Vol. 9 Prologue: The Escape of a Lifetime

Heavy breaths ensued, the cold air burning her lungs. Her feet stomped the muddy ground, leaving messy footprints behind. A brown cloak covered her, blending herself with the brown forest around her.

She turned her head around. Within the abundant trees, several people ran through her view. Her heart skipped a beat in fear as she rushed herself.

At this rate, she will be caught, and be forced to be with them again. Not anymore.

She gritted her teeth behind closed lips. She opened her mouth to whisper.

“—[Foggy Escape]!”

Purplish smoke surrounded herself, but she was not afraid. It was her own skill. As the purple smoke completely covered her, her entire being disappeared as if stolen away by the smoke.

The pursuers reached up to where she originally was. One of them noticed the purplish smoke residue left behind before it dissipated into nothingness.

“Damn it, she got away…”

The sunlight beamed through the opening of the tree leaves onto the man who cursed under his lips. His naked head became warmer as the man craned his head upwards, the sunlight filtering through his glasses that covered his sharp eyes.

“Boss, what do you suppose we do, eh?”

The other pursuer walked up to the man in glasses, who in turn faced him. The pursuer had a rather round body wearing black clothes that didn’t seem to fit his huge body. His black hair resembled that of an acorn, which only accented his figure.

He pulled a grin with a fang protruding from his teeth, his stare resembling that of a crazed drug addict.

“What else? Find her! Search every nook and cranny in this place and make sure you find her! No matter what, even if it means breaking every bone in her body.”

“Eh?!” The stout man whined. “Aren’t we going to kill her? Oh, come on! That’s no fun!”

The stout man stomped on the ground, gripping his fists as he whined. A vein throbbed on the man with glasses’ forehead, hiding his gritted teeth behind closed lips.

“Stop talking nonsense,” The man in glasses chided. “How else can we get away from tight situations? Besides—killing her will be useless. You won’t even get any experience from it.”

“But killing is so much fun!” The stout man laughed, clenching and slackening his fingers. “The thought of melting her flesh little by little with my slimy hands sends me into a frenzy! I gotta have that!”

“You…”

The stout man began to drool as the thoughts of blood and flesh melting to the floor invaded his mind. The man in glasses' vein throbbed again, his sharp eyes laid onto him. Once the stout man turned his head, his body shivered. His shoulders flinched as he stepped back from his companion.

“H-Hey, hey, calm down now,” The stout man stuttered, putting his hands up in the air and waved them at his comrade. “D-Don’t need to get so mad now. I-I’ll get her, alright?”

The stout man turned back around and escaped from the cold glare the man in glasses gave him. He placed his hands over the sides of his mouth. “Everyone! Catch her as soon as you can! Hurry up!”

The stout man’s voice permeated the air and around the trees, invading the entire forest. The branches of some of the trees shook before dark figures landed on them. They were covered by the leaves of the trees, so their appearances did not show—only their whitened smiles and a crazed look in their eyes appeared on their blackened faces.

The men in the darkness soon jumped from their position and headed deeper into the darkness. The man in glasses turned toward their direction and clicked his tongue.

“I will find you, girl. No matter where you go, you can’t run from me.”

His voice was deep, his hand clenched into a tight fist as the humiliation of letting someone go filled him with rage.

===

The draped girl ran as far as she could. Whenever she can, she would cast her skill [Foggy Escape] to transport herself farther away.

The [Foggy Escape] is a special skill belonging to her class. It allowed her to cover herself in smoke before transporting her body to anywhere she can set her eyes on. The higher level the skill, the more distance she can travel. Of course, the more distance she traveled, the more Mana Points she would lose.

At this point, she activated [Foggy Escape] about 30 times now. And every time, she goes even farther.

“Gah…!”

Her mind reached her limit. The girl collapsed and fell on her feet. She rolled across the grass field before finally landing right on the hard wood of the tree’s base.

The hard ‘thunk’ resounded as the girl landed right on her back and head, which only made it worse for her head since she was already suffering through an immense migraine.

However, if it meant getting away from them, it was worth it.

“Ghh…” The girl groaned, the pain racing through her head and upper back. She opened her eyes, revealing red-colored orbs that stared directly at herself.

Within the tattered cloak, her tanned arms and legs that revealed themselves were cut up with small cuts and bruises. Most of them were from the pursuers that kept shooting off skills at her as she ran away. Very few were from the branches and stones she passed through.

Heavy breaths ensued. Her single lock of hair, a color reminiscent that of platinum, fell from her covered head and over her eyes. She laid her head back, closing her eyes once more.

“That should be… enough…”

She spoke to herself, to rid of her loneliness even if it’s just for a bit.

“Curse them… the foul creatures.”

Though her body was exhausted to the limit, her brain banging on the sides of her head—within her belly, a fire burned like flames.

“Curse them…! How dare they… how dare they use me like this…!”

She gripped her fist. Her mind spewed thoughts of wanting revenge against them—against the foul creatures that did her wrong.

But her heart wavered. She loosened her grip on her fist.

“Curse them…”

Her eyelids became heavier as her neck couldn’t handle the weight. Her head lost control, landing on the hard wood of the tree.

For once, she could rest—just for a little bit.