Not Giving A Chance; Is Not Good Policy
Qiao Tai didn't feel there was any other choice, other than following these people. He could only accept the situation as it was to find a way out of it. As looking around, he could barely make sense of the surroundings.
He could not hear the voice again.
And he can't take risk by not following.
If someone very powerful and mysterious was behind this sudden change of his situation then he feared that his younger brother was at the mercy of the strange voice. And this all started because he decided to do something good. When was the last time he did a good deed? Almost never, but this once he thought to help the old woman and here, he was harvesting the weeds of his good deed. What a pity indeed.
He was not worried for himself, but before his father's death he promised to take care of his younger brother. He could not let down the expectations of his father.
Now even though he was feeling frustrated, he could do nothing other than follow the evil voice's plan. Because of his single mistake his younger brother was trapped, probably in a condition worse than him. This feeling was gnawing at his heart.
Qiao Tai silently followed the group of three.
He did not ask as to what kind of monster they were going to face. He did not even have an idea when they spoke about hunting monster. Isn't that something out of a video game?
They entered the cave and could hear a hissing voice. After conforming the monster's presence they returned to the forest and then informed the guild that they were going to hunt.
It was not that monsters were sparse, but to find a monster which they could hunt was the actual problem. It would be seeking death by bothering powerful monsters in comparison to their levels.
The three of them held their rustic weapons with them and advanced inside.
"You don't have a weapon with you so keep a safe distance else it would be gruesome for us to witness your tattered dead body," the one who was leading turned slightly and bluntly spoke.
Others started to laugh at him mockingly.
Qiao Tai was already thinking about his course of action after looking at their rustic weapons. He had practiced martial arts in his high school and after joining university, he kept practicing so he could protect himself if his life was in danger at any turn.
The opening of the cave was small which meant, the monster inside would not be too large. The chasers chose not to share any other information with him so that he could prepare himself for the unseen.
Slowly the inside of the cave was lead to a spacious ground, it was all mystic and polished with red dirt, the top and the ground uneven, which would be a challenge for someone who wished to escape in time of danger.
"Get ready, we are near.." the one who was leading whispered lightly.
Now the uneven path had some signs of lime colored liquid splattered on the rocky ground. The creature inside must be having its meal or they were here at the wrong time.
The moment they turned the corner a loud voice battered their ears.
*ROAARRR*
An ugly creature that looked like bundles of gooey slime racked up one on another occupied the red ground in the opening ahead of them. It was roaring loudly, while shedding pieces of its body layers. But even so it continued to increase in size.
Indeed they were here at the wrong time, the slimy creature was angry and had started to split many layers to increase its strength. The three of them had a panicked look on their faces. Originally Slime Mud Rod was a level one creature but its anger could easily increase it battle prowess comparative with level two or even above.
This creature had selected this cave specifically because it had this red dirt which helped to maintain its body layers at the time of anger.
"Oh no, this is not the right time for hunting it," the leader yelled.
"But we cannot retreat immediately yet," another one shouted, looking at the creature that was drooling in front of them in the meantime.
"Since we cannot retreat, lets hunt it" the one who was leading yelled and wielded his rustic weapon. Apparently this rustic weapon of his had durability and reliability against a level one creature.
He could have succeeded with this rustic weapon for this hunt but with the creature getting more angry, it might not be as reliable as it should be.
Initially, they had planned to not give a single chance to the newbie for killing the monster but now, they were thinking to sacrifice him so they could save themselves.
As soon as the angry monster attacked, they cleared out a path and retreated, leaving only Qiao Tai to face the slimy claws of the monster.
It was unexpected, he was cheated at the last minute, he thought.
The man clearly said that he should maintain a clear distance then why did they suddenly cleared a path? He racked his brain as he thought to get out of this predicament.
To dodge the oncoming onslaught was almost impossible as the ground was uneven. And he could not slip through underneath the monster, as the space wasn't enough.
As the slimy monster was almost upon him, it felt like a rock falling at him. The monster continuously shed layer, while regenerating even more and swiped its claws at him. Two rock swept him even as he focused to dodge it with all his abilities.
One of it brushed past his thigh and the other made a cut on his shoulder after ripping through the shirt cloth.
It was going to be much more dangerous than he expected Qiao thought. He looked around only to see the mocking expressions of the chasers.
They thought that the inexperienced youth would die at the single attack but luck seemed to have spared him a few more breaths.
If he could still not grasp the situation then he would clearly be an idiot. Those three had decided to sacrifice him to save their necks and with no hesitation too. He could see the disdain that they held but could not accept it as it was.
It seemed a perfect plan as long as the monster was also on their side.
And right now the monster was already even more angry when it could not kill the man in a single attack. It blew an attack at other recklessly but kept its focus at Qiao Tai because he was emitting a strange aura of death which grabbed the interest of the creature.
Until now no one had cleared this cave and reaped this monster of its experience points. Perhaps they would not be able to do it either, the three thought.