Name: John

Title: Summoned Hero*

Class: None

General Skills:

Language of men - Lvl 10 - Passive

Identify Lvl 5 - Active

Special Skills:

Hide Presence Lvl 2 - Active

Void Walker Lvl 1 - Passive

Blessing of Forgotten Gods Lvl 5 - Passive

Status:

[??? - Lesser Status Ailment - Inflicted]

Vitality: 16

Endurance: 21

Strength: 18

Dexterity: 21

Intelligence: 45

Wisdom: 52

Health: 49/50

Stamina: 19/20

Mana: 100/100

"??? - Lesser Status Ailment - Inflicted"

That night, I chose to march onward and leave the strange temple behind.

Something urged me, in a way that was not quite rational, but very much real. My journey through the ruin had gripped me in the oddest of methods, and I suddenly felt as though it would be the correct choice to move on, quickly.

Marching in the night, was not a choice I would have normally taken as possible, but with the clouds and fog lifted after the passing of the storm, the stars were brighter than I'd ever imagined. Though I could be sure of almost nothing familiar (recognizing no constellations or patterns of any sort) I did see one which seemed to hold a different color than the rest. Deep, dark red, I chose to label it my temporary compass, and walk onward.

Soon, the canopy of branches and leaves blocked my sight once more.

I continued until morning.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

....

[??? - Status Ailment - Inflicted]

Reaching for my status: The first thing I recognized, upon waking, was that the "lesser" in the Ailment, was gone.

The second thing, was how precariously positioned I was, slumped against the roots of a large tree. Surrounded by what were clearly deadly plants on all sides, it seemed a wonder I'd survived the night without fatal consequence, but I surmised that my careful diligence in not disturbing the more aggressive specimens seemed to be working.

Poisonous and toxic plants, as it turns out, are not nearly as dangerous as they seem. So long as one is keenly aware of the potential for harm (and doesn't try to eat them) it is simple enough to only travel along paths where they are less densely populated.

Still, I resolved myself to, no matter how tired I might be, scaling another tree, and sleeping off the ground from then on.

Unnecessary risks

….

That night, I woke and felt the unfortunate urge to vomit, held at bay only by the urge to remain silent.

There was something in the haze below.

Moisture rising beneath the branches, I could see it moving. Large coils of black, creeping among the ferns. Wider than I was tall, endless in length, it reached out in a horrible rumble, as it passed by.

Sitting there, tied to the trunk so tightly, that rope bit into my ribs, I swallowed the rising taste of bile, as my vision swam. Hours later, as the winds of morning arrived, I made my descent.

As my feet met soil once more, no longer did boots march, but run. Through thickets, over fallen branches, marsh and leaves.

The sun above me, I ran. Hunted like the prey I was.

Endurance +1

Vitality +1

Strength +1

I ran until the messages began to blur together, and my vision was but a light at the end of a long, long tunnel. For, on my back, the gaze of a predator had set like incremental weights. Heavy, tired, terrifying: the rumble followed, as the massive form weaved among the trees.

Twice, I turned to find it. Twice I tried to [Identify] it. Twice I failed.

But- those eyes.

Gods, those eyes. Black as the space within the ruins: how they stared. Hungry and patient, content to creep closer, closer, closer still. No matter how fast I ran, or how fast I pushed my tired body, it was gaining on me. Stumbling out upon the sound of running water, I found my path. Losing my spear, my bag: I found my stride.

Half run, half jog, but mostly just the shamble of a desperate soul: I ran on until the stream and forest ended. Miles, miles... the influence of training and attributes should not be understated. Before coming to this world, I would never have survived such a brutal marathon. Without a doubt, my muscles would have seized, my heart would have beat its last- there would have been no way. But, I had come to this world. I had survived up until that point, perhaps against the odds, and what had yet to kill me, then, had made me stronger.

Still, no matter how strong, though- no matter how determined: there is only so far a distance the body can take you.

Before me, a cliff waited.

Steep as it was tall, what could only be sixty... seventy feet below, waves crashed against rocks. Violent white crests, frothing about stone teeth and jagged edges.

An ocean of emerald, catching the light of a setting sun. Proof, beyond the fire in my chest, that I had run for the better majority of an entire day. The very edge of this horrible place greeted me, in all its magnificence.

Behind me, though: the rumble approached.

Eyes of blackened ink creeping closer, among the trees. Scales all but ethereal in the shadows and ferns, I can say I saw death. My death, to be certain. As it rose, up to the branches on high, that beast did stare past my flesh, and hungered for more than life.

I will never claim to be the bravest of souls, but for all I've seen and done, when faced with such a sight: my choice was made simple.

If someone were to ask me which was worse, the pain of the impact or the cold which followed, I would be hard pressed to give a definite answer. But, I can tell you this.

The fall was a long one.