A gut wrenching sound that would send shivers down any human's spine echoes through the trees.
It's a low, menacing growl, like that of a fierce predator stalking its prey.
If you'd approach a certain clearing, the terrifying noise would grow louder and louder.
When you'd go even closer, you would realize something horrifying.
The sound does not belong to some mysterious predator, but instead..
'AHHH! I'm going insane!!'
I complained while looking at the snoring bandit in front of me.
'How is it even possible for a human to make sounds like that?!'
After scaring this Bob Strong guy and making him pass out, I decided to wait for him to wake up before doing anything else.
But after a few hours of patiently waiting something totally unexpected happened..
He started making these insanely creepy growling noises that I first thought came from some Legendary tier monster deep in the forest.
But in reality, these noises were just his snores!
After trying to bear the ear shattering noise for a few minutes, I finally decided to do something about it.
'I guess I should wake him up..'
At first, I hesitated if I should use my Gel Body skill, which was something I really wanted to avoid, since he could do damage to me in my physical form.
But after hearing his monstrous snores again for a few times, I decided that I had no other options left.
I used my Gel Body skill and picked up a small rock.
I threw the stone at medium speed at the snoring menace, but sadly he didn't wake up.
He didn't even move an inch.
After my first try, I decided to try again..
And again.. and again.. and again
I even tried to throw a large stone at his face with my full power, but nothing changed. .
'How can someone sleep like that??'
I would've thought that the man in front of me was dead, if not for the loud noises coming from his mouth.
After a while, I decided to give up and just abandon the man, even if that meant I would get lost in the forest again.
I started to float away from the snoring beast, but after a few feet I suddenly stopped.
My ghost instincts told me that someone was near me.
My suspicions were cleared when a group of humans came out behind some trees.
'Are these the friends of the snorer?'
I thought while examining the strange group.
They all looked like bandits, covered in scars.
The one leading the group, a large man with red hair, opened his mouth.
''Hahaha! That dumbass actually just fell asleep in the middle of the forest?''
He pointed his finger at the sleeping bandit and couldn't stop his laughter.
''This is the first time I'm actually thankful for his snoring..''
Said another bandit in the group.
''You are right, we would've been searching for him until the morning otherwise.''
The red haired leader said back while grinning.
''To think that the newbie mage would be so useless..''
''Right.. And he claimed that he was a legendary wizard..''
''Dang it! I knew that he was just a liar!!''
The bandit group complained to each other.
''Cut him some slack guys, at least he pointed us in the right direction.''
The leader said, while giving a strict look to the group.
''S-sorry!''
''You are right. I guess mages aren't built for this rough forest landscape.''
The bandits said apologetically.
I looked at the bandits with an amused face and then counted them up.
'Hmm. 8 bandits.. That's a little bit too much for a tracking team. No?''
[Answer: The forest is a dangerous place at night, so it's only reasonable to bring a lot of people to watch each other's backs]
'I see.. Alright, I guess I'll check what they are made of.'
'Inspect'
I inspected all of the bandits, but found nothing special. They were all tiered under Silver 4 and didn't even have any skills.
Well, except for the leader..
=== {INSPECT} ===
Name: Muscle Muscle
Type: Human
Affiliation: Green Forest Bandits
Health: 600/600
Mana: 0/0
Tier: Silver (9)
Skills: [C-] Bandit Martial Arts
=== {INSPECT} ===
'M-Muscle Muscle? Why would you name your child like that?'
I was truly dumbfounded by the naming sense of bandits.
'His tier is Silver 9, the same as Bob Strong..'
'…'
'Seriously.. Come on bandits, you can find better names than that.'
'Hmm.. his skill sounds a bit worrying though.'
Bandit Martial Arts definitely sounded like a close quarter combat skill, completely opposite to the Bandit Archery skill Bob had.
'It would definitely be dangerous to get close to him with my Gel Body.. and there are 7 more bandits, even if they seem relatively weak..'
I really wanted to spook them, but couldn't find a safe way to do it.
After thinking for a little bit, I finally thought about a plan that may work.
'Seriously, why haven't I tried this before?'
I floated a few meters away from the bandit group, activated my Gel Body skill and picked up a bunch of rocks.
'System, cancel the Gel Body skill on my lower body.'
[Disabling 50% of Gel Body]
After that, my bottom part became transparent and my Gel Body started to float.
'Wow, it actually worked..'
I flew high up into the air, above the group's heads.
The bandits had already moved to where Bob was sleeping and were trying to wake him up.
'Yeah, good luck with that.'
I mocked them, before trying to line my Gel Body up with their heads.
''Muscle, our methods aren't working. I'm afraid you have to use your special technique..''
A bandit said to the red haired leader after failing to wake Bob up.
''Tch! This is such a pointless way to use my skill..''
Muscle stood in front of Bob and after doing a few stretches, he pulled his fist back, aiming at the sleeper's stomach area.
BANG!
A loud noise engulfed the whole forest.
'JESUS! That sounded like a missile! I made the right choice to not scare him up close.'
I thought while seeing the red haired man punch the sleeping beauty.
''Cough! Cough!''
Bob jolted his body up, now wide awake.
''NOO! StaY AwAY FROM MEEEE!''
The just awakened bandit let out a horrifying scream.
''Have you lost your mind after napping so long??''
Shouted Muscle after taking a step back because of surprise.
He had woken Bob up multiple times before, since he was the only one able to, but this was the first time he has ever reacted like this.
''STOP! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!''
Bob shouted while covering his head and rolling up into a ball.
''Relax Bob, it's just me, Muscle.''
The group's leader tried to calm the spooked man down, but to no avail.
''NO ONE CAN ESCAPE! IT WILL FIND YOU WHEREVER YOU GO! HAHahaHAHA!''
Bob laughed loudly like a madman.
''What the hell happened to you?''
Muscle looked at the seemingly crazy bandit with a complex expression.
…
[You have caused unrest in 8 people, you are getting closer to the Species Upgrade]
[You have gained +3/2000 Mana due to your Mana Pool being limited to 1400]
'Ohh, so I don't have to directly scare them for it to count? Oh well.. Since I'm up here anyway, I might as well go all out.'
I lined up my body and their shiny heads perfectly and was preparing to unleash the fun.
''F-Forget it. Just capture him, we will see what's wrong with him back in the camp.''
Muscle ordered his underlings, while slowly getting more and more concerned.
…
''!!!''
Muscle felt goosebumps all over his body and quickly flicked his head up.
''What the fu-''
A pile of stones rained down on the bandit group, knocking them all out instantly.
[You have made {Muscle Muscle} feel fear, you are getting closer to the Species Upgrade]
[You have gained +0/500 Mana due to your Mana Pool being limited to 1400]
'Tch! I guess I should've gotten their attention before releasing the stones.'
I was disappointed, since I didn't gain anything for knocking down 7 of the 8 bandits, since they didn't even realize the situation before being knocked out.
'Oh well.. There is nothing that I can do about that now, I hope that they at least won't snore like Bob..'
After that terrifying thought, I decided that I should explore the nearby area while waiting for them to wake up.
I had forgotten to switch off my Gel Body skill, so I was still a weird ghost and slime hybrid.
'Oh right.. I guess I'll disable the Ge-'
[WARNING! The Host's life is in danger! A vampire has detected your existence]
'WHAT?'