As I continued crawling through the forest, with my senses sharpened by adrenaline, my anticipation grew with each second that passed without encountering enemies.
After traveling approximately fifty meters, I decided to deviate slightly from the main path. Not much, just about three to five meters to the right. I wanted to observe where the path led without fully exposing myself to potential danger.
Every decision I made seemed to be based on pure intuition. I had no certainty of doing the right thing. I could very well be trading one danger for another.
The main path could lead me directly toward a threat, but who could ensure there weren't venomous snakes waiting to bite my ankles among the tall grass? If I had the necessary skills, I would have used the trees as a means of travel, but apart from slight experience in recreational climbing, I did not possess the agility of a primate.
I continued following the path parallel to the main road until I finally reached an advantageous observation point.
Ahead stretched a small clearing; the only obvious route leading to it, without the need to jump bushes or trees, was precisely the path from which I had departed.
This would be the only convenient moment to approach the lake I could see at the bottom of the clearing, so I had to take advantage of it.
I remained completely still, analyzing the situation.
I observed the crystal-clear waters and could hardly believe what I saw. Beyond my dirty reflection, in the depths of the lake, there seemed to be something radiating dense pulses of energy.
Wouldn't this mean that all the most powerful beasts would come here after completing their evolutions?
Even if I continued downstream, based on my previous knowledge, I knew it would be useless. With this level of energy in circulation, it would definitely follow the current and increase its concentration for countless kilometers. The longer I remained without completing this floor, the worse the situation would become.
How would I get water?
'Fruits? Rain? Blood?'
These were the only solutions I could formulate, but none was reliable in the long term.
Fruits or vegetables could help me maintain my hydration for a while, but for how long? A few more days?
Considering the amount of physical effort I was doing daily, I already noticed my dry throat and felt my strength diminishing. If it weren't for my exceptional endurance, I probably would have lost consciousness already.
Rain? After all, I was in a forest. In an ecosystem like this, precipitation could occur even every few hours.
However, during the last day, it hadn't rained at all. Additionally, I didn't know how the introduction of stellar energy would affect the ecosystem and local climate. Even if it eventually rained, it would be difficult to fully rely on this source.
If I decided to blindly believe it would rain, how could I efficiently take advantage of it? My mobility constituted my greatest advantage at that moment, but to establish a reliable rainwater collection system, I would need a base, a protected base. What if one day my refuge was compromised and all the accumulated water was lost?
Considering blood as a source of hydration was undoubtedly the worst option. How could I, in full consciousness, drink goblin blood? Even if I were willing to take such a risk, blood contained sodium levels almost as high as seawater. I would be slowly condemning myself.
After brief deliberation, I plunged my head into the lake water. Having been cold during the night, the contact with the fresh water was a pleasant shock to my exhausted body.
I drank large gulps greedily and, for the first time in a long time, I didn't keep my senses hyper-concentrated on the surrounding environment, constantly alert for any creature that might desire my flesh.
Easily a minute passed before I emerged again.
I perceived a slight tremor in my body that I had never experienced before. The idea of slowly dying from dehydration repeated in my mind with such intensity that I might well have already experienced it in some previous life.
That was the final outcome I was facing. No matter how many strategies I conceived, that seemed to be my inevitable fate. I couldn't escape this reality.
If I left here today, I would start a race against the exhaustion of my own body. Even if I managed to resist, in what state would I be afterward? Would I have enough strength to return here?
I had followed those goblins for so long, traveling dozens of kilometers, and yet I hadn't found a single water source anywhere else.
I hated that feeling of helplessness. That's why I had made the reckless decision to come here in the first place.
I stood up. I removed my armor, shirt, and blood-stained pants before beginning to clean my body. All the dirt, mud, and grime accumulated during the day were peeled off layer by layer under the strong rubbing of my fingers.
My reddened eyes did not reflect fear or desperation. It was difficult to interpret my emotions when I finally emerged from the water and felt how the cold wind slowly dried my skin.
I remained there in silence, ironically more connected with nature than ever before. In the depths of my being, I understood that that could truly be my last day alive.
Why had I come here? Why had I risked my life again?
It wasn't just to help Cassie; that was a relatively small part of my motivation.
Nor was it because I wanted to experience intense emotions now that most of my problems seemed resolved. That represented a minimal fraction of my reasons.
It was because I couldn't bear the idea of living under the yoke of another person. Because I refused to be a simple cog in a larger machinery. I wanted to be the wheel itself, the carriage that rolled over it, the treasure that was escorted from one place to another with all honors.
I had come, with childish recklessness, to risk my life in a world of which I knew almost nothing, all because I couldn't keep my ego under control.
That was the part I had been systematically ignoring. The part of me that I had buried deep down, that I had repressed because I considered myself an eminently logical man, above those crude and childish ideals.
But I wasn't.
I wasn't exempt from those dreams that all young people harbored: to be a hero, a knight in shining armor, an invincible warrior in a hostile forest, armed to the teeth and ready to face any adversity.
I had lied to myself, and now I was paying the price of my arrogance.
Nature had cruel ways of teaching us humility, and I was receiving a lesson that I would never forget... if I managed to survive to remember it.
As the sun began to hide among the trees, I took a deep breath and re-analyzed my options. Time was running out, but my will remained intact.
With the last strength I had left, I began to formulate a new plan. It wouldn't be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever was. And my life, as contradictory as it was, was definitely worth fighting for.