CHAPTER 35: A GIFT? FOR ME!?

It’s been... well, a few days at least. I think I’m going crazy in this forest. One moment I was so tired I passed out under a tree, the next I woke to find myself being dragged somewhere. When I came to, I was dangling high in the branches, staring into the unblinking eyes of a giant bird with a beak the size of an adult’s torso.

You should’ve seen me drop. I didn’t care if I died on the way down—better splatter on the ground than get swallowed whole. I’m the predator here!

...Yeah, right.

At least the bleeding finally stopped. Will I ever see that much blood in my life again? No wonder the ground looks like it’s built out of it.

Oh, great. Same tree. Same bush. Same creeping irritation! AHHH!

I’m breathing like an enraged bull, fighting the urge to snap and go berserk—but without my author powers, what can I even do?

Fwoooong—

What’s that sound?

Something whistles through the air above me.

Before I can even look up—

THUNK-CLANG!

"Ow—!" A solid weight slams into the top of my head, and my vision spins like a drunken carnival ride. "Who the hell—? Ah?!"

I look down. Buried in the moss lies a small, red cylinder with black letters printed across it. Metallic. Tube-shaped.

[Congratulations!]

A system screen flickers to life in front of me—the first I’ve seen in days—its glow almost blinding in this cursed forest.

[You have received your first gift from reader — Milo4more]

[You have received 1 Ice Cola]

A gift? For me?! Thank you!! Milo4more, you’re amazing! How did you even manage to do that?! I knew you were all lying to me— you are gods after all... how else could this be possible?

I sulk for a moment before picking the thing up from the ground. So... what do you call this? It’s all metal, but so thin... how is that even possible? I knock on it a few times. Definitely full. I think there’s liquid inside... after all, the system said it’s a "cold cola." But... what’s a cola?

I turn it over in my hands, looking for a way in. Do I just smash it against the ground? Wait... what’s this little metal thing on top? Looks like a tiny ring. Maybe if I just... I hook my fingernail under it and start lifting. Slowly, it rises, and at the same time, a strange hiss escapes the small crack where the ring meets the metal.

Psshhhhhhhtttt!

The thing suddenly hisses like an angry cat, and before I can react, a violent spray of brown liquid erupts from the hole, splattering all over my face, hair, and clothes.

"Gah! It’s attacking me!" I jump back, nearly dropping the... cola creature, both hands flailing as the icy liquid runs down my neck. The hiss turns into a bubbly gurgle, and more of it foams over the top like it’s trying to escape.

A living monster?!

My eyes almost pop. Is this another trick of this damned forest?!

I stand there, drenched and shivering, staring at the strange metal creature in my hands. Without thinking, I lick my lips and wipe the liquid from my face. It’s sticky.

...Oh.

Oh...

WOAH!

It’s sweet... So sweet!

Like liquid happiness poured straight into my soul. My knees nearly buckle. My eyes start to sting—not from the sticky liquid, but because I haven’t tasted anything like this in my entire life. And here, in this cursed forest where the only food is bugs and larvae, it feels like a blessing from the heavens.

"This... this is the nectar of gods..." I whisper to no one in particular, before tilting my head back and gulping the rest in one greedy swallow. The cold rush floods my throat and chest, each gulp lighting me up inside like I’ve been kissed by the sun itself.

When it’s empty, I lower the strange cola creature slowly, holding it like a sacred relic. "Milo4more... I will never forget you."

Seriously, that was so delicious... do you have more?

"Ow!" I flinch as if an invisible fist just smacked the top of my head, and the memory hits me harder than the phantom pain. My papa... He’d always knock me like that whenever I got greedy. Never take more than you need, he’d say, and if I forgot, well... smack.

I miss you, Pa.

My thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a low rumble deep in my belly.

Oh... wait. Is it supposed to feel this filling? My stomach feels like it’s swelling into a balloon, ready to pop. Something’s building in my throat, heavy and unstoppable.

H-Hey! This isn’t poison, is it?! Am I going to blow up?!

Oh no—oh no! It’s coming!

"BUUUUURRRRRRRAAAAAAAPPPPPP!!!"

A ridiculous burst of air escapes my throat, so loud it sounds like some bear roar from deep in the mountains. Hah!That was... actually fun.

I never imagined a burp could be that powerful. Sure, everyone burps after eating too much, but this? I might have just set a new world record.

...Except... uh... I may have made a fatal mistake.

The forest rustles, shadows weaving between the trees. From the dark embrace of the undergrowth, monsters emerge one by one: giant cats, wolves, bears, towering birds, coiling snakes... and even a rabbit that looms higher than the trees themselves.

This burp may as well have been a dinner bell.

"It wasn’t me, it was... umm... that one! Yeah!" I point at a tiny bug beside me. Every predator eye shifts to it for a heartbeat... then swivels back to me, as if to say, Really? Their mouths glisten, and they start moving in, step by step.

"Hey, I don’t taste good! I’m all bones and skin... I’m bad for your diet! Look, how about that rabbit over there? Big, juicy, and enough meat to feed the whole forest!"

The predators actually pause, their gazes turning toward the massive creature. Hope sparks in my chest. Maybe—

POOF!

The rabbit vanishes into thin air.

I freeze. "...Am I watching a magic show right now?!" My voice cracks as I throw my arms up. "Give me a skill like that too!"