The forest was dark and quiet. Normally, it'd be bustling with activity from various different creatures and monsters. But recently a squad of Godlings had been dispatched to the forest and killed everything that could be considered dangerous to Demi-Gods, except for one creature of course. Yet, the silence wasn't the joyous kind, but ominous and foreboding. As if something would happen at any minute.
*****
How long had they been running for? It felt like an hour but in actuality it might've only been half of that.
"Maybe if I'd paid attention in class this wouldn't happen. Stupid, Stupid Light!"
Light and Candy were running side by side through the forest. Both were out of breath and tired, but both were being chased by a monster that made them disregard their tiredness and press forward. No words were being spoken between them, maybe it's because they couldn't talk from how tired they were, or maybe they were too scared that it would hear them. Either way, it didn't matter to them. All that mattered was escaping the forest and finding somewhere to sleep.
Behind them, the sound of trees crashing could be heard. They were far away from the source, but it still sounded like a thunderstorm was rampaging through the forest. Light couldn't identify what the creature was, he'd never even gotten a solid look at it, but what he did know was that it was humongous. Bigger than any animal on earth at the very least. Light stopped thinking about it, lest it freak him out even more, and focused on running.
After a little more time had passed, the pair saw a light to their right and followed it. Before they made the turn, the creature could be heard just behind them, It's heavy breathing making their skin crawl. But now, a sound louder than the original replaced it.
"Seems like the bastard couldn't slow down in time."
The pair made a mad dash to the light, their every step feeling like they were running through thick mud. But they persisted through sheer willpower and finally made it to a clearing.
Light scanned the surroundings quickly
"Dammit!"
The path of salvation they'd been running to was just a trap all along. To his left was a field of nothing, no useful objects to hide behind and nothing to distract it with, and the right was no different. Behind him was the forest, and in front of him… a waterfall.
"We're both out of breath, so no way we can even dream of returning to the forest. The plains won't be of any help either, the only thing slowing that creature down is the fact that it has to carve through those trees to get to us. Going out in the open only leads to death."
The creature had gotten back up and was running towards them again. The sound of trees crashing down again was proof of that. Hearing this, Light mustered his strength, saving a little in case the worst scenario imaginable happened, and peered over the edge of the waterfall.
"That's a big drop, at least three hundred feet, if not more! Dammit, All these options just lead to death! The only problem is that we can't run and, if by some miracle, we do survive this drop, there's no way we can swim out."
Light frantically turned around and saw Candy catching her breath. Looking behind her, towards the forest, he could make out the silhouette of something gigantic running straight towards them. He started to panic and put into motion the only plan he could think of, which started with grabbing Candy's arm.
"What're you doing?! We're dead anyways so we might as well go out with a fight."
Candy tried to reject Lights hand by slapping it, but he grabbed her arm tighter and started to shout at her
"Shut up! You're right, we do have to fight it eventually. And when we do, we'll form a better plan. But right now we're at a disadvantage! Not only are we way weaker than that thing but our surroundings don't help us one bit! Now follow me and don't let go!"
Light grabbed her arm and resumed his running. Candy, accepting that he was right, looked forward and knew what he was planning on doing.
"No~~ way! That's insane! We'll die!"
"I know it's insane you brat. But for now"
"Just trust me~~!"
He and Candy jumped at the same time, going right over the ledge of the waterfall and not sparring a single glance back.
*****
The water was getting closer by the millisecond, but Light had already come up with a plan. While looking over the edge, Light had spotted various different tree branches sticking out the waterfall. They were a little too conveniently placed, but he didn't question it as it was their only current option.
"This is going to hurt."
Light stretched his hand out and started to grab the tree branches like a monkey as he passed by them, changing his course each time. He didn't grab the branches for long, allowing his arm just enough time to grab it, slow their fall a little, change their direction, and then let go. Candy saw what he was doing and followed, trying to listen to his thoughts as best she could to help direct them to their landing zone. By the time they reached the point of the waterfall that Light wanted to land in, both of their hands were bleeding profusely. While it did hurt, this small sacrifice allowed them to dive feet first into the water. However, this didn't mean that the impact wasn't felt, it just helped to lower the pain they were about to feel.
The pair went straight through the water and immediately felt their bodies light up in pain. Light, who was the first to hit the water, fell unconscious almost immediately due to the shock. But Candy, most likely from the padding that Light had provided her, managed to stay awake. She dragged Light onto the shore nearby and looked up, fearing the worst scenario where the beast followed them. Luckily, or unluckily, it seemed that the creature had given up on its prey and retreated for now.
"Candy, are you paying attention?"
She remembered a time when she was sitting in the classroom. The teacher was telling her about some of the possible beasts she might have to face, and that day it was the Lear's turn.
"All ears!"
"Good, you're not like the other one."
He shivered as the thought of someone entered his mind.
"Anyway, if you end up with the Lear, you'll be in for a hell of a ride. These things are hard for even Godlings to kill, so I doubt you'll get it, but I'll teach you just in case."
He picked up a piece of chalk and scribbled information onto the board and looked back at her.
"If you face the Lear, there are five things you must know. The first is that they're weakness is the sun. The second is that they only come out in near complete darkness. Third, they have a balanced set of speed, strength, and intelligence, so if you end up fighting it, approach with extreme caution. Fourth, they love to play with enemies weaker than them, whether it be by stalking them or other means. Fifth, and the most important, Don't, under any circumstances, piss it off."
Back in the present, Candy looked up and saw the sun out. It felt more than just a blazing ball of light and heat now. It felt like it was their saviour, and a means of protection.
"At least the sun is out."
*****
Light opened his eyes and looked around. The sun was high in the sky and the forest around them had cleared up, allowing him to see further into it. He looked around for Candy only to be met with a shocking site.
She was currently dragging him by the backpack loop across the floor.
"The hell?! I'm grateful that she saved me from drowning but now I kinda wish she just left me for dead."
He tried to open his mouth but was stopped by a shard pain in his jaw.
"You dislocated a couple of bones when hitting the water, maybe if you paid attention in class more you would've known how to do a proper pencil dive. Also, I'll remember that for next time."
Candy looked down at him with a stern look on her face before she continued to walk.
"Hod yu kow I was wake?"
Light asked her, his words slurring together from the pain. Candy looked down at him with a pitiful look on her face
"Two things. First, don't talk for a while, it sounds weird and makes my skin crawl. Second, I can read minds, remember?"
Light looked back up at her with a shocked expression which then changed to a confused one.
"Don't talk, I already know part of your question. Man, you must've hit your head on something because you're forgetting a lot of things. Go back to sleep, I'll find somewhere safe for us to stay tonight."
Candy continued to drag him forward, despite the signs of protest her body was giving. While Light did feel bad, he went back to sleep and let his body recover.
**********
When Light awoke, he was laying down in a cave. In the middle was a crudely made fire, on the opposite side of the room, Candy was laying on a makeshift bed of leaves, grass, and branches. He attempted to sit up but felt a jolt of pain run through his body, causing him to flop back down.
"Don't try to sit up for at least another hour. I brought a pack of healing potions along, so I poured four over your body. The places with dislocations have healed, leaving only bruises now, but the areas with broken bones, like your ribs and legs, haven't healed yet."
Candy sat up from where she was laying down and stared at Light. She held that gaze for a couple seconds before scrunching her face into a disgusted look.
"Do you have a kink for lying to little girls?"
Light, who nearly choked on some spit, tried his best to look in her direction before responding.
"Now why the hell would you say that?"
She got up from where she was laying down and added some wood to the fire.
"First, You lied to me about who you were the entire time we were in the city. Second, you lied to me when we jumped off the waterfall, 'Trust me' my ass, you didn't even have a backup plan. Finally, you lied to me in the city."
She looked at Light with a furious expression.
"First off, You said the same thing twice. Second, you knew I didn't have a backup plan so stop complaining. We got away, didn't we?"
Light retorted back.
"We may have gotten away but now you could be in bed for half the time we have to hunt that thing. We only have a week and a half, remember?! Also, the reason I mentioned it twice is because I'm still mad that you deceived me for no reason!"
Candy was getting angrier now, to the point that she was yelling
"I don't care about how much time we have left, if you didn't disturb that thing in the first place then we wouldn't be here! Also, I deceived you because I was investigating something and needed an excuse in case things went south!"
The once civil argument was now turning into a screaming match between the two.
"You might not care but I do! The better the score, the more rewards I can get! Also, I'm just an excuse now huh?! I drag you around all day and that's what you say?! You know what? I'm glad you hit the water first!"
"I don't give a damn about your score, and you dragging me around all day is revenge for slapping me-!"
He was cut off mid sentence when a stick hit the back of his hand.
"Dammit! Why's it the back of the hand again!?"
Candy went back to laying down on the makeshift bed before responding.
"I don't have enough energy to deal with this conversation right now! I'm going to bed!"
And just like that, Candy was out. Light looked over at her before making a clicking sound with his mouth and staring back up at the ceiling. He couldn't quite remember what all had happened today, his memory was still fuzzy, but what he did know is that they'd lost and were splitting apart. In order to prevent this from happening, he'd have to do something to make up for deceiving her and prepare for their next encounter with the beast.
"See I'd really like to do that. But I'm restricted to a bed right now and this girl is more concerned about a previous meeting we had to give two damns about the future! As long as we don't run into that creature again, we may be able to survive, but this little girl wouldn't stand for that! What to do, what to do…"
Light remembered back to what the teacher had told them while they were falling. About how if they came back without the Lear's head then they mind as well sign their death warrant.
"Cant believe he just abandoned us. I'm somewhat used to it from my past life but it still hurts."
*****
Light continued to think for a while before he sensed something. Out of the corner of his left eye, he saw movement. Light got up in panic, thinking that the creature had already caught up to them, only to look over and see a snake at the entrance of the cave, only a few feet away from him.
Its scales were a beautiful creamy white, reflecting the night sky almost perfectly, and were the shape of a dragon's scales. Their red eyes were as beautiful as a ruby with a black slit in the middle.
"It looks cool and all, but compared to the creature we just ran from, they're not so scary."
Despite the protest of his body, Light lifted his arm and tried to shoo the snake away, only for it to look at him in anger.
"Why the hell isn't it going away?"
He kept trying to swat at it, but that seemed to anger the snake even more.
"Listen to me and leave you damn snake!"
He slammed his hand on the stone, getting as close to the snake as he could. All of a sudden, the snake bit his hand, causing Light to let out a yelp and quickly recoil his hand back towards him, a little angry now. He looked back at the bastard to give it a piece of his mind but when he made eye contact with it… it smiled. After that, it slithered away into the darkness of the forest. Light, still freaked out by the incident, realized something strange was happening to him. His body was healing faster. It stopped after a couple of seconds but those couple seconds were enough to fully heal his broken bones and some of his memories from that day.
"What the hell. How is this possible-"
From his remembered memories, he recalled something from earlier in the day when he was in the classroom.
"Recently, you might've begun to experience strange episodes, things out of the ordinary like being able to hear people's thoughts…"
The teacher had told him that while talking about masks.
Back in the present, Light began to freak out again, but this time for a different reason.
"As far as I know, a human can't get accelerated healing from a snake bite. So what does that mean my concept could be? Maybe it's the concept of poison! Or the concept of healing! Maybe even-"
He kept on thinking like a school girl about what his concept could be before calming himself down, remembering what the current goal was.
"Right… None of this matters if I die in this Survival Exam."
He needed to calm down and get some rest first. He'd run all the tests and experiments he wanted to tomorrow. But for now, his body still ached all over. Arriving at this conclusion, Light laid back down in his makeshift bed and drifted off to sleep, dreaming about snakes as he did.