Hermes rushed to the extraction point where the secret tunnel could be found. That the only safe place he had to go before he separated from Justin.
He followed the path of the riverside and went down straight to the rough road.
To make sure he won't get lost on his way, he always left a mark per meter on the trees.
The sun made his body feel hot, and in just a few minutes, his body was sweating. He's having rough breathing as he passed through the rocky part of the riverside.
He wiped his face with his handkerchief and returned it into his pocket.
Since he's not used to this kind of situation, he had a tough time adapting to his current position. Those fighting scene and surprising assault of the members of the Second Root was the least he expected. His luck was running out, in his opinion.
Why was his life full of surprises? What did he do to deserve this? All he ever wanted was to live a peaceful life, end his career as the mafia boss, and hailed to the pacific to retire.
It took a lot of his precious time to increase the trust rating of the villagers, especially the Camelia Household Headmaster and the chief of the village - Zamor Camelia.
His friendship with him should never be broken, so he always accepted his ridiculous requests. Despite the fact, he's just a magicless user and talentless nobody. The only thing he could be proud of was his money, influence, and power within the island.
"Master, are you alright? You look so tired," the slime asked. "I'm fine. It is just a normal debut when you're alone in this jungle. Following the flow of the water is really tiresome work," Hermes panted before answered bluntly.
'Man, this is tiring,' he grimaced.
"I can help you, master. I fully advise ordering me to use my ability for removing your fatigue. I'm sure this will greatly ease the pain in your heart," the slime suggested.
It was genuine advice, but Hermes had a good reason to decline.
"It's a bit of good advice, but I have to endure this one. I'm sure you're already used up a lot of ingredients to save my ass earlier. We need to conserve our strength and reserved it for the next event, okay. Listen up, you can still help me by scanning the place we're walking to, ten meters away from our current position. I need your ability to find the spots of any assailants, spies nearby, and other creatures that could be a potential threat to our lives. I mean, my life. Understood?" Hermes directed, walking past between the two huge rocks formation near the river.
The slime remained quiet for a minute.
"Hey, why aren't you speaking?" Hermes asked bluntly. "I, I'm sorry, master. I feel like I sensed something nearby," the slime answered.
Hermes stopped moving and knelt on one knee. Then, his eyes wandered around with cold sweat.
His instinct got alerted by the words of his companion.
"What? Where, where exactly?" Hermes inquired. "I'm still searching for the exact position of the origin of this aura. It is a fire attribute that I cannot comprehend the potential power. It must be a high-tier element that no one but a mage could possess," the slime explained briefly.
"Like I said, where exactly did you sense the aura?" Hermes insisted. "It is on the eastern side of this forest. Around seven hundred meters away from our current position," the slime responded.
Hermes clicked his tongue and crouched his way to hide inside the bushes of the trees. Then, he removed his mask to wipe his face.
The slime transformed into a small oblong gooed liquid substance. Then, it jumped down on the surface. It turned around to tell something to its master.
"Master, the aura is gone. I failed to track it down. I, I'm so sorry," the slime bowed down.
The slime was scared to be scolded, so it went down to apologize immediately. It was already prepared to get punished by being kick, but the young Don had a different idea.
Hermes scratched his head and sighed.
"It's alright. I don't think the owner of that power will come upon us. Or am I too optimistic about it? Never mind, let's continue our journey," Hermes offered a hand and the slime gladly jumped on it. Then, it transformed back to a normal white mask without an eyehole.
"T, Thank you, master," the slime simpered.
Hermes heaved an exhausting sigh.
"Hmm, what's wrong, master?" the slime fretted. "N, nothing. You don't have to be worried. Your master is fine. Just focus on your job, okay," said Hermes, smiling.
His face looked fine outside, but his body was cramping in pain.
Being a magicless user and normal human was really a disadvantage. Unlike the protagonist of other novels who were blessed with overpowered and average abilities, he had nothing but his companion.
All of his powers were not even from him, and he's truly mad about his uselessness in this situation.
That's also one of the reasons he didn't ask for his help. His humanity within should be retained, and he needed to show to this creature that he could still walk on his own abilities despite being weak.
Call him a stubborn child or a petty mob, but he's still a man with honor and pride. He lived as a normal man with a wonderful life from his former world, and he's still an adult inside the teenager's body.
To be frank, he's worried about the true Hermes.
What happened to the original? If he possessed his body, then he's gone for good? But he spoke like him and acted like him out of his control.
The true Hermes Archnemesis could be still sleeping inside this body, and he's waiting for the opportunity to usurp it back for good.
With this idea, Hermes felt a sense of guilt. He's liable for occupying the body of the original without his permission.
Although he's a mad child and a menace to society, the original Hermes Archnemesis should return.
Why do you think? Because his body was his. He's only a foreigner or more like an occupant. He had no right to live in this world.
Aljen Mura was his real name. He should be living on earth and lived like a normal man.
He wanted to form a family, but his personality was the only obstacle to achieve it.
Why? Because he's an asshole. His pride was too high that no girls couldn't afford to endure.
He had been rejected by his crush, not once but seven times.
He's a virgin old man with no love experience at all.
Hermes shed tears when he recalled the past.
The slime was worried about his condition, and it secretly activated its recovery magic to heal his pain.
Hermes noticed his body feel lighter than before, so he continued his journey to find the secret tunnel.
Suddenly, the slime alerted his master.
"Master, I sensed a disturbing aura within seventeen meters from our position," the slime notified.
Hermes stopped moving.
"Where?" he asked quickly in a low voice. "I still don't know. But the aura is similar to a friend of mine," the slime pointed out.
'What?' Hermes tilted his head on the side.
"But still, we still don't know if this creature is a friend or a foe. I advise to proceed because I strongly believe his mission only is to observe us from afar," the slime suggested.
'Wait, it's not a human but an unknown creature, huh. This is bad,' Hermes gulped.
"Y, you sure he's only observing us?" Hermes reconfirmed with a cold sweat. "Ah, sorry. He's also following us," the slime corrected.
"Okay, then. I will continue, but please take a countermeasure against that creature. If he does something bad against us, hack him down. Got it?" Hermes reminded. "Yes, master. I will. Leave it to me," the slime assured.
'Hmm, what kind of creature is it now?' Hermes asked inside his mind.
He already faced a bisexual opponent with overpowered ability. His skill was comparable to the strength of a playable female character.
For the past few weeks, he encountered a lot of things advertently and inadvertently. But thankfully, the story so far received a minimal change because of his intervention.
But still, Arak the Great Tamer shouldn't exist in this world.
'My brothers will avenge me!' the last word Arak cried before he left him to die inside the secret area.
Hermes turned pale and his face dropped a sweat.
What should he do when he safely return to the village? No matter where he went, there's a helpless situation he had to surpass. No matter what he did, there's always an unexpected case that could ruin the plot of the story.
'Damn it, this is out of my hand. I want to return back to my world,' he cried inside his mind.
"Milord, there's a tunnel up ahead. We're almost there," the slime said. "Good work," Hermes simpered.
He heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the good news.
Meanwhile, their stalker was observing them on the tree. Then, it transformed into a letter and disappeared from its position.
It reappeared on the tree, ten meters away from the young Don.
'Is Lord Justin telling the truth?' it asked inside its mind.
The letter transformed into a paper bird and locked its eyes at its target.
'When I'm gone, find him. Find the true master!' the last word of Justin before he disappeared.
"This is nuts. Grandlord is the true reincarnation of our master. This child is not him. But still, why is my elder sister with him? Why? I don't understand," it muttered.
The paper often called an 'informant' because of its ability to transfer the message of its user to its receiver.
It had a great ability to discharge and disarm its target if he was ordered to.
After the fall of the Ratican Empire, the Emperor ordered it to send its last order to its retainers and subordinates. It was the last command it received before he perished from the history of mankind.
The informant was left behind and felt isolated.
The death of its master made him alone for a thousand years.
But when it's already given up, someone saved its heart from loneliness. It was the Grandlord.
'Come with me, and you won't be lonely anymore,' the Grandlord offered as he extended his hand to come with him.
The informant was so happy and the chain of sadness finally unlocked by his heartwarming words.
He served him properly and showed his unquestionable loyalty. Its dream to be with its family even came true.
Four of its sisters out of twelve Great Spirits gathered to serve their new master.
But to think the eldest among them were working under the fake master. He felt sad.
Why? Because the informant would fight its sister when the time comes.
"Hermes Archnemesis, just who are you?" it grimaced.