'No close proximity ambush…' I noted inside my mind. Although I let myself relax, I still braced myself for an impending attack. Being alone, knowing that there were one or even more enemies somewhere but not exactly where I knew I could not let my guard down.
'It seems that it takes longer for the darkness to fully dissipate the more the teleportation circle is used. Good thing this world doesn't seem to have enemies with guns. I'd be finished if that was so…'
I did not make any large movements, as I planned to wait for my surroundings to fully clear up. I did move away from the teleportation circle, however, as I didn't want to get hit by Sutow who could arrive at any second.
'Should I wait for everyone first? There seems to be no ambush, plus it'll be better to move as a team…' I thought as I waited for the pitch-black distance to become visible to my eyes.
'Going through the teleporter makes one vulnerable to sneak or ranged attacks, huh…' As I waited, I began to feel annoyed while staring at the darkness beyond five meters.
'It seems that it takes longer for the darkness to fully dissipate the more the teleportation circle is used. Good thing this world doesn't seem to have enemies with guns. I'd be finished if that was so…' I laughed before quickly showing a frown, tightening the grip on my sword, as I had realized at this moment, just how vulnerable I was in the situation that I was in.
'I need to move.' I soon began to feel desperate. 'The building next to me... I can move and find coverage here. If I move slowly, I should be able to counter any ambush, as long as it's not too fast and I'm on high alert.'
Thus, I started moving. I could not allow myself to stay in one place, let alone an open one for too long as I felt very vulnerable while doing so. In a way, every plus point in my chances of survival was a task that I needed to execute immediately.
At the moment, moving to find a shelter and strategic point, I believed it would up my chances of surviving, as long as I moved slowly and cautiously. That's why I began to move right away, deciding to wait for Sutow and for the blindness to disappear in a place where I was not too obviously exposed to an enemy's fast, hidden, or ranged attack.
While moving towards the entrance of the building, I suddenly heard the voice of someone somewhere to my left.
"Hello there."
My reaction to the voice was swift. The moment I heard the slight noise, I immediately turned my body towards where it had come from.
I was ready to swing my sword at any second, yet, looking around, I couldn't find any target to fight!
'Damn it! This darkness! I can't see him! He must be looking directly at me, aiming to kill me at any second right now…'
With the thought that I might get attacked soon, I had the food in my left hand ready to be brought into my mouth. I was prepared to receive injuries, knowing how vulnerable I was with my inability to see my enemy.
My eyes and ears were focused on where I had last heard the sound of a possible enemy, as I slowly walked backwards towards the wall. I did this to minimize the direction that the enemy could come from, also preventing myself from exposing my back which is naturally more difficult to defend than my other body parts.
While backing away towards the wall, my body suddenly froze. Rather than frozen, it was difficult for me to move, as if I was stricken with fear.
'Why is it so hard to…' I wondered as I made forceful attempts to take a few steps back, an act that was supposed to be simple.
'But why? I have nothing to fear so much to the point where it's so difficult for me to move!...' I was confused and in the middle of my confusion, the person behind the voice became visible to me. He had entered the radius where he was close enough for me to see him. Seeing who this person was, shivers went down my spine, as I was met with quite an unexpected surprise.
'Now this is something worth fearing…' I thought before gulping down a bit of my own saliva. 'Still…' My thoughts continued, as I was still puzzled by the reason for my sudden restricted movements.
'Oh… I seem to get it now.' It didn't take me long to figure out the reason, because the reason was right before me.
Although there was a bit of doubt, I could tell that the person I was facing was the very same person that I had retreated from earlier. Ironically, I came to this hypothesis by guessing what the reason for my restricted movements was.
Simply said, I found out what restricted me by figuring out the enemy's identity, and at the same time, I also found out the enemy's identity by figuring out what was restricting me.
'Magic!'
This popped up in my mind the moment I saw the robed figure appear before me. His appearance made me guess that my restricted movements were his doing, which then led me to the conclusion that he was the one whom I had seen descending, because of the type of magic he used. 'Telekinesis!'
Suddenly something caught my attention, 'What's wrong with his arm? Why is it bleeding? Why are there bite marks? His arm is almost torn completely!... No way… Did Hazel actually…' All kinds of possibilities flashed in my mind.
"Hello." The guy spoke again. This time his words terrified me. This time, I wasn't just on high alert! I was horrified by what was happening right in front of me!
'A zombie that can speak and use magic! What the actual f*ck!' I screamed inside my mind. No matter what, my eyes did not want to accept the reality that I was seeing!