Phew, this body really is out of shape.

I’ve been running for less than two minutes now and my legs burn, my back hurts, and my lungs are already gasping for air. Luckily for me, the forest was much closer than I had initially expected so I was able to catch my breath while leaning on one of the trees instead of standing out in the open like an archery target.

I’m not exactly out of the thicket yet, though. I should continue moving a bit deeper into the forest before taking a longer break.

Hah… the weakness I’m feeling right now is no joke. I swear, a five-year-old could probably outclass me in both speed and stamina despite this body’s age feeling to be in the late teens. Although I’m fairly certain that I hated exercise in my past, at least I vaguely recall being able to run two kilometers in twelve minutes even when after I reached my early twenties.

Not only that, my entire body is drenched in sweat and the feeling of stickiness underneath this sauna-like armor is starting to get to me.

I would really love to take a shower right now, but there is an almost zero percent chance that I find a modern bathroom all of a sudden in the middle of this forest. On top of all of this, I’m starting to get thirsty so finding water is reaching a top priority on my list of to-do things.

One might ask, how do you find water in the middle of the forest?

Well, it’s rather simple, really. First, you have to listen for the water by putting your ear against the ground. Second, you listen for a low rumble or a rushing noise and try to follow the sound. Third, you find water and hopefully survive in whatever wilderness you’re stuck in.

However, in my case, all of the above steps are void as the sound of flowing water is already present without having to put my ear against the ground.

It shouldn’t be too far away as the sound is getting incrementally louder with each step I take.

Steppity, steppity, step. A walk a doodle-daddle-dingy do I go.

Walking, walking, walki-

AHHHHHH!

*SPLASH~!*

…I guess accidentally falling off a cliff and into a lake is a relatively okay way of finding water. I think I would still prefer the traditional method of just walking up to the edge and noticing that the water is there; but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right?

Shit. I think I may have also pissed my pants. The temperature below my waist is strangely warm for a lake. Or maybe this lake is a by product of a hot spring and this is just the natural temperature of the water?

Nope. Definitely pissed my pants. The overall temperature of the water is refreshingly cool with the only warm spot being the place where I landed.

Oh well, at least I am already in position to wash up an-

“Eeeeek! Pervert!”

After turning my head to the side, the pale figure of a young lady standing not too far away from me catches my attention all the while she attempts to cover her nakedness with her hands in an spastic manner. If I were anybody else, I might’ve stared; but as a true gentleman, I immediately peel my eyes away from the female and begin making my way towards the edge of the lake.

“My bad, I think I’ve got the wrong lake. I’ll just be on my way no-”

Cold.

I can only describe the feeling in my legs with that one word. It’s almost as if my legs were frozen in ice.

Actually, that’s exactly what happened. In fact, the entire lake is now a frosty, glistening, and glassy ice with the epicenter being the lady standing behind me.

Well, double shit. I’d prefer bears any day over getting a lady with the powers to manipulate ice to be angry at me; I think being mauled to death is a far better way to go than being frozen into a block of ice.

Ah, damn. The ice is already spreading to my thighs and stomach.

I always wondered how athletes felt when they took ice baths to cool down their bodies after a warm up, but I never expected to experience a similar scenario first hand. I mean, I suppose this level of cold is tolerable with my level of willpower, but my brain is starting to…

…is starting to freeze up.

The cold is already getting to me and my consciousness is…

… slowly dimming in and out. What an annoying…

…way to die. Everything is beginning…

…to get kinda…

…dark.