Kang Ji-Won stared at the shadow beneath the goblin corpse.
His trembling hand was still pressing on the cold, clammy shoulder.
This is crazy. This is blood loss delirium. I am talking to shadows.
But he had nothing else.
He closed his eyes. The faint green lights became just spots behind his eyelids.
System... Mana... Shadow...
He didn't know how to "use" Mana. He didn't know how to "activate" a skill.
So, he did the only thing he could do: He willed it.
He poured every ounce of his rage, his despair, and his feverish desire to survive... into that touch.
You. (He thought of the corpse). To... there. (He thought of the patch of shadow one meter away).
"Shadow Step".
Vwoomp.
It wasn't a sound.
It was... a sensation.
A sensation he had never felt before.
It wasn't a pull. It wasn't a push.
It was a dryness.
Suddenly, he felt something cold being pulled from the center of his chest. Like a cork had been pulled, and something warm (something he didn't know he had) flowed out, leaving behind a cold, dry void.
"AAAAAH!"
It wasn't a scream of pain. It was a sudden gasp.
His whole body shook. He almost passed out. It was... nauseating. Worse than pain. It was the feeling that a part of you... had been consumed.
He opened his eyes.
He was panting.
His hand...
His hand that was touching the goblin corpse... was now touching the cold stone cave floor.
...What?
Where...?
The faint green light of the retrieval tag... was gone.
"No..." he whispered. Did... did I destroy it?
He forced himself to turn around. His teeth were chattering violently. Tak... Tak... Tak.
And he saw it.
One meter away.
Toward the cave entrance.
The goblin corpse, with the faint green light emitting from it, was lying quietly on the ground.
...It... It moved.
...I... I moved it.
Ji-Won stared. He couldn't comprehend it.
One meter.
The skill wasn't "trash."
The skill... was a miracle.
It wasn't a "Shadow Step" for the user. It was a "Shadow Transport." It allowed him to move objects.
One... Mana. He thought, still feeling that cold emptiness in his chest. That was the cost. This horrible feeling.
And "10 seconds cooldown".
He looked at the transported corpse. Then at his internal clock (he didn't have a watch). One... two... three...
Doesn't matter. I have to do it again.
He looked at the remaining pile. Two bodies.
"Ghgh..."
He started crawling.
Stab. Pull. Drag.
He moved the few painful inches until he reached the remaining bodies.
He reached out, placing his hand on the next corpse.
And waited. Has it been 10 seconds? I don't know. Just try.
You. To there. Shadow Step.
Vwoomp.
The same dry, cold feeling. The same feeling of suffocation.
"GhgAAAAH!"
This time, it was worse. The feeling of emptiness doubled. He felt intensely dizzy.
He opened his eyes.
It worked.
The second corpse was now on top of the first, one meter closer to the entrance.
One... left.
He crawled. Touched the last corpse.
Please. One last time.
"Shadow Step!"
Vwoomp!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
This time, he screamed.
The feeling of emptiness was massive. It wasn't just dryness; it was pain. The cold void in his chest hurt. He felt the deadly chill of blood loss shock multiply.
I'm running out. He thought. Whatever "Mana" is, I'm running out of it.
He collapsed on the cave floor, shivering violently, gasping.
But when he opened his eyes... it was the whole pile. The three bodies. Stacked on top of each other. One meter away from his spot.
One meter...
He looked at the cave entrance (nine meters left).
Then at the Gate (another thirty meters).
Forty meters.
One meter. One cost. 10 seconds cooldown.
Forty... times?
The calculator in his head did the math.
40 times. 40 times of this horrible feeling. 400 seconds. Seven minutes.
This... this is possible.
It will be hell. I will be on the edge of death. But it is... possible.
It's no longer impossible.
It's no longer hopeless.
I... found a way.