City of Iron Post,
City Lord's Mansion,
Mr. Jonathan is confused by the breath of the City Lord. He notices that the City Lord has severe injuries. But he is not sure whether his cultivation base dropped down due to injury or not. Anyway, he recorded the City Lord's condition using a sci-fi watch.
Then he slowly retreated from the City Lord Mansion. When he flew towards the exit, he spotted Zack's silhoutte. He knew Zack's next spot was going to be an insect forest. So he begins to act as Zack's guardian.
…
(From MC's POV)
"The manager was really surprised by the request. Thankfully, he didn't obstruct me from accepting the missions, "I mumbled under my breath.
Then, a few minutes later, I reached the city wall. Surprisingly, few people were standing in the queue. By looking at their attire, I realised they were from a bandit hunting team. I don't know which team it is.
There were five people in front of me. All of them were dressed in black uniforms. They also had gear to protect their body parts. especially the metallic helmet, inner armour, and leather boots.
What exactly is this? For a moment, my views are further broadened. By looking at them, only one word hit my mind.
"PROFESSIONALS"
They didn't look like ordinary adventurers either. Everything about them reminds me of money. Someone really poured enormous resources on them.
I retracted my gaze, shaking my head. I'm not looking forward to striking up a conversation with them. Slowly, following the crowd, I stand in line behind them.
Soon, a city guard begins his work. He started to verify the first warrior's story. After verifying his identification, the city guard allowed him to exit. Then, one by one, the warriors begin to exit.
Then it's my turn. After verifying my identity, the City Guard let me go.
And just as I walked out of the gate, I spotted those warriors. Instead of going to the insect forest, these people were discussing something. After giving it a quick glance, I proceed to the insect forest.
This is not the right time to attract attention. But who would have thought that things would go the opposite to my thoughts? One of them shouted at me when I walked past them.
"Hey, kid, where are you going?" A burly middle-aged person inquired.
I immediately reasoned that it would be foolish to offend them at this time. turned towards the person and answered, "I'm a helper at the beverage shop." After saying that, I pointed my fingers in the campsite direction.
None of them doubted my words. The middle-aged person then let me go. After that, I sighed in relief. These guys, what are they up to? Clearly, there are no other warriors beside us. And I'm the one who is walking alone.
This might have caught their attention. "Phew!" Then, without wasting any more time, I reached the campsite within a few minutes. But I didn't plan on visiting there. Instead, I hurriedly went past the camp.
Soon, I arrived at the end of the path. There is only deep vegetation in front of me. Seeing that, I activated my perception ability at this moment. The surrounding area within 25 metres was mapped in my mind.
I noticed there were a lot of blue dots at the campsite. Clearly, a lot of people are ready to venture into the forest. Then I saw no one was behind me. Before anyone arrives, I decided to move forward.
Slowly, after stepping into the forest. I followed the small narrow path to move forward. I also look for any changes through perception.
I used my black sword to chop those overgrown vegetation. I slowly walked forward after clearing those hurdles.
Fortunately, after accepting the mission, the manager from the city lord mansion sent me a map of the insect forest.
I look at the map after entering through sci-fi. Clearly, I'm in the outer area of the forest. There is still a lot of distance to cover. Then I noticed one thing: this forest is similar to the monster zone.
It can also be divided into three areas: outer area, inner area, and core area. But I'm not sure about the class monsters. But these insect monsters can be found in all areas of the forest.
Who knows there may be an insect nest next to me? This overgrown vegetation hinders the vision. I can only rely on perception to avoid danger.
Then I saw there were only a few spots marked on the maps. These are safe zones. In case of an emergency, you can run to either of these safe zones. Shaking my head, I thought, how naive!
By looking at current circumstances, I feel this "safe zone" might turn into a "dead zone." For a new face like me, this spot is a must to avoid.
I can only see that most of the marked spots were close to the outer areas of the forest. A few of the safe zones loaded in the inner area of the forest. But there is none whatsoever in the core area, which is the central part of the forest.
I don't know what is hiding in the core area of the forest. But I can only think of two things: either it's a bandit's lair or a deadly insect's nest.
After dispelling my thoughts, I decided to walk towards the west side of the forest. I have a feeling that if I continue to follow this narrow path, I might come across a bandit sooner.
Soon, I spotted very small red dots coming towards me. "Insect monsters!" I grunted.
Next, I covered the black blade with purple lightning. My lightning reserve also expanded with my promotion.
There is also a lightning pearl in my storage ring. So I don't need to worry about essence consumption. Then I waited for those insect monsters to arrive. Soon, I spotted a thumb-sized black beetle insect.
A small swarm of bettle insects is inching closer towards me. I'm taken by the abnormal size of the beetle insect. I feel like this entire forest is mutated. Not only did their size change, but their nature also changed. The insects become bloodthirsty.
When the insect swarm inched closer towards me, I made a casual swing.
"Pfff" "Pfff" "Pfff"
Like a popping sound, the insects burst open. Within a few minutes, I cleared the rest of the swarm by swinging my sword.
Seeing that there is no other swarm of insects nearby, I continue to walk forward.
10 minutes later,
I spotted one large red dot in particular. Looking at the size of the dot I confirmed that this red dot is human. But why is there only one person? I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
This person is ahead of me, so I decided to check it in person. Soon, I spotted the silhouette. It's hard to guess whether this person belongs to a bandit hunting team or bandits.
So I decided to observe him in secret. Then I slowly hid behind the tree and crouched down to observe.
This person is dressed in a green adventurer suite. This is a common suit for every adventurer. It is freely distributed by the Parazam Hunter League.
The green colour adventurer suit is not exclusive to the Parazam Hunter League. This basic suit is sold in a lot of shops. It can also be bought by other warriors.
But based on this, I won't jump to conclusions. There is a possibility for him to be a bandit. This suit might be stolen from others. To confirm, I decided to observe further.
Next, I heard a murmuring sound. I noticed this guy muttering about something.
"Damn, why did I agree to act as an informer?" The person sounded dejected.
But I clearly heard his words. What exactly is this? I don't need to use my brain. This guy is waiting for the bandit hunting team.
He is going to tip off the bandits.
My expression turned solemn after realising this. Then, instead of hiding, I walked towards him openly.
The guy quickly alerted me upon seeing me.
"Who are you?" The guy asked me with a threatening tone.
But I answered with a smile, "I'm just another bandit member." The leader asked me to check on you. "Is that why you came here?"
The guy answered with a frownful face, "I promised him that I wouldn't run away."
Then he asked again, "Hey, why did you come from this direction?"
"Spot on!" I said.
Next, without further ado, I dashed towards him. The distance was so close that the guy got flustered. But it was too late to do anything.
I directly punched him in the abdomen. The impact made him take a few steps backwards.
"Aaahh", the guy let out a groaning sound.
Only after getting hit did the person come to realise that he was fooled. But he was just an initial special trainee. It's impossible to fight against the opponent.
He tried to get back, but I came in front of him, right in front of him.
"You!" He pointed his finger at me.
But I didn't give him any chance to fight back. I take out my sword to slice his neck.
"Pfff" blood spurts from his neck. The next moment, his body and head got separated.