I know I have said this more than once during my stay in this cursed place, but this genuinely felt like literally running in circles around the entire fucking camp.

  Tents blurred past me. Supply crates stacked like unstable towers flashed in the corner of my vision. The dirt beneath my boots kicked up in dry clouds that clung to my burning lungs. My heart pounded so violently it felt like it was trying to punch its way out of my ribcage.

  And behind me? Boots. Armor. Shouts.

  I tried my best to outrun those little bastards chasing me, weaving through narrow pathways between tents, cutting corners so tight my shoulder brushed canvas walls. Every breath scraped my throat raw.

  Why the hell does this camp feel so much bigger when you’re being hunted?

  You see, there was this matter that had been bothering me for a while now. A detail. A single, tiny detail. Something I noticed just before everything went black that day.

  Remember how that mysterious aura literally made me pass out? There was no physical strike, no spell circle, and no incantation—just pure presence, power, and oppression.

  Right before I collapsed, before my vision blurred into nothing and my knees buckled like a broken puppet, I saw something. A necklace. It shined under the burning sun. It wasn't a normal shine or some polished metal glint; it radiated. The light seemed to hum around it, distorting the air faintly like heat rising from desert sand. I remember squinting at it, confused.

  Then darkness swallowed me whole.

  And now? Now that same necklace rested against Mugyeol’s chest. The exact same one. Which meant one very disturbing thing: Mugyeol had a presence strong enough to knock out mages without even physically touching them.

  What kind of monster does that?

  “Hey guards, throw the spears!” a sharp voice rang out behind me.

  I did not need to turn around to know who it was. The female elf with the red horsehair helmet. Her tone was precise, commanding, and cutting clean through the chaos.

  A split second later, I heard the air tear.

  Spears flew past me. One whizzed near my ear, close enough that I felt the wind of it. Another stabbed into the dirt inches from my foot. One more grazed my shoulder but missed flesh. They failed. Barely.

  “Damn it!” one of the soldiers hissed.

  “Spread out! Cut him off!” another shouted.

  Ugh, I thought. These soldiers are going to hit me soon enough.

  My lungs were starting to burn. My legs were not infinite.

  And Mugyeol? He was nowhere in sight behind me. That made it worse. If he was chasing me, at least I would know the direction of death. But this? This was a swarm. And the female commander was not stupid. She adjusted quickly.

  I glanced over my shoulder for half a second. Big mistake.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  She had already drawn something different—a trident instead of a spear. Its metal gleamed unnaturally bright. She did not hesitate. She hurled it.

  The thing flew like a streak of lightning, spinning once before straightening in mid-air. It slammed into the ground right beside my stomach as I twisted away, the prongs barely grazing my skin.

  My shirt tore. Cloth split open. I stumbled forward, breath hitching.

  For a second, I thought I was fine. Then the after-effects kicked in.

  Heat. Sudden and violent.

  Half my shirt ignited like it had been soaked in oil. Flames crawled across the fabric, licking upward toward my chest.

  “What the fuck!” I shouted.

  The fire bit at my skin, not enough to cripple me just yet, but definitely enough to make my panic spike.

  I scanned wildly. Water. I needed water.

  And then I saw it. A well. Old stone bricks stacked in a circular frame, a rope hanging down with a wooden bucket already filled and resting on the edge.

  Thank you, whatever higher power still tolerates me.

  I bolted toward it. She noticed immediately. Of course she did. She was watching my movements like a hawk.

  “Don’t let that fuckin’ kid get that bucket!” she roared.

  A soldier a few meters ahead of me turned, eyes widening as he realized what I was about to do. He lunged.

  Too slow.

  I grabbed the bucket first. Cold water sloshed over my hands. Without hesitation, I dumped the entire thing over my head.

  The flames hissed violently, steam bursting upward as the fire died out in an instant. My hair clung to my forehead. My skin prickled from the sudden temperature shift.

  I sucked in a sharp breath. Alive. Still alive.

  The soldier reached me just as I lowered the empty bucket. He raised his spear to stab.

  I did not think. I reacted.

  I swung the bucket with everything I had. It smashed directly into the side of his helmet with a loud, hollow crack. His head snapped sideways. His body staggered.

  For half a second he stood there, frozen, like his brain was trying to decide what just happened. Then his eyes rolled back. He collapsed onto the dirt.

  I stared down at him. Please be unconscious. No time to check.

  “Surround him!” the female commander shouted.

  More soldiers closed in. I backed up, gripping the bucket by its handle like it was some legendary weapon instead of a wooden farming tool.

  “You’re persistent,” she called out, stepping forward slowly, retrieving another spear from a nearby soldier. “I’ll give you that.”

  I wiped water from my eyes.

  “Yeah?” I shot back, breath uneven. “You’re annoying as hell. I’ll give you that.”

  Her eyes narrowed slightly behind her helmet. “You’ve caused enough damage today.”

  “And you’ve caused enough in general,” I muttered.

  Jim…

  The memory flickered. Blood. That calm voice. That necklace.

  Where the fuck was Mugyeol?

  That question lingered in the back of my mind like a blade hovering over my neck. Because if he stepped in now—this would not be a chase anymore. This would be an execution.

  The female commander raised her spear.

  “Last chance,” she said, voice steady. “Surrender.”

  I let out a short, breathless laugh.

  “You really think I’d survive surrendering?”

  She did not answer. This was already an answer.

  The soldiers tightened their circle. Spears angled toward me. Boots shifting in unison. The camp that had felt so large minutes ago now felt suffocatingly small. My wet shirt clung to my skin, half burned and torn, steam still faintly rising from it.

  However, thankfully I managed to find an opening to run out without getting stabbed at.

  Think. Think, you idiot.

  Because if I did not think fast… the next thing flying at me would not miss.