"So, who is going to take watch first?", Hiraya uttered as she shook her hand that just finished its training session.
On the corner, Hiraya had already fallen asleep for a while now. Alab and Kevin could only feel conflicted looking at her sounding asleep while they suffer in Hiraya's monstrous arms.
Even with his impressive stats, Kevin wondered why Hiraya was able to pull of such strength. It made him certain that Hiraya must be an SSS-grade awakener or above.
But seeing that she hadnt leave the Tutorial yet, he assumed that it would be either she hadnt found the item yet or she was a U-grade player.
With that in mind, he firmed his resolve to invite her when he establish a guild.
"I will take watch, I really cant entrust my back to idiots", he uttered as he stood up. His lips swollen from series of punch from Hiraya.
Though swollen, Kevin wondered why it didnt hurt. If something, this attack might indeed be just to relieve her outrage from his insult.
"Are you sure? It seems that you havent sleep yet though?", Alab in a similar situation as his, with eyes swollen, asked Kevin. The latter felt warmth for a while as Alab seemed to care about him.
Just like what Alab surmised, Kevin hadnt sleep for two days now. The danger in Tutorial wouldnt let him drop his guard even for a while. The entire night, he would just keep watch of the SSS-grade player who was uncannily incautious. He was a vital chess piece in getting the SSS-grade item thus Kevin had to take the role of keeping his safety at least until he find the item.
He even remembered fighting with three Semanticore who was about to pounce on the snoring player. Just thinking of those situations made his nerves twitched with annoyance.
But… more than that, Kevin had no one to protect his back. His upbringing thought him that there are only handful of people you can trust your back with, and those people didnt exist in the Tutorial.
"Its fine, reall—"
Kevin was yet to finish his words when Alab butted in.
"Ohh, then goodnight! Wake me up when its my turn!", he uttered as he took a large clover lead and slept.
*twitch
Kevin felt mad at himself for thinking that Alab cared for him earlier.
"This idiot… really?!", he clicked hia tongue.
*snore
Hearing snores coming from Alab who had already fallen asleep, Kevin could only sigh as he sat in a dense root of the large tree they took as refuge. Beside him, just a meter away, Hiraya who had slept without prior notice, and Althea who slept like a kid in the weaved vines, were sound asleep.
Sigh
Kevin lost count of how many times did he sigh since meeting this trio. Also on how many brain cells he consumed talking to them.
With another sigh, Kevin fixed his eyeglass as he wondered how could they fall asleep in these dire times. Their guards were at its lowest that a Semanticore could ambush them to death.
And with his nth time's sigh, a hazy memory resurfaced on his mind.
A woman whose young age didn fit her aged looks as her hair had turned all white and yellowish skin cladding her petite body, was looking at the young Kevin with cheerful looks. Up to now, Kevin couldnt comprehend on how did she has those gazes whilst being a in deadly state.
"Mom, I cant sleep", the young Kevin uttered.
His Mom revealed a warm smile as he looked at the young Kevin, he then patted on the space beside her as she motioned the young Kevin to sleep there.
Talking cost her so much pain that she could only respond with gestures. The young Kevin also knew that but her advices just made him feel warm.
"Listen, Kevin. *cough, there are times when Mommy wont be there to watch your back, okay? *cough, so… promise me that when you find someone whom you can entrust your back to and who will entrust their back to you, *cough. P—promise me that you will treasure them, okay? *cough"
The young Kevin couldnt understand her mother's words at that time. He was too young to understand her intentions but he made sure to remember every advice that his Mom gave him.
Looking at the players around him, Kevin finally realized her words.
"These idiots…", he mumbled as a tear finally escaped his eyes.
Wiping it off, he looked at the sky as he uttered.
"M---mom, I promise, I will treasure them."
AN: Im crying / (T_T) /
—----
"What?! Its already morning?! Why didnt you wake me up?!"
Alab shouted early in the morning as he looked at the sleep-depived Kevin. He didnt wake him up and take turns for keeping watch.
Dark circles now lingered below the eyes of Kevin as he folded the sheet and placed them neatly to his pouch.
"As if you can keep watch securely?", Kevin uttered as he then took out 4 pieces of packed meat from his pouch.
Althea could only agape at such sight.
"Y--you!!!" Kevin mumbled
"Say, just how large exactly is that pouch?!", Althea asked as she couldnt hold back her curiosity. From her calm tone, it was clear that she finally opened up to the two as well.
Kevin of course, realized this change as he took out a bamboo pipe and four pieces of cup made of bamboo.
"The secret to this is you only have to fold and arrange things in organized manner.", he explained as he then took out seasonings from his pouch.
"Here, 100 Karma points again for food and water", he stated as he handed packed foods to the three who once again lamented on their increasing loan.
"Dont you think we should just hunt monster later?", Kevin suggested to the two.
"I think thats for the best, we dont want owing too much from this hyena", Hiraya uttered as she chew on her food. Her heart crying in pain as she looked fiercely at Kevin.
With that, Kevin had already earned 600 Karma points from the Tutorial alone.
After eating, the group had finally plane their next course of action as they all looked at the list of remaining items.
[Remaining players: 98 -> 53]
[The available items at the moment are:
F(Rank) - 1 -> 1(number of available item/s)
SSS - 3 items
SSS - 2 -> 2 items
SS - 0 -> 0 item
S - 13 -> 7 items
A - 54 -> 23 items
B - 67 -> 43 items
C - 67 -> 33 items
D - 0 -> 0 item
E - 189 -> 124 items]
The number had dwinled by much. From these changes, the group thought that some players had decided to exit the Tutorial and just settled on A-grade items or B-grade.
Some items seemed to be destroyed as well especially the fragile E-rank.
At the moment, the group had the [Sword of Avarice], meaning there were only other 6 S-grade and above items remaining.
"With 4 of us here, we have to secure at least 3 more S-grade items or if we have a chance, take the remaining SSS-grade items", Alab uttered.
Seeing that the number of SSS-grade items hadnt change, Kevin figured out that the SSS-grade player he tailed the day before wasnt able to get the item.
"We have to find him, after all", he muttered.
The group understood his words. But the players must had travelled deeper into the wilderness already, and with how vast the wilderness is, locating him would be like finding a needle in a shore.
"Only if we have a tracking skill", Althea murmured.
On this thought, Hiraya widened her eyes as she seemed to realize something.
"Me! I will try if I can locate him", she uttered as she stood up and hid behind the large tree.
The three understood that she wanted to keep her skill a secret. She must had learned her lesson from Althea's words yesterday.
'Well, this group is starting to mature', Kevin thought as he nodded his head.
It took Hiraya a while before she walked out of the large tree with a smile from ear to ear. That moment, her beauty was again engraved on the group's mind.
"Did you succeed?", Kevin was the first to ask.
*nod
With a nod, Hiraya let out a wider smile as she pointed behind the tree and there emerged a group of Semanticore.
"Siz, the sword!", Alab was alarmed at the appearance of the Semanticore that he took a fighting stance.
Atlhea was the same as with Kevin who only looked at Hiraya and the friendly Semanticore.
"Taming, huh?", he murmured.
"Calm down guys, they are my tamed monsters.", Hiraya uttered as she waved her hand to the alarmed Alab and Althea who immediately dropped their guards at her explanations.
"So, how will this monster help us?", Alab asked as he lighten his grip of the sword.
"I can tame more monsters and I will command them to talk to their fellow Semanticore to search for that player", she explained.
Semanticore occupied the largest population in the wilderness, taming this kind would speed up their search for hundred times.
Still, taming monsters took so much energy and time, that the reason why Hiraya never tried it before.
Receiving the group's agreement, Hiraya patted her shoulder seemingly proud of her action and skill. She then hid again behind the large tree as she proceeded with her taming.
Hours passed after that, the three waited for Hiraya to finish taming monsters as they watched the remaining items dwinldle over time.
Their attention hardly pressed on the remaining S and SSS-grade items.
'I wonder if that guy I was following before had taken the SSS-grade item already?', Alab pondered as he tried to figure out who was the other two SSS-grade players.
At his sight, the sole F-grade item piqued his attention as he was reminded that in this battle for power, he had the weakest.
'Why do I feel that I have to take that item no matter what?', he pondered as his intuition was continously bugging him to take the item. Still, with how powerless the E-grade [Rusty Sword] was, Alab couldnt even wonder how outrageous an F-grade item's power was.
With that, he once again firmed his resolve to get at least S-grade item in this Tutorial. He couldnt even ponder dealing with U-grade players as he would certainly die from their breath alone!
On the other hand, Alab was clueless that the players he was most afraid of encountering were closer than the thought…
"Found him!", emerging from behind the tree, Hiraya exclaimed.
Behind her were four Semanticore that they would use to ride. With Semanticore's speed, they could get deeper into the woods in no time.
"What?! Did you really find him already?!", Alab exclaimed as only 4 hours had passed.
Hiraya revealed a conceited grin at first before she nodded her head and uttered, "Yes! Dont underestimate my skill, weaklings! Hohoho"
'She became conceited', the three thought as they looked at Hiraya who was laughing wickedly.
"Where is he?", Kevin pulled Hiraya out of her conceitedness
Hearing his question, the boastful expression on her face was brushed off with a serious look.
"He… he is in the Center part", she uttered.
Hearing her words, Althea and Alab felt their feet turning cold. The Center part was a forbidden area that no players from the past had ventured to.
In pure contrast, Kevin maintained his calm expression as he expected it. Common knowledge had it that SSS-grade items in the Tutorial would be located in the edge of the Inner part but there were cases that they were in the Center Part but no one would come back alive to tell the structure of the Center Part.
And at this momen, when worry had engulfed them, Althea broke in sweat as she looked at the remaining item…
"The SSS-grade item… it changed!", she uttered.
The other three then looked at their status window and browsed. Urgency now occupied their minds.
[SSS - 2 -> 1 item]