Chapter 5: Arc 1 – Chapter 4: The Pain of Bitterness

W- w- wha- what is that thing!? What the hell am I looking at!?

 
The creature before me seemed like it escaped from a canvas of hell, drawn by a psychopath. It was enormous. It's height could reach the top of the cavern if it stretched further up.

 
How to describe the creature before me? If anything, it's practically a centipede...a giant black centipede with the twisted face of a bearded old man.

 
It had two giant mandibles at the side of its face, akin more to the Grim Reaper's scythe than an actual appendage of this monstrosity.

Its body was pockmarked with blue glowing tumors and it was as wide as a train with spines jutting here and there along its massive body. It was longer than it appeared, probably around 15-20 meters, but it was carried by only 12 pairs of massive rib-like legs each as wide as two adults hugging it with their widespread arms.

 
This took a long time to describe, but actually no more than 3 seconds have passed since this creature and I have stared at each other.

I was at a loss.

 
Never have I felt such fear that it seems like the emotion itself would devour me. And yet, I still stood before this nightmare without so much as a shake in my legs.

It seems the domineering aura I received from the old voice was keeping my fear in check. I wanted to run with all my might, but half of me didn't and was trying to think of ways on how to survive.

 
...Because of this...I didn't know whether to laugh or cry...

 
As my brain was working in overdrive, the hell beast started to move towards me.

It crawled ever so slowly as if it knew the prey before it was frozen in fright and accepted its death. It's lower jaw splitting to reveal a sickening maw of scissors and nails as its toxic drool pooled below it causing noxious fumes.

 
Before long, the beast was already 3 feet away from me and I could already smell its decaying breath akin to thousands of dead vermin.

As I teared up from the smell, I look up and I swear I could see the monster curve its eyes and twist its face into a malicious grin thinking the prey before it would grovel in despair.

Slowly, it lowered its head to swallow me whole, savoring every moment as it imagined its prey's tragic end.

 
...

 
...What conclusion did I finally come up with to deal with this thing?

 
Why...I tossed the mushroom that was still in my hand into its mouth of course...

 

Feeling something in its mouth, it instinctually bit down...It would regret this action soon as its eyes suddenly widened and paled.

 

…Ha…Bon Appétit you spawn of hell.

 
"GYAAAAAAAAAA"

 
As a testament to the mushroom's immeasurable bitterness, a horrifying scream erupted from the creature's mouth and it started thrashing about.

 
Now do you understand why that experience I had with the mushroom was so terrifying? A bitterness so great...it transcended hell itself...

 

As the beast was writhing in agony, I took this chance to run. Even if it's weak to fire, I don't have enough juice in me to burn even a tenth of that thing's massive bulk.

 
However, as if to read into my thoughts, it swung its gigantic tail at me with a speed that didn't match its size. Hatred burned in its expression as it swung its tail in vengeance.

 
*BOOM*

 
"Aaaaargh!!"

 
I screamed from the burning pain I felt from my right side as I was flung from the explosive force of the blow towards the lake, puking blood as I flew in an arc.

I don't know how far I flew but my consciousness gradually faded from the intense pain...the dark welcomed me once more...

 

...

 

...

 

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Ugh...

 
It seems I survived...

 

…But man does my body hurt like hell…

 

I opened my eyes, still groggy from the pain, and saw that I was at a beach…

 

I stood up, shakily, and looked around. It seems I ended up at the opposite shore of the lake. I’m pretty far then…I saw that the only way to get here is to go from the western side then circle around the ruins…. Either that or swim.

 

Ugh…damned beard-faced freak…at least it knocked me somewhere far from it. I hope you enjoy that mushroom for as long as you live.

 

 I saw another group of mushrooms at a corner and decided to grab another one. However, I found that I couldn’t move my right arm.

 

Tch…I was wondering why my right side felt numb. Hmm. Not good. I feel some dull aches every now and then, but I can’t find the strength to move it. It’s not swollen or deformed, so I don’t think it’s broken at least.

 

I can’t let it dangle freely, so I need to make a sling. After looking around the area for a long while, I found that the glowing stuff at the bottom of the lake are actually glowing waterweeds.

 

Left with little choice, I chose long strands, and with my snout and other hand I made a makeshift sling for my right arm.

 

A glowshroom in my left, and my glowing slinged arm to my right, I decided to move on.

 

Gradually, the area around me started to look like the ruins of before. Of course, I started to encounter some undead again. The zombies were generic and very flammable, a little spark’s enough to get rid of them so I hardly lost some stamina. The skeletons were even more brittle…swinging their rusty weapons at me was pointless due to my scales and just resulted in them breaking apart from the recoil of the blow. Skeletons are truly sad…

 

If you’re wondering about the ghosts, it turns out it really was my claws. I don’t know why, but my claws are actually fatal to them. I found this out when one of them charged at me again from a blind corner, and in reflex I slashed at it with my left claw. The result…another ear-numbing death wail.

 

As I was moving along in leisure, I started to appreciate the fantasy-like ruins. Sure, it’s a desolate place filled with death, but how often can a person from Earth actually experience such an authentic fantasy-like place even if it’s one of the deadly ones?

 

After some exploring, I deduced that this placed must’ve been a city. The building remains looked too grand and numerous to belong to some town, and I found some structures whose quality was able to stand the test of time.

 

The biggest factor that determined this for me was the grand square in front of me with a huge towering castle beyond that seems to overlook it from a distance. Looks very similar to the one in that game with a green tunic-wearing hero with elf ears.Legend of Zelda; to be more precise, Twilight Princess or Breath of the Wild, take your pick

 

And on that square, looking at me with glowing red eyes was a 2-meter tall skeleton knight. With one arm carrying a black greatsword on its shoulder that seems to devour light, and black lined-with-gold armor giving off an unearthly shine, it stood there as if it were a guardian of the gates of hell.

 

I had only one thought as I saw this.

 

…What the hell is up with my luck today!?

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