Unlucky Encounter

The night in the resting house passed without any significant events, and the team set off again in their jeep.

After a few hours of driving, the dense tropical rainforest began to thin out. There were grasslands and some not-so-tall trees and plants, with various types of deer grazing there.

Liliana slept, leaning on Ash's shoulder, while he was playing with his Game Map out of boredom when suddenly Jagu jumped out of the jeep, which was moving at a moderate speed.

Jagu ran ahead of the jeep, chasing a herd of deer in front of them. The deer scattered in panic when they saw a jaguar running toward them. Jagu was just chasing the herd without killing any of them, looking like a cat playing with a group of mice.

Gabriel and Mason laughed at the sight. "Your pet sometimes acts like a naughty cat, Ash," said Mason.

"Haha," said Ash. "Naughty and troublesome at times."

"You are very lucky, Ash. We have all been in this Game since birth, and we often go searching for items. Not once have we found cheat items like you did," said Gabriel.

Mason chimed in, "Yeah. Especially that Jagu. Who would have thought that swallowing one Rare item could get you a creature like that?"

Gabriel laughed. "Maybe you need to swallow ten at once to get a creature."

"Or end up with a creature shaped like a goldfish," Mason added, laughing.

Ash tried to hide his pride by shifting his seat slightly, but Liliana was still sound asleep on his shoulder.

Mason and Gabriel kept throwing jabs at each other. Ash, unable to move, looked ahead and saw something moving towards them rapidly.

At first, they were just black dots, but they soon grew larger, forming a herd of massive rhinos.

"What are those?!" Ash shouted, waking up Liliana and Albert from their sleep.

Gabriel and Mason looked ahead in horror, and Mason immediately swerved the steering wheel to the right.

But it was too late. The herd of rhinos, charging like mad, was about to collide with their Jeep.

"JUMP!!"

Gabriel shouted, and they all jumped out of the jeep and ran to the side as fast as they could, avoiding the herd of rhinos.

Ash ran with all his might, but even with his Shadow Sword skill activated, he fell behind, and the rhinos would definitely ran on him.

He tried calling Jagu by his mental command, asking for help.

When the rhinos were just a few meters away from him, he suddenly felt his shirt being pulled from above, and his body was lifted away, swinging out of the path of the charging rhinos.

Jagu, now grown larger, stood beside the rest of the team, with his mouth gripping Ash's shoulder. He watched as the herd of rhinos thundered past them.

After the rhinos had passed, they looked at the jeep they had been driving from Sassi.

The vehicle was completely crushed by the herd of rhinos.

"Oh, great," complained Mason, followed by the rest of the team.

Now, they had to walk 287 kilometers.

"Put me down, Jagu," Ash ordered Jagu. He complied, gently placing Ash on the ground.

Ash then looked at Jagu, now a giant, and asked while stroking Jagu's cheek, who was nuzzling him, "If we all ride on your back, would you mind?"

The other team members turned to Ash and Jagu with hopeful eyes.

Who would want to walk 287 kilometers on foot?

Jagu purred, his large size making the sound incredibly loud, then he lay down on the ground.

Ash smiled widely and looked at the rest of the team.

"Let's go," he said, climbing onto Jagu's back.

The team members hesitated slightly but then joined Ash on Jagu's back, and they continued their journey.

***

They rode Jagu for several days. None of the other animals dared to approach them because of Jagu's enormous size.

Jagu strolled leisurely along the grassy field, but his steps considered faster than when they used the Jeep.

Liliana always insisted on sitting right behind Ash, hugging him from behind, which made Ash feel very awkward and the other team members teased them.

On the third day, they reached one of the rest stops used by the Sassi Hunters, a place not far from a lake.

The rest stop was also in the form of a house, larger than the previous one, with more rooms, although smaller in size.

Each person got their own room, allowing them to have their privacy freely. All the team members happily refreshed and took dinner together at the dining area.

After dinner and some light briefings from Gabriel, Ash lay on his bed, feeling exhausted from the journey. Jagu slept on the carpet in the middle of the room, feeling cramped because their current bed was small.

He still wanted to read The Captain's Diary or The Supreme Magus's Grimoire, but he was too tired to do so, so he turned to face the wooden wall and began to close his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt someone in his room. He opened his eyes and looked at the wall.

A human shadow could be seen swaying under the light of the oil lamp.

He held his breath, feeling tense and wondering why Jagu did not react.

'Who?' he thought, maybe it was Gabriel or another team member entering his room.

The shadow approached the bed, then lay down on the narrow bed and hugged Ash from behind.

Ash quickly turned and found Liliana smiling at him.

Ash's body tensed, not expecting Liliana to enter his room.

"Why are you here?" asked Ash, his breath suddenly caught. Liliana was only wearing a thin nightgown, and her body cast a shadow under the lamp's light.

"I can't sleep. Maybe I can sleep if I'm with you," Liliana whispered softly.

Ash tried to free himself from Liliana's embrace, feeling that they shouldn't be together like this, but Liliana was stronger than him.

In the end, Ash could only lie on his back with his eyes open, while Liliana slept on his chest, without releasing his embrace.