The knight had recovered and didn’t take as much damage as I had hoped. He angrily shouted, "Now you’ve done it. "Now you've done it! I'll make sure you die writhing in agony!" Can’t believe I let a rat slip past me. No matter, I will hunt him down later." He kept swinging. A single direct hit would be fatal, but he was slow and not well suited to fight small and nimble opponents. However, dodging wouldn't get me anywhere, and he left no openings for me to just slip past him.

The door which led to freedom was right there, yet unreachable. Unfortunately, my fireballs still weren't able to cause substantial damage. I could use the smoke of them to create another opening. However, I didn’t think that the knight would fall for the same trick twice. Before, he just played around, but now he was serious, and carelessly approaching him would mean getting split in half.

"Stop running around so much, you bug. It’s futile. You're going to die by my axe today." He shouted angrily. I had to act. He was adjusting rather quickly, and I barely could keep dodging. I had an idea that would get me killed did I fail. But without good alternatives, it was worth gambling my life for a shot at survival.

I readied 4 weak water balls and aimed for his neck. He laughed while keeping the onslaught of swings coming: "This is even weaker than before, already running out of mana?" I ignored his taunt and kept firing 4, 8, 12, 16. Water spells connected. Then I readied 1 massive water ball and a small ice bolt. They perfectly hit his neck, almost freezing it. Then I readied my final, most powerful ice bolt.

"What are you doing? Cooling me down a little, perhaps? I won’t show mercy on you, whatever you do." He proclaimed in his arrogant voice. I shot the bolt with everything I got. After seeing the bolt he instantly tried to block it with his axe, but it was too late. A perfect hit, freezing his neck and then digging into his flesh.

He grabbed his neck and started gasping for air while blood was flowing down his neck. I walked over to him and materialized an icicle in my right hand. He swung the greataxe he was leaning on but so slowly that I could easily dodge it. He fell beside me on the ground. I leaned down beside him and whispered in his right ear. "Regret not showing mercy to children in hell."

I pushed the icicle through his neck. Blood started spewing out, and he stopped moving. Somehow, I felt a sense of empowerment for a second. Then it disappeared. Quickly, I checked if he had anything useful on him. Unfortunately, he had nothing helpful besides his armor and the giant axe, which were too heavy for me. After concluding the search, I sprinted towards the door.

Before I went outside, I peeked out slightly to see if anyone was there. To my relief, I could see no one. Behind me, the sounds of fighting were still going fiercely, so I quickly left before anyone would notice me. There was a big forest outside, so I hurried into it to be hidden. I kept running for a while, but the forest seemed endless. Maybe I should focus on finding a spring or another source of water and build a camp.

I never went camping before, but it shouldn’t be too hard. My stamina ran out, so I just kept walking while listening closely for any water sounds. Surprisingly, I heard nothing besides the wind rustling through the leaves, not even a single sign of any animal. I couldn’t see the sun directly, but the rays that got through still seemed bright and powerful, so I wasn’t worried. There was still plenty of time until it would get dark and difficult to move around.

After a while, the forest seemed to get thinner, and then I noticed it. I was on an enormous mountain, and the cliff side I was currently looking down was so high I could barely make out the footing. The cliff was too steep to descend, so I had to look for a more suitable place.

Judging by the position of the sun, it was afternoon. So I had to decide. Do I keep looking, with the risk of not finding anywhere to descend in time, or do I go back and try to create a base, stay there for a night, and then continue my search? This whole forest seemed strange, and so far, I still hadn’t come across any animals or water. It was unfortunate that I didn’t run into Higa. He likely could have explained the situation.

Wasting time on useless thoughts wouldn’t get me anywhere. There was also no telling if the invaders would send out a search party after noticing that there could be survivors. The big guy said that they would kill everyone, and after seeing his corpse at that entrance, it’s likely that they will realize that someone got away. And if the invaders lost, the bloody crows will search for us for sure, which could be pretty bad if their intelligence agents are good at their job.

The right choice had to be to keep looking for a way down. Time passed, and my search still didn't yield any results. The sun started getting dangerously close to disappearing, but finally, there was a rough path that seemed to lead down. After making sure that no one was in sight, I left the woods and descended the trail. I really hope, that at the bottom of this mountain is a village or something similar where I can eat and drink.

After descending for some time, I could see the bottom but no villages. Even if I found a village, I still had to get food and water somehow. At least I had leather clothes, which gave a little protection and didn’t make me like someone that came out of the slums. I was stronger now too, so there were ways to get what I needed at a village. After I was getting closer and closer, I saw something.

In the distance, there was a carriage, and soon our ways would cross. Maybe I should ask them for help? No such naivety had no place if I wanted to survive. I also had recovered a bit after fighting the big guy. Fighting him had shown that I could handle fights. However, I didn’t know how he compared to the average fighter, so there was no way to estimate my strength accurately.

However, with no geographical information and no supplies, this was too enticing of an opportunity to pass up on. I had a plan to test them before deciding whether or not to attack, so I hurried behind the trees on a small hill to lie in wait and ambush them if I chose to.

After a bit, I arrived and started preparing mana. And not too long after, the carriage was close enough to make out details. It looked pretty luxurious, with redwood, golden edges, and a crest. Two horses moved the carriage, and a coachman was managing them. All things considered, they were nobles, which meant lots of money. However, they also should be guarded heavily, but let’s find out. They were getting in range. I instantly started casting an earth spell. A force dashed through the earth from my position to the road and dug a small hole.

The timing was just right, and the front right wheel got stuck, stopping the carriage abruptly on the spot. A door opened, and to my delight, only one guard jumped out to see what was going on. The guard had a cloak hiding most of his features and a cape hiding his face. His weapon of choice seemed to be a big broadsword, but he might have other weapons hidden under that cloak.

Attacking was risky since I couldn’t accurately gauge his strength. However, he didn’t look as strong as the invader I fought. "This is doable." I thought before reading another earth and multiple weak fire spells.

After The earth spell connected, I quickly charged, and shot the fireballs towards him which blocked his vision with smoke on impact. I decided to finish the job by knocking the guard out with a gut punch, so I readied a strong air spell and froze my fist to strengthen the impact. Suddenly, the guard started swinging his sword directly at me, even though his vision should still be blocked by the smoke of the fireball.

I quickly used the air spell to push me to the side. Why was the guard not talking? He should be panicking, but he seemed calm. No matter, his mobility was still sealed, so I could just freeze his neck from a distance, rendering him unable to fight. I started throwing water balls, but he destroyed them with his sword before they reached him.

This wasn’t working, but I still had another idea. I threw more fireballs, which got blocked but still limited his vision. Then I dashed at him once more while preparing another earth and an even stronger air spell. He swung his sword at me swiftly. Instantly, I raised an earth wall, slowing the blade down just enough to close in. And swung my frozen fist with all my might towards his abdomen, but just centimeters away, the spell dispersed, and my strength left me. Fuck, I was out of mana and energy.

Suddenly, the guard freed his feet, which should have been stuck with ease. He was toying with me. "What a disappointing end." I thought, and then the world around me got dark.