Chapter 47 - Watch Out For That Tree!

My momentum began to dwindle, in the moments which followed after, I realized the journey to safety had only been finished halfway. Instead of jumping straight to the tree next to the one which my bubble had crashed in, I had jumped out without thinking about my surroundings.

I soared through the air with little to no momentum left, when my altitude began to drop halfway towards the tree I was aiming for. Having found a sure-fire way to escape the beast is what I had been thinking about, but I had not taken into account the moment of impact.

The moment of impact severely diminished my momentum for jumping in the air…

Thinking about it now, I might have been better off just jumping upwards and clawing myself into the tree that the bubble collided with. But instead, I had to take a risk…

A risk that could prove to cost me dearly.

Luckily for me, the acidic bubble had crashed against the bark slightly below the leaves,

Which meant there was still quite some distance between me and the ground.

Taking my size into account maybe the best way of survival was for me to dive down diagonally towards the now closest tree in that direction.

The only question on my mind would be if I was able to make it,

without crashing to my death that is.

There really wasn't anything else I could try in the open air between the trees,

seeing as how I haven't unlocked a gliding skill of the sort. Thinking about it made me feel stupid as I was wasting precious time on this… Within moments I got my head back on track and locked my sight on the thick branches which felt like they were in reach.

In a sense this experience made me feel like skydiving, which was true to its description.

The only difference being; I had no parachute to break my fall… Instead, I had to use anything I had at my disposal such as my claws, tail, even my tongue?

I knew I had to create as much momentum as possible, streamlining my body as much as possible. At the same time, I knew that fire and acidic elemental attacks were out of the question, they would only prove to diminish my chances of survival right now. Burning or melting away the trees would not only signal the mighty Mandralio and give away my location, but my most trusted attacks would also rob me of my only chance of survival.

I knew that nosediving towards the tree across from me wasn't the best choice I could have made, but being in this situation left me with this as the only viable option.

Shooting through the air, as my altitude dropped faster by the moment my speed also increases with the same amount, I only had a split second to react towards the branches in front of me, would I be able to do this?

"Yes! I know you can do this! You have to believe in yourself!"

I shot through the air like an arrow, almost colliding with the branches I challenged myself to latch on to. Within this narrow window of opportunity, I propelled myself towards the branch slowing down as I caught some of the air turbulence which I tried to cut through trying to stay streamlined before.

The backlash slowed me down considerably, increasing the window of opportunity by a slight margin. Now was the moment, Having propelled me towards the bark of the tree,

I threw my tail towards the branch above me. I tried wrapping my tail around it, yet was unable to. It slid right off, as the branch was too thick for me to wrap around completely.

With considerable force I slammed against the tree, pain surged through my body…

I had failed to slow down the momentum as planned, but there was one slight chance left.

The opportunity to claw me to the bark of the tree!

Having propelled me correctly before crashing into the tree,

the only thing left to do was to hold on with all my might.

My claws digging in the bark of the tree.

Holding on with all my might, the impact had inflicted quite some damage…

I wasn't about to give up, with all my might I held on, the momentum diminishing as I slowly slide down the tree. With nothing but the will to live, I held on for dear life, finally coming to a standstill next to one of the tree branches.

Not sure how high I was at the moment I decided it was best not to look down.

Continuedly reminding me of this fact while only looking at the branch next to me.

Having experienced what my claws could do to the bark of the tree first hand I slowly retracted one of them and dug them in once more, closer towards the branch.

Repeating the process until my body had turned completely towards the branch.

Without making a mistake and knowing what was at stake I continued to claw my way towards the branch. The danger wasn't over yet, one slip-up could mean certain death at this height. Considering my own size the trees I had passed and which I had been clawing at for dear life felt like skyscrapers to me. Easily being more than a hundred meters tall.

Thinking of which, the one gigantic tree in the middle must have easily been multiple times bigger as it towered far above the others with ease.

The thought of this helped me to distract my thoughts, by the time I was back realizing what I had been doing, I had found my way onto the branch. the branch was at least twice as broad as mine. I had found a place to collect my thought and calm down. A place where I could plan my next step towards my goal.

"The tree in the heart of the jungle! But how am I even able to get there?"

I asked myself knowing no one would be answering the question.

While at the same time shamelessly hoping someone would answer.

I knew the general direction I had to head in, but with the events transpiring not too long ago, it was best to keep a low profile for the time being. Exhausted I collapsed onto the branch with my arms and legs spread out to the sides. I honestly had no idea…

No Idea how to continue, no idea how to get down. Was I going to let this setback get the better of me? Of course, I wouldn't! Yet the fact was that I had no idea on how to get down, not even in the slightest did I care for that at the moment, exhausted laying on the branch I felt consciousness slip away.

I had survived yet another ridiculous encounter… An encounter with one of the kings…

What did one of them do here? Why was it fighting the guardian? And… What exactly is the goal of the kings? Asking myself these questions I faded into a deep sleep. Only to relive all deadly encounters I had so far… My nightmare wasn't much better than real life…

But at least one thing was certain. I had survived these ordeals and intended not to linger on them for too long!

By the time I regained consciousness day had turned into night, sluggishly I opened my eyes. Luminescent moss could be seen all over the tree bark, not to mention that the leaves glowed in a magical way too. Different shades of green, blue, and even pink lighted up the environment. Almost making it feel like I was at a different place than before.

A place of magic, where life would prosper in harmony…

But all soon turned dark when the nightlife revealed itself to me.

Creepy crawler walked between the leaves far above me, even traveling down along the bark of the trees at the other side or next to me. I honestly didn't know if I was safe where I found myself right now, but one thing was certain, there was no more time to rest…

I had to find a way to get through the night. A way to survive this situation.

Seeing how I was still alive Mandralio must have given up on eating me…

I tried to focus, listen to my surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary could be heard…

Outside from all the scratching, screeching, and hissing noises which could be heard all over…

Now more than ever, I had to steel my resolve, the resolve to survive.

But not only that. The resolve to find a way down and out of this mess…

"Will this mess ever come to an end?! Damnit!!"

A cool night breeze lifted me out of my sluggish state, I began to awake.

Still in a dreamstate and unaware of my surroundings,

the breeze rustled through the leaves close by. When the rustling got more distinct I shot up.

Alerted by the rustling of leaves in front of me… The rustling revealed a battle to come…