Lost Miracles

Mithra ran desperately, trying to escape.

A, how could she possibly win?

Even though she felt braver after her reincarnation, her body was slightly stronger than normal, and her mind a little sharper, she was still just an ordinary person.

It was pure luck that she had managed to kill the monster directly at the beginning. The monster had jumped from above, giving her an opening.

But now there were so many of them. Don't even mention monsters, even a pack of ordinary dogs would be enough to make her sweat profusely.

She ran frantically through the tunnel, her clothes torn to shreds from repeated contact with the monsters, leaving her with only a few scraps of fabric on her upper body and a pair of shorts barely held together by rubber bands.

Her body was covered in wounds. Claw marks, bite marks, all visible signs of her struggle.

The wounds throbbed with pain, but Mithra remained impassive, focusing solely on finding an escape.

She had been running so frantically that she didn't even know where she was, everything seemed blurry.

Desperate, she spotted a faint light in the distance and ran towards it.

Emerging from the tunnel, she found herself back at the top of the artificial wooden walkway, where the bodies lay piled.

"Damn it..." The sound of the monsters chasing her echoed behind her. Mithra noticed that there was only one way forward and, without hesitation, continued running.

As she turned, a monstrous figure leaped from the darkness of the tunnel behind her. It collided with Mithra for a fleeting moment before plummeting to its doom from the height of the walkway.

Mithra glanced back, muttering, "Always remember to be safe when playing on heights."

She turned back, swinging her pickaxe and knocking down another monster that had jumped from behind. With a swift kick, she sent it tumbling off the walkway as well.

She couldn't afford to linger. There were too many more coming. She could only continue along the walkway upwards.

Actually, from up here, she could easily knock the monsters down, making it a defensive position that was difficult to attack. If things got too desperate, she could make a last stand here.

"Damn it..."

Just as she was about to do that, Mithra heard a sound and looked up. More monsters were leaping down from the cliff face, forcing her to move even faster.

Right, those things could climb.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Mithra noticed that except for that initial jolt of fear which made her heart pound, she was quickly returning to her normal state.

No matter how fast she ran, she was scratched and bitten, her hair and ears pulled, her eyes nearly clawed. But she fought back, struggling with every fiber of her being to escape.

More monsters swarmed forward, making her chances of escape increasingly slim.

Suddenly, she shifted her weight, ramming the entangled monster against the sharp edges of the cliff face. She had chosen the most jagged spots for them to be impaled.

A screech followed.

Ouch, her leg must have hit something too.

No matter. A self-inflicted wound was better than being bitten by a monster.

She freed herself from the entangled monster, then strained her arm, swinging the pickaxe with all her might. She twisted her body, violently shaking off the monster clinging to her.

There were too many monsters, but the walkway was not that wide. They were quickly getting in each other's way.

Her chance.

With her other hand, she grabbed hold of a monster that was lunging at her head. She pulled its face, which was about to bite down on her neck, away.

In that moment, their faces were inches apart. Mithra could hear the foul stench emanating from its rotten, jagged teeth.

The monster was incredibly strong, and it was still trying to bite into her flesh.

A hiss.

That wasn't the sound of the monster biting Mithra, but Mithra biting the monster.

Every part of her body was a weapon, and her own teeth were a good one.

The monster, caught off guard by Mithra's counterattack, writhed in pain as she bit down on its neck. Its limbs went limp, and Mithra released her grip, flinging the monster off the walkway with a heave of her head.

Mithra swung her pickaxe with all her might, sending a swarm of monsters flying.

She finally managed to crawl out from beneath the pile of monsters.

One of her eyes was blinded, and her entire body was covered in blood and gore, but thankfully, it was all superficial. Her limbs still worked.

She used the monster corpses as obstacles, blocking the narrow walkway. Then, she crawled through a passage leading to another cave at the end of the walkway.

As soon as she entered the cave, before she could even catch her breath, she saw a strange sight. White and dark purple glyphs suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.

[Event —— "The First Bloody Battle" ]

[Gift from "Lebaance": Your body's regenerative ability is greatly enhanced. Through replenishing with enemy "Blood", you will not require extra material nutrition or sensation payment.]

[Price: Upon regeneration, your body's overall sensitivity will be greatly increased.]

[Accept? ]

The white text displayed the gift, the dark purple text the price, and the rest of the description was in alternating black and white.

"Accept."

The text disappeared.

A moment later, a previously unimaginable, intense pain surged through every wound on her body. Her blinded eye felt as if it was throbbing in her skull.

"A!" Mithra cried out in agony.

And then, she lost consciousness.

...

In her unconsciousness, she could hear whispers, many voices chattering, laughter mixed in amongst them.

In the hazy darkness, her body was being moved.

Slowly, consciousness returned.

Mithra opened her eyes once more.

Well, that was good. She was still alive. Even though she had passed out so suddenly, the monsters hadn't caught up.

...Wait, something wasn't right.

Next to her was a campfire. The flames illuminated the small cave, chasing away some of the chill.

There were a few tools scattered about, bearing the marks of frequent use.

So that was it. The monsters hadn't caught up because she had been rescued?

"You woke up fast. I just moved you here to settle down. Want to sleep a little longer?" A somewhat hoarse, deep voice boomed.

Mithra looked towards the sound and saw a man with sharp, angular features. He seemed to be getting on in years, with a thinning head of brown, curly hair. He wore a grey robe and held a chain bracelet in his hand.

"Did you rescue me? Thank you," Mithra said, standing up.

At the same time, she quickly checked her condition.

Excellent. All the cuts and scratches on her body were gone, and her blinded eye was healed.

Even though the price was quite unpleasant, the gift was definitely effective.

However, as she thought about it, she became a bit concerned about the "life lock."

Had she unknowingly traded something truly important for it?

"Oh, pitch-black pupils." The man before her gazed at Mithra, suddenly letting out a low, appreciative sound. "You have beautiful eyes. They say that those who possess such eyes are also brave and fearless."

"Oh, is that so?" Mithra touched her eyelid.

Wait...?

Fearless?

Mithra recalled her behavior from earlier. For someone who worked in a city all year round, she had been remarkably calm and collected.

Even though she was usually described as fairly stoic, it wasn't as if she had seen a pile of corpses, seen a horde of monsters, fought with them, and all she did throughout the whole process was widen her eyes slightly.

These eyes were adding more than just information!

Mithra remained expressionless, but internally she was already sweating profusely.

She remembered her body becoming stronger too. Even though that aspect was a more limited boost, could this also be related to her eyes?

If that were the case, if these eyes had such powerful effects, then the "life lock" must have been very important!

"How did you end up in this mine shaft? As far as I know, Gross Town has become a hellscape on the outside. Ordinary people are hard to come by. Even with your eyes, you seem quite frail otherwise," the man continued.

"I don't know. I woke up here."

"Hmm? What sort of place did you come from?"

"......Sir, who are you?"

The man chuckled, "Apologies, I was asking too many questions right away. I'm Safin, an investigator of ancient relics. But I'm stuck in this mine shaft right now because of a few problems, I can't get out."

"I'm Mithra," Mithra introduced herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mithra. Getting back to what I said earlier, though you might be wary, judging by your face and your demeanor, it seems you're from a place called "Enchanting Land."

"What's that?" Mithra asked, eager to learn more about this world.

"It's a world that has not been touched by gods or large-scale war. Of course, I don't know how it is now. People there can freely travel between the 'Dreamland' and the 'Enchanting Land'."

"This is Dreamland?"

"Yes, this is Dreamland, a place like a dream. Of course, there are both good and bad dreams. And now, perhaps there are more bad dreams," Safin said with a relaxed tone that reminded Mithra of her high school math teacher.

"I don't know anything about this," Mithra said directly.

"I can tell. Your sense is still asleep. Usually, someone who can come to Dreamland has at least become a believer, able to perform miracles."

"Miracles? Is that like magic?"

"Magic? Hmm, it seems some areas do call miracles by that name. But miracles are a more formal term left behind from the era of the Forty-Four Pillar Gods."

"Oh." So it's basically magic.

Safin looked at Mithra thoughtfully, as if he was pondering something.

After a long silence, just when Mithra was about to ask something, Safin spoke up. "Since you're not awakened yet, why don't we make a deal?"

Mithra looked at him.

"I'll teach you miracles and help you become a believer. After that, I need you to go deeper into the mine shaft to retrieve something. Of course, this isn't urgent. You can first take a look around when you can protect yourself in the shallower levels of the mine shaft. You can even go back to the "Enchanting Land" to recuperate for a while. Then, come back and help me."

Safin proposed his terms, but he didn't sound threatening or intimidating. He didn't try to take advantage of her situation.

"Do I need to swear an oath?"

"No."

"You're not afraid I'll run?"

"You might underestimate how long I've been stuck here. Teaching a novice won't take much effort, it might even add some excitement to my otherwise boring time. If you feel you don't have the ability or the will, you don't have to come back at all," Safin said calmly.

"We just met..."

"Of course I wouldn't trust a brand new newcomer, let alone someone from the Enchanting Land. But I trust your eyes," Safin said with a smile.

There was a feeling of being underestimated, yet also a sense of being inexplicably granted miraculous trust.

It was a strange feeling.

"I have no reason to refuse," Mithra finally replied.

Safin smiled and nodded.

Without further ado, the first lesson began.