, he sat up a little, grunting again at the pain from where the witherbear struck him. Like he thought, his legs were submerged in the shallow underground river he had seen when peering into the hole earlier. A small fish, which looked like a fish-shaped jellyfish with glowing blue orbs under its translucent scales, nibbled on the callouses below his right heel. Its eyes were creepy white orbs with no other features. The fish didn’t bother him, but he still pulled his foot away on reflex. Instantly, the fish swam off downstream. The cave darkened slightly, but luckily there were a few other glowing fish which illuminated the cave just enough for Owen to see.

Watching the fish, he realized the river was deeper and wider both downstream and upstream. It only shallowed and narrowed for a few meters downstream of where he was sitting. He wondered if he had floated downstream while unconscious. Owen sighed, only to regret breathing so deeply.

I guess I gotta bite the bullet and inspect the wound…

He had avoided looking at the wound from the witherbear’s claws until now since he worried it might make him woozy. Nevertheless, he couldn’t ignore it. With pursed lips, he lowered his chin until he could vaguely see his chest in the darkness.

Four gashes streaked diagonally from the top of his left pectoral muscle down to his solar plexus. Although difficult to tell in the dark, the two middle cuts looked worst, almost like when the bad spots are cut out of a potato. The only difference was that this potato bled. Dark red blood which almost looked black in this dim cave had dried all over his torso during the time he had been unconscious. In order to check how deep each cut was, he rinsed his hands off in the water and then gently touched each one, grunting and flinching each time. The two outer cuts weren’t bad at all, barely digging a centimeter into his skin. The middle two were slightly worse since his fingertip easily lodged itself in the wounds. For the most part, they were dry. Only trace amounts of blood leaked from the scabs which had probably cracked when he sat up. He briefly wondered how long he had been unconscious.

Okay, not as deep as I thought, he remarked internally. I can manage for now. Stitches or something would be nice, though.

Satisfied that he wouldn’t die right this instant, he started looking around for the wakizashi. Unfortunately, he didn’t see it nor the sheathe in his immediate vicinity. He almost sighed again but forced it back down. The gashes on his chest were barely dry and he didn’t want them to crack open from any unnecessary movement.

In order to avoid worsening the wounds, he rose to his feet with utmost care. A chilly draft nipped at his damp skin. He considered drying off with the mirage blanket, but that was still damp as well. At least it acted as a makeshift windbreaker when fully wrapped around his person.

Looking like some sort of eskimo, he traipsed upstream, mindful of his footing. The stone beneath his soles was smooth and slippery from condensation. Occasionally, he noticed some of the berries he had collected earlier bobbing in the stream. One of the translucent fish pretty much inhaled one right before his eyes. So much for saving them for later.

A few minutes passed until he reached a larger space complete with a pool which would easily reach his shoulders if he waded in. Schools of the glowing fish intermingled with some of the fish he had seen swimming in the river outside. The pool apparently had one source and two outlets, of which he had apparently floated down the wider one with a stronger flow. The other outlet snaked off around a corner into a small dark tunnel. The source of water feeding into the pool trickled in from a slow incline. Not far off, he could see a hint of light further upstream.

The eerily dark hole he had fallen through loomed several meters above like the mouth of an abyssal beast trying to devour the cavern. Since he hadn’t found the wakizashi along the way here, it was probably in this alcove somewhere. He started off by circling around the edge of the pool, eyes skirting over his dim surroundings. It wasn’t long before he heard a barely noticeable clacking sound. After straining his eyes in the darkness, he finally noticed the source. It was the sheath, which was loosely lodged between a few stalagmites protruding from the pool. He shivered as he imagined the sharp rocks impaling his unconscious falling body but quickly shook it off and stepped into the water to grab the sheath.

Once the firm wooden sheath was in his hand, he searched around for the blade itself. Hopefully, the glow from the translucent fish would reflect off the metal. Thinking such, he carefully returned to dry, well, moderately dry land, and scanned the ground and water for it. After a few minutes, he finally spotted it lodged in some loose stone near the smaller outlet stream. Before long, the blade was in his hand as well. He made sure to dry it off as much as possible before returning it to its sheath.

Just as he was about to head upstream toward the light he saw earlier, he realized that he could now see into the tunnel the smaller stream trickled through. The tunnel was far shorter than he originally thought, but the thing that surprised him was the dull greenish hue barely visible at the end of the tunnel. A bell of curiosity chimed at the back of his mind, but the pain aching in his chest pulled him back to reality. Now was not the time for more adventure. Instead, heading toward Raylea was a wiser choice. In fact, he regretted heading deeper into the forest rather than visiting town just because he didn’t want to be seen in his current attire. Keeping up appearances was so ingrained, even after two years away from the public eye, that it was biting him in the ass in a place where he was probably just a nobody. He couldn’t help grimacing at the thought. Disappointment still bubbled in his heart as he turned his back on the tunnel, though.

Following his intuition, he ambled back to the single inlet stream and followed it upstream. There was a hint of light at the end, which meant it was probably his best chance to exit the cave. After all, climbing through the gaping hole in the ceiling would definitely be impossible even if the witherbear didn’t live up there.

After a few minutes of walking carefully, Owen furrowed his brows upon seeing a dead end. There was only a small pool barely wider than the stream it flowed into. However, he could vaguely hear a dull rumble through the stone wall and ripples stirred the water’s surface.

Am I near that waterfall? He wondered.

He bent down to inspect the pool since warm yellow light was filtering through like a lamp inside a wave pool at night. Unfortunately, the movement sent a burning pain through his wounds. He could feel the dry scabs cracking in a few places. Pus started leaking out.

Grimacing, he decided to take a break in order to let the scabs dry again. He stepped away from the pool and sat down against the smooth stone wall a few steps away. As soon as his back pressed against the wall, he winced. Thanks to the giant cuts on his chest, he hadn’t noticed that his back had been scuffed up somewhere along the way as well. Just icing on the bloody cake.

Owen sat there for a few minutes with eyes closed. The wakizashi leaned against his shoulder with barely noticeable weight. Every once in a while, tremors passed through his body along with feverish chills. He wanted to believe it was just a psychological response to the wounds, but he couldn’t help wondering if they were already infected. That would be bad when no pharmacies were available. He couldn’t recall any type of healing area from the beta either. There was a tonic which restored player HP at the general store in Raylea from what he remembered, but he didn’t have any coppers. Not having money was surprisingly annoying.

When the cuts felt dry enough again, he grit his teeth and returned to the pool. Light still filtered in from the waist-deep water which obviously flowed into this cave from outside. Several fish aside from the glowing ones verified that thought. Since he didn’t have any other choice, he sucked in a deep breath, wincing in the process, and waded underwater with eyes open. Again, he winced. The water stung on the wounds, but the cool temperature soothed the pain at the same time. It was a weird sensation.

Now that he was underwater, he could tell that the light was definitely coming from outside. He could see a boulder at the other end but also open water to either side of it. Although the water blurred his vision, the cramped underwater tunnel looked five meters long at most. Before trying to swim through, though, he popped his head above the surface and sucked in enough air to fill his lungs again despite the pain coursing through his chest. Without further ado, he wrapped the mirage blanket around one arm to prevent it from snagging on his feet and clenched the wakizashi in the other hand. A determined expression formed on his face as he kicked with all the strength he could muster. The further he swam, the louder the rumble became. Just beyond the end of the tunnel, he could see bubbles erupting downward into the water like an upside-down water volcano. It was definitely the waterfall.

Unfortunately, he was no olympic swimmer. It took much longer than he expected to reach the other end. Perhaps it only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like a full minute at least. His lungs were burning by the time he could see open water above his head. He basically jumped out of the water, ignoring the pain from his chest wounds as he gasped for air. Unfortunately, the depth dropped severely as soon as he exited the tunnel and extended at least a good ten to twenty centimeters below his feet. He was forced to tread water while catching his breath. He beelined for the nearby boulder beneath the waterfall and let go of the blanket in order to grab onto it for stability. Even though it was wet and slippery, it only protruded from the water a few centimeters, which meant he could bolster himself with his entire arm. The only annoyance was the spray from the waterfall right in front of him. He would probably still need to dive underwater again to swim past it. Perhaps diving wasn’t necessary, but tons of water pounding his skull didn’t sound too appealing.

A good minute or two passed before he fully caught his breath. This was definitely a type of exertion he wasn’t used to even if his body had been returned to its physical prime. Once again, he took a deep breath and dove down to the other side of the waterfall. This time, he didn’t even come close to running out of air when he popped his head above the water. As soon as he laid eyes on the sky, relief washed over him. He was out. The only problem was that the sky was already turning orange. The sun was setting.

Was I out cold for the whole day? No wonder I feel a bit feverish…

While thinking such, he dog-paddled to the shore. He briefly glanced at the waterfall and made a mental note to explore the strange cave at some point after he recovered as long as the witherbear was out of the picture. Speaking of the beast, he remembered to scan the area for it. Luckily, it was nowhere to be seen.

Although he didn’t have much daylight left, he decided to put his trust in the mirage blanket again since it was basically his only useful tool. He wrapped it around himself until he looked like a suspicious rogue, or at least that was how he assumed he looked. In actuality, he just looked like a guy huddled up in a blanket, albeit a magical one.

With that, he double checked his direction based on the setting sun and trekked onward into the darkening forest in the hopes that he could reach Raylea before nightfall.