Chomp!
I peeled back the waxy rind of the Sundrop, its pale flesh gleaming like captured moonlight in the fading day.
'Good thinking with the stick system.'
I did what humans were good at - patting their own back. Though, sarcasm aside, my improvised carrying system had worked better than expected.
Each Sundrop secured by a small stick through its center, all bound together with vines like strange forest jewelry.
Not exactly a grocery bag, but it kept them off the ground, and didn't particularly hinder my moments either. Just had to wrap it around my waist like a belt.
Chomp!
'So savory.'
The juice flooded my mouth, a poor substitute for water but welcome nonetheless. Something about the taste reminded me of apples, though the comparison felt hollow - like trying to describe a color you'd never seen before.
Burp…
I forced out the sound, hoping it would physiologically make me feel full. Another miscalculation - eight days here hadn't taught me how real hunger felt.
'Argh!'
My eyes drifted to the five remaining Sundrops.
Rumble…
'Another one won't hurt, right?'
Won't I be out in a day or two anyway?
No!
The thought died as quickly as it formed. That kind of flawed thinking - that optimistic assumption that tomorrow would be easier - was exactly what got people killed in survival situations.
I had no idea what challenges lay ahead, and with battery life this low, finding more food wouldn't be as simple as scanning random berries.
'Can't take any chances.'
Not now, when freedom felt so tantalizingly close.
* * *
Morning came. Morning passed.
It was uneventful.
Or so I'd like to say.
But right now. I was in the presence of something I couldn't even make eye contact with. Something that defied every survival instinct I'd developed over nine days in this forest.
"T-three bars…."
I was fucked.
The nemesis before me wasn't just any creature - it was the
'But why is this motherfucker here?!'
Of all the ways to start a morning, coming face to face with an apex predator hadn't been on my list.
Also...
'Why hadn't I died yet…?'
The question felt absurd even as it crossed my mind, but there it was - I should be dead, yet here I stood, having a mental breakdown in front of a creature that could swallow me whole.
Beep!
Before my panic could spiral into something embarrassingly fatal, a familiar beep cut through the rising hysteria.
l
[Status Effect: Fear Conqueror]
[Survival Instinct: Temporary Suppressed]
Immediately, an artificial calm washed over me, dulling the edges of my terror just enough to think. The primal fear was still there, coiled tight in my chest, but at least now I could breathe through it.
At times like this, I thanked whatever part of myself had decided to experiment with
That memory felt distant now - I tested it on Day 4. But that's now what one should reminisce in front of an apex predator.
'Now is not the time…'
I reminded myself.
The Basilisk's presence demanded my full attention, its massive coils a reminder that memories wouldn't keep me alive.
The situation demanded action, but what?
The cave wall pressed against my back, while ahead, an ancient serpent blocked any hope of escape.
There was nothing I could do.
"Huu…"
I forced my breathing to steady. The fact I wasn't dead yet meant something. The Basilisk's patience felt deliberate, calculated.
'No other choice… but this!'
My fingers found
'Ah, shit! I am doomed anyway!'
I pressed the icon with the 'fuck it' mentality.
In any case, battery reservation wasn't exactly a priority when face-to-face with something that could rewrite the food chain with a single movement.
I forced myself to look up, meeting those ancient amber eyes.
'Shit! I'm still scared.'
Of course I was.
Gulp…
Its scales caught the morning light like polished emeralds, each moment a testament to power held in perfect control.
Was I just imagining it, or the air itself seemed to bend around its presence?
I couldn't tell.
"SSSSS… KRAA… HSSSSS…"
⟨You have something… quite peculiar on you… Little wanderer.⟩
The words appeared across my phone screen as the
A percent of battery slipped away - down to 10%.
At a glance, the cost of translation was higher when compared to goblins.
My eyes darted between the massive serpent and the glowing text. Even the suppressed survival instinct screamed about the danger of taking my attention off the predator, even for a second.
'Peculiar? Is it talking about the phone? Does it want it?'
The thought sent ice through my veins. My one connection to survival, my only advantage in this world - was it about to become a bargaining chip with an ancient creature?
"KRRAA… SSSSHA… HSSSSS…"
⟨And your scent, just as I noticed… it's different.⟩
My eyes widened as the translation appeared, the Basilisk's head tilted with an intelligence that felt older than civilization. Each hiss became text, transforming primal sounds into coherent messages that felt impossible yet undeniable.
"HSSSS… KRAAA…"
⟨You understand, Little wanderer. Fascinating. Truly fascinating.⟩
The gleam in those ancient eyes shifted from predatory to… curious?
It slithered closer, the cave suddenly feeling much smaller than it had moments ago.
"HSSS… KRAAA… SSSSHAAA…"
⟨You do not belong to these woods. Do you, Little wanderer?⟩
Instead of answering that, I asked something entirely different:
"W…why… don't… you… eat… me?"
The moment the words left my mouth, I realised my mistake. Classic horror movie victim behaviour - asking the monster why it hasn't killed you yet. Though, would it even understand?
I was confident because I hadn't spoken in the
"HSSSS… KRAAA…"
⟨The language you spoke is fascinating. Just like you. Interesting. Very. Very. Interesting.⟩
"SSHAAA…. HSSSS…"
⟨To answer your question. I want to leave this forest.⟩
The translation caught me off guard. Each word seemed to carry weight beyond their simple meaning.
"W… what… does.. that—"
"KRAAA… SSSHHAAA… HSSS…"
Basilisk's eyes narrowed.
⟨Why play pretend. Little wanderer is a human. He entered this forest with his own will. So, he should be able to exit the forest at his own will.⟩
The logic felt twisted, but arguing with something that could swallow me whole didn't seem wise. My mouth felt dry as I formed the words:
"So Sir Basilisk wants to… leave the forest?"
The words felt strange on my tongue.
"With me acting as a guide?"
Gulp...
"Is that correct?"
"KRAAA…"
⟨Precisely.⟩
The single word carried volumes of unspoken meaning.
'Okay, I can do this!'
I gathered what little courage the status effect had left me:
"Can I ask why… Sir Basilisk wants to leave the forest?!"
The massive coils shifted.
"HSSS… KRAA… SHAAA…"
⟨Maybe Little wanderer doesn't know the way, and merely wastes time?⟩
"HSSS…"
⟨Then perhaps Little wanderer would serve better as food?⟩
"...!"
I could see danger-bars rising in real time, from three to four.
"A-ah no! O-of C-course. I-I KNOW THE WAY!"
I had to shout it out at the end. My life was at risk of being devoured. I can't risk being not heard.
In any case, I wasn't lying. The crimson thread pulsing between us was proof enough.
Still... something about the Basilisk's interest in leaving the forest felt wrong - like a fundamental law of nature preparing to break.
'Would I be safe after leading this Basilisk out of the forest?'
Only time would tell.
"KRAAA… HSSSS…"
⟨This Basilisk did not waste its mark on you yesterday.⟩
1%... 0%.
That was the last message I saw, before my screen flickered and died - the last of my battery life deserting me at the worst possible moment.
'No—"
My heart dropped.
'Goodness gracious!'
What I feared didn't happen.
The crimson thread remained, but my technological lifeline - my only means of understanding this creature - was gone.
"Shit!"
The curse escaped before I could stop it. Here, I was, trapped in a cave with an ancient predator that could apparently 'mark' people without them knowing, and my universal translator had just died.
My only comfort was the steady pulse of the thread, a reminder that somewhere beyond this cave, beyond this forest, civilization waited.
Assuming I lived long enough to reach it.