Chapter 4: The Hunted

The world blurred around me as I tore through the underbrush, weaving between trees, vaulting over roots, and dodging branches like my life depended on it.

And considering the ogre behind me was tearing through the forest like a raging bulldozer, it probably did.

Every step sent leaves and dirt flying as I pushed my legs to their limit, but the ogre’s furious grunts and the violent snapping of branches kept growing louder, closer. Too close.

Think, damn it! Can’t outrun it. Can’t outfight it. So what the hell am I supposed to do?!

Then, the worst happened.

My foot landed on a loose rock and twisted beneath me before I could react. My balance vanished, and a split second later, my face slammed straight into the dirt.

I spat out a mouthful of moss with a groan, shooting the offending rock a murderous glare as though it had personally betrayed me, but I didn’t have the luxury of holding a grudge.

I scrambled back to my feet, my fingers instinctively wrapping around the same rock just as the ogre burst through the trees, its eyes locking onto me like a predator that had finally cornered its prey.

Without thinking twice, I drew my arm back and hurled the rock with every ounce of desperation I had.

"Eat this, you oversized sack of dumb!"

The rock bounced off the ogre’s forehead with all the impact of a particularly aggressive marshmallow.

THUNK!

The beast froze, blinking once... then twice, as though its tiny brain was genuinely trying to process what had just happened.

A heartbeat later, its entire face twisted with fury, and it unleashed a roar so deafening I could’ve sworn my soul briefly considered abandoning my body.

...Right. That was stupid.

I didn’t even have time to come up with a less idiotic plan before the ogre swung.

Instinct took over, and I threw myself into a duck as the massive mace tore through the air above my head with a savage whoosh.

It missed me by mere inches before slamming into the ground with the force of a meteor, sending dirt and shattered rock erupting in every direction.

Pebbles hammered against my back as I scrambled to my feet and sprinted toward the nearest tree.

Climb. That was my only option.

I leaped onto the tree and scrambled up the trunk like a panicked squirrel, but the ogre’s massive hand shot toward me before I could get any higher.

Crap! Change of plans.

Instead of trying to outrun it, I pushed off the bark and jumped straight onto its back.

I latched on for dear life, digging my claws deep into its thick hide as the ogre let out a furious howl and bucked wildly beneath me like a rodeo bull on steroids, determined to shake me loose.

Before it could, I swung my claws with everything I had and raked them straight across its eye.

It worked.

...Kind of.

The ogre roared in pain, but I barely had time to celebrate before a rough, calloused hand shot over its shoulder, clamped around my leg, and ripped me off its back like an inconvenient sticker.

The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air like a discount action figure, my limbs flailing uselessly as panic seized my chest.

"Nonono... no!"

BOOM!

I slammed spine first into a tree, and the impact knocked the air clean out of my lungs. Everything hurt.

My vision swam, my limbs twitched uncontrollably, and every muscle in my body screamed in protest.

Something crunched when I tried to move, and I could only hope it was the tree and not my ribs.

Then I felt it.

A slow, creeping warmth spread through my body, pulsing from the inside out as the pain gradually dulled and the aches began to fade.

Wounds knitted themselves shut beneath my skin, broken bones shifted back into place, and the damage I’d taken steadily disappeared.

My Regeneration skill had finally kicked in.

A shaky breath escaped my lips.

"Oh, thank God..."

The relief lasted all of two seconds before my stomach let out a thunderous growl, sounding less like hunger and more like an angry demon demanding tribute.

A deep, gnawing emptiness spread through my entire body, curling around my insides like a starving beast.

At first I couldn’t understand why it was happening, but the answer came almost immediately as the system pulled up the description for [Regeneration].

[Skill: Regeneration (Passive)]

Description: The user’s body rapidly heals wounds, regenerating damaged tissue, sealing cuts, and mending fractures over time. This passive ability allows for continuous recovery, making the user highly resilient in battle. However, the accelerated healing process consumes significant energy, increasing hunger at an exponential rate. Without sufficient sustenance, prolonged use of Regeneration may lead to extreme fatigue, starvation, or even physical deterioration.

So that was it.

Regeneration was working overtime, burning through my energy reserves like a bonfire drenched in gasoline, and I hadn’t eaten since... well... since I was reincarnated.

Oh. That’s bad.

What made it even worse was that the ogre was still coming. Blood poured from its ruined eye, running in thick streams down its face as it lumbered toward me with slow, deliberate steps.

With a grunt, it raised its mace high above its head, preparing to crush me where I lay.

Every instinct I had screamed at my body to move, to roll, to do something, but exhaustion had sunk its claws too deep.

My limbs felt like lead, my vision swam, and no matter how desperately I struggled, my body refused to respond.

Damn it... not like this.

The mace came crashing down.

But at the very last second, I managed to wrench my body just far enough to avoid the full force of the blow, though not enough to escape it completely.

The massive weapon still clipped my leg, and the impact sent a surge of blinding pain tearing through my entire body as the shockwave hurled me across the dirt.

I slammed into the ground, rolled several times, and only just managed to stop myself from crashing into a nearby tree.

Before I could even think about getting back to my feet, a massive hand suddenly wrapped around my ankle.

My eyes widened, and I barely had time to choke out a curse before I was violently yanked backward like a ragdoll, my body scraping across the forest floor as jagged rocks dug into my skin and broken twigs raked bloody lines across my arms.

The ride came to an abrupt end when a thick, meaty fist shot down, clamped around my throat, and lifted me clean off the ground.

I gasped as my legs kicked uselessly in the air, the ogre’s massive hand squeezing tighter around my throat and cutting off what little air I had left.

The pressure was unbearable, like a vice made of solid muscle crushing my windpipe, and before long spots began dancing across my vision as my thoughts grew sluggish and the edges of the world slowly darkened.

No, no, no....no..

I refused to go out like this.

Summoning every last shred of strength, I raked my claws across the ogre’s thick, leathery arm, carving deep gashes into its flesh.

The monster let out a low grunt, but instead of loosening its grip, its fingers dug even deeper into my neck, forcing the last remnants of air from my lungs as darkness crept relentlessly toward the center of my vision.

My second chance at life... was this it?