I sprang up from the bed when I inhaled the smoke.
"What happened? How did it happen?" I was just out for a while, and now this! I was panicking like crazy.
"There, there, it's okay. The smoke was coming from this paper that I was burning."
That motherfucker! He's really out of his mind. Without a word, I just jumped on him. But he slipped out of my grasp.
"Sorry!!!" he screamed. "I just thought this would definitely wake you up."
But the wire of my brain had already snapped. So I didn't heed to any of his nonsense. I just ran after him with the thought of beating him up.
I dashed after him like a mad bull, my fists clenched and my blood boiling.
"YOU IDIOT! STOP RIGHT THERE!" I screamed, but he only laughed and ran faster, zigzagging between the trees like a mischievous squirrel.
And here I am, chasing him like a hungry cat chasing after a mouse.
I almost caught his tiny wings, but he yelped and slipped through a narrow gap between two trees, leaving me to crash face-first into the trunk.
"Arghhh!!" I groaned, peeling my face off the bark and chasing again. My anger level was increasing more and more.
He leapt over a sleeping giant boar (it was a mix of a boar and rhinoceros — creepy, but I was too blinded by anger to notice that).
I tried to jump too, but my foot caught on a branch and I tumbled head over heels like a rolling potato. Dirt and leaves clung to my hair, but I sprung back up without even brushing them off.
I will beat you up even if I break every bone in my body!!
"Catch me if you can!" he yelled back, waving his hands at me like a taunt.
"RAAAH!!" I roared and ran even faster.
Then I came to an open space, but there were a lot of snakes guarding their eggs.
He can't hide, because I know his mana signature, his breathing, and his smell, so I'll know even if he's hiding.
I found him! He was hiding behind one of the eggs — he even changed himself into an egg.
An idea came to my mind: let's make the snakes chase after him.
I lifted my hand and pointed my index finger near a spot closer to him.
Then I concentrated my mana at the tip of my finger, and it formed a tiny fireball.
It was really beautiful to look at because my fire was a mix of pink, blue, and red colors like an opal.
He wanted me to gain practical experience, right? So here I go.
I shot it. The blast and shockwave revealed his true form. All the snakes became alert and leaped on him the moment they saw him.
I thought, Finally, I got him.
All the snakes wrapped him up.
But he blasted them off.
What gives?! He is a god, after all. Sigh.
But my anger won't stop if I don't see him in misery.
He then gave me a smirky smile while waving at me, and vanished again.
But he can't escape.
We tore through the forest — jumping over rocks, ducking under thorny vines, and slipping in muddy patches.
At one point, he almost tripped over a twisted root but caught his balance at the last second.
I was right behind him, but when I tried to dodge the same root, I skidded on the mud and ended up sliding on my butt like a broken sled.
Still, I didn't stop.
He sprinted up a little hill and looked back, sticking out his tongue.
Then he saluted me mockingly, like a proud general after winning a war, and — with a wicked grin — jumped backward through the bush.
"GET BACK HERE!" I yelled, leaping after him without thinking.
But the ground vanished under my feet.
There was a cliff.
He was somehow floating in the air.
And me?
I was already plummeting like a rock.
I'm gonna die! my brain screamed.
But somehow, between screaming and flailing, another part of my brain kicked in — the part that remembered physics class.
Acceleration! Gravity! AIR RESISTANCE! WAIT!!
WIND MAGIC!
For a glorious half-second, I was flying — arms flapping, body soaring.
"I DID IT!!" I screamed joyfully.
But then... reality hit me.
Literally.
"A-HAAAAAAAA!"
Finally, I slammed into the side of a rocky hill with a loud, undignified THUD!
If it wasn't for Shila's muscle enhancement, I would have died.
From above, I heard the sound of laughter.
That devil was laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach, rolling on the ground.
I lay there for a moment, seeing three suns spinning in the sky.
But I was not defeated.
I groaned, pushed myself up with trembling arms, spat out some grass, and glared at him.
"I'm not done yet..." I growled.
Staggering to my feet, still dizzy, still covered in dirt, I prepared for another try.
I failed again.
Idea (☉｡☉)!
I grabbed some small rocks from the hill and threw them upwards towards him.
Then I made myself faster than light — the world seemed to move in slow motion.
Without wasting time, I leaped on those rocks and climbed towards him.
But that bastard caught on fast.
So he flew downward into the trees.
But with my speed, time was on my side.
By changing the matter of my body, I became lightweight and flew towards him, adjusting the weight of different parts of my body and using wind pressure.
Finally, I was able to fly.
Hehe, you fucker, just wait.
Then he jumped into a pond full of giant electric eels.
No matter what, I'm not going into it — and I don't even know how to swim in the first place.
I dipped my hand into the pond, and with my condensed mana, I steamed out all the water.
All the monsters and fish in the pond became sushi.
( Although sushi isn't steamed fish)
Shame I can't eat it, because I have a bigger fish to catch.
"Dude, if it wasn't for my barrier, I would have been steamed potatoes, you know."
"Do you think I care? I did it for that purpose."
"You Balchoda Hola, Mor, Mor Mor!!!"
(Author here, in my locality it means "you moth**f***g son, die die die.")
I think he cursed me in god language. It doesn't matter if I don't understand it, right?
So I threw a dirt ball at him out of anger.
He dodged it and flew towards a sleeping Gatarototus and stopped in front of it.
He gave me a super scary, villainous smile.
Then he lifted his fist and opened it — all the sand from it fell into the nose of Gatarototus.
"Hah.....AAAAA...CHI!!!"
His big sneeze blew everything that was in front of him — including me.
I am now flying towards the cliff again for crash landing — and also covered in mucus.
Augh!!! THAT PESKY GUY IS DEFINITELY GONNA PAY, I SWEAR!
I flew back to him, but he wasn't there.
Really, what did I take him for?!
Again, I used my eye, and that damn mouse — he now hid himself into the belly of Gatarototus.
What should I do now? Ummm, how could I knock out both of them? How should I kill two birds with one arrow?
Idea (☉｡☉)!
Hehehe, I will feed it Jolap (it is a local medicine that helps old people with constipation problems — with one spoon of it, you don't need to sit hours for your business).
So I filled the belly of an elephant with 300L of Jolap and put the delicious-smelling elephant in front of it.
After some time, it woke up and fed on it.
Soon after eating, its stomach started making grumbling sounds.
Finally, it pooped... god.
Hahahahahaha, that was a scene.
But that rascal shook his body, and all the liquid poop fell onto me like the first rain.
It drenched me like a cat taking a bath.
My anger level maxed out.
I concentrated all my power on my legs and ran like my life depended on it.
Seeing me so hyped up, he also started to run.
We both went all out.
The path we took was on fire because of our high speed.
I saw some Gatarototus and other monsters split in half on the way because of us.
And finally, after a long chase, I caught him.
I squished him hard.
I grabbed his foot with a tight grip and slammed him a few times, then threw him at the tree trunk. Then again, I caught him, and now he was screaming to stop.
Then he slipped again.
"Look, we are finally out of the forest!"
"Duh, you wish! I will kill you today in this forest."
"No, really, look around."
I looked around me.
I really was outside of the forest.
Above my head, there weren't any big trees, only a blue sky with white fluffy clouds.
I could see the horizon, and there was no fence now.
No monster to fear.
I felt relieved — but not for long.
No matter how scary it was, it was my home where I felt ease.
Now that I look back, I want to go back.
I ran back to the trees.
I stopped and stood in the shadows of the trees.
I am confused now.
I should be happy to be free — but why am I sad?
"Oh, Luo. I know you are not used to it. But don't be afraid. You have seen far more dangerous things than anyone (that was just to make me feel okay to fulfill his desire) and you are strong with your own magic that nobody else knows. And I am with you too. So take my hand and come see the world."
He stretched his hand towards me just like Shila — I think she would have done the same thing if she were here.
Oh, Shila, where are you? I really miss her. Sigh.
I took his hand and stepped forward, leaving the forest — the great Azora Dark Forest, my hometown.
My eyes became teary.
I wiped my tears and went towards my freedom.
"Hey, Luo, are you really going to walk all the way?"
"Huh! Why? And where are we heading to?"
Suddenly, I heard the cry for help again