Mushoku Tensei: A different path

(Rudeus POV)

What is happening?! Who was that guy? And what does he mean by 'survive and learn'? Am I supposed to do something only madmen would think of?

But more importantly, am I really falling into a Black Dragon nest?

Such minor details are the least of my concerns, as their presence here could mean grave danger.

Falling into the nest's entrance, I attempted to brace my fall with Wind Magic, but due to the darkness shrouding my sight, I kept crashing against slopes and maybe one or two dragons.

I ended up with cuts and bruises all over my body. The burning and sharp pain was torturing me, each movement sending waves of agony through me. But I gritted my teeth and concentrated on softening the impact with the ground with more Wind Magic.

I don't know why, but my mana supply turned out to be near its end.

I ended up landing roughly, rolling down what seemed to be a tunnel, and breaking my right leg in the process if it hadn't already been earlier.

It was agonizing, and my voice nearly cracked out screaming, but the fear of letting the residents lead to me.

My body felt hot from the bruises and cuts I must've suffered from the fall, but the ground felt so cold that it kept me from losing myself.

It took me a while before I pushed through the pain and used all the strength left to place one of my hands on my leg or any of the wounds, at the very least.

"L-Let this… divine… divine power b-be as satisfying nouri-… nourish-"

It was no use. I couldn't speak the incantation properly.

I should've tried harder to learn to use Healing Magic without the incantation. I can get mad at my incompetence later, but for now, I must focus on surviving this dire situation I couldn't have been prepared for.

My breath came in sharp, uneven gasps; each inhale was a reminder of my broken leg, the pain radiating up like fire every time I moved.

The dim, flickering light from my faintly glowing staff's crystal painted the walls in shadows that seemed to twist and writhe like living things.

I could hear them coming. Claws scraped on the stone, and low growls reverberated through the tunnels. It must be the dragons!

I couldn't tell how many or how big they might be. The echoes warped their movements, making it impossible to gauge their distance. All I knew was that they were closing in, their presence heavy and suffocating, like a storm pressing against the cave walls.

My mind raced. Fighting them all at once was suicide in this state, let alone a single one. I couldn't afford to waste what little energy I had left.

Instead, I tightened my grip on my staff, pulled in a shaky breath, and used it as a clutch, supporting my injured leg. Every step sent pain shooting through my body, but I bit down hard to keep from crying out.

I kept moving, my eyes adjusting to the darkness in this tunnel as I used my staff's crystal as a flickering light.

My broken leg screamed in protest with every step, and sweat dripped into my eyes. I turned another corner, the sounds of the horde fading slightly.

But from the other end of the tunnel, the scraping of claws grew louder, the sound filling the passage like an advancing tide. I couldn't see them yet, but their hisses and guttural growls sent shivers down my spine.

A faint idea sparked in my mind, desperation driving my actions.

Leaning heavily on my staff, I channeled what little mana I had left and pressed my palm against the rough wall of the cavern. The stone trembled under my touch, and a small opening began to form, just wide enough for me to crawl into.

I collapsed inside the wider room, dragging my staff in with me as I closed the exit, leaving a small slit for air and sound.

I pressed one trembling hand against my mouth, silencing my ragged breathing as the sounds of the dragons grew louder.

Their claws scraped against the stone, their growls echoing in the confined space.

One passed dangerously close to my hiding spot, its venom dripping onto the ground with an audible sizzle. My heart hammered so loudly I feared they'd hear it, but I didn't move. I didn't breathe.

Minutes passed, or maybe hours. Time seemed to stretch in this oppressive nightmare fuel.

The dragons moved on, their growls growing fainter as they searched elsewhere.

When I was sure they were gone, I leaned against the wall, trembling from exhaustion. I let out a shaky breath, and the tension in my chest eased just slightly.

My leg started throbbing again, a brutal reminder of my vulnerability at the moment.

Luckily, I have calmed enough to attempt healing it again. In this state, there was no chance of surviving, let alone fighting.

Leaning against the wall, I placed my staff against the other side of my hiding spot and put one hand on my right leg, the touch making me suck in air through my teeth.

I could tell that the bone had not been snapped clean. It was broken, and some smaller pieces had separated from the bigger bone. This means I had to set the two bigger pieces straight before healing them back together. Otherwise, it will not come back together properly.

I knew it would hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt before (except for the truck incident). Still, to my knowledge, Healing Magic doesn't automatically place pieces of a body into the right position before healing.

My breath came in short gasps. Tears were already streaming down my face, and I hadn't even started yet.

Pulling out a piece of cloth from its pocket, I took off my jacket and put it next to [Aqua Heartia].

I'm only going off movie scenes here, but this is the best I can think of here.

My hands hovered over the break, hesitant. I could already feel the pain coming, and it made my stomach churn.

"You need to do this," I muttered under my breath. "Just do it."

After putting the cloth between my teeth, I bit into it, hovering my trembling hands over my leg.

I could already feel the pain coming, and it made my stomach churn. I forced myself to breathe deeply, though each breath was shaky and shallow.

With a sharp air intake, I pressed my palms to either side of the break and pushed.

The crack echoed in the cavern, loud enough that I flinched at the sound and endangering me to be exposed by the dragons. A strangled scream tore from my throat, muffled against the fabric between my teeth as they bit into it. Pain surged through me, hot and blinding, and I nearly blacked out. My vision blurred, my ears ringing so loudly I couldn't hear my own ragged breathing.

I could feel the bone shifting a little back to the point where it broke. The pain didn't stop, but at least now it wasn't tearing me apart with every slight movement.

Soon after finishing chanting my Healing Magic, the green light flickered weakly, and I gritted my teeth as I guided it to my twisted, broken limb.

The pain surged, sharp and blinding, as the pieces of the bones reconnected, and the warmth of mana coursed through my leg's muscles.

Sweat poured down my face as I willed the spell to continue, the light knitting flesh and bone together in agonizing augmentation.

When the spell finally finished, I collapsed against the wall, trembling, and the piece of cloth fell out of my mouth. This is undoubtedly one of the hardest, if not the hardest, things I've had to do on my own in this second life.

And it doesn't even stop here. This is only the beginning of what awaits out there.

My leg wasn't fully healed—it was more splinted together by magic than truly mended—but I could move it now, enough to limp instead of crawl. The pain had dulled to a constant ache, bearable if I didn't put too much weight on it. It would have to do.

I could tell that my mana reserves were at their end. I don't even remember the last time I felt this exhaustion, like being forced to shut down.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the attempt to escape was enough to take a toll on me.

Then, exhaustion caught up with me. The world tilted, and my vision blurred as the last of my strength ebbed away. I barely registered the cold of the stone beneath me as darkness swallowed me whole.

***

The scene unfolding before me was a vast, sterile white void. Nothing but an endless expanse of gray and white static particles floated around, swirling like a storm.

Amidst the silence, a figure began to take shape—a man, his form outlined faintly and distorted by some of the static interference.

He tried to speak, his mouth moving to form words, but his voice was drowned in a constant, rustling noise, like the hiss of a malfunctioning radio.

"C̸̺̘̫̐͐a̸̦͎̓̈́ń̸͉͉͎͋͊ y̵͚͎̠͊̔̓o̵̻͕̦̓̀͆u̸͕͉͔̿̒̽.̴͍̼̓̔͆.̸̻͍̿͊̓.̴̙͎́͘͜͠ ḧ̴̢͖͓́͠ë̴̢͓̼́̀͝a̸͓͉̿̀́͜r̵͚͇͝͝ m̵̢͍͚̔͝͝e̸͓̦͖̓͆͝?̸̠͍͆̐͘"

His garbled and distorted voice struggled to reach me. The words were almost lost beneath the relentless crackling, like wind through dry leaves.

I strained to listen, but it was impossible to make anything clear, just flashes of syllables and a static crescendo that pulsed around us.

"Ḧ̴̘͍́͋͜͠e̴̝̼̞͘̚l̸̫̺͚͊̈́͋l̸̡͙͓̓̓͝o̸̪͕͕̓̈́͘~̴̺͇̈́̿̕.̸͉̝͍͐̾̚.̵̞͚̙͑̓̚.̵͉̺͛͠ w̴̢̞͍̾̈́̕h̵͖̫͉̀͠y̴̙͔̐͛̈́ ḯ̸͇͎̕ș̴̻̔͋̚͜n̵̡̞̘̐̈́̽'̵̝̪͍̾̿̈́t̴̞̪̼͒͝͠ t̸̫͍̿̾̿͜ḧ̴̘̞̠́̀̿i̴͔͓̺̿̚̕ś̸͓̼̠̾ w̴̫͔̙͌͐̒o̵̡͖̝̓͐r̵̠̻͑̽͘͜k̴̟͚͙̕͘i̴̠̞̙͛͒͝n̸̡̪͍̾̈́̕g̴̞̼̻̽̈́͠?̴̪̫͓͊͐̈́ T̴͚̼͍͌̔͊h̸̡̫̦̀̒͐i̸̡͇̐́͝s̵̫̙̞̓͝ n̸͕͚͔̿͝͠é̸̙̠͙͐͘v̴͔͓̺̔̈́͑é̸̞͚̠͌͊r̴͖͚͌͋̈́ h̵̘̼͇̒̈́͆a̸̘̦̞͆̾p̴̡̘̦͐̐͝p̵͕̠͍͋͑̓e̵̻̪͋̓̕n̸̡͚͖͌͑̿e̴̪͓͐͐͌͜d̸͎͍̐̈́͌ b̵̠͕͖͋̈́̿e̴͙̦̓̓f̵̙͚͍͒͋͑ò̸͉͕͎͆͘r̵͙̻̓͌̾e̴̪̟͆̈́͜͝.̴̘̪͌̽̀͜"

His voice cracked again, an almost imperceptible plea, before the interference grew louder, making it hard to focus on what he was trying to tell me.

The connection between us felt frayed, as if the void swallowed every communication attempt.

"H̵͔͓̝̿̔̔ë̸͇̘́̕͝.̵̡̼̞̓͐.̵̺͎͓̽̈́̕.̵͍͔̫̿́̚ h̸͙͙͉̿̽̚e̴͙̝͙͐̓͑l̴͎̝͒̈́̈́l̴̘̻͚̒̈́o̵̢̙̼͑̈́͘?̴̺̦̙͊͆̽"

I tried to speak, but my words were as lost to the static as his. Rustling noise filled the space around us, an endless, oppressive hum drowning our voices until there was total silence.

***

As my eyelids gradually lifted, the cold stone of the cavern pressed against my back, and my staff lay beside me.

I realized I was still in the cope I had created inside the dragon's nest.

I lost track of time in the cave's dark embrace, but my leg was still aching, and the time I fell asleep was not enough to replenish my strength.

My mind went back to the dream I just had.

"What the heck was that?" I whispered to myself, my voice hoarse.

The memory of it lingered vividly: that endless white void, the static, the man... his voice. It didn't feel like a dream. It felt real. Like I'd been entirely alien and wrong somewhere else.

Whatever it was about, I didn't have time to dwell. The dragons were still out there, probably searching for the intruder who abruptly ruined their resting time.

There is no telling how many there were, nor if I even had a chance to escape.

I sorted together what I could remember about the type of monster those dragons were.

The smiley-faced creature said this was a Black Dragon nest. I vaguely remember them being native to the Demon continent. Not only were they capable of flight, but they were also armed with poisonous claws and fangs.

That was all I knew. Not in the slightest enough to forge a plan together.

Dragons, in general, are not to be underestimated. Even in this world, most were considered monsters of the highest rank.

My odds weren't good here. Not only was I inexperienced in combat against monsters, but the enclosed area also limited me. If I make one wrong move, I could cause the cave to collapse.

There was not much to think about it. In any case, I have to try and survive. Otherwise, all the years I've spent in this second chance in life would have been for nothing.

But first, I needed to see if my other bruises needed magical medical attention.

Wriggling around in this small cope, I took off the top of my shirt and brushed my hands on the places I remembered I got on.

"Hm?"

This felt strange. I could have sworn I hit something three or four times while tumbling down here, yet my body showed no signs of injury. Other than my leg, I had no wounds at all. Not even any bruises.

For Healing Mgaic to work, the closer the user's palm was to the injury, the more thorough it worked. But this? This is far over what it should be capable of. Going from my leg to all over my body was far beyond the capabilities of intermediate-tier Healing Magic. At least, it should.

Regardless, this spares me the work and mana of spending a little longer replenishing my reserves and devising a strategy.

As I leaned back on the cold wall, I couldn't help but pray for the safety of Eris and Ghislaine, wherever they may be.

…

…

…

Wait, if this is a Black Dragon nest, am I actually on another continent? One that is on the other side of the map? How long was I out in the first place?

I tried remembering what had transpired, yet I felt like my head was still disorganized.

There was something about arguing with Ghislaine and Eris separately, some woman with an hourglass figure, some blonde girl letting my head rest on her lap, and… and the mysterious man from the dream earlier? What?

Wait, was that blonde Zenith, perhaps? No. When I try to remember that other blonde woman, there is the vivid image that her assets were... smaller.

Those images might be the effect of a concussion I suffered during my fall.

Leaving those fragmented thoughts behind, I continued to gather my strength for my upcoming escape from the dragon-infested nest.

///