I sat down on the cliff to observe the unprecedented situation in front of me. I wasn't a god who could annihilate an entire army with just a hammer, or a warrior who could fight thousands alone. I needed to look at it realistically.
After observing them for some time, I made a rough plan on how to complete the quest.
"Ruru, can you take me back to the Amrita Water? There are some things I need to prepare," I asked, climbing onto Ruru's back.
She nodded and took me back to the centre. I jumped off and went to the room inside the tree, grabbing three spears.
I removed the shafts of two of them and tied their blades on either side of the third spear.
I tied both the modified spear and the mace to my back and rode Ruru to the same place again.
The land where the cursed deer lay was about 100 feet below the cliff. I grabbed the spear from my back and began digging into the ground.
I had never done any real physical work before coming here. My stamina was at rock bottom. With just a few thrusts, my breathing had already grown heavy.
But I saw it as an opportunity to build my endurance. Right then, I made a new rule for myself:
"I can rest for 5 minutes for each 500 thrusts"
Back on Earth, I used to set similar rules to achieve my goals.
"I can only play games after studying for five hours."
"I can only read a novel after solving five mock tests."
These rules always helped me push beyond my limits. And the small rewards I gave myself afterward made the effort feel worth it.
I thrust the ground 500 times, then rested for 5 minutes. During that time, Ruru would clear out the dirt using her magical antlers. The moment she touched it, the dirt would automatically form into a large sphere, which she then tossed away like a volleyball.
Once the break ended, I'd begin thrusting again, followed by another 5-minute rest. I repeated this for 20 hours a day. Afterward, I'd bathe in the Amrita water for about 30 minutes before sleeping for 3 hours. I continued this cycle for several days.
Then, on about the 25th day, I was thrusting as usual — upper body bare, muscles twitching with each strike, and sweat dripping onto the ground. As I pushed myself to complete the 5000th thrust, a window popped up:
"Congratulations, you have learned a new skill: Infinite Thrust.
Infinite Thrust: Your body naturally adopts the best posture and angle to thrust."
"Wov huff...huff... I learned a new skill... but huff... what's with this ridiculous name? Am I huff... becoming the God of Thrust or something?"
I planted the spear on the ground and fell on my butt to catch my breath. I had started with 500 thrusts per 5-minute rest, and in 25 days, I had pushed it to 5000 thrusts per 5-minute break.
The vertical digging was completed. Now I needed to dig out the walls to create a hall here. After a short rest, I grabbed the spear again and began carving out the walls. Just like that, another 30 days passed.
"Finally...huff...hufff... I dit it" I shouted throwing away the blunt spear as I fell to ground.
I had created a massive underground hall—large enough to accommodate twenty elephants with ease.
Tree roots jutted out from the ceiling and walls here and there, but that was manageable.
After unlocking the Infinite Thrust skill, my digging efficiency increased severalfold. Even so, the work still took longer than expected, mainly because I had to carve out an inclined passage to allow Ruru to enter and exit comfortably.
Now, you must be wondering why I went through all this trouble to dig something like this in the first place.
Well, the answer lies in the gateway I built on the opposite wall of the sloped exit.
I got up from the ground, grabbed the spear, and walked toward the gateway. It was just a 5-foot-deep passage ending in a dirt wall.
"Ruru, come here," I ordered, spinning the spear in my hand.
As she arrived, I asked, "Can you use the same magic you used to unlock that entrance in the tree to seal and reopen this path?"
She nodded, rubbing her face against mine.
"Great, I knew I could count on you. Now get ready to use your powers," I said as I moved into position with the spear in my hand.
I grabbed the spear with both hands and thrust it right at the center of the dirt wall. It immediately collapsed, and an exit opened—right in front of the thousands of deer.
They noticed and launched themselves, roaring, toward us.
"Seal the entrance, Ruru!" I shouted.
She immediately moved her glowing antlers toward the exit, and a seal formed just before the deer could enter.
"Haha... Well, that was close," I laughed in amazement and a little fear.
"Hah, I am so tired right now. Ruru, let's go home," I said, stretching my arms.
THE NEXT DAY
"Ruru, I need you to stay at the exit to open the gate and turn it off as soon as two deer enter," I ordered, taking out the mace from my back.
She nodded and went to the exit, opening the seal.
"Wait... wait... I'm not rea—" I shouted, but I was too late, as four deer had already entered the hall.
"Seal the gate, you stupid Ruru!" I shouted in frustration.
But by the time she sealed the exit, a horde of six deer was already coming for me like a tsunami wave.
"Ruru, I swear, if I survive, you'll be the very next one I purify—because there's no chance in hell you pulled this shit on me if you're not cursed!" I shouted, running for my life as the deer chased me in fury, as if they had seen their mortal enemy.