Under the shade of the trees blocking all attempts of the sunlight to break through, Kobi treked quietly, feeling the cool and moist wind rustlling through the leaves and ruffling his clothes.
A smile appeared on his face. "Shik, what're the commissions for today?" Kobi asked curiously.
Shik floated next to him, slouching as if he was laying on a bed and waved his hand, causing the comission tab to open up.
[1- Perform 1000 push-ups.
2- Drink a maximum of 10 glass of water in the whole day, 6 already drunk.
3- Eat the corpses of 3 different monsters, two eaten!]
"Today's are easy! Except the first one!" Kobi exclaimed, glancing at the rewards on the roulette, "But the rewards aren't the best!"
He sighed, he didn't complete the commissions of the last three days. They were... too easy for his taste.
After all, why would he waste time killing a dragon yesterday when he could just spend time throwing rocks in a pound... yea, he didn't specifically want the 1000 Mp potion in the least.
And neither would he waste the day past yesterday slapping himself a thousand times in public. And besides... it wasn't as if the Heaven's Blessing pill on the red patch would do him any good, he was already an angel after all.
Kobi took deep breaths, his eyes twitched, "Ouch! Which dirty thing invaded my eyes? How dare it poke a hole in it? Look, now its leaking!"
Kobi wiped the water leaking from his eyes, his tightly pressed lips trembling miserably.
"Phew! Anyways, these rewards are still not bad. I can just do the 1000 push-ups with some gap in between, I can do 200 at a time so, I can finish it in five rounds!
"And... do you want me to die from thirst? It's still young in the morning and you're telling me I only got 4 left by now?
"Lastly... I wish I had eaten a bit of those rabbits as well." Kobi sighed.
"I wonder how long it's going to take me to get to the other side, I hope I can reach the other side before night." Kobi remembered the map Reka had given her.
"Oi, Shik! Summarize what the villagers gave me in total." A map appeared in Kobi's empty palm.
"Hmm! From Reka, you otained 1000 bronze coins and a map, along with a letter."
"...Shit!" Kobi sucked in cold air, "Those 1000 bronze coins are her whole shitty month's salary!" Kobi felt something cold trickling down his cheek, his trembling eyes glanced back at the place he had been walking through for more then an hour now!
"Why didn't you tell me earlier you fool?"
"Didn't ask!" Shik shurgged nonchalantly.
"...Fuck you, bitch!"
"...Video, start!"
"OH DIVINE SYSTEM YOUR POWERS AMAZE ME INTO SUBMISSION! ALL PRAISE I HAVE IS FOR YOU!"
Shik nodded with a smile, "Pause!"
Kobi bit his lips, he wanted to dig a grave and throw his tongue in it, 'I will get back at you one day!'
"Ahem! Getting back on track, the villagers provided you with 3 sacks, 25 Pochi, 50 Magic Flakes, 30 Vili Spice, 30 Corn Powder and 1000 bronze!"
"... Freaking seriously?"
"Yea..."
"Dang! I miss the village!" Kobi took a deep breath.
Pochi was a kind of fruit which Kobi rather liked it, while Magic Flakes were a kind of grain.
While Vili was a spice, Corn Powder being... crushed corn. The villagers used both of them for flavouring.
Kobi shook his head, he opened his free hand and the letter appeared on it.
He clenched the map under his armpit and read through the letter.
"Relative of Saint, I, Reka, bid you farewell and good-wishes on your journey, the map shows you the path through the forest, it also marks a rough direction to the city of Piccs, it's the nearest city from the forest. Also my... home-town.
"And... As much as I despised you at first, you aren't half bad, excluding your vulgar tongue!
"I hope the next time we meet, your tongue is baptized! Stay safe! The world outside isn't as peaceful as our village... so if you just want to relax yourself from the hectic mess outside... in the village, my most worthless abode will always be free for you!"
Kobi chuckled before rolling it into a ball and throwing it aside.
'Now, the map!'
Kobi didn't throw it away on a whim of apathy... he just didn't like wasting his breath on things that may never return.
He wasn't the type to cling tightly onto the past. If he could enjoy a bottle or two with just anyone, then he was also the type to leave their memory in thr bar as he came out.
It was the work of his great father, one whom he called a Tyrant!
As Kobi was walking, suddenly, his ears pricked up.
His feet halted as he tensed up. His eyes drifted left and right,' Something's–'
His eyes scanned through place like lens, suddenly, his eyes glinted, "THERE!"
A machete appeared in Kobi's hand and he immediately hurled it towards a nearby tree's branch.
The machete travelled at a fierce pace and severed past the branch in one swift motion.
Kobi couldn't marvel at the machete's as he was busy sizing up the creature which fell in front of him.
Its scales glistened even in the darkness, its low, crouching body, like that of a reptilian, made it look like it could leap right at Kobi's face.
Kobi shifted his gaze from the creature's glaring red eyes and gazed at its profile.
(Kombop: Level 13)
Kobi sucked a deep breath, 'Shit! Level 13? Even just with its level, isn't it near the Prince?'
"No way! Are you dreaming? It's about a quarter stronger than the level 5 Hobgoblins." Shik looked at him in scorn.
"Bruh! Bro lemme feel the thrill, kay? Ever heard of having the feel? No! Well of course, that's why you are single!" Kobi nodded calmly, like it was an accepted thing.
"Hiss!" The Kombop hissed out its tongue and with its small feet, slowly crouched onward. As if it believed Kobi couldn't see it.
Seeing the hateful gaze and the slowly crouching limbs, Kobi knew it was about to pounce.
"It's pretty fast on its feet!" Kobi glanced at the machete which had missed its target before directing his gaze back, "But let me test you in mid-air!"
Kobi grinned and slid his feet back, his bare hands in a stiff, throwing posture as if he was holding something long and thin.
"HISS!" The Kombop slammed its tail on the ground and leapt forward.
'Shit!' Kobi gulped, the freaking beast nearly reached his chest in one fell swoop.
But he steadied his heart, his gaze turned sharp as he roared while stepping forward, "DIE!"
A gold spear materialized in Kobi's hands, its glistening surface shone even more than the Kombop's scales.
Like a hof knife cutting butter, the spear pierced through the Kombop's belly and proceeded to pierce through the tree behind it before losing momentum and falling to the ground.
Without hesitation, Kobi roared and dashed toward to the Kombop still yelping from the pain.
Ignoring its screeches, Kobi summoned the machete and pierced it through the Kombop's arm length size neck and wedged it into a tree.
Kobi's eyes flickered dangerously, he raised his palm forward, arrows shot out one after another.
In barely a little while, Kobi dropped the Kombop's Hp to zero.
As the Hp guage shattered, so did it's constant twitching came to a halt.
"...Why did this feel so easy?" Kobi blinked his eyes for a whole minute in wonder.
"Well, who cares!?" He stepped forward and tried plucking a scale, 'Shit! This is hard!'
"Well of course it's hard! It's the weapons you are using that are so freaking sharp... it's not that you are growing stronger or anything!" Shik chuckled mischievously.
"Humph! Bugs buzz so loudly nowadays!" Kobi shrugged before cutting a scale with his spear before directly hurling it in his mouth.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Kombop's language!]
Kobi smirked, 'I will see the next time if I'm getting stronger or not!'
Shik felt his spine tingle, his eyes shakily drifted towards Kobi, 'Oh shit! damn, samn, damn! this skill... this skill is too demonic! too evil! especially for him... this Demonic Will's and this Devil's union... this is freaking ass pure Diabolic!'
Shik felt as if the dark place suddenly turned bright... compared to the darkness oozing off of somebody else here.
"Hmm!" Kobi nodded, his hand reached towards the corpse and it vanished.
'Hehe! More Strength!' Kobi grinned. Sadly, his stomach wasn't really in demand for some kind of food. Hence he could only cast aside the thought of devouring it whole.
'This is too much of a hindrance!' Kobi frowned as he continued to walk, 'How long before I can gulp it whole, Shik?' Kobi asked.
"Haha! Hopefully soon." Shik's eerie eyes glistened maliciously.
'Soon? Soon's too late! Probably there are other skills for that?' Kobi glanced at Shik.
"Hmm!? Don't look at me! I'm not responsible for skill creation or distribution!" Shik shrugged, his thoughts openly ridiculing him, 'Just wait a while, then I will see if you need another skill.'
'Clueless retards!' Kobi scoffed in contempt.
"...Vid–"
"HEAVENS BEAR WITNESS!! KOBI COLLS AND CURSED HAVE PARTED FROM TODAY ON!"
Kobi sighed, swearing to himself to never act so rashly again as in the video.
'I am going to get back at every last humiliation... just you wait!' Wiping his tears, Kobi treaded on, 'I need a scheme to tackle this mess.'
Shik shook his head, "I wish you truly had some Saint's blood in you!"
Kobi sniffed and ignored Shik, having been absorbed by the divergent paths in front of him.
There was a sign indicating each path, Kobi opened the map, tracing his finger against the rough, cold surface of the map, Kobi looked at the marked path and nodded, apparently the other path led to another village.
Kobi ignored the village's path and treaded on the other one.
Along the road, numerous buzzs and chrips impeding his advance, it was like the most fresh and unique melody, forcing him to halt and enjoy the nature.
All the small, harmless lives that he gazed at were new, 'This is truly another world... isn't it?'
"... Why don't you just make up your mind? Do you like it here or not?" Shik couldn't take it anymore... sometimes the dude said he would conquer all the beauties of this world and what not while now... this drama.
Kobi didn't respond, he kept walking silently, unable to answer in the awkward air, which Shik tried desperately to ease by clearing his throat.
Kobi could finally see some light from the other side.
His eyes widened slightly in await of what was to come next and his steps quickened.
As he got closer and closer and the other side became clearer, Kobi's steps slowed down. His mouth hung agape as basking under the fresh sunlight, he asked incredulously, "This is... the other side of the forest, right?"
. . .
Somebody walking by suddenly paused and stared at him like she had seen a ghost, "K-Kobi?"
"Ahem! I mean, relative of Saint, what... are you doing back here?"
Kobi glanced at the girl, his lips squeezed into a thin line, "M-Maid girl... Reka?"