"I didn't expect there to be this many magical monsters," I said, holding the head of a red ghoul.
Even though it's broad daylight, the monsters are abundant and in a more savage nature than usual. The ghoul's blood covered the grass beneath me, and the disgusting texture of its hair made me feel repulsed by holding it.
I threw its head away and looked behind me to find Arthur and Ank had finished off the remaining monsters. Kafka then used the water element to heal our wounds, even if only a little.
Throughout the journey, I didn't use the fire element, only the earth element. And although it's the weakest one, learning an additional element is better than sticking to just one. Even wind, which is the strongest basic element, would be useless against an enemy who uses the other three elements.
As for this forest with its massive trees... we need to get out of it.
The capital of the Luxaria Kingdom lies in the center of the kingdom. From there, we traveled southwest for two days until we reached Cake City. And from Cake City, we headed south, and we're supposed to reach our destination tomorrow.
We discovered that Ella loves rabbit meat, and ever since she started eating the meat she hunted, her size has started to grow, and now she's the size of a full-grown cat. I won't be able to keep her in my pocket anymore, and I also won't need to speak loudly since it turns out I can communicate with her telepathically. I don't know how, but when I want it to happen, it just does.
I raised my sword in a slanted direction and swung it quickly to shake off the blood. I looked at my belt to check on the mask, and thankfully it didn't fall during the fight.
Arthur pulled a cloth from his bag and began wiping his pistols. Ank did the same with her spear before returning it to its golden ring form.
Those two share some similarities in their way of living.
Ella, who was inspecting the monsters' corpses, ran toward me carrying a glowing rhombus-shaped stone in her mouth. These are called Tear Stones, formed from the final breaths of the slain monsters.
If monsters didn't attack humans upon sight, I would've let them live. But I want to survive, so no thanks.
These stones sell for high prices, but this orange-colored one is the least valuable because it came from weak monsters like ghouls. Still, its price is decent.
We made sure our belongings were in order and continued our journey, and we quickly exited the forest. Night had fallen.
Weren't we just in broad daylight? Did we not feel time passing? Impossible—I've been keeping track of time in case Ank's pocket watch broke. We spent exactly 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 12 seconds in the forest, so it should be 3 PM now.
'Ella. Do you feel anything strange?'
'No. I don't feel anything at all, but the situation is a little suspicious.'
Behind us is the massive forest, and in front of us, a wide green field stretches as far as the eye can see. A few sheep there, a few cows here. A pond twenty meters away, and the farthest I can see is a long river extending out.
"Kafka, could you shoot some fire into the sky?"
Kafka raised his staff and shot fire that exploded in the sky, briefly lighting up the area. And that's when I saw it—a massive shadow, about 15 meters tall, standing with a thin body and glowing eyes, looking at us.
In a fraction of a second, we found ourselves grabbed and thrown violently into the air. And before we could grasp what was happening, we were falling into the waters of some lake. I couldn't even process the shock of being thrown before I found myself underwater. It was all so quiet.
Shock and surprise were on everyone's faces. I held Ella and quickly got out of the water, only to find ourselves in front of our destination.
The cave of the Village-Eating Serpent was right before us, the sun shining in the sky, and the lake separated the cave from land by less than twenty meters.
I wanted to get out of the water and stand in the cave, but Ella spoke to me telepathically.
'Ankvorena and Kafka are drowning!'
I looked behind me and found Kafka drowning after losing consciousness. Their minds must not have handled the delayed shock!
I carried Kafka, and Arthur carried Ankvorena, and we entered the cave. We gently placed them on the ground before Arthur spoke, panting.
"Carrying someone... is really tiring."
I pulled a towel from my bag and began drying Ella's fur.
"On the bright side, the lake cooled us down a bit."
Arthur sighed and then smiled.
"You're right. The sun is deadly."
The cave's rocks are cold, and the ground is flat and balanced as if it's not a cave. And the path ahead is dark with cold air coming from it.
"What do you think? What was that creature?" Arthur asked.
I raised my sword and released a small flame into the darkness, but nothing came out of it. Then I answered,
"An alien bitten by a zombie? I don't know."
Arthur knelt to check on Ank's condition.
"After what we saw in Gresta's house, I don't think anything is strange anymore."
"I agree with you." I returned my sword to its sheath.
I knelt down to check Kafka's condition and asked,
"Did you come up with anything about the enhancement technique Gresta and Zote talked about?"
Arthur finished and stood up before replying,
"I initially thought it was a technique that enhances parts of your body selectively, but that idea isn't supported since when a person becomes a Despinor, their body naturally becomes stronger than normal humans. And I wish enhancement was the only mysterious thing."
"We don't know how this cave could help us. Will the serpent inside be our ally? And is it truly a Village-Eater?"
I finished and stood up too. Arthur then placed a hand on his chin and his other hand gripping his elbow, staring into the darkness.
"There's a story. It says that a village boy entered the cave, and when he saw the serpent, he ran away, but the serpent chased him and destroyed his village entirely."
So that's where the name comes from...
This serpent is incredibly strong, clearly... and that makes me wonder about something.
"Arthur, you know how in fantasy stories, there are characters considered the strongest in their worlds? Is there someone considered the strongest Despaye user?"
He looked up at the ceiling as if thinking, then looked at me.
"There is, yeah. But not just one person—there are two."
"Who are they?" I asked. If there are two, they must be competing for the title of strongest.
"The first is the one appointed as the director of the adventurer's test we were in two weeks ago—Raven, the Fire War General. And the second is Yaraso, the Ice War General."
Crash!
The sound of stone breaking from inside. Followed by the sound of a sword striking. Then a loud scream that woke Kafka and Ank and drew all our attention to the darkness we couldn't see beyond.
I looked at everyone, and their hands were gripping their weapons tightly.
I looked into the darkness again, and an awkward smile formed on my face.
"If we have to fight, let's kick his ass."
I drew my sword from its sheath, ready for anything, but then a voice stopped me.
"Oh my god! I didn't expect to see humans at all!"
The voice's owner was approaching us from within the darkness. I held my sword tightly and cautiously, and from the shadows emerged a boy who looked about three years older than me.
Long black hair that reaches his neck or the beginning of his back, gray eyes, and slightly pale skin. Despite all these features, he had a bright smile on his face. Sweat poured from him, and he had a sword in its sheath, so he must've been fighting "the serpent" inside.
"Did I scare you? I didn't mean to! It's just that the serpent inside is a bit angry because he hasn't eaten in hours. And since you guys have weapons, you must be adventurers. Knights don't come to this cave so they won't waste their time."
Is he the talkative type?
"So that means the Village-Eating Serpent is real. What were you doing inside in the first place?" I asked, raising my sword beside his head and over his shoulder toward the darkness.
"I was fighting."
Still smiling. And he didn't flinch even slightly at the sword beside his head. I lowered the sword, and then Arthur spoke.
"You were fighting the serpent? You look strong, but we don't really know you."
"I'm Killer. I had an adventurer card, but the serpent ate it, so there's no way to prove it!"
Ella jumped onto my shoulder. Even though she's the size of a cat, she still sits on my shoulder.
"How long have you been fighting the serpent?" I asked him.
"Three years!"
... Huh?
"Even kids wouldn't believe that." No one would believe this.
"What a shame... You're the first humans I've spoken to in three years. But I expected you wouldn't believe me."
Is this guy some kind of cave man who time-traveled to our present?!
The serpent screamed again. But this time, its scream carried danger. Killer turned his head toward the darkness and spoke.
"Here it comes."
"How can you speak so calmly?!" I yelled at him before Arthur pulled Ank and opened a small space in the cave wall to hide in. I tried pulling Killer, but he didn't budge even though I was pulling with almost all my strength. So I pulled Kafka and opened a small space in the wall too and we hid inside.
Killer stood waiting for the serpent in the middle of the area. The serpent rammed into wall after wall, its sound cracking the floor and ceiling of the cave.
The serpent finally reached Killer, its massive mouth ready to devour him. I thought it had eaten him, but we were shocked to see Killer holding the serpent's open mouth with his bare hands!
"Don't rush, my friend."
The serpent released its venom, but the ground rose beneath its mouth and struck its head into the ceiling, making it retreat back into the cave screaming!
All we could do was watch in silence with wide eyes.
Killer took a deep breath and exhaled.
"I'm going in. If you want to fight too, follow me."
He took another deep breath and rushed into the dark cave at a speed far beyond mine. We exited the narrow walls and looked at the black darkness ahead of us.
And I whispered without realizing: "Are you... some kind of legend?
Is chasing after him logical? Definitely not.
Will I chase after him? Absolutely.
"I'm going. The choice to follow me is yours."
After saying that, I drew my sword and pierced the darkness with my body and didn't stop running. The more I ran, the more I heard the sounds of blows and attacks. And the more I heard them, the faster my heartbeat grew. Not from fear for myself, but for Killer.
I want this man.