A Distant Reverie

Chapter 6

Dammit! Dammit!

Why?! For god's sake, why?!

Vesper was not having a good morning. In fact, the past twenty-four hours have been beyond unpleasant. Ever since he woke up in this bizarre new world, he experienced more hardships and difficulties than he ever had back home in the Alexandria Empire. When he first opened his eyes, he found himself at the mercy of a beautiful, psychotic pirate, and the deadly sharp blade she pointed at his throat. Later, he was guilt-tripped to fight against an abominable monster from the stuffs of legends and folktale. And now, Vesper found himself sprinting with all his might to escape a stampeding horde of the same terrible beasts.

It was a nightmare beyond anything he could have dreamt of. Only except the rumbling beneath his feet and the horrible sounds of destruction behind him were all too real.

Where did I go wrong?! What did I do to deserve all this?! Did I not always donate generously to the local church?!

Vesper wasn't a particular devout believer of religion. In fact, it was probably more accurate to describe him as a staunch atheist who scoffed at the very notion of a greater being. Nonetheless, he always made sure to donate despite his beliefs since he recognized the church's charitable deeds. But that was perhaps why today's events became all the more enlightening-for the first time in his life, he could see why people turned to religion.

Goddess! If you're watching, please do something!

"Mr. Noir!" Amidst his crude prayers, he overheard Marine yelling above the chaos. The two of them and the idol lagging behind were desperately running from the stampede of monsters. As the seconds passed, the tremors beneath their feet grew increasingly violent-a sign that the horde was closing in on them.

"We can't just keep running!" As if to prove a point, a huge shockwave suddenly shot through the ground. Vesper felt himself kicking the air-he had become airborne for just a second. Something huge must have collapsed, presumably trampled and flatten by the rampaging horde.

"I'm aware of that!"

"Then do something! You're a spellcaster, aren't you?!"

"T-that-" That doesn't mean I can work miracles, dammit! He cursed internally-his face flushed red for a brief second. It wasn't as if he didn't know that the burden of responsibility fell onto him to get them out of this mess. Marine might have been a skilled swordswoman, but there was nothing a normal human can do against an entire horde of monsters. And the other young lady was a non-combatant, not even worth mentioning. Still, despite the miracles of magic, there were limits to what he could do. Especially when he himself was a defective.

Think, Vesper, think!

Acid was starting to accumulate in his legs and his breathing was growing ragged. His mind faltered as the physical exhaustion was beginning to wear him down. Behind him, the roars of the stampeding horde were a terrifying distraction that hampered any attempt at coherent thought.

"Vide longius!" Vesper eventually chanted. Mana from his core began to circulate, gathering around his eyes. His vision suddenly changed. The vibrant colors of the forest melted away, devolving into shades of white and black. In exchange, his field of view and depth of vision increased dramatically. Vesper squinted, trying to look for something that could allow them to escape the path of stampeding horde.

"Vesper?" He overheard Suisei's confused voice.

"I'm scanning our surroundings!" Vesper yelled in between ragged breaths, "We need to get off the flat land. I'm looking for a hill. A cliff. Something with elevation!"