Chapter 46: How is this a test?!

Chapter 46: How is this a test?! Eva appeared in a forest. She was disoriented and held the tree for support. Getting herself, she felt the rough bark against her hands and her nose picked up the smell of moist earth. The Idea of being stuck in fanfiction felt stronger now at the sight before her. ’Someone tell me, Why am I in a freaking forest in an underground apocalyptic world?’ things can’t get any freakier. The Author San, wasn’t to be blamed; her curiosity led her to pick up the pearls, causing the story to advance to volume two. Eva trod carefully, twigs snapping beneath her feet. As she pushed branches aside, she failed to notice the golden eyes watching her through the shadows. She walked aimlessly, picking a branch she cleared her way and hummed a toneless tone as she walked. After some time passed, she grew tired of her endless walking. She settled in front of a towering tree; the tree all looked the same, almost making her dizzy like she hadn’t moved at all. She looked at the sunlight shining through the canopy of trees, and her mood lowered. Ethan and Julian’s faces flashed in her mind, a heavy sigh leaving her lips. She missed those two. "Should I have gone back? They would panic at my sudden disappearance. I should clear this test fast and head back." She got up from the ground when a shadow lunged directly at the place she was sitting a second ago. "Bang!" A cloud of dust spreads in the air, showing the force of the attack. ( ꒪⌓꒪ ) Eva quickly moved backwards and waited for the dust to settle to see her attacker. But whatever it was didn’t wait and attacked her through the cloud of dust. Eva dodged, and the tree behind her took the brunt and cracked. "Boom!" And it fell to the ground; Eva drew her sword, turning cautiously at her unknown prey. One hit from this thing brought down a tree. ’Left!’ her mind screamed for her and she dodged, jumping on top of a tree branch. "Bang!" A crater formed on the ground where she stood, and she saw a golden feline eyes looking at her through the dust. "Hisss...." The dust settled and Eva gaped at the enormous black snake, staring back at her with its feline eyes. Its forked tongue flicked out with a hiss, and its coiled body tensed like a spring, ready to strike. Eva snapped her mouth shut and bolted. There was no way she was that beast match and she wasn’t about to stand there stupidly and allow it to swallow her up. "How is this a test?! Are you not sending me here to die!" Eva screamed almost bursting out in tears of her stupid former self that accepted this test. The snake hissed furiously, seeing its prey escaping. It shot its body forward, its tail heading straight for Eva’s fleeing back. Alarm bells rang in Eva’s mind, she dodged instinctively, her hands hanging over a tree branch. "Boom!" Its black tail missed its target and slammed on the branch, shattering it to dust from such force. Sweat slid down Eva’s face as she watched the aftermath of its attack. "Snake San, Let me go, I’m too small to fill the gaps in your teeth ( T_T )." Eva tried to communicate with the snake, but it ignored her and shot its tail at her. Eva flipped mid-air, landing on another branch, but the snake gave her no time to recover before striking again. Eva reacted on time and pierced her sword into the snake’s tail; she held the hilt of her sword to steady herself. In the process, the sword pierced deeper into the snake’s skin. "HISSS...." It shrieked, furious from the pain. "Boom!’’ It swung its tail wildly into the trees, trying to get Eva off him, but Eva gritted her teeth and held firmly onto the snake’s tail. Dust and tree splinters filled the air, some entering her eyes. She quickly wrapped herself with her green dome, her eyes focused on the bleeding tail and attracted by the pink flesh showing from the scales. "Meat...?" ( ̄『 ̄ ) Her mouth watered at the realization. And her stomach growled in a timely manner. Her eyes gleamed with sudden hunger, and for the first time, the snake sensed danger by its prey’s gaze. Its movement became frantic, but Eva wasn’t bothered; her eyes took in its huge size, stripping it bare of its scales, and the snake turned into a huge slab of meat. Eva’s hand tightened on the hilt of her sword, and dashed forward, leaving a trail of torn scales and blood. She drained the snake’s energy as she tore through its scale; the snake moved widely and let out a painful shriek that echoed sharply through the forest—startling the lower-level beasts. Eva kept on dashing forward, her gaze focused on the goal. Blood splattered, but she made sure none of it touched her. A splitting grin was seen across her face, and she slashed at the snake, its pink flesh fueling her hunger. The snake twitched weakly, all of its energy drained from it and its body was bleeding furiously. The culprit finally reached its head; the snake made its last ditch effort to sink its teeth into her. Eva used her sword to block the snake’s actions, hitting it with the blunt side of her sword before sinking her sword into the snake’s skull. She pulled out her sword, and black blood splattered out, and she quickly dodged. When the haze of meat cleared from her eyes, her sword dropped weakly, her legs weakened from exhaustion. "Hahaha....." Laughing widely as she stared at the sky, her chest heaved and sweat coated her body. After a minute of gathering herself, she absorbed the energy in the air feeling refreshed but focusing on her hunt. She quickly climbed the tallest tree, her gaze searching around for a water source. Seeing one that was five minutes walk to her left, she jumped down from the tree, landing on the snake’s body. "I’ll leave half for Ethan and Julian. While the remaining half..." She hummed patting her stomach for emphasis. Jumping down from the beast’s body, she pulled the tail together and dragged it forward. Her body strained under the weight, but she gritted her teeth and pushed forward until she reached the stream. She collapsed on the ground, sweat-soaking her clothes, taking a few minutes to rest. She handled her prey. She peeled off its scales with her sword, cut the flesh into sections, and washed them thoroughly near the stream’s edge. She took care not to contaminate the water—she would drink later. After hours of work, she split the meat, stuffing half into her space bag until it was nearly full. After four failed attempts, she was able to start a fire on the fifth try. A hum left her lips as she skewered the meat through clean branches and roasted it over the fire. The sun dipped lower, and a cool breeze carried the tantalizing aroma of roasted meat. Eva rolled the meat from side to side to cook while wondering if she was roasting it well. "Those novels add seasonings....sigh if I knew I could have packed some into my space bag." She muttered with regret but couldn’t stop herself from salivating as the delicious aroma filled the air. Oil dripped from the meat, sizzling as it hit the fire. Unable to wait any longer, Eva decided it was done. Not caring about the hotness, she tore a huge bite, puffing hot air as she ate. Her eyes widened at the rich taste of the meat, even with no seasoning. Without wasting more thought she ate her meal, frying more in repeated cycles. Oil slicked her lips, and all that remained of the snake was Its bare skeleton. She was so caught up in her meal that she didn’t notice the rustling sound which was more than a breeze rustling the leaves "Hicc..." Her stomach bulged as she lay on the grassy floor with satisfaction. Her eyes grew heavy as she was about to shut her eyes. "Roar!" A deafening roar jolted her awake. Clutching her stomach, she sat up and froze—countless golden feline eyes glowed menacingly from the forest shadows. ’’Crap!’’ This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om