Luke stood out in the open with his hands thrown wide apart and his face raised toward the sky above. He felt the sun's rays stabbing into his pores and warming his cold body.
"It has been a while," Luke said as he took in a deep breath.
After days of walking under the shades of the thick forest, Luke had forgotten the feeling of the sun rays warming his skin. He couldn't help but admit that he had missed this feeling.
However, this feeling lasted for over a few seconds as Luke was well aware of the dangers of lurking in the open for too long and began moving once again.
As he travelled through the grassy field, he looked toward the hilltop and was mesmerised by it as thoughts wandered through his mind.
"It would be a nice view," Luke said as he gazed at the hilltop.
He knew if he got to the top he would be able to see the entire terrain, but he also understood that doing so was no different from suicide. He knew the further he went up the hill, the easier it would be for him to get spotted by the beasts within and outside the jungle.
With this in mind, Luke decided it was best to cut across the hill from the side. As he moved, his gaze alternated from the thick forest some distance away to the numerous boulders lying around. He strongly believed if there were something dangerous, watching and waiting to attack, they would come from those two places.
Depending on where the enemy came from, Luke decided he would run in the opposite direction.
After walking for a few minutes, an uneasy feeling plagued Luke, causing him to focus his vigilant gaze on the boulders for a short while. He observed them for a while with knitted eyebrows before shifting his gaze to the forest.
"Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or did the rocks just move?" Luke couldn't help but ask as he had sensed faint movement but failed to see anything.
His strides slowed down with time and soon came to a halt as a look of confusion flashed across his face. He turned around and looked at the path he had come from, just to be sure.
His gaze lingered from one boulder to the other and even though they were still there, Luke felt they were slightly off from their original position.
"Is my brain failing me, or did those boulders move?" he asked with a frown.
Bam!
At that moment, a boulder closest to him which was some distance uphill rose to its feet.
Yes, nothing lifted the boulder, it simply rose to its feet!
This explains why he couldn't see anything wrong even though his instincts were screaming at him.
The towering boulder carried with it an intimidating presence even though it was some distance away. Caught in its line of sight, Luke felt a jolt of lightning in his body as he was left petrified with fear for a brief moment. His body instinctively took a step as a feeling of dread washed over him.
Before coming here, he had thought of the various types of beasts he couldn't encounter in this place, but never in his wildest imaginations did he expect it to be a living boulder.
"What the hell?!" Luke muttered.
He was both shocked and alarmed by what he just saw, but that was when the other boulders around the area began rising to their feet.
'Fuck my life' he screamed in his mind.
Just when he thought things were bad, the heavens decided to play a nasty joke on him and made things worse.
Without hesitation, Luke turned towards the forest and began running. Before embarking on this journey through the hilly field, he had planned out countless countermeasures and also played out so many possible scenarios in his head, but who would ever expect boulders to start attacking?
While running, Luke instinctively looked back and deeply regretted that decision a few moments later. He watched the closet golem some distance away uphill, lean forward, and fold into a perfect ball.
Rumble!
It began rolling down the hill at an outrageous speed, which left Luke tongue-tied.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Luke cursed as he began running like never before.
Ever since he was tossed out of the empire walls, he had considered numerous ways in which he could die, but getting crushed by a boulder was never one of them!
He turned again to steal a glance and once again cursed himself for doing this. The boulder was moving fast and was getting closer with every passing second.
"Fuck!" Luke cursed loudly.
He was just a few meters away from the forest, but the rumbling sound had gotten so close, that Luke knew he would be crushed if he hesitated any longer.
Swoosh!
Luke jumped to the side at the last moment and while airborne he felt something blow past him at a terrifying speed.
Boom.
The rolling boulder crashed into a tree and caused heavy damage to the trunk of the tree. While this happened, Luke rolled on the ground and quickly sprang to his feet.
As the boulder unfolded, it revealed a resemblance to certain types of armadillos, particularly the three-banded armadillo. The Boulder's body was composed of rugged, weathered stone, and its surface was adorned with cracks and fissures that mimic the texture of natural rock formations.
Luke noticed a dense layer of grass and wildflowers that blanketed the beast's exterior, which softened its appearance and allowed it to blend effortlessly with the surrounding terrain.
Luke was taken aback by what he saw but didn't bother to observe its appearance or criticize the beast's hideous appearance. He was well aware that the other boulders were coming his way so he turned to continue his run into the forest.
Against these unique boulder beasts, Luke knew only the strong, sturdy trees of the forest could hinder their movements and render them useless.
He knew if he had a chance of surviving this encounter, it would be in the forest!