After Allen had boarded his transport, it took him about thirty minutes to finally arrive at the wall, which stood at a breathtaking height of hundreds of meters with a thickness of tens of meters.
"Quite breathtaking," he muttered in amusement. Seeing the wall up close really showed its magnitude. After taking a quick picture, he slid his phone into his pocket, walking towards the giant gate along the wall.
"Stay where you are and state your business," the guard demanded, his eyes sharp and posture firm. Allen, somewhat stunned by the guard's reaction, stopped in his footsteps before quickly materializing the piece of document he was given at the mission facility.
"I am here for a mission," Allen replied bluntly, clearly irritated by their exaggerated reaction. "Here, I have a document to prove it," he explained, showing the two guards the piece of information in his hands.
"Wait, are you here for the Mission Program?" one of the guards asked, catching sight of the word written at the top in uppercase letters. Upon realizing this, his blunt attitude immediately took a 180-degree turn, understanding he was possibly offending a system holder.
Allen nodded, confirming his identity, and the two guards, realizing this, quickly split up, with one leading Allen through the gate to the inner structure of the wall, where multiple personnel were ensuring the utmost security and integrity of the wall.
"Follow me, the entrance is right here," the guard called out, noticing that Allen was currently standing, dazed by the intricate structure and design of the inner wall.
"Oh, right," Allen said, allowing no further distractions as he followed the guard, who handed him some basic gear made of similar material to the one given by the academy, except they had different colors and designs.
Quickly equipping the armor and putting his smartphone in the storage watch, he was now finally standing in front of the door to the wilderness. Taking in a deep breath, the gates opened. Just as the doors fully opened, he caught sight of a barren land—no trees, no plants present, only withering remnants. It was at this moment that he truly realized the effect monsters had on the world and now saw the true purpose of their existence: to eliminate all forms of life, to make the world barren and lifeless.
"Hey kid, be careful. The wilderness is more dangerous than you can imagine, and don't stay in one place for too long," the guard advised before tapping a button, which closed the door behind Allen.
"So, this is the wilderness," Allen muttered, gazing across the barren land, lacking the tranquility and beauty he had expected. Walking deeper and away from the walls, he caught sight of skeletons belonging to various creatures, even humans, his hatred for monsters boiling to an unprecedented degree. Tightening his grip, he summoned his sword, the dark steel sword he had used dragonification on.
Without hesitation, he turned around, slashing horizontally as it cut through its target without meeting resistance, a thud resounding as two pieces of flesh fell to the ground, blood spewing from its dead body.
Exp +34
Always alert, just like his father had always taught him, Allen quickly dispatched of the monster that had planned to sneak attack him, his senses having already discovered it before it made its move.
With his senses not picking up any immediate danger, he tensed down a bit, bending his knees as he quickly identified the monster, "The Killer rabbit, stands at approximately eighteen inches tall and weighs around ten pounds.
"Its body, though small, is densely packed with muscle, giving it surprising strength. Its fur is dark grey and thick, providing protection from the elements and aiding in camouflage."
"Its sharp claws and teeth are its primary weapons, capable of inflicting serious harm on unsuspecting prey." Allen quickly deduced based on the knowledge he had gained from ample studying, realizing this, he couldn't help but wonder why he was blaming Jackie for his nerdy habit if he himself was better at it.
Sighing, he quickly shrugged it off, focusing on the matter at hand. He scanned the killer rabbit, but he couldn't find any part of it that he would consider valuable enough to take with him.
Even their thick fur was considered useless, as he was able to slice through it without even using mana to increase his sword sharpness.
"I don't even know what rank this sword is," he reasoned, wondering what the original rank of the sword was before he used dragonification on it. Of course, he couldn't expect an F rank monster of the lowest kind to resist his attacks.
With him knowing there were no valuables to gain, he quickly departed from the monster, remembering the guard's advice and the information he had once read that said monsters would release pheromones that attract other monsters upon death.
As he continued to head deeper into the wilderness, he encountered multiple Killer rabbits on the way, quickly dispatching of them. Though the exp he gained was minimal, it was still slowly accumulating.
However, just as he continued threading the wilderness, he suddenly sensed danger coming from underneath. Reacting, he instinctively jumped into the air, and from where he once stood, a serpent-like creature suddenly burst out from within, its mouth open, ready to take a bite out of unsuspecting prey.
But to its surprise, Allen was long gone, and due to not possessing eyes and requiring vibration to locate their prey, it couldn't detect Allen, who was in the air descending like a rocket as he thrust his sword downward, transferring his momentum into it as it directly pierced through the open mouth and into the brain, silencing it before it could continue its assault.
Exp +56
"A gorgon serpent? It's quite rare," Allen muttered internally, knowing how hard it was to find and kill the monster. After all, once they lost or got their prey, they would immediately burrow back into the ground.
With a bit of thought, he finally decided to take pieces of its scales, though his original thought was to take its roll of teeth, which could be used to make arrowheads. But then realizing they didn't possess any special properties, he decided to go for the scales.
As he used a small knife to separate the scales from the flesh, he noticed he had not encountered any of the creatures needed to complete the mission. "This is going to be harder than expected."
He began to consider whether he should drop the mission for a much better and lax one, like a mission he saw which only required one to kill monsters, and thinking back now, he regretted not choosing it.
"This is really discouraging," he complained internally, having been searching for hours and not encountering his mission-required monsters. He glanced into the sky to realize the sun was close to setting.
"I guess that's all for today," he stopped in his tracks, turning around before tapping on his watch, which began to work like a compass with an arrow pointing in the direction of the city.
Allen, though a bit bummed he wasn't able to complete the mission, acknowledged he had gained some other things along the way. Not only was he able to gain various monster parts to sell, but he also gained a large amount of exp and combat experience for dealing with monsters.
However, just as he was walking at a hurried pace, his senses suddenly went off the chart, sensing danger close by. Following his instincts, he knew he couldn't avoid the attack. Deciding, he immediately turned around, holding his sword in a defensive manner.
Clang! The sound of metal colliding resounded. Allen, unprepared for the attack, was forced to move back a few meters before coming to an abrupt stop, glancing in the direction of the attack.
"Red hound?" Allen was surprised by the sudden appearance of the monster he had been searching for. He couldn't help but grin in relief. Happily, he really thought he would have to forfeit the quest, but it seemed the prey had finally delivered itself to its predator.
Allen, though smirking, couldn't help but spot the setting sun, knowing the wilderness was most dangerous at night. He knew he had to finish the monsters as soon as possible.
Not willing to rush into battle, he quickly counted the number of red hounds he would have to face. "Twelve, that's doable," he thought.
He quickly recalled everything he knew about red hounds. Their body, though small, was not to be underestimated. Their size not only granted them flexibility but also increased agility. Even amongst F rank monsters, their speed could be said to be on the higher spectrum of the list.
The red hounds, acting like a pack, quickly surrounded Allen, growling, as the fear they expected their prey to show was nonexistent. They moved around Allen, cautious of the hidden danger they might face.
"When will they attack?" Allen thought, glancing at the creatures who seemed to showcase hints of intelligence. As they circled around Allen, he couldn't help but sense their unease and their occasional glances towards the sun. With quick deduction, he knew they also feared the night, which was when truly horrifying creatures emerged.