I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 204

As soon as I entered the command tent, I smelled a thick scent of sweat and spice. I slipped in through a slit I had silently carved in the back of the tent. These mercenaries had a pattern of protecting their front while leaving their rear unguarded. A low lantern cast warm flickers across a table of half-eaten food and goblets of wine. It was fully furnished, and there was even a fur carpet on the floor. This guy knew how to camp.

As I looked around, my eyes immediately landed on someone lying on the floor. I stepped forward to find Fate lying face down on the floor, face down, her hair damp with sweat. She was heavily breathing, and her legs trembled. She looked somewhat lost in some kind of fever dream. I kneeled at her side and touched her shoulder. She flinched, a sound that was half a moan, half a whimper. She swatted my hand away weakly, desperately trying to stand.

“No, no… don’t touch me,” she mumbled as she stumbled afoot. “Go away!”

“It’s me,” I spoke quietly without moving another step. “It’s Spirit.”

She looked back, her eyes focusing for just a moment. She stared at me, blinking rapidly. Her expression flickered from shock to relief. Yet, before she calmed down, a look of dread fell on her face.

“N-no, no… not you!” She fell back on her butt and started desperately scooting away. “Anyone else… I can’t…”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I’m the only one here, so you’ll have to live with me saving you…”

“Please, no…” She quivered.

I decided to ignore her. “We don’t have time for this. I’m getting you out of here now.”

“Ah!”

I reached out and scooped her up into my arms. She let out another involuntary moan. Her body fell against mine as if she were completely devoid of strength. Her face nuzzled against my neck. I could feel her hot breath against my skin, and her body was trembling like a rabbit’s. She didn’t protest anymore, though, as if opening her mouth would be too difficult.

It occurred to me that she was likely under the influence of the aphrodisiac. Since she didn’t mention it, I decided it’d be better to play dumb. These paragons were pretty much the nobles of this world, and they could be quite temperamental when it came to their pride. I’d hate to save her life only for her to decide I had to die again. Worst yet, she might turn the entire Lou family against me in retaliation for her so-called honor.

Before I left the tent, my eyes fell on the food. I predicted that if she was infected by the aphrodisiac, it was probably the food. I couldn’t help but think how foolish she had been for consuming food her enemy gave her, but now wasn’t the time to ridicule her. With a wave, I brought several of the items into my inventory, and then I began to break them apart, trying to isolate the compounds that resulted in her current state.

We slipped out the slit I had made in the back, and I had barely made it a few feet when a bell began to ring across the camp. I couldn’t help but curse under my breath. I knew I hadn’t been seen, so it must have been the guards checking on the prisoners and realizing they had escaped. The Lou family wasn’t slouches, though. By now, they should have already been outside of camp. However, I didn’t know that, and if they all ended up captured again, then it would make this journey a complete waste.

Feeling a bit of agitation, I stood up and stepped out into one of the main paths. A group of three guards who were hastily running somewhere stopped dead when they saw me standing there with a beautiful girl snuggling against me. Fate shifted against me, and the way her thigh dragged across my arm caused her to gasp. It looked very sensual to someone spectating.

“You…” One of the guards finally reacted.

“Time to go!” I turned and started running.

“H-hey, stop!” another man called out.

“Sorry…” Fate whimpered, apparently thinking it had been her noises that alerted the guards in her delirious state.

“Fuck off!” I shouted as I ran, leaping over a crate and dodging a fire pit.

Fate clung to me with desperation, every jostle pulling another breathy sound from her lips. I didn’t push myself to the max, but I allowed myself to use more of my strength than I was used to. I was shocked at how quickly I could move, at least running at the speed of a horse if not a car. I crossed the northern portion of the camp in only a few seconds. There were shouts, but none of these men could keep up with my me. The men keeping guard only watched with flummoxed expressions as I burst past them.

It felt particularly refreshing to make use of my stats. Of course, I still couldn’t use all of my stats. I had a feeling that if I went too fast, I couldn’t keep Fate safely in my arms. Also, the ground itself might not have been able to handle it. It was something I had only come to realize in that moment, but no matter how fast a person could move their legs, if the ground didn’t cooperate… Superhuman speeds had similar limitations. A dirt ground couldn’t support the force of a full-speed push. It was effectively like trying to run on sand.

This is probably why techniques existed… I couldn’t help but think scornfully.

Animals had paws and claws to get around their limitations, but humans didn’t have those things. I was beholden to my enormous status, but I had yet to learn any skills that allowed me to utilize it fully. That’s why I found, a short time after escaping the camp, that there was a group of ten men that appeared on my trail. I was certain these were the top brass of the Goldtooth chasing after me.

“You think you can escape us?” I heard someone roar. “Drop the girl and we’ll let you live!”

“I-it’s him… the leader…” She shivered.

It was the Goldtooth Commander. Wasn’t he prestiged? The others with him all appeared to be champions. It did look like I had gotten all of them chasing me. He valued Fate as a prisoner more than the rest combined. Hopefully, the Lou family would be able to escape then. I had given them their best chance, whether they realized it or not.

The Goldtooth must have had some kind of movement skill, because they were slowly gaining on me, even though I was moving as fast as the ground allowed me to. If I went any faster, I would be tearing up grass and only wasting stamina. Damn it, I regretted not making it to the library. It was filled with practical skills. Everyone assumed I already had skills that I learned from some mysterious paragon hermit. How else would I be able to accomplish what I accomplished without some powerful techniques backing me up, right? I blamed Penny. Then again, she did bring me to a talk with Mistress Sci, and I had some insights there.

I shook my head. I was getting distracted. I felt a surge of energy, and I jumped to the side just as a fireball struck where I was standing.

“What the hell? That’s cheating!” I shouted back at the guys behind me.

“You have some skill, kid. That movement skill you’re using is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. However, you’re still not good enough to deal with a prestige,” the commander declared. “Give up now before I get upset.”

I almost wanted to laugh. he’d never believe I was just that fast without a skill. Since my mana was low, I must have just found a really good skill that allowed me to run as fast as a prestiged, right?

“W-we can’t…” Fate looked in my eyes tearfully.

I glanced around, and my eyes fell on the one spot where I knew I could lose them. “Alright, screw it.”

I began to run at high speed once again. I could hear the men behind me cursing. Other than the commander, the others were reaching the limit of their stamina. It wasn’t long before the ground started to incline. It started as a light incline, but it slowly grew steeper. My speed didn’t slow, though, as the ground went from soft grassy land to rocks. I was able to push harder and thus continued to gain at the same speed.

“Is this kid a freaking sage beast?” one of the men cursed out loud.

They weren’t necessarily that far from the truth.

“Hey, kid!” the commander yelled. “If you go any further, you’ll be in the domain of the sage beast! They’re most deadly right before they die! If you set it off, there is no one in this province capable of saving you!”

That was the idea. They had left me with no other option, so I started running up the mountain, the one dominated by the prestiged sage beast.