What was the first thing that came to mind when one found themselves plummeting from the top of a tree?
Fear.
Pure, instinctive fear.
Dan’s stomach lurched as the ground rapidly approached below him. The wind howled past his ears and nose, making it difficult to breathe.
Worst of all, there was nothing around to slow down his rapid descent. And as if that wasn’t enough, the invisible creature was still on top of him, pressing its weight against him as the two of them tumbled through the air.
He wondered if he had somehow offended this peculiar creature because it seemed adamant about sending him straight to Hell.
’Shit! Shit! Shit!’
There was barely enough time to think of a solution.
If his memory served him right, he had climbed at least twenty meters up the tree. That was more than enough to turn a fall into a very unpleasant experience, and he had already been wounded before being thrown off the branch.
Needless to say, if nothing was done at this rate, the result would probably be catastrophic.
’C’mon, c’mon! Think! Think! Goddamnit!’
Dan briefly considered punching the creature or attempting to shake it off, but that idea quickly flew out of his mind. Not only did the little fiend possess terrifying grip strength that was greater than his own, but wrestling with it in midair was also a surefire way to make their descent even more chaotic.
And unlike the creature, who showed no regard for its own safety, Dan couldn’t afford to lose his balance.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to think about a solution, either, because the invisible bastard decided it was the perfect opportunity to attempt to bite his face.
"This little—!"
Dan raised both hands and grabbed the creature by the jaws.
He could feel something cold and slimy pressing against his palms, while rows of razor-sharp teeth snapped dangerously close to his nose. The creature’s struggles were wild and frantic, but his hands tightened around its jaws with everything he had.
At the same time, the ground inched closer and closer with their descent.
’Damnit! What the hell am I supposed to do?!’
His mind raced through every possibility he could make plausible.
[Darkness].
That was his only trump card. But what could he create?
No matter how hard he thought about it, Dan couldn’t come up with anything that could save him.
...At least, nothing physical.
’There’s no better time to try out that idea than this.’
Still under the influence of gravity, he resisted the downward pull enough to raise his hand and grab the invisible creature’s face, which, in response to his act of defiance, immediately tried to bite off his fingers.
But it was already too late.
It only took Dan a few seconds to visualize the intended effect.
"Burn."
At his command, darkness erupted around his hand and took the form of black flames.
A shrill, otherworldly screech erupted through the forest as flames engulfed the creature’s head, plunging it in excruciating pain..
Dan’s expression twisted as the Fiend violently thrashed against him and howled like a dog.
’It worked!’
He had been wondering whether [Darkness] could shape something beyond physical objects, and much to his pleasant surprise, it could.
Fire.
What was fire?
Scientifically, it was the rapid oxidation of a material, producing heat, light, and various chemical byproducts. But the simple explanation was something that burned and destroyed another something. With that in mind, he had visualized exactly that; something that burned, consumed, and reduced whatever it touched to nothing.
And somehow, [Darkness] had understood his intent. Maybe his subconscious mind had done most of the heavy lifting in that regard.
The black flames wrapped around his hand without producing the slightest warmth against his skin, yet the invisible creature was reacting as though it had been plunged into a furnace.
Flames representing the concept of "destruction."
This was proof of his ability’s potential. More importantly, this solidified his idea of creating a pocket dimension as a storage inventory box as a plausible possibility, no longer seeming as far-fetched as it had previously.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of thinking about that right now because he was still falling.
Breaking from his absentminded stupor, Dan took advantage of the Fiend’s momentary distraction to wrench himself free from its iron grip, kicked it away and created a thick rope with [Darkness] at the end.
As rope materialized in his hand, Dan immediately wrapped it around his arm and threw the other end toward the nearest branch.
The rope flew through the air.
For a brief moment, Dan’s heart leaped with hope.
Then he realized he had missed as the rope sailed harmlessly past the branch and disappeared into the canopy.
"Fuck!"
He cursed and created another rope, then tossed it again without delay. Compared to his previous blunder, this time his aim was much more precise, and the rope successfully wrapped around a thick branch above him.
Dan quickly pulled on it with all his [11] Strength stats.
As the rope went taut, and his descent slowed considerably, he felt a genuine sense of relief.
However, that relief lasted only a moment.
Crack–!
The branch creaked ominously as it struggled to support him. Dan tightened his grip around the rope and desperately tried to reduce the strain, but there was only so much he could do while still falling at full force.
Another crack echoed through the air before the branch snapped just like that. Broken, the branch tumbled downward alongside him as the rope suddenly went slack.
With a bloody scream, Dan continued his plummet and landed hard on the ground. The pain was indeed terrible, with his entire body aching all over, but nothing seemed to be broken.
Groaning, Dan rolled onto his side and instinctively clutched his injured flank.
"Ugh..."
For several seconds, he simply lay there, trying to catch his breath while every muscle in his body protested against the sudden impact.
’That... fucking hurt.’
His ribs were sore, his back felt like it had been beaten with a hammer, and the wound in his side had begun bleeding again, but he could still move.
That was good enough... for now. Dan pushed himself upright and glanced around him.
Considering the Fiend’s entire presence was invisible, he wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint its precise location even if he checked for footprints or disturbances on the ground. But thanks to the black flames, the young wanderer could now see the damn bastard frantically rolling across the ground in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames.
’There you are.’
The Fiend clawed at its own head while letting out a series of shrill, distorted cries. The black flames refused to disappear, continuing to burn without producing smoke or consuming anything around them.
Would they burn forever until the Fiend perished, or would the little critter eventually find a way to extinguish them?
Well... it didn’t take long before he got his answer.
Puff–!
A second later, the black flames flickered before vanishing into the air. Still sprawled on the muddy ground, the Fiend remained motionless for a few moments, as though it were trying to comprehend what had just happened.
Slowly, his smile faded as he watched with a heavy heart.
’So they have a limit.’
That was somewhat disappointing, but not entirely unexpected.
He hadn’t expected his first attempt at creating something like this to be perfect. Moreover, he had learned something useful.
The flames could damage the Fiend and also temporarily reveal its location. But they had a limited duration. Some experimentation here and there was required to fully understand it, but that could wait.
’Good enough. It’ll be disappointing if that bastard dies too quickly. I’ve alot of things to give him.’
Standing up, Darian Lee manifested the black flames once more, feeling his Spirit slowly reaching its bottom levels. Then he started unleashing them, firing them at three precise spots.
Fwoosh–! Fwoosh–! Fwoosh–!
Dark flames spread across the ground, crawling over the mud and roots without consuming them. Within moments, four walls of darkness had formed around the clearing, rising several meters into the air.
Both parties were trapped within this wall of death, wounded and battered, with hatred burning fiercely in their hearts.
A mad smile slowly formed on Dan’s lips as he said:
"Now you’re stuck here with me."