[center][h2]The Journey Begins[/h2][/center]

[center][h3]~ Unknown Mountains ~[/h3][/center]

[center][i]Interacted with:[/i] [@Rune_Alchemist][/center]

Why? Why did he trudge forward? Heaven above, his feet and legs burned with exhaustion and his stomach grumbled for sustenance. Nick could barely walk when he reached the base of the mountains. He fell to his knees, filled with immense regret that he did not hunker down for the night back in that forest. He gasped for breaths, inhaling cold air and exhaling hot. Raising his head high, he beheld the mountains' height. Nick knew he was going to die if he tried to climb that. And yet, what choice did he have? There was nary a sign of civilization on his way here.

Nick wondered what to do next. He closed his eyes to give himself a brief respite and room to think. He could--

[quote]“Yahooo!~”[/quote]

His thoughts were broken when he heard a joyful yell. Right after, something big, very big, tumbled down the mountain and landed next to Nick. He had to cover himself from the blown snow debris before discovering that it was some huge humanoid - a giant! Nick was at a loss for words, awed at the sight.

[quote]“Ahahah, I thought giants were supposed to be tough! Man you guys are pathetic! Some world-enders you’re supposed to be, ahaha!~”[/quote]

Nick's gaze went to the voice. It belonged to a woman, fair-skinned but leaning to pale with short, black hair and dressed in red with a black cape flowing behind her. By her side was a large, single-edged sword reminiscent of a cleaver. She was surrounded by three other giants, armed with spears and axes scaled in size to suit them. Despite the giants' towering figures, the woman was not at all worried. In fact, she seemed to be winning this altercation.

The ground rumbled again, and Nick jerked his head to the side to find the fallen giant getting up. It had noticed him and reached out a hand to grab him. Nick panicked. This was the end for him, most definitely, but he could at least try, right? His mind raced and adrenaline pumped in his blood, survival instincts kicking in. 

It was a giant so theoretically, Nick would be faster. In fact, he noticed that the hand reaching out to him was a bit slow. Still, a giant's a giant and if Nick ran away, he could still be caught thanks to the giant's range even if it was slow. What Nick could do was use the giant's size against it. He thought of a plan, a risky one but it could work.

Just when the giant was about to grab him, Nick would roll forward before breaking into a dash. Not away from the giant, but towards it. Specifically, he would attempt to run between its legs in an attempt to confuse it. But even if he succeeded, what could he do to fight? All he was really doing was delaying the inevitable. He thought about the woman higher up in the mountain, maybe she could help. But he'll have to shake off this giant for a while to do so.

Nick wondered if it could work, it was certainly a longshot but he had to try it. If he succeeded in running in-between the giant's legs, Nick would summon all his strength to crash himself against one of the shins of the giant. It was an attempt to make the giant lose its footing and at best, make it fall over again. Hopefully, this would give Nick enough time to reach the woman. He would get as close as he could, yelling all the while.

"[color=skyblue]Help! Heeelp! I've got a huge problem here! Literally![/color]"