~the bat's POV~

*Phew!*

I pant to catch my breath and try to calm my racing heart.

"Ilhena, what was that?" I ask only after ensuring whatever caused such a powerful attack wasn't giving chase.

"That is one of the beasts evolved by the mist," Ilhena's answer made me apprehensive. There's more lurking in the mist?

With that, I decided to fly even higher. After all, there's nowhere safer than the sky.

*Shriek*

Just as the thought crosses my mind, I hear an ominous sound, my ears twitch and turn to locate the source. I can vaguely tell the thing is in the sky with me. The only problem is that my ears, which never fail, are actually failing me? I can't locate the exact position of the thing.

Desperately, I try to use [echolocation] actively, but it is useless. I regret rejoicing after unlocking such a worthless skill. Suddenly, my ears pick on something rushing against the wind but unfortunately. I still can't locate the exact direction. All my perception skills are useless. This is an enemy I have never faced before and for the first time. I experience fear of the unknown, I feel the despair of lacking control over my life. Now I know how those kobolds felt when I attacked them from the darkness. Though I'm panicking, I refrain from running blindly as that might be more severe than staying still and locating the source.

Although the situation seems hopeless, I'm still not going down. Not yet. One skill that can save me is actually amongst the first I received. [Dodge], this is a skill that reacts only to attacks. Hopefully, the thing in the mist has an inferior speed.

I waste no time and activate it. My vision turns blurry as I'm promptly propelled in another direction.

You have received damage -90

Healing has automatically started

I am sure I'm supposed to feel pain from the attack, but right now, I feel nothing. Whatever it is that I managed to dodge isn't going to be happy with the results.

At the critical moment, I activate [airdash] and madly fly away.

"Head towards the light."

At that moment, Ilhena's voice echoes in my mind. I frantically dart my eyes to locate where she's referring to. From a distance, I can see a ray of bright light. To me, it's more like a ray of hope. My chances of surviving are no longer in Luck's hands. I can sense the thing behind me but that's not important, all that's in my mind is to successfully escape.

*Shriek*

The thing announces its anger and annoyance, but I'm long gone. I don't know why I am confident I will be out of danger once I arrive at the light source. Maybe it's because Ilhena told me?

"That was intense," Ilhena's voice reminded me I had long left the red mist, and the thing, for whatever reason, did not chase me further. The shining light apparently is the moon reflecting on the vast water body below me. I should be awed by the majesty of the grand ocean, the tranquility brought about by the blowing breeze, but I have to confirm something.

"Is the outside world this dangerous?" I mean, it hasn't been long since I stepped out of the dungeon, but I have already met beings that can eradicate me as they wish. If this is how things are, then I'd rather stick to the dungeon.

"The world is indeed dangerous and unpredictable. Unlike dungeons, an enemy many times stronger than you can appear at any moment," Ilhena's answer made me even more apprehensive. My escape from the last two fights was thanks to mostly Luck, so what happens if I run out?

"Although the dungeon seems less dangerous, you shouldn't underestimate it. Up until now, all your opponents lacked skills or didn't know how to use them. If you go to the lower floors, your view is doomed to change," Ilhena continued.

Her words seem reasonable as I experienced something similar to that, the lower I went. The tougher the enemies.

"The outside world isn't that bad. After all, dangers and rewards accompany each other."

I can't refute her words, and the system message waiting for me to open it is proof.

New title acquired, Levels are just numbers- a title acquired by ??? after successfully escaping an attack from a being 15 levels higher than you.

+25 for all fighting-based attributes when faced with an opponent you can't defeat.

"Holy bat!" My excitement washes away the bitter and unnerving fear of the unknown. I had heard of titles before, but no one told me they were this awesome and dreamy.

"Ilhena, can you see this?" I excitedly ask.

"See? Didn't I tell you?" Ilhena checks my status screen and says.

"But I have to ask, what would you have done if I failed to escape from that thing?" Calming down, I ask the question that just occurred to me.

"Don't be silly. How can a beast distorted by blood lust match you?" I can sense the pride in her voice, is she that confident in me, or is it something else? "If I thought you couldn't escape, then I wouldn't have let you go."

I shouldn't let myself feel weak just because I met a strong opponent. After all, they weren't born powerful like that. I have to get stronger so that nothing can make me feel such despair again.

As I silently envisioned a future of countless tribulations in my path to grow stronger, my eyes wandered off. The vast blue sea is all I can see. The red mist is nowhere to be seen. It seems I had unconsciously covered a considerable distance.

While the mist still engulfed me, I thought the whole world was like that. I'm glad I was wrong. But something is bothering me if all I can see is the sea. Then.

"Ilhena, where can I rest?" I don't think I mix well with water. I need something solid to step on. I need land. Land that I can't see.

"Keep flying. Eventually, we will stumble upon dry land," her words do not at all convince me. What she's suggesting is to leave it on Luck, and I am not too fond of it.

I can feel my stamina fading away, plus the injuries I received. Though they are healing, I need to rest for them to heal completely.

*Sigh*

Nothing can be done about it. I need to conserve stamina while covering the most distance. I had learned such a trick earlier during my searches for the [floor bosses]. All I need to do is to avoid unnecessary flapping while letting the wind take care of the rest.

***

My flight has been long and tiresome, but right now, I can happily say it ends here. At a distance, I can see a mass of land disrupting the endless sea. I gather the last bit of strength I have and channel it to my wings. Soon I arrive at the place. I locate the nearest branch and land on it. It isn't long before I can feel the weight of my eyelids.

****

~Ilhena's POV~

Leaving the dungeon was extremely risky. I had to time when most behemoths were asleep for us to get out. I am glad he was able to put his skills to good use when it counted. What would I have done if he failed to escape? Well, that's obvious... though I don't know if he would appreciate my intervention.

Thinking of the mist brings back memories of the war. For the dungeon to be formed, blood had to be shed, a lot of it. I don't know how many races went extinct during the war. The mist is a result of blood lust and the grievances of the dead. It is so strong that anything that steps inside is bound to be controlled by it.

You should grow stronger and take control of the mist. I gently pat his head. In the future, after he controls it, our goal shall be smoother