Riku can't leave this woman alone in this small cave for fear of the monsters appearing and killing her as she sleeps.
However, the circumstance he had anticipated occurred.
...
Inside the dimly lit room, he heard a strange noise, and the woman who had been lying on the ground earlier was now pointing her black sharp knife under Riku's chin. Despite the fact that her body was bruised and her legs were damaged, she was able to move quicker while being unable to reply.
The unknown woman's position was imbalanced, and she would have stumbled even with a simple kick. She clenched her teeth, ignoring the excruciating pain in her legs.
Riku, on the other hand, remained unconcerned, confident in his ability to stop this woman with his words. "Is this your way of thanking the man who saved your life?" he inquired, his gaze falling on this woman's flaming eyes.
The woman's look speculated that she remembered exactly what happened to her in this frightening huge forest. She then took a step back and became unbalanced; if Riku hadn't gripped her waist, who knows what might have happened. Her head would undoubtedly collide with the dungeon's harsh concrete wall.
"I saved you twice, woman," he stated, "but first and foremost, you shouldn't move since you're not in the correct state to do so." He then gently assisted her to lean against the wall.
The moonlight filtered into the cave, allowing them to see around them and each other. Since the white blanket on his face was stained by his blood, he can't blame this woman for attacking.
He could easily remark that this woman was quite gorgeous now that she was conscious. This woman's heavenly face, sexy figure, and ruby eyes will undoubtedly grab the attention of the males in his world.
Riku was positioning her at first since her blood was pouring out of her stomach wounds. "What are you doing, woman? You know you're in bad shape, yet you're still fighting me?" "Look at yourself, your wound is reopening."
After the man she didn't know admonished her and cleansed her wounds, the woman looks astonished.
Crack! Crack!
To avoid infection within her, he took a substitute for the blood-soaked garments. What could he do now that he knew he hadn't used anything to destroy the bacteria in those clothes? It was an urgent situation that necessitated a quick response.
And then, out of nowhere, the woman grabbed his hand and asked him. "W-why are you doing this? Who are you?" a lady asked, her hostile eyes softening as she realized she had tried to kill the guy who had saved her.
Riku took a step back, his dark eyes serious as he looked at her. He said, frowning her brows. "My name is Riku Hirota, and you're asking why I saved you?"
The woman nodded slowly, puzzled as to why the man was wearing a loincloth over his face. "Yes, I'm inquiring as to why you saved me?"
Tsk!
"It wasn't obvious?" he said, clicking his tongue. "Of course, you needed it, and I can leave you here and die."
The woman assumed that this man was just a kind guy, but that was enough to persuade her as she had a feeling about him that she couldn't put her finger on.
"How about you, what's your name, and what are you doing in this dangerous forest?" he inquired, presuming that this woman was an adventurer in this dangerous area since she had remarkable quickness and ability with the knife.
The woman slowly lowered her head at him, expressing her gratitude for his assistance. "My name is Emma Norm, and I'd like to thank Riku for saving my life."
Riku blinked her eyes in astonishment, not expecting to meet someone who would regard him in the same manner. That name was American's name to him, and the thought quickly faded away as Emma had not yet responded to his question.
"Don't worry, Emma," he said, "but you didn't answer my question, so what are you doing here?" he asked again, hoping to corner her.
"I'm an adventurer from the Colonary Kingdom, hundreds of miles away from this forest, and I'm here to collect some monster's core and sell it for a penny. They said I could find a weak monster in Mystic forest, but I don't think I'll be able to defeat a single monster here," she explained, noticing the pain in her legs and wounds.
Monsters who are weak? What the hell is going on here? Were the Wendigo and Naga monsters just weak monsters to them? Those creatures were the type of monsters that even a level one mutant couldn't destroy on their own; nevertheless, it occasionally depends on the monsters' Genetic material.
One thought that came to him was that someone had made Emma stupid, allowing her to die easily. He shook his head as he realized he couldn't rush to a decision, but he had no idea what the monster here was capable of defeating a single human.
By exchanging products and other items, the Colonary Kingdom was one of the Arzotoc village's key friends. It was also one hundred seventy kilometers away from this woodland, located in the east.
A normal person could usually walk a mile in fifteen or twenty minutes. So, assuming you can walk three miles each hour, it will take you about 56 hours and 40 minutes to reach the Colonary Kingdom. To put it simply, two days and eight hours, with the possibility of three days if you are unfortunate enough to encounter a formidable foe.
"How about you, where you from? And, like me, you're an adventurer who collects monsters' cores for a penny?" she questioned, already knowing the answer within her thoughts. Riku couldn't possibly become an adventurer, according to his observations. Why? Because of the small mana pool that runs through his body like a thread. She had an unspoken feeling about him that she couldn't articulate.
We may say Emma had a keen intuition as she knew it wasn't right to tamper with this man. A human with a gene from a dark crow? In this world, this was unbelievable.
As his gene's current strength was the initial evolution, he needed to promote it by boosting his mana pool and physical body to maximize the power he had.
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Even though Riku wasn't sure if the Colonary Kingdom was the Arzotoc village's major adversary. He didn't hesitate to respond to her query. "I'm recently from the Arzotoc Village. Aside from that, I'm not an adventurer; I'm just looking for a guy to accompany me into this forest."
Recently? This indicates that the man was not born in this village, but she had no intention of inquiring about personal affairs. Furthermore, she wondered herself, "Where did this man get his courage?" Within his limited mana pool, he was confidently strolling into the Mystic forest.
"A man? Hmm... Is it possible that the guy you're looking for has emerald green hair, an average build, and a tan skin tone?" Emma wondered as she recalled the images in her mind.
After hearing Emma precisely describe Solomon's outer appearance, his eyes widened. "Yes, it's him. Where did he go, Emma?" he asked, wanting to complete the task as quickly as possible.
"I didn't know, Riku," she shook her head, "but the only thing I remember is that he was being pursued by kobolds, and I tried to protect him from them, but all I got were stabs from the kobolds' claws, so I decided to flee to save my life."
There was a story that the kobold was connected to the dragon, but they looked more like lizards and stood at a height of 75 centimeters.
Riku could also hear that kobolds may be defeated by his ability, which gave him the notion to go hunting for some EXP. However, he needed to concentrate on the mission and the pipeline he was building, as King Luke had only given him a month to demonstrate that he had benefited in the Arzotoc village.
He sighed heavily, believing Solomon was causing harm to the people around him. It wasn't because of the [Astray] spell cast on him; there had to be another explanation.
Curse? He nodded his head as putting curse in the world that full sword and magic weren't impossible.
"That is Solomon, Emma, he's still alive, isn't it?" He asked the important things.
She slowly nodded her head at him, "Yes, he ran away just like what I have said to him."
Riku felt at ease, astonished by the ability of Solomon to flee in every dangerous situation. He placed his hands on the surface and exited the cave.
He removed the stained blanket covering his face while the moonlight was touching on his silky black hair.
A man with an innocent face and black eyes, standing in front of her, surprised as it was the first time she could see a face like this.
"Come on, Emma, come with me. I'll bring you to the Arzotoc village so someone would heal your wounds."