I couldn't remember how many times I had fainted that day.
Every time I opened my eyes, pain greeted me.
But...
Why did I feel warm?
Am I dead?
I stared blankly at the glowing ceiling above me. I had neither the strength nor the will to think. My body ached. My throat burned.
I was thirsty.
"Water..."
The thought jolted me awake.
I pushed myself upright.
I was sitting in a shallow puddle.
Joy surged through me as I scooped the water into my hands and drank without hesitation.
Never in my life had I been able to drink this much water.
Food was scarce.
Water was even scarcer.
As I drank, the dagger I had stolen from the guard slipped from my torn clothes and clattered onto the ground.
The sight of it brought back the memory of the Chief's son's flaming whip.
I reached behind my back.
Nothing.
No burned flesh.
No wound.
I checked my arms and legs.
Not a single injury remained.
"Hahaha..."
"So... I really am dead."
I covered my face with my hand and laughed weakly.
Then I glanced down at the puddle.
My reflection stared back at me.
My left eye...
It was glowing white.
I froze.
Suddenly, I remembered.
I had awakened the Storage Rune.
Before, it had never responded no matter what I tried.
I picked up the dagger and focused on it, imagining it disappearing.
A faint white light wrapped around the blade.
The dagger vanished.
At the same moment, an image appeared in my mind.
A small empty room, no larger than a wagon.
The dagger floated quietly inside.
"So... this is how it works."
I stretched out my hand and imagined the dagger returning.
Nothing.
I tried again.
And again.
After several attempts, the dagger suddenly reappeared in my hand.
Inside my mental space, it had been floating exactly where I left it.
Then an idea crossed my mind.
I looked at the puddle beneath me.
"Can I store this too?"
White light spread across the water.
The puddle rapidly shrank until it completely disappeared.
Inside my mental space, the room was now almost completely filled with water.
I smiled.
That could save my life.
I sat quietly, thinking about what had happened.
Maybe...
This wasn't ordinary water.
Maybe it was healing water.
After all, every wound on my body had vanished.
There wasn't much else to do.
Looking around, I realized I had fallen into what looked like a deep ravine.
There were only two possible paths.
Before leaving, I gathered several rocks and stacked them into a small pile as a marker.
If I survived, I wanted a way to find this place again.
I checked my belongings.
Torn clothes.
Bare feet.
One dagger.
One piece of soaked bread tucked safely inside my pocket.
That was everything I owned.
I began walking.
Every step echoed through the silent ravine.
I needed food.
The only thing left was the soggy piece of bread.
After walking for what felt like an hour, I heard something.
A grinding sound.
Stone scraping against stone.
Rumble...
The wall beside me exploded.
A massive insect-like creature burst through the rock.
It was nearly three meters long, covered in black-and-yellow rock-like plates.
Dozens of legs carried its long body with terrifying speed.
Its enormous mandibles snapped together like giant scissors.
I immediately hid behind a nearby boulder.
Too late.
It had already found me.
A green light gathered inside its mouth.
The next instant—
A stone the size of my fist shot toward me.
It was much larger, faster, and stronger than the attacks of the Mine Moles.
I threw myself aside.
The stone shattered the boulder behind me.
The creature rushed forward.
Its giant mandibles snapped toward my neck.
"I'm going to die..."
I barely avoided the bite.
Fortunately, its body was incredibly long.
Every time it lunged, I could slip toward its blind side, buying myself a few precious seconds.
Then the green light appeared again.
Another volley of stones.
"Agh!"
One struck my shoulder.
A sickening crack echoed through my body.
My arm hung uselessly.
The impact threw me across the ground.
The monster lunged.
I rolled away just before its jaws crushed the stone where my head had been.
Without wasting another second, I cupped my hands together.
The healing water appeared.
I drank it.
Warmth spread through my body.
The broken bones mended before my eyes.
I looked up.
Another barrage of stones was already flying toward me.
I dodged the first.
The second smashed into my leg.
Pain exploded through my body.
Again, I drank.
Again, the wounds healed.
The battle became torture.
Dodge.
Get hit.
Heal.
Run.
Repeat.
I kept retreating deeper into the ravine.
But this couldn't continue forever.
I checked my mental space.
The healing water was running low.
If I kept relying on it...
I would eventually run out.
I had only one choice.
Fight.
I grabbed loose stones from the ground and hurled them at the monster.
They bounced harmlessly off its rocky shell.
Worthless.
Then I noticed something.
The gaps between each armored segment.
They had to be soft.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be able to bend its body.
I tightened my grip on the dagger.
As the monster charged, I leaped aside and landed on its back.
With all my strength, I drove the dagger into the gap between its shell plates.
The blade sank deep.
Green blood burst from the wound.
"I was right!"
My triumph lasted only a heartbeat.
The monster slammed its body against the stone wall.
The impact crushed me.
Blood filled my mouth.
"Hahaha..."
I laughed despite the pain.
This...
This was the first time in my life I had fought back.
"You insect!"
"I am Cole Silvervein!"
"I will kill you!"
I didn't know where the courage came from.
Maybe Father had been right.
Maybe there really was pride in the Silvervein name.
With a roar, I charged again.
Thud.
I tripped over a loose rock and crashed face-first onto the ground.
"Grrkk... Grrkk..."
The monster almost looked like it was laughing.
Its body swayed from side to side as if mocking me.
"...Damn it."
While it was distracted, I secretly drank another handful of healing water.
Then I grabbed several rocks.
One after another, I hurled them at its face.
As it recoiled, I dashed forward, using the scattered boulders as stepping stones.
The monster opened its mouth.
I threw another rock straight inside.
It choked.
Just for a moment.
That moment was enough.
I plunged the dagger into its soft underbelly.
It twisted violently, trying to bite me.
I dodged.
Grabbing one of its antennae, I climbed onto its head and drove the dagger into its neck again...
And again...
And again.
Green blood gushed from every wound.
The creature writhed in panic.
It tried to flee.
But after only a few desperate steps...
Its body collapsed.
Silence.
I stood there, breathing heavily.
"Hahaha..."
"My first kill."
As I stared at its corpse, I noticed a faint green light glowing beneath its head.
I remembered what the miners used to say.
Not every monster possessed a rune.
Only a few did.
I cracked open its skull.
Inside was a small green rune crystal.
I picked it up.
The moment it touched my palm, it flashed brilliantly.
Green light flowed into my body.
The rune crystal crumbled into dust.
"Wait..."
"Did I just absorb it?"
I quickly looked into my mental space.
The wagon-sized room had grown into something much larger.
Now it was the size of a small room.
The white space had also gained a faint green glow.
"So..."
"I can absorb runes."
"Maybe it's because this is the same type of rune..."
"The Storage Rune."
As I stood there lost in thought, my stomach growled loudly.
There was nothing edible in the ravine.
Slowly...
My eyes drifted toward the monster's corpse.