"Help. Help!"
The brown-haired boy panicked as he ran at them. His body was riddled with multiple cuts and injuries. Terror filled his face as he ran at full speed to the group while staggering.
'I got a bad feeling about this,' suspected Jake, as he used the distraction to leave the group.
The situation just didn't feel right. It felt too smooth.
Nico, being the type of person he was, caught the young boy as soon as he got close to the group.
He looked at the boy's wound and gasped, "What happened to you?"
"I was hunting when a group of bandits tried to steal my hunt. I managed to hide it in my spatial ring, but when they saw the ring, greed stirred in them. They tried to steal my ring, but I escaped just after receiving heinous injuries, " said the young man, wincing, as he showed them a ring on his right hand.
The group looked deeply as they saw the spatial ring. The spatial ring was just like any other ring. The only difference was that it contained a huge space hidden in it. It was also very expensive; the lowest quality spatial ring was worth one gold coin, which most average families would not be able to earn in their lifetime. The spatial ring was owned by nobles and cultivators.
"I fear that I cannot go on. Please, take my ring. I would rather you have it than them," he said to the group.
Blood spilled out of his body, as he staggered to the ground, collapsed.
It was silent for a while, before Nico broke the tension, "What do we do? We can't just leave him here?"
Jaya bent down and touched the stranger's neck, "He is still alive, barely breathing. We should leave him. Don't forget his pursuers are still chasing him."
"But…," Nico tried to argue.
"Nico, the benefits do not outweigh the risks," reminded Lola.
"...Okay," said a defeated Nico, who understood the circumstances.
Yet, he picked up the boy as he said, "....but still, I can't leave him. I will carry him and do my best not to drag behind."
After that, he began to run, not giving the rest any way of retorting.
'Here we go again,' the girls sighed as they ran after him.
....
Five minutes later.
Nico with his amazing speed had caught up to Jake.
"Hey," he said to Jake, who ignored him, but later replied when he saw the boy on Nico's shoulder.
"Why are you carrying him?" Jake squinted his eyes at Nico
"He fainted."
"So…," asked a puzzled Jake.
"You know, if we removed the appearance of zombies, you and he are not so different. We met you the same way and we protected you when you were unconscious, " Nico wryly smiled ignoring Jake's question as he stated.
Jake was shut down by what Nico said. It was the truth. He knew deep down that he was saved by the trio. He owed them, maybe that was why he was hostile to them. Jake didn't like owing people.
Taking a deep breath, Jake cleared his hostile mind as he cooperated, "Can you trust him?"
"I don't know, we just gotta believe," replied Nico.
'Belief..,' the word echoed in Jake's head. It was a foolish concept, but still, he didn't deter Nico because of that.
Jake noticed something about the stranger, "He is awake."
As soon as he said that, the stranger yawned. From this pretense action, Jake suspected this stranger all the more.
He jumped away from Nico's back as the group paused.
Jake spotted something strange about the boy, 'His healing factor! Master Luca said that Physique Modeling cultivators possessed a good healing factor, but it is not as good as this. The boy's injuries healed swiftly which could only mean he is beyond the Physique Modeling realm!'
"Thank you for saving me. My name is Roy," the boy introduced himself.
"Don't thank us yet. We haven't left the forest," intervened Nico.
Jaya also noticing the abnormality asked, "By the way, what cultivation realm are you at?"
"Ehh, the first official realm. What is it?" Roy furrowed his brows as he asked.
"Nothing, we just didn't expect for you to be a cultivator of a higher realm," smiled Nico.
"It's alright. I am currently weakened. Eleven though my skin injuries have healed, I still have some internal injuries. So, I will be relying on you," confessed Ray as he bowed his head.
Nico, not used to gestures like these, just nodded with Lola and Jaya silent behind him.
Out of nowhere, Jake asked, "What is in the ring?"
He was replied by Ray, who smiled with his eyes and mouth, "It contains the remains of the beasts I hunted. They sell very well"
"Is that so….," Jake derailed off as he submerged in his thoughts.
He later demanded, "Then open it."
Staring with wide eyes, Ray asked, "What do you mean?"
"Jake, don't be rude," Nico intervened.
Jake ignored Nico as he asked again, "Open it. Show me proof that what you say is true."
Ray squinted his eyes as he said, "Look, we don't have time. I will show you when we make a successful escape."
Ray's words reminded them that they had someone on their tails. Impatient, the trio stared hard at Jake, hinting for him to drop the case.
"You offered us the ring, why?" Jake asked, trying to reach a conclusion.
"Because I would rather you have it than them. Is there a problem with that?" said Ray, his smile was rather tight-lipped.
"Jake, what are you implying? Just drop it," interjected Nico
"Jake, we don't have enough time for this," warned Lola as she kept glancing behind her.
Jaya watched as the scene was going on. She could feel Jake was up to something, he was within the grasp of it.
Realizing that they didn't have much time, Jake went straight to the point, "Spatial rings are always bound to the owners. You offered them to us, meaning that it was open to anyone, which doesn't make sense. Were you expecting such a scenario before you met us?"
Jake smiled calmly as he said, "You know, I might be wrong. So….just open the ring. I will apologize if I'm wrong."
He taunted Ray like a devil….. At least, that was the image Ray had of him.
Nico, sensing the tension, offered, "Ray, just open the spatial ring so we can get it--"
With an astonishing speed, Ray dropped the ring and tried to run, but he was blocked by Jaya, who nodded at Jake. She had understood the situation from Jake's first question and observed Ray. The moment he tried to run, she intercepted him.
"Where are you going to...Ray?" teased Jake.
"Tch, I thought this would be a smooth sail, but I underestimated you, " replied Ray, with a vindictive voice different from his previously humble one.
"Finally revealing yourself, aren't you?"Jake wasn't surprised by the change. Previously, he had felt that Ray was too perfect. No one is perfect.
While sometimes Nico acted dumb, in truth he is smart, but it is always overshadowed by his naivety. He shouted at Nico, "How could you?"
"Hehehe, it doesn't matter. What can you do to me? Don't forget I am one realm higher than you all," smirked a cornered Ray.
"Tell me. Why are you being chased?" Jake asked the question that was bothering him. The injuries on Ray's body were not faked at all. He had gotten it from an attack.
"Do you want to know?"
A frigid snowstorm passed Jake's eyes as he said, "If you don't say it, I will cut your legs and leave you here."
"And how are you gonna do that? Cut the crap. I didn't want to kill you guys, but you left me no choice, " smiled Ray.
"...So that was it. You possess something precious and your pursuers covet it. The ring is why your pursuers could chase you. You offered it to us, making us your bait as you tried to escape, but you didn't count on Nico carrying you along, Hahaha," smiled Jake with a curled lips.
Ray's master plan was outdone by Nico unknowingly. Fortune indeed favors the unknown…...and the foolish
He watched as Ray rubbed his ring and a shortsword appeared out of thin air.
"Don't move or else it's your head," a thin voice addressed Ray. It was Lola, amidst the confrontation, who equipped her bow with an arrow. She pointed her weapon at Ray as she threatened him.
"You think you have got me covered, ridiculous!" a blue light shone on Ray as he moved from his position.
Lola shot her arrow at him, accurately, but it was too slow to hit him.
Ray ran at Jake, the most annoying of them. He threw a punch at Jake, but to his surprise, Jake dodged it at an insane speed….almost as if he saw the attack coming.
"Impossible!"