"Huff... Huff..." Lein continued to run away—the weight of his rucksack made him feel slower and sluggish.
The continuous maneuver, repeated tensing of muscles, the despair of death behind him—Lein had no reason to stop. He needs to continue running.
His father, Velox, is fighting someone right now. There is not one moment to spare and waste precious time—Lein has to run.
Knowing what would happen if he had tried to catch his breath, He kept going. Without a thought of turning back, he kept running.
Soon, fatigue is slowly building up in his limbs, making the rucksack heavier than usual.
Lein's breathing became even more irregular—his heart pounding off his chest like a cannon repeatedly firing.
Before long, the trees cleared, and a clear blue color panned throughout the sky. Just as Lein's father said, there is a body of water below.
Lein took a peek, the river cascading to the bottom with a loud crash—its power formed small waves that ripple throughout.
Looking at it from above is rather... Terrifying. But, compared to what Lein saw earlier—it was nothing. Nonetheless it's still scary.
Lein tried to steady his breath, and prepared for a leap. However, he was doubting whether or not he had to jump.
Sure, his father told him to jump—but Lein was skeptical. He doesn't know how deep the water below is—if the depth were shallow, Lein would suffer either permanent leg damage, paralysis, or death.
Lein looked around to see if there was any other way to scale down the cliff. Vines of a tree are way high up for a normal human to reach—but Lein isn't technically what you'd call a 'normal human.'
In quick succession, Lein grabbed vines from nearby trees—in each turn he tenses his already-tired muscles, the last ounce of strength will grant him rest and safety.
Crafting a rope, Lein tied it to the thickest tree he could find. From there, he threw the rope off a cliff and began to descend.
Lein had reached the bottom, and the thunderous sound of water splashing was much more audible than before. The peaceful sound of birds singing echoed throughout.
Without much time to think, Lein dropped to his knees. He was exhausted after repetitive tensing. His muscles screamed, barely even able to exert themselves.
However, after all this running, only one thing was on his mind. A phrase that continued to resonate within his self.
"Never be guided. Never be guided." Lein repeated that phrase, trying to decipher its meaning.
Meanwhile, somewhere far away from Lein, the sound of steel crashing each other can be heard. An Unholy Swordsman and a Father were neck and neck against each other.
While The Unholy Swordsman released a barrage of slashes using his crimson blade, Velox perfectly parried every single one of them.
Velox retreated to the jungle at lightning speed, and for a moment, the usual barrages stopped. The Unholy Swordsman descended to the ground, his blade tracing the earth as he moved forward.
Velox, on the other hand, expeditiously moved from tree to tree, creating a yellow trail that formed a cobweb. In an instant, he stood in front of The Unholy Swordsman with a smirk on his face.
Seeing Velox in front of him, the Unholy Swordsman swung his blade vertically—but before he could slice him into pieces, Velox was already gone.
The next second, multiple silhouettes rushed towards The Unholy Swordsman—all eager to try and pierce every vital spot that was exposed.
However, with the flick of his hand, the blade stood firm and aloof. It drew in a circular motion, completely cutting all the silhouettes.
"Tch." Velox shook the ground, rocks and rubble began to ascend and fall down—creating an uneven surface and little to no leg space.
The Unholy Swordsman was caught in it. Seeking a chance for a fatal blow, Velox compressed his right arm with all his willpower, causing burns and tears in his muscle.
None of that mattered; what Velox only needed was a single punch, a single swing to the face, and his enemy would disintegrate.
After tensing his right arm, he closed in on the gap—a beeline to The Unholy Swordsman, still trying to get a foothold.
It all happened in ten seconds. From the silhouettes, to the burning fist that drove into The Unholy Swordsman's face, Velox sent his enemy flying and barreling against the jungle, destroying the path as he tumbled.
The sound of trees crashing down one by one reverberated as a cloud of smoke and dust covered the area.
Everything went silent.
Velox still hasn't let his guard down—until the smoke clears, he'll put it up until he has confirmed that The Unholy Swordsman is dead.
"..." It was silent. The river far away can be vaguely heard as sweat rolls down Velox's face. His right arm is suffering 2nd-degree burns, and his muscle spasms are out of control.
Overall, he is okay, with so much experience under his belt, the pain of burns and soft tissue injury is less than hard—it was easy. Easy to withstand and deal with.
Velox walked to where his wife was hiding—she was on her knees, clutching her staff as she silently prayed for her husband. With the sight of Velox's face, she was relieved and hugged him tightly.
"It's alright, I'm safe. Contact the Kronos Corp for me—I need to inform them that the information was true." Velox reassured as he combed his wife's long amber hair using his fingers.
'That feeling from earlier, my fist did connect, but his body didn't disintegrate.' Velox carried his wife and went to the village. He figured that since The Unholy Swordsman was here, there were also other confidants coming along.
All of them are equal to or better in terms of combat compared to Velox. If they rushed him all at once, needless to say, Velox is as good as dead. But he was only faced once and suffered minor injuries.
As Velox ran back to the village with his wife in his hands, Lein, on the other hand, fell asleep while trying to rest for a bit before going back on the run.
As Velox made his way back, his wife contacted the Kronos Corp about the whole situation. Communication was ill primitive, but thanks to Magic, it was as simple and effective.
***
Magic, in this world, is a common phenomenon that was studied and research by those who seek out it's rational function—we call them 'Magicians.'
While it is definitely of imagination and an excuse for bizarre and unexplainable scenarios, 'Magicians' have realized that Magic, never collides with the nature of the world.
It functions as energy that can converted into any states of matter—be it solid, liquid, gas, or plasma. Magic is a type of energy. An energy that can be absorbed like food but instead of consuming, you breathe and sense it around you.
With our lungs, we can store Magic, just like how we use oxygen to be transported around our body—Magic does the same.
Magic and oxygen bind with the blood, and the blood circulates it around the whole body, giving it to cells, allowing them to be far healthier.
There are two types of magic: Internal and External Magic.
Internal Magic refers to how magic is used inside the body, whether it's for faster metabolism, stronger muscles, perfect vision, heightened senses, etc.
As for External Magic, it is how magic is used outside of our body. Our skin, the air around us, the sword that we grip, the shovel that we dig with, if applied with magic, we can greatly enhances these parts.
There is also a neat trick when using External Magic, if you managed to sense and claim the magic that is stored within the air that is near your body—you can create a 'Domain Sphere' around you, effectively allowing you to absorb magic quicker that is inside your domain and use magic to transport inside or outside your body, vice versa.
When the body has reached a certain proficiency with using magic, you will develop a core. It is like a second heart, except that heart is made out of mana, and will separate oxygen for blood and cells—mana for cells only.
***
After a few hours, Lein woke up feeling dizzy—but refreshed. The sound of the water crashing down below wasn't an annoyance to him but rather therapeutic.
Dusk was setting, the glimmer of light from the sun reflects throughout the area—even as far as to ride along the river, it's golden color strikes the dense jungle.
Feeling parched, Lein got up and stretched his arms and legs before scooping a handful from the river.
As he drank the water, his body screamed—from top to bottom, his muscles were sore, really sore, hard and couldn't relax—it was difficult to move.
Lein hissed at the pain, but continued to drink from the river—refreshing his body and mind with each gulp, his throat as smooth as the water he drank.
"Hahh...!! Much better." Lein wiped his wet lips before lifting his rucksack and continued to run again.
His next destination: The Portal.
However, he might have forgotten something before descending the cliff, did he...?