CHAPTER 59: DANGER!

The scene of a late-sixteen-year-old boy chasing a wolf that was almost a meter tall was hilarious. Many people would be confused. Shouldn’t it be the wolf chasing the boy?

Because the wolf was clearly the robust, "Strongest," and largest one here. It was larger both in size and in volume.

Then why was the boy chasing the wolf?

And it was quite clear the wolf wasn’t even afraid of the boy.

They would all think so—until they got to know the power and terror this young guy had... and could cause.

So, Leon continued to think hard, but no matter how he tried, he could not come up with a logical reason as to what, or how, they planned to trap him.

’What if they spread something sticky... and make me get stuck?’

’Or some kind of net trap... or traps that would be activated when I step on something?’

’What am I even thinking about? Wolves can’t do those complex traps—unless it’s a wolf man/woman or something with a humanoid form.’

’They have the intelligence, but their paws aren’t hands. They’re not perfectly made to do these kinds of complex traps.’

’Whatever it is... I know it’s simple, yet dangerous.

’But I’m quite sure that none of my guesses is the answer.’

Leon continued to chase the wolf leniently, slowly closing the distance between them.

’Whatever it is, I need to be alert and look out for anything that would endanger me.’

He almost told himself that there was nothing to look out for. Because all the other wolves were out of sight. Apart from Leon and the Alpha, there was no other living thing in that place—only ice, and these two running on it. So whatever trap it was, it was supposed to be easy to spot, right?

Leon knew this was not going to be easy. After thinking for a while, he gave up. He didn’t want to think that much.

But suddenly, he thought of something very simple.

Dig. Wolves can dig, right?

And that’s the easiest trap I can think of.

All it needs is a cover-up, and one wouldn’t be able to know... unless they step on it. And stepping on it means falling into the hole.

But if I fall in a hole, I can always activate the Mana Jet and fly out... wait, how could I forget—I’ll lose it the moment my feet touch the ground of the hole. But is that it? Is there anything I’m missing? There’s got to be something I don’t know...

He had a feeling that this was it... but he wasn’t very sure.

The Alpha turned around again, locking its eyes on Leon before snarling. Its tone and eyes were filled with contempt.

It was very angry that despite its warning, Leon did not turn back.

Leon ignored the warning and continued chasing it.

They had been running for miles now and the wolf showed no sign of stopping.

At the Mission, the System said that I will lose the Skill in order to get out. Does it mean from the hole? So, I won’t lose the Skill because I fell into the hole... but I will lose it in order to get out?

But what if I kill it before we reach whatever hole or trap it is currently leading me into?

A devilish grin crept onto Leon’s face and he quickly unsheathed his dagger, staring at the Alpha Wolf menacingly.

With this in mind, Leon circulated Mana, manipulating it towards his toes, increasing the pressure in his legs and giving himself even more speed.

With his speed increased, it didn’t take long before he was just two meters away from the wolf.

Meanwhile, the Alpha wolf sensed the dense killing intent and bloodlust directed at it, and immediately turned to look at Leon.

It gulped, before giving Leon a smug look, obviously trying to annoy him.

Leon ignored the look and continued to chase.

Soon, he was beside the wolf—just at its left-hand side.

He slashed at the wolf, using the dagger in his right hand, wanting to kill it with that very strike.

’What will you do now, dumb wolf? No Alpha! No trap! Easy peasy! I just need to kill you before we reach whatever trap we’re going to reach—hehe!’

Leon smirked at his thoughts, not yet realizing that he was acting like a scary devil right now.

Just as the blade was inches away from hitting the wolf, the wolf made a sharp turn—darting suddenly to its right.

All this happened so fast, and Leon was caught off guard by its sudden action.

But one thing was sure right now.

"Noo! I need to jump!"

...

Three Seconds Ago

Leon slashed the beast, losing focus on his surroundings—though he was still running at full speed. But when the beast suddenly changed direction, he snapped back to his senses.

Just a meter ahead of him was a fifteen-meter-deep hole. It was dug in a rectangular shape, about three meters in length, four meters in breadth, and seemingly fifteen meters deep.

The depth—fifteen meters—wasn’t something he guessed randomly; the entire pit was covered in a white, foggy mist.

It could be more or less than that, but Leon was scared of the fog. He knew it wasn’t ordinary. He was curious about its effects, but still, he didn’t dare test it.

If anything, his instincts were blaring in his head, warning him that no matter what, he must not fall into the hole. Worse, they were giving him a headache-like buzz, repeating the same thing over and over—don’t breathe in that mist.

With the speed he was running, Leon knew he wouldn’t be able to stop instantly. Turning in the direction the wolf just turned wasn’t an option either—it might cause him to spiral into the hole.

It was like a car driving at top speed, suddenly making a sharp turn... only to discover a cliff.

Even if the car turns, there’s a high chance it would still swerve into the cliff. Unless the driver turns and brakes at the same time, there’s only a slightly higher chance of survival.

But human legs aren’t car tires.

Unlike tires, the human leg can’t turn direction and stop simultaneously.

For this reason, Leon saw jumping over the hole as the best option—even if that came with risks he had no time to calculate. The only known risk was inhaling the fog.

But something told him—though dangerous, the fog might not be life-threatening.

He clenched his jaw in anger. Why was the wolf able to turn at such a dangerous corner with perfect timing? Because it knew the terrain well. It had it all memorized.

And worse—it had planned this.

Meanwhile, Leon was flabbergasted and confused, suddenly finding a death pit in front of him.

He was Level 7. His current speed was more or less 50 mph. So, jumping a distance of four meters in one leap wouldn’t even cause him to sweat.

What alarmed him now was the unknown danger waiting in that mist.

But he knew... now wasn’t the time to think deeply.

There were two options, and none involved wasting precious seconds.

Jump—or fall.

"Nooo! I need to jump!"

Current Time

Leon immediately drew in a lungful of air and jumped over the hole with the full force of his speed, which hadn’t decelerated yet.

He held his breath—everything suddenly shifted into slow motion.

He felt it then. A magnetic pull—dragging him down into the pit.

A notification popped up in that exact moment.

And when he saw the content—

He was scared shitless.

He was halfway across the hole, and now more than ever, he needed to reach the other side—or he’d lose the skill he worked so hard to create.

He looked at the notification.

He gasped.

He breathed in.

In the mist.

┏━━━━━━━━┓

WARNING!!!

HP (-100)

┗━━━━━━━━┛

┏━━━━━━━━━━┓

HP (-150)

┗━━━━━━━━━━┛

Leon could only watch as his health points dropped by the hundreds—heartbreakingly fast.

He cursed his luck.

There was nothing he could do to stop it.

By the time he landed on the other side of the hole, over 40% of his HP was gone.

And then...

┏━━━━━━━━━━┓

HP (-1000)

┗━━━━━━━━━━┛

When he reached the other side, he realized something far worse—

He wouldn’t land safely.

That magnetic force was still active, pulling at him like a chained anchor.

He was being dragged in.

His fingers clawed desperately at the wet, cold snow at the edge.

He tried to activate Mana Jet.

Nothing.

No response.

Sweat poured from his face.

"Fuck! What should I do...? Have I lost Mana Jet, just like that?!"

He felt his mind go blank—panic sinking in.

"Maybe I should activate Light Steps..."

"Since it reduces my weight, the magnetic force will have a lesser effect on my body... right?"

The clump of snow he was holding onto began breaking apart.

He was out of time.

He activated Light Steps.

Relief.

The magnetic pull lessened.

****

A/N:

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