Crack!
The pot smashed against the head of a vermin, the pieces splintering and scattering around the horde. Green, viscous blood sprayed from fresh gashes across their hideous faces.
Before they could orient themselves, the water splattered on their heads the next second.
Rrgh!
The vermins screamed in anger as the water slid across their cut skin, the sting flaring into agony.
Ren didn't turn back even for a single moment as he rushed ahead.
Planks creaked under the pressure of his weight, and the vines were getting stomped under his feet.
But it didn't last long.
Agony shot through his back like molten lava pouring onto his body; blood soaked his tunic as he continued to bleed.
The gash left behind by the vermin from earlier was deep enough for blood to spill forth and if left untreated, he might die of blood loss.
Ren clenched his teeth and held on, his vision turning hazy as his mind started to feel light.
The screams of the vermins were starting to decrease, he couldn't even hear his own footsteps as he slowed down.
'I-I am losing consciousness…'
The adrenaline and the level-ups had given him enough energy to help him till now, but without Shrike and Fleshcleaver, he couldn't even increase his levels now.
And the mental energy required to use ash manipulation had left him weak and dizzy, preventing him from acting precisely and decisively.
But knowing he had to hold on, Ren still wobbled ahead without stopping.
And to increase his chances of survival, he threw all the remaining pots directly on the planks behind him.
Due to his blurry vision, he was unable to see the water splashing across the planks and seeping into them.
As Ren moved forward, the planks screamed even more under the strain, but Ren kept his pace, being completely oblivious to it.
And before he realised, the planks gave in.
The feeling of weightlessness kicked in, and Ren felt his mind clear up for a moment as he realised what had just happened.
Before he knew it, he had grabbed onto one of the vines that was connected to the planks ahead of him.
'Shit…'
Looking down, Ren could see the remaining vermins screaming as they fell down into the deep abyss below, their voices fading.
Then silence followed.
The vine swung back and forth as Ren gripped it tightly, but the bleeding wasn't helping.
Apparently, only some of the vines had broken apart with the middle portion of the bridge. The planks at the ends were still fine as they were connected by the remaining vines.
Ren's grip started to loosen slightly but just then, multiple prompts popped up one after another.
The bleeding started to slow down. The gash repaired itself as if his self-healing increased by a hundredfold.
Ren's eyes snapped back to life, his fingers embedding into the vines and the first thing he saw was the golden panel.
[Level 11 Vermin killed. Exp +267]
[Level 14 Vermin killed. Exp +304]
[Level 14 Vermin killed. Exp +310]
...
[Leveled up! You have reached level 19!]
---
"I survived? B-but how?" Ren muttered, half-astonished and half-relieved.
Didn't get why he was receiving the kill messages when the vermins had clearly died by falling into the deep… abyss? Ren contemplated, looking at the darkness hidden behind the thin veil of mist below him.
But despite the confusion, Ren decided to focus on survival and he soon noticed his hands were slipperier than they should be. Looking up, he saw his hands tightly gripping the wet vines.
'Wait. Wet?'
And that's when his mind clicked and he remembered how he had thrown the water pots directly on the planks.
"They might have stepped on those scattered pot shards and bled, so that's why I got the kills."
Nonetheless, he first had to climb back up before he lost too much energy and got stuck here permanently.
With a victorious smile on his face, Ren started to climb back up.
And after a few minutes, he finally returned to the bridge and saw how the bridge was held on by two large vines coiling around the planks and going towards the other side.
"No, I'm not gonna risk it." Looking at the broken bridge, he didn't step on it but instead crouched down and started to walk slowly on the vines.
Although risky, he didn't want to fall down again.
A couple of minutes later, Ren finally crossed the bridge and stepped onto the other side only to find… another forest?
His eyes twitched. But before he could curse, he saw the silhouette of someone from the corner of his eye.
Turning his head, Ren found all of them rushing towards him, with Lina waving her hands.
A small smile formed on his face but was replaced by irritation in the next moment.
"You finally arrived, for a second we thought something had happened to you," Caleb spoke first.
"Yeah, you couldn't even see the bridge collapse—" Ren started to complain as he pointed behind but stopped abruptly.
Looking at the perfectly fine bridge near them and the fog that was preventing them from seeing the broken portion of it, Ren's words died down in his throat.
"Yeah, I am fine. Can I rest for a moment now?" Without waiting for a reply, Ren moved past them and sat against a small rock.
Lina and the others glanced at each other, confused. But seeing the same clueless look in each other's eyes, they just shrugged and let it go.
Except Evan.
He had already noticed the torn tunic, instantly realising that things hadn't gone as planned. And thinking about Ren's irritated behaviour, he was even more sure that Ren might have faced some struggles.
'So we are finally going to reach Highcrest, huh. I hope you are ready because this time, I have an abnormality with me.'
Evan looked towards the direction of the city before glancing at Ren.