"Jule, it's us." The white haired girl spoke as a very big smile appeared on her face.
"You don't remember us, jule ?" The brown haired girl spoke.
"Yeah, that's not helping me remember you at all. I will need some more information on you, if you want me to remember you." Anon spoke.
"Jule, it's me Ven and she is my older sister Fen. You don't remember us ? We live like 2 houses away from you.
You used to play with us when no one else wanted to and you also saved us from that dog when we were 13. Now do you remember ?" Ven said as she looked at Jule with a puppy face.
"Ohhhhh... You are Ven and Den the 8th and 9th daughter of your house. No one wanted to play with you when you were Little because you wore torn hags instead of clothes and i was the only kid in the neighbourhood who played with you.
Both of you once promised to marry me too, right ?" Anon replied with a smile.
"Y-Yeah, Your memories suddenly took a sharp turn huh ?" Den spoke as both of their faces turned red.
"Oi, Oi, Jule. You realise that you just ruined our plan to hunt that hell hound, right ?" The grey haired guy spoke as he came out of the bushes.
"Hmm...? Did you say something ?" Anon asked as he continued to eat his fruit.
"I said-" as he was about to repeat himself saul stopped him from going any further.
"Shut up." Saul spoke as he touched his chest slightly.
"But Saul, he just-"
"I know what he did... Don't tell me. I hope you also saw what he did to that Hell Hound, right ?" Saul asked.
"Y-Yeah..."
"So, keep your mouth shut or do you want to see it go apart just like he did to that hell hound. This is not the same guy we used to bully, he is changed. He is stronger, He is merciless." Saul spoke in a very low tone.
"How did you figure that out ?" The grey haired guy spoke as he whispered into Saul's ears.
"He teared the hell hound's jaw apart just like a toy and he took pleasure in that. That's not what a sane elf would do." Saul replied.
"Yeah." Garry replied.
"What were you saying again, Sir ?" Anon asked as he looked at Garry.
"Ahaha... Nothing, i was just saying that you did a good job killing that motherfucking hound." Garry replied as he instantly changed the way of his talking and his expressions.
"Jule... How many did you killed ?" Saul asked as he sat down near the bonfire.
"Hmm... Let me see." Anon said as he started counting.
Saul started sweating as he looked at Anon counting.
'How many did he kill that it's taking him so long to count ?' Saul wondered as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.
"Ah... Okay, after adding this one. I have killed 56 so far." Anon replied with a smile.
Suddenly silence covered the whole space and only wood crackling sound came from the bonfire.
"Y-You are not kidding, right ?" Saul asked with a surprised expression.
"Nope. You want proof ?" Anon asked.
"No keep it, but i want something else." Saul spoke with a serious expression.
"What ?" Anon asked.
"I want you to team up with us. If you joined us, no one will be able to defeat us. You will get the first place, me second and garry will go third.
What do you say ?" Saul proposed.
"What ? Brother this is-"
"Shhhh, i never told you to talk, so keep it silent." Saul spoke.
"Y-Yes, brother." Garry replied as he went silent.
"No." Anon replied as he stood up.
"What ?" Saul asked in confusion.
"I don't want to be with you, you guys are too scared. You used these girls as your bait. That's like the most non-men thing you could've done." Anon replied as he looked at Saul directly into his eyes.
Saul didn't speak anything he just looked down in silence.
"You can't speak like that to my brother-" Garry spoke but he was interrupted immediately by Saul.
*Slap*
"Did i tell you to fucking talk ? Why are you talking, you fucking son of a bitch... You were nothing the last time you were in this competition and now you are daring to talk without my permission ?" Saul spoke as he started beating Garry up but his words were directed towards Anon.
"Well, i will be leaving then. You guys should men up and hunt the hell hounds by yourself." Anon spoke as he tapped the thrid guy on his shoulder and started moving towards the forest.
"J-Jule... Wait." Fen spoke and halted Anon's step.
"Hmmm...? Is there something you want to say, Luv ?" Anon asked turning around as a smile formed on his face.
"Can we come with you ?" She asked as both of them looked at Anon with puppy faces.
"Why ? Wouldn't you prefer spending the night near the bonfire with these guys ? I mean, you don't want to leave them and the bonfire for a guy who is going to wander in the dark forest by himself with no food, right ?" Anon asked with a smile.
"No... I feel safe with you. Please let us come with you." Ven spoke as she closed her distance to Anon and hugged him tightly.
"What about you ?" Anon asked Fen with a smile.
"I-I will come because..... Ven is going." She replied after thinking a bit.
"Yeah but you don't have to. You see i can take care of her easily. I can only take you with me if you speak the truth." Anon replied as he teased Fen.
"I-I also feel safe with you." Fen spoke in a very low voice.
"Huh...? Didn't get that ? Something you saying ?" Anon asked.
"I also feel safe with you, Stupid. Just take me with you." She shouted but suddenly realised that she was shouting it out loud and she immediately covered her mouth with her hands.
"Okay, let's go." Anon replied with a smile.
'Hahaha... Manipulation technique worked. This is the 4th biggest manipulation technique of all time and the name of the technique is 'Play The Hero.' Anon thought as a smile appeared on his face and he disappeared into the thick forest with the two girls.
30 minutes ago...
Anon was going through the forest when suddenly he saw a light, a bonfire to be exact.
Anon immediately started moving towards the bonfire.
As soon as he reached it, he saw a five-member group, sitting around the fire and talking to each other.
These guys were none other than Fen, Ven, Saul, Garry, and Rick.
They are all talking about their little plan of how they would use the girls as bait and kill the hellhound.
Anon used a stealth skill and went near them to hear what they were talking about.
After listening to their talk for about 5 minutes, Anon understood their whole plan.
'Hehe... Seems like I will get new toys.' Anon thought as he walked back into the forest with a creepy smile on his face and started searching for a hellhound.
After searching for 10 minutes, Anon finally found one.
'This manipulating technique is one of the best techniques of all time. It's called 'Play the Hero.' This technique is mostly used to manipulate women when they are in a sad or dire situation, like getting abandoned by their own parents.
You use this technique, and they will be yours forever. So, in this technique, first you have to scan the circumstances of the target lady, then create a problem for her... Just like in this case, I will let loose a hellhound on them, and when these cowards get busy hiding, I will go and save them.'
Anon used his skill and started luring a big hellhound towards the girls' direction.
He used the echo skill two to three times, and finally, the hellhound noticed the bonfire.
The hellhound immediately started running towards the bonfire and jumped out of the bushes.
It saw that two girls were sitting near the bonfire and they were totally harmless.
The hellhound started rotating around the girls in a circular pattern and started drooling while Anon just observed this view from a few steps away.
"Hmmm... After searching for Jule's memories, I found something interesting.
These girls know Jule, and they think of him as their hero because he saved them from a dog when they were little. They promised to marry him once they come of age and live happily ever after.
This would've been a good ending for Jule, but for Anon, this is the start.
I would manipulate them, corrupt them, turn them into my little pawns, and use them as I like. Hehehe...." Anon said as he laughed and observed them carefully.
Suddenly the hellhound started closing the distance between him and the girls.
"God... Please save us."
"Luv, Good doesn't give a damn about your life, but the devil will save you." Anon said as he started running towards them.
The hellhound opened his mouth to eat Fen's head, but before he could've done that, Anon grabbed its jaws and broke them easily because he has done it several times.
After this, everything happened as he predicted it to happen... Anon pretended to not know the girls; he convinced them that he forgot about them.
This created a small urge in their heads to convince Anon to acknowledge them because they've seen his strength. They now think that Anon is the only one who can save them and help them escape this place alive.
The girls urged to come with him instead of staying with those stupids, and his manipulation technique succeeded once again.
Now, Anon is walking in the middle of the dark forest with two girls...
"So, your parents abandoned you, huh?" Anon asked.
"Yeah."
"True, they didn't show any kind of affection to us anyway, but we are still grateful that they didn't sell us to the slave trader." Fen spoke.
"Yeah, that way would've been easy to buy you..." Anon murmured in a low voice.
"What? Did you say something?"
"Hmm...? Oh, it's nothing. I was just wondering, what will you do now?" Anon asked with a smile.
"Well, we haven't thought of that yet, but I am thinking of getting a job and taking some money at interest from the company to buy a house and pay them back in installments." Fen spoke.
"But sister... What about mother and father?" Ven asked with an innocent face.
"They-" before Fen could've said anything, Anon spoke up.
"They left you, Luv, to die in this forest because they can't afford to feed you anymore. Hey, I have an idea... How about you guys work for me?" Jule spoke up.
"Hmm? What do you mean? Do you own a company or something?" Fen asked with a confused expression.
"No, I don't, but you can do my homework and assignments that I get from the academy, and I will pay you in return.
I will buy you a house at zero interest, give you a monthly salary, you two can study without any worries in the academy.
What do you say?" Anon asked.
"Pfft... Hahahaha...."
Both of them started laughing at Anon.
"Hahahaha.... That's a nice joke, Jule. I have to say..." Fen spoke, but as she looked at Anon, she saw a serious expression on his face. She stopped laughing and asked with a serious expression, "... You are not kidding, are you?"
"I don't joke, Luv. Do you want to work for me or not?" Anon asked again.
"Well, we will do your work for free... If that's what you want. You saved our lives back there... It's no big deal for us to do a little bit of academic work." Fen spoke.
"Yeah... Sister is right, and I don't think you have that much money to give us a home and a monthly basis salary." Ven spoke as she looked at Anon with a smirk.
"Yeah... That's one thing you are wrong about, Luv. Here you go." Anon said as he summoned a platinum coin and gave it to Fen.
Both of the sisters looked at the coin and went into shock immediately.
"Wait, Wait, Wait... Is-Is this real? Is this coin real?" Fen asked with a very surprised face.
"It is one hundred percent real, luv," Anon spoke as he looked at Fen.
"B-But... How?" Fen asked as her hands started vibrating.
"Well, that's one thing I can't answer, just take it," Anon said as he started moving forward.
"Ahem... Ven, please bring me those fruits," Fen spoke to Ven as she ordered her to pluck some fruits from a nearby tree.
"But sister, I want to-"
"Just go." This time she spoke in a more bossy tone.
"Y-Yes..." Ven answered as she went to pluck the fruits.
"I can't take this..." Fen spoke as she gave back the platinum coin to Anon.
"Why? Don't you want it?" Anon asked with a smile.
"Yeah, I do, I really do, but I can't just take it for free," Fen replied.
"Who said I am giving it to you for free?" Anon spoke.
"Yeah, I know your homework and all that stuff... I will do it for free. Look, you saved our lives, and we are really thankful to you for that, but I can't take this," Fen spoke with a sad face.
'Wow... She is hard to break,' Anon thought as he put one of his arms on her shoulder and smiled.
"Look at Ven, don't you want a good future for her? Don't you want her to study, become a mage, and do whatever she wants to do?" Anon spoke as he exploited Fen using her little sister.
'You might be hard to break, but not impossible,' Anon thought as a smile appeared on his face.
Fen looked at Ven with a very sad expression and started thinking about what Anon has just said.
"Why do you want to do this? What do you want?" Fen asked with a sad expression as she put the platinum coin into her pocket.
"Look at me..." Anon said as he slightly touched her chin and turned her beautiful face towards him.
"Do you think I want something in return for all this? If that's what you think, then you are wrong," Anon spoke.
'You are right, but I will give you this coin and take everything from you,' Anon thought as he looked at Fen with a warm smile.
"R-Really?" Fen asked as she looked at Anon, and her face turned red.
'His face is too close... Should I kiss him? Will he hate me? What should I do?' Fen started thinking as her face got even redder.
She suddenly closed her eyes and curled her lips.
'Hahaha... One down,' Anon thought as he kissed Fen.
Chuuu
They kissed slightly and separated right after.
"Heyyyyyyy! What are you two doing?" Ven shouted as she dropped the fruits and folded her hands in anger.
"Ahh, Y-You see... This... Ven... This is-"
"Yeah, we kissed," Anon spoke with a smile as he looked at Ven.
"Jule... She is too young to know," Fen whispered in Anon's ears.
"Ahh... Sorry, yeah, we were kissing," Anon spoke.
"Ugghhh... You big idiot. Let's just-"
Grrrrrrrrrrrhhhhh
Suddenly a growling sound came from the bushes.
"W-What is that? Jule... Did you hear that?" Fen asked with a very scared expression.
Both the sisters immediately hugged Anon.
Suddenly something jumped out of the bushes.
"Ahhh- huh?"
Woof
Suddenly both of them noticed that the thing that popped out of the bushes is just a cute puppy.
"Gin, where were you?" Anon asked with a smile.
Woof-Woof-Woof
Gin immediately got happy and started rubbing his head on Anon's leg.
"Awwww~ what a cute puppy? Is this your puppy, Jule?" Ven asked as she went down to pick Gin up, but as soon as she touched Gin, he barked at her.
Woof-Woof-Woof
"Heyyy... Why are you so angry with me?" Ven immediately backed off.
"I don't think he likes you that much," Anon spoke.
Gin crawled up Anon's body and sat on his head.
"Awwww~ Sis, look at him, doesn't he look cute?" Ven spoke as she again tried to pet him, but Gin barked her away this time too.
Woof-Woof-Woof
"Ughhh... Why are you doing this to me?" Ven asked with a sad expression.
"Can I pet him?" Fen asked.
"Yeah-" before Anon could've replied... Gin jumped from his head and landed directly in Fen's hands.
"Oh, wow... I guess that's a yes. Where do you find this cute thing?" Fen asked as she started tickling Gin.
"Gin, You two-faced bastard. I thought you were showing loyalty to me when you barked her away. I think you forgot that I saved your ass a few hours ago," Anon Murmured as he looked at Gin enjoying Fen's tickling.
"Hmm...? Did you say something?" Fen asked as she looked at Anon.
"Ah... Nothing, let's go." Anon ignored Gin's behavior and moved on.
"So, you are the one winning this competition this time, huh?" Fen asked with a smile.
"I don't know." Anon replied.
"Well, if you killed so many hellhounds... I don't think anyone else will even be able to compete with you at this point," Fen spoke.
"You don't know, anything can happen here. Don't be the frog of a well," Anon spoke as he continued to move.
"Well, don't you think we should set up a camp for tonight? My legs are numb, I don't think I will be able to walk anymore, right, Ven?" Fen spoke.
No reply came from behind.
Anon suddenly realized that no one is walking behind them. He immediately turned around and confirmed his feeling.
"Where is she? Where is your sister?" Anon asked.
"What? But she was walking with us just a moment ago," Fen spoke with a scared expression as she didn't find her sister.
"Ven... Ven, where are you?" Anon shouted.
"VENNNNNNNNNNN...." Fen shouted even louder.
"Hey, Don't shout that loud. The monster beasts will get attracted to your voice. Gin, Find her," Anon ordered.
Woof
Gin immediately jumped out of Fen's hands and transformed into his real form.
"Haaaaa-" Fen immediately got scared as she saw that the cute puppy she was holding in her hands just a moment ago has now turned into a very dangerous beast in front of her eyes.
Graawwhhh
Gin smelled the place and started searching for her scent on the ground.
As Gin was sniffing around, he finally picked up her scent and used his ultrasonic sound.
Gin let out his ultrasonic sound, and whenever the waves hit something, they bounced back to him. By hearing them again, he judged the object's size and what it's made of.
Gin used the ultrasonic sound in a circular area around him, but no response was coming.
He couldn't find Ven.
"Can he find her? Should we go in different ways to find her? Yes, we should go in different ways to find her, and we can-"
"Shhh... Calm down, Luv. She couldn't have gone far. I guarantee you I will find her," Anon said as he held Fen by her shoulders.
'I can't guarantee alive or dead, though. But what the heck happened to her? What was that? I didn't even realize what took her. Did she get away on her own? Does this forest have something that I am still unaware of?' Anon thought as a complex look appeared on his face.
"P-Please... Sob-Sob find her, Jule. She is Sob-Sob the only family I have now," Fen started crying loudly as she hugged Anon tightly.
'Link, did you see something?' Anon asked Link.
[No, master. My eyes are your eyes when I am in this form. I can tell you one thing, though: I didn't sense any different aura around your body for the past 3 hours.] Link replied.
Anon was surprised and confused at the same time. What was it that took Ven? How can it be so silent, and how did it manage to escape without entering Anon's aura range?
Questions were arising inside Anon's brain as he continued to look around, but all he saw were trees and small animals crawling among them.
Grrrrhhhh
Suddenly, Gin picked up something.
"You found something, boy?" Anon asked as he looked at Gin.
Gin nodded at Anon and started running towards the direction the smell was coming from.
"Just keep your confidence, Luv. I gave you my word. I will find her."
'Everything was going according to the plan. Where the heck did it go off the trail? If I get my hands on the bastard who did this... he will be dead,' Anon thought as anger started building up in his heart.
Suddenly, Anon noticed that the space between the trees was starting to get thinner and thinner.
'What is happening? Why are there so many trees here?' Anon wondered as he observed the trees carefully and found out that some of the trees looked like human faces.
'Nah, that's just my mind playing games with me,' Anon thought as he continued running.
Gin was crossing the trees without any problem, but for Anon and Fen, it was getting harder and harder to get through the trees.
Back in the city...
On the screens, another group of youngsters was getting massacred by a pack of hell hounds.
"This event has consumed too many souls and claimed too many children. If this goes on for another day, no one will come out of that damn forest," Ian spoke up.
"But we can't do anything, father... They took part in this event even after knowing that they are putting their lives at stake. It was a fair chance given to everyone. The parents who allowed their children to go in are either in a very good relationship with their child because he convinced them to go in, like Jule, or they just need money," Moon answered.
"Well, the selfishness of one person can take away everything from him before he even knows it. If they sent their children into that forest just for money, then they don't love them," Hillary added.
The parents were crying as they saw their children die on the screens, their bodies getting torn apart in front of them.
Some went unconscious, and some went into shock, while others tried to commit suicide after losing their only children.
Village Chief's room...
"This event has taken a very ugly turn, Jacky. If we don't cancel it now and call our children back, they will never come back," a parent spoke as they banged their hands on the table.
"I-I can understand your concern, but please try to understand my concern as well. I can't cancel the event once it has started... There are children inside that forest trying to keep up with the forest and win a prize by putting their lives at stake. If I called off the event, this would not be fair to them," Jacky replied.
"I don't give a darn about those students... I need my son, right now," a mother spoke up as she looked at Jacky in anger.
"I-I can understand your feelings, but your son is Ryan, right?" He asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"Here, look, he just killed a hell hound, and if I called him back, this would mean nothing to him. He just risked his life to kill that thing, and you want it to mean nothing to him?" The chief spoke as he tried to manipulate the parents by showing clips of their children to them.
"Well, he is right... If we look at it that way," the mother who was just arguing with him now started to speak in his favor.
"What a jerk you are! Your son killed a hell hound, and mine died by one. Don't you have any sympathy?" Another female spoke.
"Well, your son wasn't strong enough, I guess," she replied.
"You darn whore," the female yelled as she tried to fight her, but the others stopped her.
"Wait, wait... Don't do this. I can do this for you... You can go into the forest and search for your child. After that, you can bring him back if you want, okay?" The chief spoke up.
"Yes, thank you."
Everyone thanked the chief and exited the tent.
The chief sat down in his chair and grabbed his head in tension as he started murmuring something in a very slow tone.
"What the heck is wrong with me? I just sent them to die there... Darn, what should I do? Is my family safe? Did the assassin leave?"