With each sound of a thunderclap, I disappeared and appeared someplace else but the tail still whipped around almost hitting me more than once. In a moment of suppressed panic, I stumbled on a rock feeling like my entire life was flashing in my mind.
Fck!
I cursed under my breath before I knew it, the tail hit me and threw me hard. My body skipped along the rough ground, a few grunts of pain escaping my mouth.
It took only a second of distraction before I was hit!
A sound of clatter echoed.
I felt something cushion my fall, I opened my eyes and saw bones all below me. Humans and beast bones alike. My eyes trembled, however, I tied my emotions to a knot and quickly picked a weapon nearby, it was a sword - clearly belonging to someone amongst the many bones.
One way or another though, I achieved a necessary and pivotal part of my plan. And here comes the part where things would become much more difficult and deadly.
Resolve shone on my eyes before it was replaced with a tail about to slam down on me. I quickly acted fast and dodged to the side without a second thought.
"Thunder Clap!"
Rumble!
Rumble!
With a flash, I arrived on top of the snake's head, just before its eyes. The distance between the snake and the pile of bones where I was just a few seconds ago was close enough that I could appear at this close proximity.
Not intending to waste even a second, I plunged the sword deep into its eyes. Deeper and deeper till it reached its brains.
______
Hu..huh..huhu.
I breathed out, greedily taking in the air, my chest heaving up and down. My butt was plastered on the ground and in front of me laid the dead snake.
I showed a smile with a very tired expression. Everything went smoothly, throughout, I was not holding back and used every bit of mana left in me to continue my assault.
Even though a mishap occurred, it still somehow ended up the way I planned it so I could say with no doubt that everything went smoothly.
Still...
Arghh.
I groaned, the tail hit me hard on the side enough for me to never try something as risky as this. Throughout the fight my heart pounded in my mind, adrenaline was coursing through my veins and now that it settled, I realized how deadly the snake's attack had been, it only hit me once but it felt like my ribs were on the verge of breaking.
Still, I was happy, very much so. I could barely believe that I managed to obtain not one but two! Mana shards of the peak stage - I could literally feel that I would become a tier two mage within a week if I absorbed the two shards.
I chuckled.
I could finally leave this godforsaken forest alive.
I stood up with my hand on the spot where I was hit still feeling a bit of pain. I gazed at the luster-clear pond in curiosity, I didn't know what to expect from it. It looked very soothing and inviting.
I was tempted to let my exhausted body soak in the waters and so I did. The waters were cold yet weirdly comforting. My eyelids slowly closed without my awareness, exhaustion seemed to be taking over yet being pushed away by this calming effect the tranquil water possessed.
I couldn't help but let my mind and body relax. My face showed utter bless and satisfaction.
After the most nerve-wracking, mind-stirring, blood-boiling, and fear-driven fight I went through, this was exactly what I needed.
______
I had trouble opening my eyelids, they trembled and with a little bit of effort, I managed to open my heavy eyes.
Woooh...why am I...I feeling rather heavy?
It felt like my whole body was being extracted of my strength, I could barely move my fingers let alone my limbs.
My mind was a little foggy but I could vaguely remember soaking in the waters of the pond before blacking out. I remembered how it was so relaxing, it felt like all my exhaustion was being washed away by some miracle water.
So why the hell do I feel like I'm being pushed down by a mountain?
With struggle, I managed to glance down and what I saw shook me to the core.
Reflected by the water, I saw myself being maintained mid-air above the surface of the pond by these dozens and dozens of long, slimy seaweeds. They wrapped around my limbs like snakes, they were glowing pretty brightly as if pulsing.
They didn't only looked like they were keeping me of place but seemed to be sucking my strength as well as my mana to the last bits.
I was horrified and quickly fell into a panic. I gritted my teeth and pushed through all the resistance in my body to move.
Fcking move!