Hideout

I notice a panel in the corner of my eyes. I had missed it just now amidst the chaos.

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Congratulations

Plot armour rank: 8->10

[Mission] functions are unlocked.

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Note: Missions are tasks that can greatly impact the future/destiny of people, they are not compulsory, choose wisely. Press "Ignore" to reject a mission.

[Currently available missions]

-Defeat the Chief Leader of Tiger Bandits. (Ignore)

Reward:

+4000 Plot Points

+1 Foundation Establishment Pill

+900 Plot Armour Value.

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Nice.

Even though I want to set out immediately, I have company.

I turn behind to find Harper and Edith with their swords drawn.

Mason is unconscious behind them.

"What are you guys doing?" I say.

"Unfortunately, we cannot leave the rest of you alive. Although the plan didn't include Mina as a target, I have a feeling we will need to get rid of the both of you to avoid future troubles." Says Harper.

...

Mina clicks her tongue as she prepares herself and grips her sword tightly. Sweat drips down from her forehead and her palm is visibly sweaty, she is worried. Two Core Formation Realm, how are we going to win?

I smile at both of them and place my arm in front of Mina.

?

Throughout my years of adventuring, you are mistaken if you think I would adventure alone. Whenever I get the chance to party up with someone, I take it. After all, no one would want to party with a talentless person.

Thanks to that, I can instinctively tell if one is trying to trick me or genuinely pity me.

During the expedition, Harper and Edith are both constantly walking behind me even though they are my seniors. If it was just once, I can think of it as a coincidence. Not to mention, the frequent glances from them I pretend not to notice. It's as if they are observing me and looking for my next move.

The next sign is their behaviour in the village. As if they are reporting what they found, they went for a rather long bathroom break and at the exact time when they disappear, I detect mana fluctuations in the atmosphere with a similar wavelength to Sound Transmission.

When I was placing piles of leaves on Harper and Edith, I sneaked a demonic spell onto one of the leaves that activates on the first cultivator it touches, a spell to temporarily erase the cultivation for 10 minutes.

I walk towards Harper and Edith and draw my sword.

!!

They attempt to attack me but tripped and fell onto the floor.

!!!!

"What?! What did you do to us?" Says Harper.

Both of them are too used to the incredible speed of a cultivator.

Right now, they are just normal mortals waiting to be slaughtered.

I lift my sword.

Harper attempts to channel mana to form a barrier but blood starts leaking out of his ears.

"W-Wait!"

I decapitate Harper, his head rolls to Edith who screech as she drags herself back.

"I-I will give you anything, please spare-"

Mina stabs Edith from behind through her chest.

!

"N-No... I...don't want to..."

Mina pulls her sword out as Edith collapse to the ground.

Mina starts to loot Edith's corpse and takes a storage ring.

"Need this?" She says.

"It's your kill, you can keep it."

Mina places the storage ring in her pocket and leans against a tree, staring at me.

I loot every single corpse here before walking past Mina, she follows me. The reinforcement will come for Julius so we left him here.

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The Village of Exodia is South of the Capital, northwest of The Mountains of Husk.

I travelled southeast from our location to arrive at The Mountains of Husk, a rocky biome with little to no nature. Mountains protruding from every corner cover the entire biome with its drought-like soil decimating mother nature.

With its land covering about 20000 feet wide, it is home to special breeds of monsters at Category 4 to 6 who adapted to the environment.

...

The forest is a common view for me as an adventurer. However, I keep getting this weird sensation from behind. Once I look behind, Mina's eyes always dart away.

"Mina, if you have something to say, go ahead."

"What? I have nothing to say?"

Then why do you keep staring at me when I'm not looking?

This awkward journey continued for a few more hours until we reach the outskirts of the Mountains of Husk.

The sun is starting to set, and the symphony of blue and orange mixes to form a beautiful artwork in the sky.

I look around. Little to no grass, flowers wilting, dead trees, a sign of dying nature.

We are close.

I glance at the mountain tip to see a huge creature fly around it. A tiger torso but with an eagle head and wings, a category 6 griffin. It's best if we avoid it.

I gesture for Mina to follow me as we sneak from inside rock fissures to leaning our bodies against any rocky surface we can find.

Let's see... I look around and dig the ground before finding a small red flag.

"Found it," I say.

?

I dig the surrounding area to reveal several red flags positioned in a circle. I pour mana into them to activate the formation while closing my eyes.

The flags glow as something green seeps out of them and goes into my skin.

I open my eyes and blink twice before white spots can be seen. The direction to their base.

I beckon Mina to follow and we carefully venture through the terrain. Up a steep rock to reach the other side and jump over a deep trench, there were several opportunities to die.

Finally, we could see a little cave in one of the mountains in front of us. I point at it and Mina nods.

We climb up the mountain and to the cave. Leaning our bodies against the rocks, I listen for movements within the cave.

I can hear sounds, people talking, walking. There are a lot of them, probably around 50.

Mina gulps anxiously. I nod to her and take out some cloth from my storage ring, covering my face with it. Mina followed and cast an invisibility spell as well as a light feather spell on both of us.

I take a deep breath and walk into the cave.

Now then... My task is to only defeat the chief leader, I do not necessarily need to eliminate the remnants of the Tiger Bandits.

Once in, rows of torches fill the walls of the cave. Upon entering deeper, we came across a massive space inside the mountains. There are wooden buildings built here as well as bridges or ropes leading to high areas. I look around, the traps are disabled by Mina before I even noticed it.

This place seems more like a cave civilisation than a bandit hideout.

!

There are also spots of minerals throughout the cave, which captured people or slaves are forced to mine as bandits supervise them. It looks more like a concentration camp.

Not only that, this foul smell.

The demonic energy in this cave is so thick it's suffocating me.

Mina tilted her head to her left, gesturing me to look there.

!!!!!!

A mountain pile of skeletons are placed on an altar. Some strange magic circles are inscribed on the ground around the altar with blood.

Demonic Cult! It has already existed?!

Signs of Demonic Cult are only discovered 5 years into the future. The leader of the demonic cult is none other than the outworlder demon lord, the bandits are part of the cult?

As both Mina and I spy on the place from above, the air thickens.

?

The magic circle on the altar activates and glows in red before an abyssal portal appears on top. Large shadows rain down onto the altar, consuming the bones before being sucked back up into the portal and closing it.

...

What the fuck is that?!

I can feel the strands of hair on my skin standing straight up and goosebumps start to appear.

I turn to look at Mina, her eyes are wide open. However, instead of fear, I sense anger.

"Why is that here?..." She mumbles.

"What the hell is that?" I ask.

"God of Abyss. An outcast God that has been punished by the 8 gods to live in isolation forever. I have no idea how it got out..." Says Mina.

The 8 gods...