Chapter 33 33:Dungeon Trial[2]
The flintlock pistol was loaded and ready to draw, was placed on his left waist and his focus was at an all-time high.
He had goals to achieve.
No matter what, he needed to earn enough experience points to buy flash steps and a mana breathing technique.
Venturing deep inside the deadly silent woodland, Lucas searched for monsters.
Occasionally, he would hear some screams and shrieks which he took as a warning sign. He was still at the 1-Star early stage and one of the weakest in the bunch.
Treading on his path cautiously by taking soft nimble steps, his ears perked up on catching a subtle hissing sound.
Stopping in his tracks, he surveyed all around him. Unable to find anything, he changed his direction but on taking a few more steps, a strange uneasiness welled up in his heart.
The feeling of being watched was accompanied by a daunting eeriness, so there was no way he could overlook this feeling.
"I can\'t find anything but it seems something is waiting to sneak attack me. I should walk slowly and draw it out if there is any."
"If there is a monster waiting to attack then it might be those who have hiding skills and rely on sneak attacks, which means they are deadly only when the prey is in their grasp. The defense of such monsters is generally on the weak side."
Imagining the scenario, Lucas rubbed his fingers while narrowing down the possibility of the monster that could attack him.
Either basilisk or mephitis.
Narrowing the choices always helps.
That\'s why, when he heard a rustling sound he reacted a bit late knowingly to draw it out and then abruptly turned his head.
A huge green snake head jumped out from the greenery and bore its fang at him trying to bite and use poison.
In the next moment, a ball of fire shot out and hit the opened muzzle of a snake creating an explosion.
POP!
The fireball exploded right in the mouth of the snake making a bloody mess. Chunks of meat blasted off and a headless corpse fell on the ground.
The leftover body of the snake dancing crazily, coiled around itself which soon died down after which a notification flashed before his retina.
[You have killed a mid-1-Star being. You have gained 1700 experience points.]
Beep...
The bracelet glowed and the count changed from 0 to 5.
HUSSSSHHH!
"That was quite close," Lucas mumbled and without wasting any time, he climbed up a tree again for safety.
Since he has enough points, he should buy flash steps now.
Buying skills from the shop are often accompanied by a headache which might prove fatal for him.
Positioning himself comfortably, he brought the flash steps from the shop immediately.
His brows furrowed due to the pain as pieces of information appeared over his head.
\'If not for a perilous situation, I would never buy skills in the wilderness.\'
.........
Somewhere in the wilderness.
A blue-haired man glanced at the two dire wolves coming at him from two different sides.
Taking a glance, he shot towards the one.
The Direwolf, seeing the prey coming directly over him to meet his end, pounced forward and opened its wide jaw to welcome him.
However, instead of the human head, a spear pierced through the jaw and went out from the lower end.
The other dire wolf seeing the two confront one another thought of taking the opportunity and slashed its sharp claws.
Before its attack could reach the boy\'s back, the boy turning around yanked his spear with force causing the dying dire wolf\'s body to toss in the air.
Toppling over in the air, its whole body crashed onto it and pinned it down.
AWOOOOOOOOOO!
It shrieked and tried to move out but the spear dug inside the first dire wolf moved down inside the head of the lower one and cracked its skull open.
Beep...Beep.....
"Hmm…135 points in total," Frederick muttered and pulled out his spear.
If he needs to make his presence known, he needs to set a record.
"Let\'s move to the next location."
Swinging his spear to get rid of the blood, he strode forward.
He did not hide his presence and let his aura run wild which attracted monsters but none possessed a threat to him.
He dismantled anything that came looking for him.
Occasionally, he found some idiots who tried to snatch away his points only to run away after getting beaten up.
Frederick took their points and let them leave with the bracelet as without the bracelet, death might be imminent.
Frederick, marching ahead with unstoppable momentum, stopped his charge for a moment.
With a frown, he raised his spear and threw it.
BANG!
It hit a tree, bursting the trunk and causing a few chips of wood to bounce off.
"Ahhhhh!"
A boy with jet-black air materialized and jumped to the side.
Blood trickled down from the slight cut formed on his cheek and he looked at Frederick with disbelief.
"For god sake do you have some kind of all-seeing eyes? I mean how did you spot me hiding bro."
Frederick frowned upon noticing the boy\'s happy expression and addressing him as if he knew him.
With a stern tone, he asked"From which zoo did you escape?"
"Zoo...what the hell? Do I look like some kind of animal to you? I mean, I know humans were considered animals who belong in the primate category, but this is still too much."
"I am a human and a straight guy on top of that."
Veins bulged on Frederick\'s forehead and he pulled out another spear from the back.
"Stop your bullshit and just tell me who you are?"
"What do you mean who am I?Don\'t you know me? I mean we are in the same class and I sit two benches behind you?"
"I am the world-famous Parth Simmon."
"Holy shit!"Parth screamed and jumped aside, seeing another spear hurling his way toward him.
"Do you have a problem understanding things? Why don\'t you answer straight?"
Frederick ran after Parth and shouted"Just tell me what you want! Why were you hiding and observing me?"
"Chill bro….Just chill…I just wanted to be your friend."Parth spoke while running away from Frederick.
"Friend...."Frederick stopped for a moment and asked, tilting his head.
"Friends who stab you in the back."
"No…..hell no...I mean a friend who stood beside you or behind you in time of need."Parth waved his head trying to justify his words.
"You want to stand behind me so that you stab me," Frederick spoke with a cold smile giving Parth a shiver.
"Wait! Why am I bullshitting with you," Frederick shook his head wondering if this guy was here to mess up his mind.
\'I am sure this guy is a lunatic. I should just beat him up, snatch his points and leave.\'
"I am not a lunatic and it\'s not good to snatch future friend\'s points."Parth refuted Frederick
"Do you have mind-reading powers?"Frederick frowned, taking a step back.
"Most people think of me like that. I mean come on man, I am just a friendly neighbourhood social guy who mingles and jingles but the world is too cruel."
"No one wants a good, handsome, and friendly guy like me so I am still single, but I am always ready to mingle" Parth spoke with a sigh.
Frederick stopped attacking, wondering what kind of weird guy he had attracted.
Frederick did not lower his guard and decided to see what other tricks this man had under his sleeves.
Parth\'s eyes brightened and as he walked towards Frederick, a man suddenly jumped in between the two.
Parth raised his dagger to attack and spoke"Bro, I am the one who asked for his friendship first so please stay in the line."
"So come and stand behind me."
"Shut up!"The stranger shouted coldly.
"Hey, mind your tone. I am your senior and a member of the Security Department."
Frederick stared at the stranger with cautiousness, at the same time he was a bit shocked when he noticed Parth reacting as fast as him in terms of jumping back.
"We have a problem. I encountered a monster who had reached 4-Star. So, I need your help to deal with him."He spoke, turning his gaze to Frederick.
"Why me? You should report this matter to your superior?"
"I can\'t connect to them during the trial. They will react only when they find the anomaly."
"You rank second and you happen to be around here when I found the monster. It\'s early 4-Star. I just need your support. I will be the one who will fight it. If you help me, you will get an extra 200 points."
"I promise you, nothing will go wrong. Most of the monsters here are weaker compared to the ones outside."
"By the way, I am Rick. I am at early 4-Star."
Thinking about the pros and cons, Frederick decided to agree. If it gets worse, he could just run.
"Okay, I will help you."
"Wait...Are you sure you are going to do this? I mean there is no need."Parth shouted.
Fredrick and Rick stared at Parth.
Frederick blinked his eyes wondering where this guy thought fullness went when he appeared before him.
Rick glared at Parth. Due to some reason, Parth\'s words irked Rick. The strange glint was noticed by Frederick.
"I will also go, "Parth spoke.
"Why?"
"To become deadweight and pull us down," Frederick spoke with a snort and walked towards Parth.
Passing beside Parth, Frederick whispered, "I will consider whether to accept you as a friend or not after the trial."
Parth gave Frederick a surprised look and nodded.
Frederick then followed Rick\'s trail leaving Parth behind. Five minutes later, they reached a cave under the high land forming a cliff.
"Is it inside?"
"Yes!"
Frederick and Rick walked to the mouth of the cave.
Rick pointed at the darkness in the cave and asked"Can you feel the dense mana?"
Stepping forward, Frederick squatted down, trying to sense anything amiss.
"It\'s weird, I can\'t feel anything."
Behind him, a sinister smile formed over Rick\'s lips.
Coating his fist in mana, he shot towards Frederick\'s back aiming for his head.
However...
Before his fist could reach Frederick, a cold sensation transverse through his body halting his movement.
Rick\'s body trembled and his eyes bulged out from his socket as he rolled his eyes down, he found the sharp end of Frederick\'s spear appearing a few inches away from his throat.
[Note:No one is carrying a storage ring as it is not allowed. And only hunted corpses are allowed to store in bracelets.]