-Frey starlight POV -
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"Damn it."
I cursed as my foot sank into the guts of one of the nightmare creatures.
The slimy intestines and the foul stench assaulted my senses. I fought the overwhelming urge to vomit.
"Fuck me, and Fuck this entire world!..."
Every step forward was a struggle as I stumbled over the corpses of crab-like creatures.
"The Mist Stalker did quite a job here..."
It was hard to believe that a single creature had caused such a massacre.
But I had to admit... I was really lucky.
At this point, no one knew how to survive an encounter with the Mist Stalker.
The protagonist was supposed to discover it far in the future while exploring the Nightmare Lands.
But I was the author, so of course, I already knew.
It was simple—just don't look at it. It would try to make you look at it by any means necessary, and the moment you did, you were finished. But if you kept your eyes shut until the end, you would survive.
I was lucky.
After changing my clothes, I resumed my journey.
"East... I have to go east."
After several hours of walking, the light vanished completely.
"Nightfall..."
Darkness engulfed the land, and I instinctively halted my steps.
I climbed the tallest tree I could find and settled on a massive branch near the top.
Only fools moved at night—after all, this was when creatures worse than the Mist Stalker roamed.
Even though I was the author, even I didn't know what horrors lay hidden in the Nightmare Lands.
It was an enormous place.
I wrapped my cloak tightly around me, leaving only my eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
The moon hung above me. I watched its silver light, reflecting on what had happened so far.
I was still deep within the vast forest, which showed no signs of ending.
So far, the only thing guiding me was the advice of the author.
I had no choice but to keep heading east.
Time crawled as I sat on the branch. I couldn't afford to sleep, fearing something might ambush me. The most I could do was close my eyes briefly from time to time.
I remained in that state until the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon.
"It's morning..."
Suddenly, I recalled the random advice... Something about dawn...
"No, there's no point in thinking about that now."
I leaped from the tree and continued my journey.
I was still using Phantom Steps. At first, I assumed the Skill would drain my aura completely within a short time, but unexpectedly, I felt no exhaustion at all.
Maybe the SSS-ranked aura really was the real deal.
I had no time to dwell on that now, so I pushed the thought aside and remained focused on my surroundings. After all, I didn't want to fall into another trap like before.
Thanks to Phantom Step and Hawk Eye, everything was going smoothly.
From time to time, I encountered more of those crab creatures, but I managed to avoid them with ease.
With the dimensional ring Ada had prepared, I never worried about supplies—I had enough to last a year.
And so, I spent the entire day running east, only stopping occasionally to rest or change course to avoid nightmare creatures.
"Damn it..."
I still wasn't any closer to escaping. This damned forest was enormous.
Despite running for hours, the scenery remained the same.
There wasn't much time before night fell again.
"Should I keep going? Or find a place to spend the night?"
In the midst of my thoughts, I heard a strange noise to my left.
"What is that?"
It sounded like people fighting... with enormous swords.
I quietly followed the noise, and within minutes, I found the source.
A grotesque creature was battling alone against a large swarm of crab-like monsters.
Despite being outnumbered, the crab creatures couldn't do anything against it.
Its limbs were massive scythes with an incredible attack range. It stood on eight legs, its skinless body a grotesque mass of moving flesh.
"What the hell is that?"
Its head resembled a human's—except it had no eyes.
Every swing of its scythe-like limbs sliced its enemies clean in half.
I took a few steps back.
I'd be better off avoiding this thing. I had no interest in dealing with it.
I had planned to camp nearby, but I changed my mind. I couldn't stay here with that thing around.
I ran away, but soon, my steps slowed for a simple reason.
"It's nightfall..."
My vision was now limited to just a few meters ahead. Hawk Eye was nearly useless in these conditions, especially with the dense trees making things even harder.
I ran with my gun in hand, ready for anything that might emerge.
Slowly, I began to feel something cold against my skin.
"Snow?"
Cold flakes started touching my skin, making me pause in surprise.
The climate had been tropical just moments ago, which made sense given the forest. But now, snowfall?
This was strange.
But wait... Didn't this mean I was nearing the end of this damned forest?
That single thought was enough to reignite my exhausted body. I ran faster.
"I'm close..."
Excitement surged through me. I thought I was finally getting out of here.
Just when I believed it was all about to end—something long emerged from behind the trees.
The damn darkness had hidden it until the last second. It appeared out of nowhere and lunged straight at me—a cursed crab creature.
"Damn it!"
I fired at the abomination before me, but the bullets barely left a scratch.
The creature lunged at me in an instant. Before I could react, it was already in my face. I raised my gun to fire, but a swift strike from its claw sent my weapon flying.
I tried to retreat, but its octopus-like tentacles wrapped around me immediately.
My heart sank.
"Seriously?"
The monstrous, crab-like abomination loomed over me, raising its massive claw, ready to deliver the killing blow.
With my sharp vision, I saw it all—the enormous, needle-like claw hurtling toward my face. The tentacles had me completely restrained. I was helpless.
"Damn it."
Then, just as I thought it was over, something unexpected happened. A scythe suddenly pierced through the creature's body from behind.
The grip around me loosened instantly, and I collapsed onto the ground.
The crab abomination was lifted off its feet before a second scythe tore through its back. As it shrieked in agony, I watched in horror as two massive scythes sliced its body clean in half.
Scarlet blood sprayed over me, drenching my face and clothing in the creature's remains.
From within its bisected corpse, something even more horrifying emerged—a faceless mass of flesh with a gaping mouth, shrieking as blood dripped from its form.
My mind reeled in terror. Before I even realized it, my legs were moving on their own.
"I have to get out of here! I have to escape!"
The contrast between the searing blood soaking my body and the icy snow falling on my head sent shivers down my spine as I ran for my life.
But the scythe-wielding creature wasn't going to let me go. I could hear the rapid thudding of its eight limbs closing in.
It was fast—too fast.
A piercing headache struck as I frantically searched for a way to survive.
'Fight back with a gun? No, that won't work.'
'A sword? I don't even have a proper combat style—damn it!'
I turned around—and there it was, right behind me, raising its massive scythe to end me.
Instinct took over. I hurled myself forward, reinforcing my body with aura.
For a brief moment, I thought I had dodged in time. But then, a sharp, searing pain tore through my back.
I had barely avoided a fatal blow, but the deep wound sent waves of agony through me.
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to keep running.
I had to think. Fast.
Reaching into my dimensional ring, I pulled out a medium-sized bottle. I had noticed it earlier while rummaging through my supplies.
It was filled with oil.
Without a second thought, I hurled it at the monster chasing me.
I zigzagged through the trees, forcing its massive scythes to slam into them, buying me some time to breathe.
I continued throwing more bottles of oil at the creature until its entire body was drenched.
"Please let this work."
It was the best plan I could come up with under pressure.
I drew my gun and fired relentlessly at the oil-soaked creature.
The moment the bullets struck, the oil ignited.
A wall of fire erupted around the monster, and in an instant, I was being chased by a flaming nightmare.
Despite the inferno consuming its body, the scythe creature didn't stop.
"Impossible!!… The fire isn't affecting it?!"
I barely dodged another strike, but this time, its scythe carved a deep wound across my right side.
I screamed in pain, my body staggering from the shock.
The creature was even more terrifying now—its flaming form illuminated the night, turning it into a living demon.
Clutching my wound, I kept running. My speed was slowing. My strength was fading.
At this rate, I was dead.
Then, I noticed something.
"Wait… It's slowing down too?"
The fire wasn't killing it outright, but it was definitely affecting it. That realization alone gave me the strength to run faster. There was still hope!
I pushed forward, my body screaming in protest.
Then, I saw it—the end of the forest.
"Almost there!"
Breaking free from the trees, I found myself in an open mountain range under the vast glow of the moon.
I ran across the snow-covered ground, the flaming creature pursuing me—a surreal, nightmarish scene.
Just as hope began to fill me, I saw them—an entire horde of crab creatures charging toward me from the front.
There were dozens of them.
'No way…'
I was completely surrounded.
I slowed to a halt. The burning scythe monster loomed behind me. The monstrous horde blocked my path ahead.
There was nowhere to run.
Closing my eyes, I braced myself for the first strike to land.
But it never came.
When I opened my eyes, I saw that the crab creatures had completely ignored me.
Instead, they swarmed the flaming monster.
It lashed out with its scythes, slicing them apart, but they didn't stop. They tore into it, relentless and furious.
"What's going on…?"
They weren't interested in me at all—they were targeting the burning creature.
The fire had weakened it enough for the crab monsters to do some damage.
"Wait… The fire… The light!"
How could I forget such a basic truth?
The creatures in the Nightmare Land were drawn to two things—sound and light!
With renewed determination, I dragged my injured body toward the mountain.
The crab creatures would keep the scythe monster occupied—this was my only chance to escape.
The path ahead was steep, and I climbed with difficulty, forcing myself forward.
The cold air filled my lungs, making the ascent even harder.
But I kept going, terrified for my life.
I never looked back—I just climbed.
I had to survive. No matter what.
The higher I climbed, the steeper the mountain became. Eventually, I was crawling across its icy surface.
In the end, I was forced to scale it vertically.
My fingers swelled, blood leaking from beneath my nails. The freezing wind pierced my wounded body, chilling me to the bone.
My consciousness blurred, but I refused to give up.
If I let go, I would die—I was sure of that.
For the next few hours, I climbed the colossal mountain, relying only on sheer willpower and the aura that instinctively sustained my body.
At last, I reached the first flat plateau.
I was still far from the peak, but I had climbed high enough.
Collapsing onto the snow-covered ground, I gasped for air.
The earth was ice-cold, and I could barely feel my body.
My fingers had turned a deep purple from the relentless ascent. My wounds pulsed with pain, sending waves of agony through my skull.
I had no idea how I had even managed to climb in my condition.
I collapsed onto the frozen ground, gasping for air. My body was battered, barely functional.
With the last of my strength, I pulled healing potions from my ring. My frozen hands barely held them steady as I gulped the warm liquid down.
Then, I lost consciousness there on the frozen ground, I pulled a thick cloak over my body from the ring so I don't freeze to death
lying defenseless, hoping I would be lucky enough not to be attacked while I slept.
---
I didn't know how long I had slept, but when I opened my eyes, it was morning.
My wounds had healed thanks to the potions, though I still felt their lingering pain.
I changed into winter clothes, finally feeling warmth for the first time in a while.
Walking toward the edge, I looked down.
I had climbed an incredible distance.
The ground was far, far below.
All I saw was a vast white landscape… or so I thought.
When I focused my gaze, I saw something moving.
The scythe monster was still there—wandering below.
"So… it survived after all."
As if sensing me, the creature lifted its head.
It had no eyes, yet somehow, I knew—it saw me.
I turned away instantly.
"I need to get out of here."