Obsession... What's That? I Just Wish Someone Would Help Me Escape - Chapter 46
That I might be a dual-wielder of powers, one blessed and cursed. Could it be that my constant illness was due to not choosing one over the other?
And when they said I was needed… could it be that those two were actually hoping I could purify them somehow? Were they hoping I had the ability to cleanse them because they were tired of relying on unreliable purification services?
Maybe they thought that if I awakened as a dual-wielder and gained the power of a demon lord, I could be their solution.
Whether or not I’m a dual-wielder… who knows?
“But I haven’t even awakened.”
I had never taken any power tests since I was always focused on healing. I never went to an academy, only homeschooling.
I didn’t even know how to draw out mana.
I had tried channeling my mana once, in an attempt to awaken, but the sheer pain that came over me was so overwhelming that I gave up.
The reason I received the last number, 49, was probably because the measurement results in the prison were just that abysmal.
I gazed at the lake, where sunlight scattered across the rippling surface.
Sway―
Lost in thought for quite some time, I suddenly noticed the bobber dipping below the water’s surface.
“It bit the bait.”
Gripping the taut fishing rod, I tugged hard, struggling to reel in the fish that had taken the bait and tried to escape.
The resistance was no joke—was this a big catch?
“Huh?”
I stared at the result with a disappointed expression.
The fish I had fought so fiercely to pull up was only the size of my palm.
Had I been locked in a life-or-death struggle with this tiny thing?
Before I could even wallow in the absurdity, a chill ran down my spine. I turned around.
A massive, pitch-black bear was staring at me.
I wasn’t joking when I said that the thing was the size of a building.
I held up the fish I’d just caught and shouted,
“Here! Enjoy! I actually prepared this for you!”
Even with my grand gesture, the bear didn’t soften its menacing expression.
It seemed far more interested in eating me than the tiny fish, which wouldn’t even be a mouthful.
“Grrr…”
The bear glared at me fiercely, and I began to slowly back away.
Well, no other choice. Time to run.
I bolted as fast as I could, hearing the ground shake under the bear’s heavy footsteps behind me.
With the bear growling and roaring, my spine tingled, and I nearly tripped several times in panic.
I dashed back to the 20s group’s dwelling, but everyone had gone off to their respective tasks, leaving the place deserted.
I quickly ducked into a hut built in front of the cave and locked the door behind me.
“Huff, huff…”
Somehow, with my trash stamina, I’d managed to escape.
I guess survival instinct makes you push past your limits.
Crunch―!
The bear was prowling around outside, desperate to find me.
The bear had wandered around so recklessly that it didn’t even notice the sparks from the campfire had ignited its fur.
The bear, unaware that its fur had caught the remaining embers from the bonfire, was now setting fire to the shelter.
The biggest problem was that the food supplies, and resources that the 20th group had worked so hard to gather like diligent beavers were being lit up.
Seeing the uncontrollable flames spreading, my head began to throb.
Ah, hell. Everything’s about to burn down to ashes.
If I stayed inside the hut, I’d end up burning to death with it. And if I got blamed for setting the place ablaze, where would I go after being kicked out?
I rushed outside and shouted loudly at the bear.
“Hey! Stop burning everything down!”
“GROAAAAR!”
The bear spotted me, and roared furiously, its back still ablaze. Charging toward me like some demonic bear from hell.
That insane bear—it’s seriously pissed off!
Horrified by the sight of the bear engulfed in flames, I bolted into the forest on the opposite side.
The prisoners had gone deeper into the woods to scavenge for food, so surely there’d be at least one prisoner who could help me out.
“Grrr!”
The flaming bear pursued me, setting trees on fire as it ran through the forest.
My breath was caught in my throat.
Even after dragging every last drop of energy from my body, my stamina had reached its limit.
“Huff, cough, cough…”
My lungs felt like they were tearing apart from inhaling the smoke, and my legs refused to move any further.
I collapsed on the spot.
So, this is how it ends—beaten to death by a bear?
“If I get a next life, I better be reborn as the daughter of some chaebol villainess…”
I muttered the beginnings of a regression novel’s prologue as I sat there.
But suddenly, the enraged bear stopped in its tracks, shook its head violently, and with a soft whimper, it turned around and bolted in the opposite direction.
“What? Why’s it running away?”
It wasn’t scared of me, that’s for sure.
I slowly turned my head in the direction the bear had been staring and instantly felt the blood drain from my face.
Between the thick trees, a pair of eerie glowing eyes were watching me.
Instinctively, I knew. That thing wasn’t an ordinary beast.
“Grrrrr…”
An unpleasant sound rumbled, as if shaking my entire body.
What emerged from between the trees and bushes was a demonic beast far larger than the bear.
“…Wow. I’m screwed.”
