Power of Runes Chapter 3 3: Fight For Life

The atmosphere felt moist and oppressive, with the reek of rot hanging in every nook. Faint echoes came from his footsteps, and Ash's hold on the sword grew firmer with each stride.

Guided by the novel's directions, he relied on his recollection to traverse the twisting passages.

Yet the story had merely outlined the broad design—experiencing it firsthand proved entirely different.

A subtle scratching sound shattered the heavy quiet.

Ash halted, his pulse racing.

Out of the darkness crept a monstrous form. It looked hideous—a Shadow Rat, roughly dog-sized, featuring crimson eyes that gleamed and teeth that were razor-sharp and uneven.

Ash winced.

The novel portrayed Shadow Rats as basic foes, posing little danger to those who had awakened. However, given his own attributes…

It amounted to certain doom.

"I never imagined that battling in virtual reality games would prove so useful," he whispered, assuming a guarded position.

The rat let out a hiss before pouncing with unexpected quickness.

Ash just managed to dodge, his actions hindered by his frail physique.

He swung the blade clumsily, scraping the beast's flank and spilling a slender trail of dark blood.

The rat shrieked in agony, which only fueled its rage further.

It attacked once more, this time with greater velocity.

Ash swore, tumbling aside. His breaths came in gasps—the skirmish had just begun, but his endurance was already plummeting perilously.

"If things continue this way… I'm done for," he grumbled resentfully. The idea hurt. Have I misjudged my abilities? Perhaps entering this place was a mistake…

Uncertainty began to overwhelm him, but he bit his lip and shook his head vigorously. No. I won't entertain such thoughts... I must shed this feeble mindset... Allowing it to dominate would leave me as worthless as before.

A recollection nearly surged into his thoughts, but he suppressed it.

His fingers clenched around the sword, knuckles turning pale. "Damn... This thing has ruined my temper now."

Fresh anger and resolve sharpened his gaze as he surveyed the surroundings.

The rat prowled around him, preparing its next assault.

That's when the precarious stones overhead caught his eye—an unsteady portion of the barrier.

An idea sparked within him.

As the rat rushed forward again, Ash intentionally exposed his rear, luring it closer.

In the final instant, he hurled himself down, evading the monster's snap by a hair. The rat crashed against the barrier, and the impact dislodged the unstable stones above.

A resounding snap echoed as the section crumbled, entombing the rat beneath debris.

Ash remained sprawled on the floor, heaving for air.

"Take that... you scum," he uttered, brushing sweat from his forehead.

Yet rest was a luxury he couldn't afford. Forward progress was essential.

***

Ash pressed onward through the mine, occasionally hitting dead ends or spotting packs of Shadow Rats, though he skillfully evaded them without raising alarms.

Luck favored him since these were mere novice beasts with poor olfactory detection; else, death would have claimed him already.

Now and then, solitary Shadow Rats crossed his path, and he dispatched them each time by exploiting the terrain wisely and drawing on his gaming experience against virtual monsters...

Still, his form showed clear signs of wear.

Blood seeped from numerous gashes, and he scarcely stemmed the flow using the aid kit from his pack.

After every clash, his energy depleted completely, forcing pauses before advancing further.

Such a grueling routine spanned three days, offering not a single instant of true reprieve.

The peril was immense—dozing off invited fatality.

Exhaustion gripped him completely.

His azure eyes appeared injected with blood, crimson threads spreading from sleeplessness.

His pale silver locks had become tangled and dirtied to black by Shadow Rat blood.

Bindings encircled his frame, some new, others saturated, marking the myriad injuries he had suffered.

"This... level... of... agony... means... nothing," he murmured to himself.

Every motion made his sinews protest, cuts burning like flames, yet he gripped tighter and endured, his will overpowering the torment.

I refuse to... endure the torment of loss... once more... and to prevent that... I must persist ahead.

He reflected, compelling his frame onward.

Following what seemed endless hours threading the gloomy corridors, Ash arrived at a spacious cavern buried deep in the excavation.

The area brimmed with sharp stones and traces of excavation, its surfaces crude and irregular.

In the middle sat a rodent far larger than the earlier specimens, slumbering soundly.

Its ebony coat shimmered subtly in the faint glow... A Shadow Fang, the advanced and more formidable variant of the Shadow Rat.

He could hardly handle regular Shadow Rats, much less this Shadow Fang.

Ash gulped, his clutch on the weapon intensifying.

Naturally, nothing comes without a fight, right? he pondered silently, swallowing the lump of fear in his gullet.

Beyond the Shadow Fang, a petite white gem was lodged in the surface.

It appeared mundane from any viewpoint, overlooked by workers as worthless.

But Runes possess that quality... ever visible yet hard to recognize.

He eyed the Rune, then the Shadow Fang.

Overcoming this monster in peak condition seemed impossible, never mind his present battered state.

His sole choice involved seizing the Rune and slipping away unnoticed.

Here's hoping, he mused, inching toward the creature and the prize with caution.

The quiet pressed like a weight, every boot scrape booming in his ears.

CRACK!!

A loose pebble snapped underfoot, freezing him in place as alarm surged while the monster rumbled lowly in its doze.

Ash held his breath, tense as he observed the beast stir faintly, ears flicking.

For an instant, awakening seemed inevitable.

But the creature sighed out, its rumble dissolving into a profound, vibrating snort.

Ash released a gradual, unsteady exhale, his heart thumping like thunder.

He advanced another measured pace, now with utmost care and accuracy.

After an age, he skirted past the Shadow Fang to the barrier in its rear.

Ash stood mere steps from the monster, instincts urging flight.

Yet he gnawed his lip and extended toward the Rune set in the surface beyond the beast.

Attempts to extract the Rune failed.

Damn, this physique is pathetically frail, he reflected sourly.

He grasped his blade, reduced to a mere stub.

It had shattered in a prior brawl.

With the fractured edge, he pried at the stone encasing the Rune.

The metal grated on rock, but the gem clung stubbornly.

Suddenly, Ash's form stiffened. Icy dread trailed his back, and moments stretched endlessly.

It resembled a lifetime replaying in a blink.

On reflex, he flung aside.

BOOM!!!

The spot he'd occupied erupted, hurling grit and fragments everywhere. His sight hazed, throat choked with powder, prompting harsh coughs.

"Cough... Cough... So much for caution," Ash gasped unevenly, voice hoarse while struggling for air.

Amid the churning haze, his stare fixed on the Rune, now tumbled nearby, freed by the blast.

He hauled upright and dashed for it, limbs howling in defiance, agony lancing his limbs, but he clenched jaws and surged on.

Snatching the Rune, he wheeled and fled the chamber.

SCREECH!!!!!

From behind, the Shadow Fang unleashed a piercing cry, the cavern quaking from its fury.

The monster sprang, bridging the gap with horrifying velocity.

Ash reacted purely on impulse, leaping sideways as talons slashed the void he'd vacated.

Clasping the Rune firmly, he bolted.

Damn... If I make it through, I'll wipe out every one of these pests... eventually, Ash vowed, driving his ruined body onward.

The pursuit via the passages blurred into chaos. The Shadow Fang proved swifter, mightier, unyielding.

Ash's thighs seared, chest begged oxygen, yet he persisted.

At last, the dim glow of the mine's outflow appeared before him.

But the Shadow Fang trailed inches away, snarls and thuds narrowing the gap relentlessly.

Rough, pitted terrain shredded his soles, shoulders scraped protrusions, but survival trumped all.

The slim beam ahead was his sole escape.

Ash's thoughts whirled.

I can't outpace it forever.

For now, he evaded the feral hunter by leveraging obstacles, but

Upon reaching the expanse outside, capture was assured, with no cover remaining.

Blast it… I need a move!

The Shadow Fang pounced anew.

Ash wrenched away at the brink,

But fortune evaded him this round.

Fatigue wracked him, his structure crumbling.

The beast's talons scored his flank, sending jolts of hurt as his shredded garb dampened with crimson.

Ash faltered, almost toppling, but willed himself ahead.

The entry's radiance intensified, mere strides distant.

Summoning his final reserves, he lunged at a mound of unstable stones by the threshold.

He rose swiftly, disregarding the gash, and heaved the heap with all his might.

The stones cascaded, sealing off tunnel segments.

Clouds of silt and chunks swirled, and the Shadow Fang wailed as the cascade engulfed it.

Ash lurched from the mines, crumpling outside.

His respiration rasped, frame quivering from depletion and rush.

Crimson oozed from his lateral injury, grave enough for lethality—not immediately, though.

But then,

Bzzzt—rrrrk-rrrk-khhh...

!!!!!!!!!

Ash's eyes bulged at the noise.

***