Under the light of the moon. Amethyst eyes I saw. Our breaths were rough, our movements awkward. We couldn't separate our gaze from each other. There was tension in the air.

"Well, do we kiss?" I said a stupid line, one I often say to upset my opponents, as I started to channel my mana. I wasn't in a good condition to fight but at least I still had all my mana as I saved it for an emergency.

It seems that my pick up line worked as the creature started growling at me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it you know?" Now I apologized to a savage animal. "Best friendies?" Maybe I could get out of this without fighting. But seriously, I really wonder why the creature hadn't attacked me when I was distracted; or why even until now, it or one of its friends hasn't attacked me yet.

Doomed or not, I didn't care anymore. Nobody would save me, neither I did expect someone to do so. I remember being told years ago by a drunkard: 'In life, only you can help yourself. If you fall, never expect help, is up to you to get up again.' Said drunkard had slipped in vomit and everyone refused to get close to him. Today, I was like that drunkard covered in vomit.

If there was even a small chance for me to see the Sun tomorrow I could only reach it by doing something myself. So, I will do something; even if it doesn't amount to anything in the end.

At a snail pace, I drew my knife from my hidden pocket. The creature eyed the blade warily.

All these few seconds I had been formulating a plan and chantless casting two spells, both ready to be launched from each hand. I deduced that my better chance is making my move before my opponent, as I don't know how strong it is. Drawing out the fight for too long is an undesirable option due to my limited mana pool.

Should I summon a spirit? It would get me an ally but it would also eat up almost all of my mana, making me useless. I could use my summon as a distraction but there were more of these monsters hidden around.

Winning was impossible, I needed to bet everything into scaring them off. I had confidence in my plan so I would follow it.

Attacking first, so be it.

I waited until I saw it tensing its muscles and flexing its posture a little, readying to lunge. I acted as it readied itself, hoping to force the monster into action as a response; and that it did.

"Gale"

The creature was much faster than I expected would be. Charging at an astonishing speed.

I was half an instant faster; barely avoiding its charge without any harm.

I wisely decided to Speak the Gale spell to boost my dodge speed instead of using it to attack. I aimed the very strong, violent, and also sadly very mana consuming spell in diagonal to the ground at my left at the same time that I jumped to my right; launching myself several meters away in an instant with just a shake of my bones.

The creature missed its charge at me but it was instead greeted by a chantless casted Earth Lance in the face. I launched it from my other hand at the same time that Gale.

I am a mage not a knife fighter after all. Well, I am that too but a mage first.

The fast magic attack hit the charging creature dead-on in its right eye. The shaft of the lance broke in half after the point pierced the eye and the creature crashed unceremoniously on the ground.

As I was starting to feel relieved, the creature that I already considered impaled to death started to roll and thrash around while howling in agony until it managed to tear off the point of the lance from its right eye. All that in just a few seconds.

It had a lot of energy. It charged again but this time against a tree, bringing it down with ease. A moment after, it clawed at the air randomly until it figured out that it couldn't see because it had the uninjured eye closed. After opening its eye it growled furiously at me, awakening me from my stupefaction.

I should have attacked again when it started thrashing but I was too shocked to see that my deadliest attack impaling a charging beast with neck-breaking speed in the eye was not enough to kill the creature. Maybe it didn't reach the brain or maybe it wasn't the right angle.

Now I started to process that it ran against a really BIG tree, at least five times wider than me, and broke it in half, bringing it down without apparent injury.

Ridiculous. And Insane too, it's insanely strong. One hit and I will be done, no doubt about it.

Without leaving me time to think, moving very fast, it started to close distance to me. Without lunging this time, trying to get to my side while rounding me, forcing me to spin and face it continuously as I channeled spells again and as I retreated as fast as I could.

When it was two meters away and we were still moving I launched another spell.

"Fireball" A spherical projectile made of fire was launched from my pointing hand at the creature at a high speed, much faster than the Flame spell.

Startled for an instant the creature barely dodged it, jumping to its right and leaving its left flank exposed to me.

"Earth Lance!" An even stronger Earth Lance than the first that I fired, as I added a Word of Power, was shot to the creature even before landing. While it was still in the air robbed it of its opportunity to dodge my attack and hitting it dead on upon landing.

Or that is how should have been. The magical lance broke into pieces just as it was about to hit, broken by the creature's swung paw and doing no damage.

A blur. I instinctively insta-cast Stone Skin. A sound of metal hitting metal. Feeling weightless. My breath was forced out of my lungs and I crashed on the ground. My vision changed to the night sky.

Suddenly I was in a lot of pain. Pain in the back of my head. Searing pain was coming from my stomach too.

I was a little dizzy.

What happened? Did the creature land a blow on me? It hurts. My stomach hurt so much that I probably was cut in half. No, I can feel my feet. Unless it's a phantom sensation, if it isn't then it just opened me up and my guts must be spilling.

Reaching with my left hand in a useless attempt to put everything inside again and stop the bleeding I noticed that I touched something smooth and hardy with my fingertips, apart from the blood when I put my hand on the place I felt was bleeding.

Also, there were no guts spilling.

Wondering what happened I gathered strength and lifted my upper body while supporting myself in my right arm; just enough so I could see the injury and what I was touching.

Under my ruined shirt was my also ruined piece of cloth, barely clinging to me, and still pressed against my skin thanks to said cloth was a round piece of metal with two straps used to tie it around the wrist.

The clock. The clock that I found yesterday. I had completely forgotten about it. As I touched it I realized that it wasn't that cold upon touch like other metals. I didn't put off the piece of cloth a few hours ago, which now feels like an eternity, when I changed clothes because this one wasn't wet, to begin with.

The events that had just transpired were being clarified in my head. The creature blocked my attack. It pounced at me, faster than ever, and hit me with its mighty claws. It cut me deeply in the side but the cut stopped when the claw met the clock, thus saving my life. Then I was sent flying backward by the strength of the blow and crashed into the ground.

Very well. Between the creature's attack and this moment just like 10 seconds had transpired, the creature had been watching me wearily and although I am bleeding and it hurts like hell, the battle was still going and I still could move. This still wasn't as awful as it could be.

I quickly lifted completely my upper body with my arms and flexed my knees, prepar-

I was abruptly knocked down to the ground and an immense weight fell upon me. I couldn't breathe. I heard my bones snapping. The monster was right above me. It had its right paw in my chest, pinning me to the ground. I stabbed it with my knife as fast as it put more weight on its paw. I hit its cheek and the knife broke.

It lunged its head to my neck and I instinctively leaned to my left, making it bite my right shoulder instead. The pain was unbearable and waves of agony flooded my mind. I closed my crying eyes and screamed my lungs out all I could while my chest was still being compressed.

Without thinking I reached to its injured eye with my left hand and insta-cast a spell with all the mana I had left.

Fireball!

An explosion. The world went white for a second, even with my closed eyes. I was crushed against the earth by the force of the attack and could hear the faint sound of the creature falling to the ground a few meters away behind the sound of the raging fire with my stunned hearing.

Then I could feel pain again, more than before. From every part of my body, especially my left hand. I must have had burns everywhere. Luckily I wasn't new to feeling pain, I could still think.

I opened my eyes again.

I brought my left hand to my range of vision and could see that I still had five fingers. My hand was severely burned though and it seemed that it didn't have nails anymore. At least wasn't burning as were the surrounding leaves and wood on the ground. Probably because I was covered in mud.

In my mouth, all I could taste was blood.

I could also hear the creature. It was making pitiful sounds of pain a few meters away in front of me.

I had no strength left but I wanted to see its condition. Barely managing to support me with my right elbow I looked at the creature as it tried to stand up but failed. Lying down, it slowly closed its eyes as if it didn't have more strength left and started to breathe slowly and deeply as it fell unconscious.

It's now that I noticed the blood all around the clearing and the creature's head bathed in blood too. It was bleeding to death all this time. Had I managed to stall the fight long enough for it to fall unconscious due to blood loss after the first attack I could have saved a lot of mana.

Now that I think more about it; I probably saved its life, cauterizing the injury with the fireball.

The strength started to leave my body and I slowly lied down my head back on the ground. The moon started to seem blurry.

My eyes started watering.

I could feel that my side and my shoulder were still bleeding.

Tears escaped from my eyes. I was crying. A silent, sobless, and wordless cry.

Not because I was dying. I tried. I failed. But it was enough.

I am alone.

I thought I was smart but I am nothing more than a kid.

I have no fear. I do not fear death. But so what? Death cares not for your fear.

I could see big shadows enter my field of vision.

I have no regrets.

I am just...

Disappointed.

I am disappointed in myself. Disappointed I amounted to nothing at the end.

My vision started to lose light.

I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't good enough for anything.

I could faintly feel one of the shadows as it neared my head.

This... This shouldn't have ended like this.

All went black.