Chapter 120: Beast Grove Dungeon [4], Little Accident [2/Last]

[14th Everdusk 2103], DC-23 City, Dyna Crest country, CGA Branch, Beast Grove Fields.

"Is this sh*t for real?" Evan shouted, as the sound of a massive blast echoed through the area, strong enough to destroy several trees.

A few minutes earlier, Lucas and Ilya were walking towards the deeper area to hunt at its outskirts.

At that moment, Lucas, who was constantly using his talent, noticed a monster, Wild Stag, peacefully eating the grass.

"Ilya, I am going to hunt that one over there, so be prepared for anything," he told her as he took out his new sword, brought to him by Tess to ensure his safety, along with his new and better armor than the school one.

"Yes, don't worry, I am ready to help you anytime," she said as Lucas smiled and began preparing his skill with handling his sword.

He used his Fireball skill, which was almost level 10, and threw it at the Stag to inflict initial damage. However, something went wrong as the Stag coincidentally moved away, and the ball passed by its backside, burning its little tail.

It screamed loudly, catching the attention of several other stags. The burned stag now stared straight at Lucas and Ilya, ready to confront them.

/ROOOAAARRRR~~~/

In a fit of rage and a desire for revenge for its tail, the monster seemed to gain unique energy, increasing its speed and power several times over. It rushed forward with a loud roar.

Lucas, ready to face the monster, realized that this attack couldn't be blocked. He took Ilya in his arms and jumped away from the charge line of the enraged beast. In its full rage, the beast didn't stop and continued rushing forward, destroying many trees in its path. It charged ahead, breaking into the Boar area, where one hunter stood in front of it, none other than...

/In Present time/

Evan, who was walking peacefully, heard the sound of a tree falling nearby and looked back to find someone rushing toward him.

When he looked closely, he found an enraged beast charging at him, seemingly intent on tearing him apart.

"What kind of mess has Lucas caused now?" Evan said as he saw Lucas and Ilya running behind the stag a few meters away, chasing it.

'Even though I didn't agree to join, which was already a win, is it my destiny to face problems every time I meet him? Does just seeing him bring trouble for me?' Evan thought, and without waiting, he rushed to take out his sword from his inventory and it out without looking.

However, the problem was, it wasn't his sword but the one he got from the boss after its kill. The change in weight and size caused an error in the swift motion of his hand, which was suited for his previous Ember Fang blade. The blade swung slightly ahead while the beast was right in front of him and landed on the ground.

Evan thought he was dead when a miracle happened. One of his passive skills, Blade of the Tempest, which hadn't been used until now, activated. A slash formed from wind rushed forward toward the beast, already at point-blank range, and hit it straight in the chest, even though the skill was only at Lv.1.

But Evan's strength and the close range made it possible for a huge cut to form on its chest. The beast staggered and fell to the ground.

Even though it fell, the momentum didn't break as it slid forward a few distances away, with a huge amount of blood pouring out of its wound.

[Charge] [Power Slash] {-40 MP}

Evan didn't wait and charged toward it with his skill, delivering a powerful strike straight at its throat, ending its life.

Lucas and Ilya, who were chasing it, halted in their steps to witness the action performed by Evan, also known as Raven.

Evan, standing in front of the now-dead stag, checked to see if his mask was still on, and thankfully, it was.

'Hahh~~! Thankfully, I didn't remove the mask after that,' Evan thought, as he began placing the stag into his inventory. He couldn't use his talent in front of so many people who had gathered after the situation occurred.

"What happened just now? Why was a stag running around here?" one hunter asked, who came with his team, inquiring of Evan, who was putting away the monster's corpse into his inventory.

"Oh, it's our fault. We were hunting it, but it got enraged during the hunt and started running straight in this direction. Raven, this guy, was in its path. But are you alright, bro? I saw you in front of the monster, and it suddenly fell down without even touching you," Lucas said as he approached them and explained the incident.

"OH, DON'T WORRY, IT WAS A MISTAKE, AND WITH YOUR HELP, I GOT ANOTHER MONSTER IN MY POCKET," Evan told them as he was about to head back when Ilya stopped him.

"Hey, wait! Give back the monster you put in your inventory. We were the ones hunting it; you can't just take anyone's prey as you wish," Ilya said angrily, as what those hunters and Lucas didn't see was the swift attack of the wind blade created by Evan's passive skill, which he acquired by plundering as she thought Evan was taking the last hit and getting the prey.

"BUT I KILLED IT, SO IT BECOMES MINE, AS I EVEN JUST RECEIVED THE NOTIFICATION OF THE KILL," Evan told them, as the notification already on his face was put on hold for now as he wished to plunder this monster as well.

[You've killed Lv.32 Wild Stag, you've gained +860 EXP (+77% EXP for Level Gap)] [1300/2,400]

[]

"But still, it was our prey," she told him as hunters around them began whispering among themselves about Evan's bad behavior of taking someone else's prey.

"Ilya, don't do it. We are the ones who caused trouble, so let it be," Lucas tried to stop her as he didn't want to make this guy wary of them. He found him interesting enough to add to his team as he just noticed that Evan, alias Raven, hunted down the stag easily even though some damage was done by him.

"No, Lucas. If you treat this kind of trash like this, they will start bothering others like us again," she said, convinced that Raven had just gotten lucky because maybe Lucas had done massive damage to the stag, and Raven just took the final attack to win the monster's corpse.

"Hurry, take it out so we can check your powerful attack which made it fall to the ground," she said, trying to make fun of him.

'Hah, these are really into making a mess with me for sure. Lucas isn't taking her side as he knows the truth and wants me in his team, but maybe this girl Ilya doesn't like me so much,' Evan thought and told them.

"LISTEN CLOSELY, I AM JUST DOING IT TO PROVE MY INNOCENCE HERE AS I DON'T WISH YOUR FALSE RUMORS TO MAKE MY REPUTATION FALL. AND AFTER THAT, DON'T EVEN TRY TO GIVE EXCUSES," Raven told them as Ilya just nodded with a smug smile, sure that Evan, alias Raven, was just bluffing and that they stop him from doing this.

"Hurry, we don't have enough time to waste on your trash lie talks," she told him as everyone's eyes were set on Evan's hands. He sighed and called out his inventory to pull out the stag.

He took it out, and the stag was now on the ground in front of everyone. One of the hunters, who was a leader of a big team, came out and started checking the wounds of the monster's dead body.

"Well, I found three wounds on this monster. First, a small burn on the tail area, a big slash on its front below the neck, and a cut on the neck. The biggest attack is on the chest, likely made by a long sword, as the second wound was also inflicted by the same weapon. So, please tell me who did what," he said, looking at Evan and Lucas.

"I did the fire magic damage and nothing more. The stag started running around after that, and then this happened," Lucas explained as everyone looked at Raven.

"I DID THESE TWO ATTACKS, ONE ON THE CHEST THE OTHER ON THE NECK WITH MY LONG SWORD, WHICH IS RIGHT HERE IN MY INVENTORY. MISS ILYA, ARE THERE MORE QUERIES OR QUESTIONS FROM YOU FOR ME? I AM ALREADY GETTING LATE AND HOPE YOU ALL WON'T CIRCULATE FALSE RUMORS ABOUT ME," Evan, also known as Raven, stated as he started walking away after putting away his killed stag.

The crowd began to disperse as everyone returned to hunting boar to earn their fill. Lucas started following me, and Ilya, having no other option, followed Evan with him.

"Hey Raven, wait! Can't we talk over this small misunderstanding? It was our fault. Wait, brother," Lucas called out, trying to stop him.

"Ilya, hurry and apologize to this guy. We can't afford to let him leave without taking him into our team," Lucas whispered into Ilya's ear as she stopped in her tracks and looked at Lucas in disbelief.

"Raven, wait. Ilya has something to say," Lucas said again. Evan stopped and looked back to see what Ilya wished to say.

"Um, sorry for the trouble," Ilya said hesitantly after Lucas whispered something in her ear again, which wasn't audible to Evan.

"NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, BUT THIS IS OVER NOW. PLEASE GO BACK AND TAKE YOUR TIME TO HUNT. THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO DISCUSS," Raven said as he tried to walk away, but Lucas stopped him in his tracks, exerting some force to let him listen to his words.

"Wait, can't we just go outside and talk about things to resolve the mess between us and be friends again?" Lucas said as his grip tightened, much stronger than that of an average low-level hunter. Even Evan was a little shocked, but it wasn't something he couldn't handle.

"EVERYTHING IS SOLVED NOW, LUCAS. AS FOR BEING FRIENDS, I WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT LATER WHEN WE MEET AGAIN. LET ME GO, AND YOU GO HUNT BY YOURSELF. TALKING NOW WILL ONLY WORSEN THINGS BETWEEN US," he said, removing Lucas's arm with a little force and walking away to go home.

Lucas grinned slightly and started heading back to hunt as Ilya looked back at Raven's retreating figure and began following Lucas.

"Lucas, why did you let me apologize to that guy? He isn't good enough to be in our team," Ilya asked him.

"No, he is special, very special compared to other hunters. Where else have you seen a level 21 hunter take down a level 32 monster in such a short time, even when his own life was in danger? Also, he is a solo hunter who took a special test where hunters defeat someone 10-15 levels higher to clear the test in the presence of the Branch Manager or Vice Manager. Hunters like him are rare and receive special treatment," Lucas explained. Ilya realized this and looked back, but Raven was already gone.

"Okay, but still, keep the promise. I won't let you off today if you don't fulfill it," she said with a mischievous smile. Lucas nodded in agreement as they both ventured deeper into the fields to hunt monsters. The promise remained a mystery for now.

-< To be Continued >-