Chapter 6: F*ck You, Shitty Nature.

I was running as fast as I could at that moment—and that speed was no joke. I must've been close to 200 km/h, fast enough to leave more than a few cars in the dust. Bottom line: I was running for my life.

Up ahead, a rocky formation split the path into two large sections, and the imitation T-Rex was still chasing me, almost catching up. I didn't have many options: right or left?

Screw it, let's go right.

I wouldn't even trust the left side with my spit… let alone my life.

"Why the hell am I thinking about politics right now? Am I really insane?" I thought as I leaned into a slide. I ended up tearing up part of the rocky ground with my own feet, but I got out of the path just in time before the creature could reach me. The beast crashed into one of the big rocks.

I quickly planned what to do next. I grabbed a heavy enough rock from the ground, pulled my arm back, and threw it with enough strength to shatter steel. The rock hit one of the monster's ligaments, but it didn't do much. I didn't need to kill it… just distract it.

I was already running in the opposite direction. Just in case, I started calculating a low-tier spell to form a fireball. I ran and ran, leaving that whole rocky section behind. I don't know how long I'd been running, but I was out of breath and drenched in sweat.

Goddammit… the damn thing was still chasing me.

"F*ck you… now you're gonna be my dinner just for that," I growled, sick of running.

With the superhuman strength I had at that moment, I struck the base of a rock pillar, causing part of it to collapse. The path was now narrower… and my damn arm hurt.

With the seconds it would take to catch up to me, I had time to cast more than one spell. I chose to be smart: I wouldn't use the fireball until the creature was right on top of me.

And when it was almost on me, I stuck to the plan. I ran straight toward it.

Before it could react, I was already under its body, sliding between its legs, and cast the spell. The fire barely burned it, leaving a shallow wound, but the pain was enough to disorient it. It couldn't change course and ended up crashing into the ground.

It wasn't time to rest.

I ran toward its fallen body with every intention of smashing its skull in—but its damn tail slammed right into me.

My body felt like it had been thrown from a fifth-floor window and then tossed into a blender, but I could still move. As I got to my feet, I was already preparing another fireball mentally. I was bleeding now, and if I could see my chest, I'd only see one massive bruise covering it all.

I ran toward the thing again. I jumped to gain momentum, and this time, my punch connected right with its jaw. I gave it no rest: another hit, now to the nose. With my gauntlet, I dug my fingers into its flesh, used that as leverage, and climbed up its face. The beast thrashed violently, trying to throw me off, but failed. I felt like my arms were going to rip out from the sheer force of its movements, but there would only be one damn winner here. And it would be me.

My back slammed against the hard rock, but I still clung to its head with fury. I climbed higher. My hand sank into its eye, and a guttural, pitiful roar escaped from the monster.

"YEAH, SCREAM LOUDER, YOU DAMN ABOMINATION OF NATURE! SCREAM FOR ME!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I ripped out its eye.

The squishy texture of the eyeball was disgusting… but I didn't care. The spell was ready. The fireball flew straight into the empty socket… and all hell broke loose.

The creature convulsed like it was possessed, and I was thrown off its body. I landed on the sandy ground. The wounds were piling up. I could barely stand. But the monster… simply fell. Brain roasted.

I panted heavily and approached the corpse. I kicked it with all my strength. Not a good idea. Now my leg hurt too.

"Human 1, nature 0" I muttered as I wiped the blood from my face.

I used my Sacred Gear to collect the corpse and limped away from the area, hoping I wouldn't have to fight another one of those things… at least not today.

I had to find another damn place far from those things, all while injured. Saying the journey was peaceful would be delusional—I'd been attacked nine times while looking for a new base. At least they weren't really strong creatures, since one hit—like crashing into a car—was enough to finish them. But damn, my arms hurt like hell.

Anyway, late as it was, I found a new place near a clearing: a crack in the rock walls. It was a bit high, so no door would be necessary. It was about ten meters or more above the ground. I didn't have the strength to jump, so I climbed using my gauntlet as leverage when I got close.

As soon as I got there, I collapsed from my injuries. My clothes were in tatters, and I had bruises all over my body. I passed out almost immediately.

...

When I woke up, I felt like shit. I could barely move due to the pain and muscle fatigue—they really beat the crap out of me.

I decided I wouldn't go out for a while—not until I needed more food and until I was a full-fledged mage who knew more offensive spells than just a fireball.

So I summoned my Twice Critical. Look, I'm not dumb—I know the thing multiplies every stat, not just power but also durability, or I'd already be mush. I just don't know how many times it multiplies—maybe ten times? I got that from a quick calculation based on my movement speed before, but I could be a bit off. Still, let's go with that—if I heal ten times faster, even better.

Next, I pulled out a piece of the T-Rex monster's meat, because I was starving. I enjoyed the charred taste on some parts, along with the raw flavor of its still-fresh blood in my mouth. I ate and drank like a man who hadn't had a decent meal in ages.

Once my mortal needs were satisfied, I pulled out the magic treaties book and started studying like someone had a gun to my head.