I moved my eyes and scanned its claws and why it was raised, and there I found my answer. At the tip of its claw were a bunch of nestlings slowly climbing it as she readily poised to strike. What is it doing? Is she going to kill her own young?
Just when I had that thought. The unexpected happened.
ZWOOOOOSH!
The Butcher, in an unnatural fashion, moved her claws in an arcing manner, effectively sending her young, which were all over her claws flying towards me.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Some of the young found in the lower portion of her claws met their demise by hitting the ground too fast as their trajectory was off, but the nestlings who were located near the edge of her claws were making their way towards me quickly.
A spider that knows how to pitch?! What kind of bizarre baseball exists in this world?! Dodge!
I hastily dodged to the left and tripped on a stray vine. Fortunately, I was quick enough to stabilize myself and didn't lose speed. That was close. Too close, in fact.
Oh shit!
As I was too focused on keeping my momentum, I didn't notice that a single nestling flew ahead of me by weaving a portion of its webs with legs making it act like a make-shift glider.
SWWISHH
Its menacing claws moved like the wind, and it was too much for me to dodge successfully.
Shhhhhhhk
The sound of skin and flesh being torn resonated as its saw ridged claws gruesomely shredded my left ear. The sensation of pain came delayed as I focused on running instead of engaging in a fight.
After a few seconds, the excruciating pain seared through my left skull, threatening to make me lose consciousness. The muffled sound of the environment further put my thoughts into disarray as blood poured down the ear canals of my left ear.
Blood began to stream down my face turning my left eye's vision blurry and red. Just one successful hit was enough to put me into this much confusion and pain.
My entire body was screaming in pain as I forced it to keep going. I must endure. Once I survive this chase, I can heal myself with the mending dice. Things will be alright.
I kept reassuring myself, but the remaining light of hope in escaping kept becoming dimmer and dimmer. Will I really escape this? Surely, right?
Doubtful thoughts began to surface, and I forced them down the depths of my mind. This was no time to think negatively. Be strong-willed, Vaeden. This isn't the first time you've been in a near-death situation.
With each step I took, my body became heavier. With each breath, my lungs burned, and with each thought, my processing slowed down. Should I use it? No, it's too early...but I need to. No, you can't. It's your trump card to escape death.
But I'm on the verge of death right now. Status.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
「Status:」
「Level: 4 => 10」
「Cunning: 31 => 43」
「Power: 14 => 17」
「Spirit: 29 => 35」
「Resilience: 19 => 25」
「Unspent Status Points: 6 => 11」
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
「HP: 36/55」[Critically Fatigued, Heavy Bleeding, -1 HP per minute due to fatigue, -0.5 HP per minute due to blood loss, Hearing and Eyesight partially reduced]
「MP: 55/55」
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Well, wowee, that's just reassuring, ain't it. I felt the sliver of hope I had remaining crumble into nothing within the grasps of my mind.
If I keep running for 10 minutes, I'll straight up have a heart attack and die. Ten minutes was how much stamina I had left in my tank, damn everything! Do I really have to use it? Right now? I clenched my teeth.
I opened my inventory and hastily pulled out the mending dice. It appeared in front of me, and I kicked it whilst running. I don't get to see how much I heal, but the system will tell me. I don't understand what the symbols on each of its sides mean anyway.
Please be a perfect 10. No, when I hope for something, it usually doesn't happen! Please be a one? Argh, I don't know anymore! Please just heal me enough so that Elizabeth comes in time!
Threads of green light began to attach to my skin, replacing the searing sensation with a cooling feel. I could feel my body being refreshed quickly as my exhausted mind suddenly started to process thoughts with more clarity and speed.
A single ball of arcane golden light as small as a bead floated atop my forehead, slowly making its way towards my eyes. Hey, you're blocking my vi—huh, I can see through it?!
It began to move downwards steadily, and I lost my vision of it. As much as I want to know where it's going, I don't want to trip and die.
A warm feeling began to radiate within my chest, and the answer to my question of where it went was fulfilled. My heart began to beat with more vitality, and the muscles which felt tight all this time suddenly began to loosen.
Each step I took was unlike a few seconds ago. The steps I took were very light, as if my body weighed nothing. My muscles which were screaming in agony remained quiet and soothed as if they were fully rested.
A familiar sensation ran down through the left side of my head. I could clearly hear the wind echoing as I ran with speed. My left ear it's back! I wagged my ear in joy as my senses were back to their prime. Just how much did I heal from that dice?
「100% of your health has been restored.」
「The Mending Dice has lost all of its charges.」
「You are no longer able to use this item」
「Item transformed into [Playing Dice]」
「Playing Dice has been placed in your inventory」
Just as quick as that sliver of hope disappeared, it came back with blinding brilliance. Now, I can truly make it! I won't die here!
I sniffed the air and began to locate Elizabeth's scent. They're still quite far, but not too far that I won't make it. I can also smell Kon near her.
SHWIP. SHWIP. SHWIP.
Webs filled the air as the nestlings got dangerously close to me. The Butcher was still flinging her young at me, albeit inaccurately. Most of them wouldn't even reach near me, but the minority that does reach me posed some severe threat.
I don't want to get injured that much while running again. Oi! Too close! A nestling landed exactly beside me, but unfortunately for it. I noticed it first.
SHLK!
I jabbed my tail to its side, but it wasn't deep enough. My blight would do more damage, but it wouldn't be enough to kill the nestling that just landed beside me. Status.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
「Status:」
「Level: 4 => 10」
「Cunning: 31 => 43」
「Power: 14 => 17」
「Spirit: 29 => 35」
「Resilience: 19 => 25」
「Unspent Status Points: 6 => 11」
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
「HP: 55/55」[Refreshed]
「MP: 55/55」
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The reassuring death information isn't there anymore. That's a good sight. Alright, let's keep running. I can guarantee my stamina would last until they co—
KUGH?! A painful moan escaped my lips as I suddenly fell to the ground. I helplessly rolled about and tried my best to stabilize myself, but to no avail, I couldn't.
Shit! How did I trip?! There was nothing in front of me! Stand up quickly! They'll catch up if I don't!
Thud.
After lifting myself, I quickly fell backwards. What the hell?! I hurriedly glanced behind me to see how far the nestlings and the mother was and that's where I noticed.
A single leg stood still amongst the short grass a few meters behind me with a nestling feeding on what seemed like the other pair. My eyes widened in horror as I pieced together what had just transpired. No, no, no, no, don't tell me!
I slowly looked down, and the ground around me was covered in crimson liquid. Instead of finding my hind legs, I saw a cleanly cut stump instead. My calm breathing suddenly turned ragged as I began to hyperventilate.
The onset of pain rushed in, and I couldn't help but scream in agony.
UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHGHH
Out of desperation, I pulled out the dice out of my inventory. It landed beside me, and I quickly nudged it with my front legs.
The dice rolled slowly, and with each tumble it took, a side was covered in blood. After a short moment, it stopped.
「You rolled the lucky number 7.」
HEAL ME! HEAL ME! HEAL ME! HEAL ME! HEAL ME!
「Playing Dice has been returned to your inventory.」
NOOOOOOOOOOO! I could hear the slow steps of the nestling behind me. It knew that I couldn't escape and took its time making its way to me. I desperately tried to crawl away.
SHWIP.
A blanket of webs covered my entire body, disabling my movement.
SHWIP.
My tail was plastered to the ground with the webs it shot, keeping it safe from my blight. I had no means to defend myself now.
Tahk. Tahk. Tahk.
Shkwaaahhh...
The nestling walked in front of me and breathed on my neck.
I'm going to die.