What stepped out of the shadows was something Dale didn’t recognize. He wasn’t sure how to define it. Even though his mind was strangely calm considering the situation, his eyes showed him a piece of the true horrors that lay beneath what was previously called reality. The ancient truths forgotten by humans were crawling back from the void and trying to shatter what was left of his senses.

Its steps made wet sounds as it slowly approached the humans in its view, observing their actions like a beast looking at prey. An eerie light shone on the tall burly creature as it moved outside of the passageway. Its vine-like appendages wriggled with anticipation while crimson eyes showed their intentions.

A feast was about to begin.

A chill ran up Dale’s spine. His ability triggering most likely meant that the others weren’t doing so well. Although it didn’t affect him physically, Dale still felt the ensuing pressure caused by the mere presence of the creature. That was heightened by the realization that they were still in the introduction.

Oliver fell to his knees, throwing up on the ground while Kyle, Nina, and Hazel held their heads as if to keep them from spitting. Being the only one to be able to act in a short amount of time didn’t bold well for their chances of survival. His mind started racing.

“What’s this thing? Are we all dying here? Isn’t this supposed to be the introduction? Is this some kind of sick joke? Is there a way out?”

As his thoughts sped out of control, a familiar feeling settled on his mind. The world seemed to slow down. He could see the creature turning its head towards him with interest.

[SPECIAL SKILL, OVER-THINKING, ACTIVATED]

Realizing what was happening, hope and determination filled Dale’s mind. Then he shouted.

— Hey you spindly thing, if you think you’re gonna have me for dinner you’re sorely wrong! — Kicking off the ground, he started running in the opposite direction to get some distance while talking to the others — Get inside the building and recover, I’ll keep this thing occupied!

The creature’s eyes went back and forth in between the group of people and the lone runner for a few seconds until they locked on Dale’s back. Deciding on its target, it started moving towards Dale while ignoring the ones left behind. Not wasting any time, the group quickly got into the building.

Kyle helped Oliver walk and asked the others.

— Is it okay to leave him behind?

— He seems to have a plan — Said a pale-faced Nina — We’ll recoup inside and come back for him. If we stay, that thing might switch targets again.

As they walked toward the darkness, sounds of the fierce battle echoed through the building’s terrace.

***

To an unsuspecting person who merely judged the situation by the sound without any context, it might have sounded like a fierce battle. To Dale, it was dodging vine-like tentacles that moved as if having a life separate from the creature. He could feel the warm crimson liquid running down his face as a result of a previous encounter, his muscles spasmed and ached, his vision started to blur, and his eyes were stinging since blinking at the wrong time meant death. His mind keeping up didn’t mean his body would.

A solution was needed quickly.

It wasn’t an impossible situation. It seemed pretty easy. Not long after the creature pounced on him, Dale realized that every time it attacked, the vines would get dislodged around its chest area revealing a red gem-like substance, which could be inferred to be its core. Considering the situation, it most likely was its weakness, the next step would be to attack it.

There lied the problem.

How hard? How many times? Would he be fast enough to hit without being hit back?

Many questions plagued Dale’s mind, and being an inch away from death for the last several minutes certainly didn’t help him reach a conclusion. But regardless of how fast his mind was, no other path was found.

It was now or never.

The symptoms of overexertion were getting worse by the second and the creature who previously was acting like it wanted to play before eating seemed annoyed by the extended delay in its meal.

Dale did his best to position himself close to the ledge while barely avoiding the otherworldly tentacles ready to rip him apart. With a deep breath, he planted his feet on the ground and using the building’s molding as support, swaying his head with just enough movement to avoid losing an eye, he pivoted his body with all his strength and plunged the sword towards the red target.

A loud thud spread through the area. Everything seemed to cease moving. No wind. No eerie sounds. Dale was frozen. The creature was frozen. Then, the sound of a small object broke the silence.

It was the tip of Dale’s wooden sti… sword.

As soon as both combatants realized that the attack failed, both entered high alert. The creature seemingly entered a state of frenzy resulting from a near-death experience, jumped back, and contracted all its vines as one would contract their muscles in an attempt to end this before its target had another chance. It launched itself forward with a mighty push lifting it from the ground and turning it into an otherworldly live bullet.

While the creature prepared to launch itself, Dale’s mind reached its peak performance after the failed attempt, despair fueling his thoughts in search of an answer, his body barely keeping him on his feet and ready to give in at any second. Seconds turned into milliseconds. Thinking about the battle until this point, Dale reached his answer, at the same time, the creature launched itself and Dale’s body lost all of its strength.

Dale fell to the ground, unable to react or move his limbs, barely conscious. Above him, with sickening speed, flew the creature who hoped to cut his head off and ended up throwing itself out of the building towards the empty city beneath them.

On the ground, Dale sat without an inch of strength and was not able to move his head, he could only stare at the text in front of him.

STATUS LEVEL UP VITALITY [LV. 3] -> VITALITY [LV. 4] AGILITY [LV. 1] -> AGILITY [LV. 2]

NEW TITLE:

THE ONE WHO RUNS

He wasn’t happy with his new title, but resting came before complaining, even though he was pretty sure Amy was responsible for this one too. The others went into the building and might need help. He found out about the creature’s weakness and judging by its reaction when struck, he seemed to be correct. He might not be able to break it due to the lack of attack skills, but someone else could use the info.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, concentrating on recovering as fast as he could. The was no movement around the area. A light breeze caressed his cheeks, the sourceless light bathed him and all he could hear was his breathing. Without knowing how much time had passed, Dale’s body began to stabilize. He could move again, not in a perfect state, but it was better than being a stationary target.

Forty minutes had elapsed since he split with the rest of the party and they hadn’t come back to get him. They might have ditched him, but at least Kyle didn’t seem that type of person, so the second option would be that something happened.

Deciding that he’d rested enough, Dale walked towards the door, and as soon as he stepped through the passageway, a woman’s scream reached his ears.

— AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!