Rion feels a surge of power coursing through his veins. The red spark hadn't just vanished; it had fused with him. He couldn't linger here, something told him it wouldn't be long before more feys would be crawling over here.
As a loyal fan of novels, he knew he had to search Erin's corpse but his stomach churned at the thought.
Patting down Erin's body while looking away and murmuring prayers under his breath. Rion pulls out a pouch, a circular disc with strange patterns etched onto it, and the creepy book.
Could this be all? He hadn't recognized his captor but he was an elite disciple, they were the main force of the sect. He couldn't have only this few possessions, unless.
He tugged at the pouch, it was warm and soft to the touch. He took a closer look and saw that there were also some magic runes drawn on it, emitting faint magical waves. This was also a magical item, but it was not a magical weapon but something like a spatial pouch.
Since he didn't have spiritual energy, he couldn't open the pouch but it was better to keep it close, so he shoved it into his pocket. Studying the disc, it resembled a formation plate.
He didn't know much about these, the magic system of this world was still foreign to him but the miasma surrounding the house might be a formation.
Therefore, it is his key to leave, clutching it tightly. He tidied himself, and ran out. He climbed up a flight of stairs, where he had been previously and must have been an underground laboratory for magical experiments. The whole house is cast in a shadow. The mist blocking out the sunlight, up close the miasma looked scary and daunting.
Waving the disc, he waited patiently for something to happen.
1…2…3…4… Was he wrong?
The miasma lit up and dissipated, his stomach growled, he hadn't had a good meal in days coupled with everything that has happened.
He is running on dry fumes, he had to get away from here first and find shelter. The Endless Forest, true to its name stretched out seemingly endlessly. Divided into circles, Erin's house is only in the depths of the outer circle.
Running out is a bad idea, he would just be caught and thrown back to the mines, if not killed. Determination flashed in his eyes, and he ran towards the inner circle.
The sun bore down on him strongly, the disorienting large mass of trees everywhere one looked. Rion felt his legs sink slightly with each step, rain had loosened up the soil. His chest burned,the surge of power from earlier is dwindling and he hasn't ran far enough.
The inner circle is in his sights, almost there.
Bam!!!
A huge reptile that was more than ten meters long appeared in front of Rion.
Fiery, red scales and dark eyes with golden, vertical pupils stared at the two of them.
"Rawr!!!!!". The strong sulphuric stench gagged Rion, the giant lizard cast a wary glance at him.
Feys were fond of using their human slaves as bait, hiding out of sight. Rion shifted back, for some reason this beast was hesitating to rip out his throat.
"Is someone there? Please! It's already here!". Rion yelled, from the memories of his host, he knew that feys used humans as bait.
Tricking naive monsters and killing them, calling out to no one in particular would make the lizard apprehensive.
"Grawrr". The lizard growled at him, the scales glowed slightly and the sulphuric stench increased.
It cast glances at the bushes, meals had gotten hard to find and its instinct told it the human is alone.
"Rawwwrr". The lizard disappeared, Rion took a step back. Hot pain bore into his head, blood dripped slowly from the claw marks on his abdomen.
"Aaaaaaaaaaah. Help!!!"
The glow from the lizard is dazzling, the scales a bright red and Rion felt the temperature increase. Beasts native to Eryndor could manipulate elements, lizard-like and could use fire.
His host's memories identified the threat: Fire drake. They loved to slowly torture their prey, but they didn't have any known weaknesses or any he could exploit.
The fire drake attacked again, pain erupted from his hand. The claws leaving deep wounds, at this rate he would bleed to death.
"Help!!!".
There's a rustle in the bushes, the drake takes cautionary steps backwards, growling from the back of its throat.
It's instincts were screaming, whatever is coming is a huge danger but the possibility of it being another trick remained. At this point, Rion squints his eyes. The lizard is lit up like a neon sign, the scales a bright hue.
"Raw-". The roar is interrupted, the drake staggers backwards. Rion notices a large portion of its throat is missing, the scales broken and red liquid gushing out.
It roared half-heartedly before falling into a heap. One moment it roared, the next its throat was torn open. Rion couldn't believe it, his breath caught. The fire drake wasn't an apex predator, but it's tactics made it a tough opponent. What kind of force could do this?
"Who's there?"
"Hello, my friends are coming. Don't try anything".
No one answers, his vision blurs slightly. During the tension he hadn't noticed but a puddle of blood had formed around him.
He stumbled, legs giving way beneath him. So this was it— a new unknown world to explore and he got annexed in the beginner village.
"Help". He murmurs weakly, before collapsing.