The Beast Nun’s Resolve

‘Hmm…’

Meanwhile, deep within a secluded corner of the forest, a lone figure moved with utmost caution.

She collapsed onto a nearby rock, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. The bludgeon she’d carried was utterly useless now, leaving her with nothing but a small self-defense knife.

‘My medicine is almost gone,’ she murmured, ‘and I didn’t have much to begin with.’ She inventoried her meager remaining supplies, her gaze constantly sweeping her surroundings, ever vigilant.

Four grueling hours had passed since the creature began its relentless pursuit. Lu Wei couldn’t fathom what had possessed her to make such a reckless decision. Ordinarily, the mere sight of such a monstrosity would have rendered her immobile with terror.

Yet, this time, confronting the undead and other abominations, Lu Wei had shown remarkable bravery.

‘I’m hardly a delicate maiden, am I?’ she mused, a hint of self-deprecation in her thoughts. ‘It would be nice to be a bit more refined.’ Such thoughts occasionally crossed Lu Wei’s mind.

Back in the city, people often remarked on the ‘beast nun’ within the church. She was known for her fierce temper, yet many also recognized the genuine, passionate kindness that simmered beneath her fiery exterior.

This unwavering desire to help others was fundamental to Sister Lu Wei, and it was the very reason she had embraced the life of a nun. When confronted with others in peril, she had not hesitated, choosing instead to divert the monster’s attention, even if it meant plunging herself into grave danger.

‘This place is truly saturated with malevolent power. I don’t want to remain here for a single moment longer.’ Lu Wei felt the chilling, sinister aura of the forest seep into her bones, her senses hyper-alert to every rustle and shadow.

She had never faced such dire peril, yet it was precisely this extremity that forced her to suppress every distracting thought, to channel all her focus solely on the immediate challenges ahead.

‘I thought I heard the monster fighting something earlier,’ Lu Wei mused, ‘but I didn’t pay much heed. I was running too fast.’ She pulled out her dry rations, chewing slowly to restore some of the energy she had so rapidly expended.

Yet, this was merely a temporary reprieve, a drop in the ocean that would sustain her for only a short while. If she hoped to escape this forest, she absolutely had to ascertain her exact location.

Her rapid flight had indeed allowed her to escape the monster’s relentless chase, but it presented a new problem: she had no idea where she was.

Logically, if she had truly traversed the forest in a straight line, she should have reached another forest path by now. Yet, within these dense woods, one’s sense of direction was notoriously unreliable.

Even the seasoned hunters of the Northern Forest warned that without any discernible landmarks, a person would inevitably begin to walk in circles. While some attributed this phenomenon to a forest curse, for someone like Lu Wei, utterly devoid of wilderness survival experience, it was simply an all too common reality.

‘I have to figure out where I am before I can plan anything,’ Lu Wei thought, her mind racing. ‘How can I possibly return to the outpost?’

She was still very much in danger; there was no telling if the monster would continue its relentless chase. Lu Wei vividly recalled its massive, contorted black form, unnervingly agile, its swift strikes capable of felling even the most seasoned warrior in a single terrifying instant.

It moved like a colossal, inky shadow, and its devastating roars could instill primal terror in every living creature. Lu Wei had no desire to encounter it again, yet, strangely, in its presence, she had felt an unusual, almost inexplicable sensation, as if…

‘I’m truly exhausted,’ she thought, the weariness weighing heavily on her. Yet, she knew she couldn’t afford to dwell on such feelings.

All around her, towering, ancient trees formed a gloomy canopy, so dense they swallowed the sunlight whole. It was impossible to tell her direction on the forest floor. With a determined sigh, she selected a sturdy tree and began to climb.

‘Hff… hff, come on,’ Lu Wei urged herself, ‘just a little more, just a little more!’ Inch by painstaking inch, she ascended the tall tree.

From her elevated perch, she surveyed the landscape. Still, an unbroken sea of trees stretched endlessly in every direction. Only to the south, a faint, almost illusory shadow of the outpost tower was discernible.

‘So, I’ve been running north this entire time?’ Lu Wei muttered, disbelief coloring her tone. ‘Unbelievable…’

She carefully descended the tree. ‘If that’s the case, I’m in serious trouble. With such a vast distance to cover, getting back will be incredibly difficult, won’t it?’

‘And out here…’ Sister Lu Wei gritted her teeth, her predicament becoming agonizingly clear. There was no conceivable way she could make it back before nightfall.

Attempting to navigate these woods after dark would expose her to the forest’s true, unforgiving cruelty. She absolutely could not travel at night; she needed to find a relatively safe place to shelter.

‘As soon as night descends, the undead and the demonic creatures here will become even more aggressive,’ she reasoned. ‘I have to find a place to spend the night.’

Lu Wei started to process her situation with remarkable practicality. Though utterly unfamiliar with such predicaments, she was renowned for her audacious spirit and keen attention to detail. Once she understood that panic would achieve nothing, her mind shifted, solely focused on the intricate task of survival.

‘I need to be cautious,’ she thought. ‘Making a fire is out of the question, but I must stay warm. Caves aren’t safe, and the forest floor is even worse. I’ll have to… spend the night up in a tree.’

As the thought formed, Lu Wei suddenly recalled some books she’d read in her spare time, authored by Transmigrators—among them, ‘A Guide to Forest and Wilderness Survival.’

Though, as a nun of the Papacy, such reading would certainly earn her a stern lecture from the Mother Superior, Lu Wei now felt profoundly grateful that she wasn’t utterly devoid of options.

She gathered some suitable branches and returned to her chosen tree. Using the rope she carried, along with scraps of cloth and leaves, she painstakingly fashioned a makeshift platform sturdy enough to bear her weight.

From this precarious perch, the nun gazed down, reassuring herself that this particular tree was beyond the reach of any lurking wolves.

‘As long as I’m up here, the undead and demonic wolves can’t reach me,’ she murmured, a sliver of relief finally entering her voice. Lu Wei closed her eyes, and that small measure of safety allowed her tightly wound nerves to slowly unravel.

The profound exhaustion that followed such intense tension washed over her, an overwhelming tide of fatigue consuming her body.

‘…Will I truly die here?’ Lu Wei’s thoughts suddenly turned bleak. ‘If I perish in this place… will I become one of those creatures?’

‘If that happens, it would be utterly horrifying… If little Anto and the others ever saw me like that… Ugh, it’s too dreadful to imagine.’ A shiver ran through her as she thought this, and she let out a weary sigh.

‘I have to survive,’ she vowed, her voice barely a whisper. ‘No matter what, I must live.’