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‘C-Cold… Too Cold…’ Arthur’s face twisted in pain as he struggled against the intense pain assaulting every inch of his body. He couldn’t open his eyes as the water was going to freeze from the coldness.
However, he still struggled against the strong water current driving him somewhere unknown. He was in horrible pain but that didn’t stop his body from resisting to survive. Swinging his arms left and right, he swam up until he emerged from the water’s surface.
“Hah!! Hah!!!” He looked around quickly as he sucked in gulps of breath. The water around him was freezing his skin to the point of burning but he still clenched his teeth through it.
‘I’m being dragged down the stream! Dammit!’ He cursed. Trying to resist the stream was impossible as it was simply too strong. All Arthur could do was swim in the direction of the stream.
Looking back at where he came from, he could see a glimpse of the sinking ship in the distance.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Spitting out a mouthful of water, Arthur struggled to keep his head above the surface of the water. If it wasn’t for his strong legs that could keep him floating, he would’ve already drowned.
“What should I do? Where does this river even end?” Arthur asked himself. ‘I can’t swim to the shorts… It’s too far away and this current is too chaotic… I might drown trying to do that.’
Although the situation wasn’t good at all, Arthur was at least happy he didn’t die after being squashed by the stone hand.
Seconds passed and Arthur found himself completely alone, in an unknown section of the river as he continued traveling down the stream at a very rapid pace. His eyes kept looking down, fearing a monster might snatch him at any given moment.
‘That woman and that stone hand! They could be chasing after me now! I need to check underwater!’
Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, Arthur hesitated for a moment before he dipped his head underwater and looked around. The water beneath was surprisingly dark with little to no light.
Even Arthur’s strong vision didn’t reveal everything to him and that put him at even more unease. A single look underwater and he already felt a strong urge to emerge again. It just felt terrifying, like a dark abyss threatening to swallow him.
This feeling was similar to the one he experienced when he was in that frozen lake. But, the difference was that the lake didn’t hide that darkness under a beautiful blue color. This river was akin to a trap with some flare.
It attracts you with its beauty before it drags you into the darkness, never to be seen again. Arthur was right in the heart of that trap with no escape.
Seconds turned into minutes turned into tens of minutes. Arthur was somehow able to remain alive during that time. No monster attacked him even when he was resisting the current, trying to remain alive and exit the river.
He was growing exhausted with all the effort he was putting and his head was starting to get submerged underwater more and more often.
‘I can’t do anything… Hah… Hah… I’m freezing very quickly. Where does this river even end?’
Looking into the distance, Arthur couldn’t see much due to the constant waves of water crashing right before his eyes.
‘I need to figure out a way to get out of this water or I’m done for… Think, Arthur, think!’ He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to ignore his burning skin and his exhaustion. His mind needed to be calm for him to come up with an idea.
That was how he dealt with things and that was what worked for him. A few seconds passed as the noises around him became mere echoes of their reality. Only his breathing noises reached him.
A few moments later, he opened his eyes again as an idea struck his head. Quickly, he lifted his hand in the air.
‘Frost Flame!’ He activated his skill. A burning blue flame formed on the palm of his hand. Then, Arthur threw it forward and it landed on the surface of the water.
Immediately, the flame dispersed as it formed an ice sheet a few meters in diameter. Arthur quickly latched onto it and climbed up with sheer will.
“Yes!! I did it…” Falling on the ice sheet, he inhaled and exhaled with wide eyes. His heart was beating loud in his ears and his mind was in shambles. But, he was alive and intact.
Staring into the dark sky, he felt as if all his life was flashing before his eyes at that moment. He was cold, wet, and tired, but he felt the most alive ever. Something about his situation injected him with an intense will to live.
“Ugh… They got me… They got me good.” Sitting down with a groan, he sighed with a dark expression. “I was completely played into their small game. That woman and that stupid stone hand she has… They aren’t as simple as I thought.”
Recalling the entire situation, Arthur realized how he was completely outplayed on every single front. Not only did they cast their illusion on him, but they did it in a way where he could only realize it when it was all over.
‘They didn’t even try to kill me… They just wanted to toy with me like I’m nothing.’ Clenching his fists, Arthur felt extremely angry. “Fine, if that’s what you want to do. You got it. I might not be able to defeat you now but I will come back here and show you what I can do. You better pray that something hinders me because I will make this river your grave.”
Arthur’s pride had sustained a strong hit, being the strongest player in the world, he didn’t accept such a humiliation. He had never been someone with an ego, but after everything he went through, his personality underwent a lot of changes.
He couldn’t accept humiliation as easily as he did before. He now felt the ego of the strongest and he couldn’t see defeat as a simple thing. Especially when this defeat brought along with it the death of every single mercenary.
“This had become personal. You will get what you asked for.” He muttered.
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As the boy was like that, the ice sheet continued traveling down the stream, sailing smoothly even against the raging current. The ice of the frozen flame was simply that rigid and hard to break. It can sustain the continuous pressure of the water around it with ease. Still, Arthur remained alert in case the ice cracks or breaks or if a monster attacks him from beneath the surface of the water.
“Let’s see where this river leads me to. If It can bring me to the shore, I can make my way back to the settlement.” He mused with a calm look. “But, a feeling is telling me that the river doesn’t end at a random spot. At least not in a traditional sense.”
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!