"Ok, but don't forget your promises."
"Don't forget about us when you become a mysterious certificate holder."
"I already am," he thought but gave a faint smile.
"Ok, don't take risks," and disappeared into the boundless forest.
"Leader, was that a wise decision?"
A self-deprecating smile hung on Aman's face.
"I also didn't want to, but don't want him to waste his time on us," and gave a sharp look at the disappearing figure.
"And do you think everything is so simple?"
"Leader, you mean..."
He shrugged his shoulders. "Ok, leave this topic, and we will only strive for growth."
"Yeah, we will target mysterious beasts that roam alone."
...
What should I hunt for?
Sitting in the middle of the forest, letting his mind run over the plan, he continued to let his body rest against the tree.
Sword? No.
The upcoming hunt for the perfect lair is approaching.
Should I participate as Rahul or as the humanoid monster?
Shaking his head, he didn't come to any conclusion.
"Let's hunt for an arrow soul beast."
Jumping to the ground, he specified his category, "I should go for a poisonous arrow," but his ears perked up.
"Help me!"
Is my luck so bad?
Taking a look toward the man begging for help, his feet exerted all their strength on the ground, and he ran.
"Please save me! I'll give you 100 million."
"Buddy, I need to stay alive to enjoy the money."
"Plea..."
Thud*
Rahul turned and saw the boy ferociously rolling on the ground, his ragged clothes worsening his already weak body.
"F***!"
He turned swiftly, laid him on his shoulder, and ran ferociously.
Buzz*
A fist-sized wasp gave a "love bite" to Rahul's arm.
"This is a poisonous wasp!"
He slapped his arm hard.
Puchi*
Green blood splattered on his armor.
[You killed an elite Poisonous Wasp]
[You gained 4 elite fragments]
Switching off his prompt, his attention returned to reality, and a smile lit up his face, but due to the armor, everything went unnoticed.
....
A dense mountain with numerous faint cracks on its surface came into view, and his glowing eyes quickly identified the most suitable one.
Swish*
Drifting to the ground, he turned and entered one of the cracks, covering it with a boulder.
Everything happened too fast.
Buzz* Buzz*
It sounded as if numerous wasps were biting the boulder, their buzzing echoing in his ears.
Laying the boy down, he checked his pulse and breathing.
"Phew! That was just overexertion."
Taking out osmanthus leaves from his storage ring, he ground them on his palm and applied the paste to the fainted boy's body.
"Aaah!" The boy groaned.
"Everything is fine now."
Leaning his back against the wall, he gave a glance at the boy.
Why did I save him?
I don't even know him.
He noticed a faint light falling on his face.
"The crack is sealed; that means..."
Following the faint light, he noticed its direction.
"There is..."
He moved and knocked on the boulder.
Deep.
Deep.
Shallow.
A pickaxe materialized in his hands, and he thrust it into the boulder.
Clank*
Clank*
Cracks started to resurface and soon shattered into fragments.
His eyes widened.
"POND?"
A rounded opening in the stone wall appeared, and he entered.
A pond with ripples on its surface greeted him.
"Did a fish dive deep, or is there a perfect beast?"
A bow materialized, and he loaded an arrow on the string, aiming at the surface.
His brows furrowed.
"Strange. The pond is too clear."
Putting the arrow back and disintegrating the bow, he looked into the pond with his glowing eyes.
Something?
What is that?
Taking a deep breath, he entered the pond.
Diving deep, he noticed a bizarre creature lying amidst waving bushes, creating a beautiful scene.
The beast resembled an eyeball covered by eyelids with no visible means of support or movement.
What is this?
His soul trembled as if something ominous was about to descend, and at that moment, the eyelids uncovered the eyeball.
What was that?
With these questions, his body slumped to the ground.
"Where am I?"
A deep, pitch-black darkness enveloped every trace of light.
Don't you know?
A voice emerged from the darkness.
"Who... Who are you?"
"And where am I?"
"Shh! We have a long time for that."
Thud*
With the voice, the darkness retreated to its previous place.
"&&&& What's your goal?"
"I want to grow big so my grandfather can rest."
"Ouch!"
"Old man, that hurts."
"Where did you learn those sweet words?"
The scene broke apart bit by bit, and another appeared.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
His eyes widened as realization dawned on him.
Lowering his head, he noticed a dagger in his heart.
Why?
Why?
"Why? You're still asking why?"
"Haha! My daughter died because of you, and you don't even remember her? Now I realize how big a fool I was."
The blurry face suddenly stopped, and a sword materialized in his hand.
"Go and repent for your sins."
The sword cleanly separated his head from his body.
"That can't be possible!"
"That can't be me!"
Rahul, beneath the darkness, shackled by it, roared.
The scene broke apart bit by bit, and another appeared.
With a tear dripping down her face, the girl continued writing on the paper.
What if the candle stops burning, what if the heartbeat stops, I have lost so much to get you, that what if I get you now...
As she wrote, she tore the paper apart, leaving only the tormenting words.
Why?
Why?
Thud*
Her head slumped onto the table, her hand reflexively dropping.
"Impossible! That is impossible!"
"Miss?"