69. S: Run and Don’t Stop or... Escape

If I knew the value of score points, I would have done my best in that rhythm game and collected as many points as I could, but I didn’t... And as result, I felt immense frustration, especially with hungry wolves chasing my ass. Nevertheless...

“If my path is ahead, then why look back, right?”

Saying that and feeling my mind calming, I walk a few steps on the black line in front of me, and then...

-Ready-

I position myself in this white corridor while discarding all thoughts and feeling unnecessary.

-Set-

I look ahead at the familiar pattern endlessly spreading, tense my muscles and then time my breath.

-Escape-

Then finally, I give a casual glance to the notification in front of me, before then ignoring the metallic clanging behind me, and abruptly racing forward. After all...

“Now, it started...”

Another round of chasing has just started, and hopefully, this one will be...

“The last.”

Muttering that and lightly smiling, I look ahead of me, then recognizing the positions of the pillars I quickly run and slide down on the floor before then standing back and instantly sidestepping left, only to then accelerate, abruptly lean forward and with my hands on a pillar, front flip in the air. And like that, I kept moving, running, dodging, and sometimes flipping...

Once moving to the left, once jumping to the right, this time above and the next one below, move here and then move there, like this and like that... Then I repeat and repeat again, all as my understanding of this chasing game increases, and as my familiarity with this corridor, these pillars, and even with that tune... slowly deepen, but even then, this runner game’s difficulty is not decreasing, instead, it’s only...

“Increasing”

With every step I take, with every move I make, this game’s difficulty increases, the counter in the corner of my vision increase, and even the wolves’ number and speed... that too increases. And recognizing that, I quickly look forward, locate the gap between the pillars’ formation, and then...

Shuuuu. Shuuuu.

I quickly jump and spin in the air, before then shooting two arrows and side flipping, only to then easily pass through the gape I located, but...

“UWOOAAA… !!!”

“That seems painful.”

Quickly sidestepping and avoiding a black pillar, I peek behind me, and then seeing the two arrows piercing a rabbit wolf’s nose and eye, I say so, but...

“Even if it’s painful, that much alone won’t kill it.”

Saying that and smiling, I quickly lower my head, and sliding below a pillar I once again jump back on my feet and run, but it was then...

Craash.

It was then that the leading wolf, with an arrow stuck in its eye, tripped and slammed into a few pillars breaking them and falling down on its face. Nevertheless, even that didn’t hurt it badly, as such, slowly standing the wolf lightly shook its head and then looked forward, but...

“That’s a mistake.”

Muttering so and slowing my movement, I quickly step to the side avoiding a pillar, before then glancing at the wolf behind me, but what I saw then was...

Doooo... Daaaa... Diiii...

What I saw then was the scene of three wolves slamming into each other and crashing down into more pillars, and along with that was a red glow.

A bright and dangerous, red glow flashed from the numerous white squares in the wall around the wolves and then following that very familiar sound, those wolves stopping in place momentarily, were completely...

“Erased, dammit.”

Saying that and feeling shivers in my skin, I look forward ignoring the empty corridor behind me, and then I pay more attention to my movement as I try to keep up with the tune’s quickening pace. After all, even if these wolves die now, new ones will simply appear again and again, and let’s just say I learned that the hard way.

Though speaking of it now, repeating this chasing game all those times was indeed hard and painful. Nevertheless, it was because of such pain that I finally understand some of this game’s rules.

And well, it’s not like they are that complicated. On the opposite, they are actually simple enough that ‘Run And Don’t Stop’ can pretty much summarize half of those rules.

And I mean my words, after all, if I or the wolves were to stop then...

“We will be erased.”

Saying that and feeling the shivers in my skin subsiding, I widely open my eyes and with utmost focus, I stare at the numerous pillars intricately connecting in a formation, as I then try looking for gaps, but...

“As expected, this is getting harder.”

Saying such and barely finding a gap in the web of black pillars, I quickly move through it and then I sigh. But that aside, let’s get back to this game’s rules.

So from what I noticed, they are actually simple. First, I need to run, avoid the pillars, and not stop in place, otherwise, the red light will erase me.

Second, the more distance I run, the more wolves appear, and the faster they become. Ah, but of course, the number of wolves at a time can’t surpass five, and the speed increase too is not that great. Well, at least from the third wolf and on, that speed increase becomes less noticeable.

And third, after a certain milestone, the wolves level up. Well, I guess if my level was lower then even I would have leveled up, but anyway. After a certain milestone, the wolves will grow in size and level up, but if no wolves were remaining, then a new level 2 rabbit wolf will appear instead and everything will start over. Excluding the tune’s speed, that is. But anyway, these three rules...

“They are this game’s only rules, and also the biggest trick distracting me.”

Saying so and widely smiling, I quickly lower my body and slide on the floor, before then abruptly stopping on top of a certain black line, as I then...

-Conditions hav-...

As I calmly ignore the leveling notification and the dangerously glowing squares, to then jump instead. Toward that inconspicuous black door at the wall, I abruptly jump, only to then open it and escape the red glow-filled corridor. After all, this game’s goal from the very beginning was not to run, survive or go somewhere... instead, its goal was only to...

“... Escape.”