Tanaka looked around him as he tried to execute the special Mission.
He dashed forward, realizing that his speed had improved but he froze when Aèos spoke in his head.
[Wrong way!]
Tanaka sighed, turned left and bolted but was rudely interrupted again.
[Wrong direction.]
Tanaka dashed to the right..
[Wrong!]
He turned back.
[Wrong]
Frustrated, Tanaka screamed.
"Then which is the right path?"
[...]
[Finding the right path is another bonus reward that would improve your calculation skill. Do you want me to tell you so that you don't receive the reward?]
Tanaka immediately gritted his teeth and snapped.
"Then do me the honors by shutting up and letting me find the way, it doesn't matter if I take the wrong way. Do not interrupt me."
[...]
When Aèos did not respond to that, it told Tanaka that it must have obliged.
And theñ, he took the first path that seemed right to him. South!
Aèos did not interrupt once and Tanaka was glad it didn't. So, from moving south, he moved Southwest, Southeast and the Northeast.
He did not even know how he had changed into these directions and When Tanaka realized his expression changed.
"Hey Aèos, what's happening?"
Aèos did not respond directly, however a rune popped up in his line of sight.
[You've been endowed with a passive skill: Redirection.
Skill Description:
Automatically takes you to the right path a number of three times before going into a cool down.
Cooldown duration: 1 hrs.]
Tanaka clicked his tongue.
"So that's how it is? But since my direction has changed, does that not affect my mission and reward?"
[No, it does not!]
Tanaka smiled. And then he picked up his momentum and bolted down again.
Finally, he came out of a certain clearing and saw a small village down a particular hill.
It was a small town village and somehow, he ended up here after not being redirected by his passive skill for almost an hour.
Redirection doesn't show him the way, it just reflexively changes his direction and lets him take the charge. Which is why it is very easy to go out of track.
[Cooldown:
23 mins left.]
A system notification popped up.
[Task 10/10km run, Completed ✓]
Tanaka did not care at this moment about completing just one task out of five. Right now, he needs to find his way out of the Sehila mangrove forest. And he already has less than the aforementioned 20 hours.
Then Tanaka looked around him and saw the hill which towered just beneath the small town village and he decided.
"I have to climb up that hill."
Only by climbing up the hill will he get a clearer picture of the surroundings around him.
He went down the village and then headed straight for the hill. He strained his muscles, climbing, clawing at the rough edges. At least, it didn't look like a mountain and wasn't as high as a mountain.
He arrived at the top in no time, panting heavily. He looked again.
With a smile on his face, he spotted Isekai City but then that smile was wiped out of his face the moment he realized that he would be running back into the forest and taking a two turns to the left before arriving at Isekai City.
But the truth there is — he might simply lose track again. Just scanning the place with his eyes isn't enough. He decided to try out something.
"Hey Aèos, can you help me draw out a map?"
[...]
[How do you want the map to be?]
Tanaka thought for a while and said,
"A village is beneath the hill, just call it Tenaa. And the hill, veegee."
Aèos drew his map as he described it.
"Make a similar version of the Sehila mangrove forest. And draw a path Southwest and two turns Westward."
[Your map is ready. But you can only access this temporal map three times. Use wisely.]
Ding!
[You have received a temporal map from Aèos]
[Do you want to access the map?]
"Yes!"
Runes disappeared and new ones popped out.
Tanaka smiled in sátisfaction.
"There."
He quickly bolted down the hill and into the forest. If anyone saw Tanaka at this moment, it would seem as if he is mad. He had run all through the forest and actually found a village and now he's rushing back into the forest as if his life depended on it.
And of course, +2 points added to every attribute is basically a huge improvement for him so completing the special Mission is of great importance.
Tanaka's map hovered in front of his eyes, he applied the direction that Aèos had drafted out as he watched the first countdown of the map run out.
Thirty seconds later, the map disappeared and Tanaka continued running since a certain part of the map was ingrained in his memory.
A few minutes later, he stopped to catch his breath. In the end, he is still human and has no endurance point at all.
[That was 67 km taken so far]
Aèos reminded him and Tanaka gritted his teeth.
"Thank you so much Aèos, for reminding me that I have poor endurance. Thank you for reminding me that I'm a failure."
[You're welcome]
Tanaka gritted his teeth once more. If Aèos was a physical thing or was in its physical form, Tanaka would have punched at it immediately, not minding that it is the God of wisdom.
'God of wisdom my arse!!!'
[I can read your thoughts. Basically, I am in you so you can't hide anything from me]
Realizing that he no longer had privacy, he sighed as he summoned the map, for the second time.
Just one more summoning and it's over.
Tanaka's eyes looked around the eerie forest sharply, he stared at the map in front of his eyes and then…
He resumed his race.
____
Author's Note:
This is my first time writing this genre dear Readers so honest criticism is welcomed here. It gives room for improvement.
Thanks.
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