Accolade

I'm Mars, a 19-year-old collector. As the name suggests, my job is to go to the town's collection area and collect resources such as ores and herbs every day. Today was supposed to be a day where I would've done exactly that, but fate doesn't seem to be on my side. I lean over from behind one of the many stone spikes in the ore collection area to spot a spider, one about twice my size. With a gait like that, it's already way past the realm of a normal occurrence. Is it a monster? Monsters are pretty common in this area, but the guards usually take care of them before they can come in contact with the collectors. I hide behind my stone spike again and hold my breath. This is something I definitely can't deal with. Any one of the spider's eight legs is enough to end my life. Coincidentally it looks like it's looking for someone to bury one of them into. Even though my nose is silent, my heart isn't. It feels like it could jump out of my chest at any given moment. I've been standing here for about half an hour and there's no sign that any help is coming. There are no other collectors here that can help me out either since today is a holiday. I just came here for some copper and ended up in a situation that might as well spell my death. But I can't just stand around and wait for the spider to find me. If no one is coming I need to get out of here myself. "Appraise." I whisper and a screen forms in front of my eyes. || Great Black Spider || Archae grande noir. || Level 24 Damn, it's not just any spider either. Judging by its level it has killed quite a few people. I still need to formulate a plan. Giving up without a fight is just cowardice. I've lived like that for too long. The tools I have at my disposal are a pickaxe, some bread, and a bag filled with rocks. I can't see how the bag would be of any use, other than slowing me down. The pickaxe might work as a weapon, but I doubt it'll be nearly enough to kill a spider of that size. Every second that I waste thinking the spider gets closer to me. Arghhh! Damn it all! I stand erect right behind the spike and pull my hand back as far as I can, with a loaf of bread in it. I catapult the bread to the side opposing the ramp that leads the way out of the ore collection area. Thissh. The bread lands about 10 meters away. Not far enough. s**t s**t s**t. Hearing the sound, the spider runs towards the bread and I sprint towards the ramp at a speed I've never run at before. No matter what I can't let it catch up to me, the moment it does I'm dead. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, I run activating every muscle in my lower body. The slippery and somewhat steep ramp makes me use way more energy than I originally anticipated. HISSSSS The spider notices me running away and starts following me. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. I use the pickaxe on the wall beside the ramp to stop myself from slipping. The spider seems to have reached the bottom of the ramp. I can tell that due to my basic heightened senses skill. After a minute of sprinting, I finally reach the top of the ramp. The spider seems to be closing onto me. I can run straight to the town's gate but the spider will definitely catch up with me while I run on the plain ground without any obstruction. The only hope I have is to run into the forest to my left and hope that the spider's size works against it. It already feels like my muscles are running on anaerobic respiration. I feel like I'm going to throw up. Nonetheless, I draw up the last bit of energy and run into the forest. Days of constant rain have left the forest's floor muddy. My steps feel heavy from exhaustion and the accumulated mud. My throat feels dry and the air entering through my mouth makes the back of my mouth feel cold. If there really is a god he really wants me dead today. I've lost visual track of the spider due to the thickness of the forest behind me, but I can still feel its presence gaining on me. The rate is slightly slower than it would've been were I in the open. All I'm doing is delaying my inevitable death. This really is my absolute final action. I've been running for what seems forever and a fleeting moment simultaneously. A single look back reveals the spider. I don't want to die! I don't want to die!! I don't want to die!! I don't wan- My foot hits a root that has broken past the ground and emerged on the surface. I feel my body fall down and tumble for a meter. The spider that was right on my tail is now looming over my fallen body. How did it get here so quick?! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!! The spider draws its mouth closer to my leg as its saliva drips all over my body. In one swift motion, it grabs my leg and bites into it. "ArghHHH!" I scream as my sanity slowly gets taken by the excruciating pain of having my leg broken by the spider's jagged mouth. Think! Think! I need to get out of this! Think god damn it! I draw my pickaxe. I only have one shot at this and even if it connects, I still have no place to run to. But if I do nothing now, I'll die. I fight the pain and aim the pickaxe straight at the spider's eyes. Splch A green and translucent fluid hits my body as I hit one of its many eyes. The spider covers its eyes with 4 of its legs and lets me go from its mouth's grip. A deafening screen reverberates throughout the forest as it cries in pain. I pick myself up and waddle forwards. Left foot. Pickaxe. Left foot. Pickaxe. There's nowhere to go. I continue walking for minutes 'til I feel the spider move again. Towards me. This is the end. I really didn't want to die. But I've done everything that I could. Left foot. Pickaxe. Left foot. Pickaxe. My vision slowly starts to fade and my eyelids feel heavy. The last sight I'll ever see is the greenery of a wet forest and a stone building. This is sublime in its own way. Wait! A stone building?! I force my eyes to open. A temple made of wet stones and covered with moss presents itself in front of me, only a few meters away. How did I miss this? But more importantly, can I reach that? Am I still allowed to have hope?