Chapter 6: I Won’t Die Here

Chapter 6: I Won’t Die Here

"I need to run."

That thought echoed in my head, sharp and urgent.

Panic surged through me.

I was genuinely terrified, and who wouldn’t be? That unknown sphere of wind was unbelievably powerful.

It had probably wiped out all the monsters near the river in an instant. Even in a woman’s body, I still treasured my life.

 I feared death more than anyone else. I feared those with the power to end my life on a whim.

Without wasting a second, I activated my Rotation Gap movement skill.

 My body launched forward with incredible speed. 

My vision blurred as I darted left and right through the thick brush.

 I even lowered my presence as much as I could, hoping to disappear from its senses. 

But that wind sphere, that swirling ball of destruction, was still coming straight for me.

Terror gripped me tighter.

"Why the hell is it still tracking me?"

My movement skill had already reached a minor improvement.

It should have been enough to confuse any normal predator.

 But this wasn’t normal.

 It was tracking me like it knew exactly where I was going, without the slightest hesitation.

"Damn."

I bit my lip in fear.

My stamina and mana were already running low. Using the skill for even a few minutes had drained me more than I expected. If this continued, I would be caught. 

If I was caught, I would die.

There was no doubt about it.

I would be sent straight to the afterlife.

I clenched my jaw.

"No. I will not die. I will survive."

I whispered the words like a promise, fierce with determination.

I didn’t want to die. I valued my current life, no matter how strange or twisted it had become.

I feared the unknown. I didn’t know if death here meant the end of everything. 

And even if it didn’t, I wasn’t willing to gamble on some flimsy theory that I might return to my past life.

That idea was just wishful thinking. There was no real evidence to support it. The chance of it happening was close to zero.

I had already experienced pain worse than death, but that didn’t mean I would willingly throw myself into it again.

Only people who believed they had done enough, and had nothing left to fight for, think that way.

 I was different.

I had suffered through so much, but I had learned that opportunity was always just around the corner. 

Back when I was a poor student, I thought differently from most. I didn’t want to keep living in misery.

I realized early on that people stay poor because they convince themselves they can’t change anything. 

They don’t work smart.

They don’t plan.

You need to have a clear goal. You need to do everything in your power to reach it.

The ones who constantly complain, who criticize and blame everything around them, are the ones who choose to suffer. 

Why insult people who have direction? Why resent those who move forward?

Don’t let yourself be dragged down by your past or by your parents’ failures.

I had built my life from nothing. I wanted a long and healthy future. I wanted to rise to the top. I wanted to live.

I didn’t want to die without experiencing joy, freedom, or success.

"I won’t die. That wind sphere won’t be the end of me."

I ran at full speed, every step counted. I had already covered nineteen meters.

With focused control over my mana, I minimized how much I used, slowing the drain and extending my time.

 My calculations told me I had only seconds left before my reserves ran dry.

As part of my plan, I had cut myself earlier and scattered a drop of blood on the ground. 

It worked. 

The wind sphere suddenly slowed down and stopped near where the blood had fallen. It lost track of me.

Not wasting the chance, I dove into the thickest part of the forest, hiding among the trees and brush.

I dropped to my knees, breathless and trembling, gasping as exhaustion overwhelmed me.

"Fuck... I... ha... I did it," I muttered under my breath, barely able to believe it.

I had escaped.

That terrifying thing hadn’t caught me.

I was still alive.

A strange sense of joy bloomed in my chest, swelling with relief as if I had achieved something impossible.

I turned my head to glance back the way I came. 

There was no one. Nothing was chasing me. No eyes watching from the shadows. I was finally alone.

The fear drained from me. I had escaped a life-or-death situation. The overwhelming relief made me careless. 

My instincts told me the danger was over, so I stopped questioning it. I was happy. I was also completely drained.

All I wanted now was to rest.

Even just for a few minutes.

 I didn’t care if the ground was dirty or cold. When you’re in a desperate situation, even a patch of earth feels like a luxury.

Like a thief crawling through the sewers to escape capture, I was willing to endure anything just to survive. 

That was exactly how it felt.

Because of that, my awareness faded. I became more and more negligent, letting exhaustion wash over me.

 I slumped to the ground with a satisfied expression, my body finally still.

Then the wind changed.

It blew with a strange power, thick with natural energy.

It surged all at once, transforming into a sharp, cutting force that tore through trees and ripped the earth apart.

BOOM.

A violent shockwave slammed into the area where I had been resting.

I had no idea what was happening.

My thoughts scattered.

My vision blurred.

The world spun.

I was thrown through the air like a rag doll.

Terror surged through me as I flew. I had no control. No strength. I couldn’t fight it. And in that moment, I realized something terrifying.

I might really die here.

Regret flooded me.

My carelessness had brought me to this point. If I could turn back time, I would never let my guard down. But it was too late.

I knew I was about to meet death.

I cursed under my breath, bitter and helpless.

"F-Fuck... y-you... system..." I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Darkness swallowed my vision.

My will clung desperately to life, but my body had already given up.

Everything went silent.

And I lost consciousness.

I don’t know how much time passed.

Everything was dark and quiet. 

I felt like I was floating in nothing.

My body felt bound, unable to move. My vision remained shrouded in darkness, but I could hear my surroundings clearly, just like back in that cave filled with poisonous air. 

The familiar atmosphere made me wonder.

"Could it be... am I back in that cave?" I thought, trying to piece it together. 

The sensation in the air was exactly the same. I was about to call the system when its sound startled me, ringing out before I could even ask.

✨📣DING

🖥️【SYSTEM NOTICE】

【DUE TO YOUR UNWAVERING RESOLVE AND DISCIPLINE TO SURVIVE, THE SYSTEM HAS ACKNOWLEDGED YOUR DECISION AS CORRECT.】

【YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED ACCESS TO A REWARD SELECTION. PLEASE CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS:】

🎁 【PLEASE SELECT ONE REWARD BELOW】

1️⃣ 🗣️ INSTANT LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION
2️⃣ 🧠 DIVINE PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY
3️⃣ 🌬️ BREATH METHOD – FIRST HALF

⚠️ [ONE SELECTION ONLY]

"..."

"What...? System, I thought I had regressed back to that cave," I said, speaking through my thoughts.

I was shocked.

 It seemed I wasn't in the cave after all. I could still feel mana coursing through me, meaning my physique and copied skills remained intact.

 I wasn’t dreaming.

 I had survived, even after being blasted through the air. 

But how?

While tangled in confusion, I suddenly sensed two unfamiliar presences. 

They were speaking, but I couldn’t recognize the language.

"What is this? What are they talking about?" I wondered.

I couldn't see. My eyes were clearly blindfolded by fabric.

Still, I could feel one of them walking, their footsteps echoing through the space.

The other radiated like a compressed ball of natural energy, floating in the air with a breezy, ethereal presence. 

As I listened to their conversation in an unknown tongue, something clicked.

"Could it be... the entity that knocked me out is the one speaking to that human-shaped figure?" I thought to myself.

 

The possibility felt high. 

I couldn’t understand their words, but the air between them was tense and serious.

Whatever they were discussing, it mattered.

As I lay there dazed, a bold idea struck me.

This was the perfect time to negotiate—or at least explain my innocence. 

Negotiation had been one of my strengths in my past life. I had made countless deals through partnerships.

That experience could save me now.

Out of the three rewards the system offered, I immediately chose Instant Language Comprehension.

This innate skill allowed the user to instantly understand, speak, and read all known languages across all regions and races. 

In my current situation, survival hinged on communication. I could not afford to seem suspicious or dangerous simply because I couldn't speak their language.

Though the other rewards were powerful, they were not useful right now. 

The Divine Photographic Memory offered perfect recall of everything seen, heard, or read, but that was more suited for long-term strategy. I wasn’t a child or a student here.

I was a grown man thrown into an unknown world. 

If I couldn’t even communicate, I would be seen as a threat—or a disaster waiting to happen.

As for the third reward, the Breath Method, it was tempting but incomplete. Compared to the other two, it was clearly the least practical choice right now.

I selected the first reward without hesitation.

The system gave me a warning, advising me to brace for discomfort. I acknowledged it and activated the skill immediately, focusing all my attention on their speech.

For nearly an hour, I listened closely. Hunger gnawed at me, and a faint headache throbbed behind my eyes. The ability put immense strain on my mind, but I endured it. 

Slowly, their language began to make sense.

"Your Highness, please let me take this woman. It is clear she carries the same bloodline as our Godmother’s precious daughter. I want her to see this woman for herself and determine whether she is truly her daughter reborn. Please, Your Highness, grant us this small favor."

The soft voice resonated with the wind. It belonged to the floating presence I had sensed earlier. I was stunned. 

This being, once my enemy, was now pleading for me.

It was the same condensed wind entity I had encountered before. I had feared it. Avoided it. And now it seemed to be a phenomenal spirit of wind, a being I knew nothing about.

 The confusion thickened.

"That won't do," the man replied, his voice deep and commanding. "I don’t know how this human entered my territory without my knowledge, but she is under my jurisdiction now. Do not presume to take what is not yours. If your ruler wishes to make a claim, they may come and speak with me directly. As a subordinate, you hold no authority here."

He was angry. That much was clear. He had been challenged, and did not appreciate it.

As I listened, something settled in my chest.

Neither of them intended to harm me. Both seemed to want me for reasons I didn’t yet understand.

That realization filled me with cautious relief.

All I could do now was stay quiet, listen carefully, and wait for the right moment to speak.

My survival depended on it.