According to Finn, while they were fighting, another monster was attracted by the blood. The two also knew that the blood of humans was more attractive and, looking at each other, it was definitely them.
The two felt a bit embarrassed. They wanted to think the difference was the weapon, but combat level was rarely so straightforward. No matter how good the weapon, if the user wasn’t good enough, then it’d have been as good as any other stick.
Remus held his injured arm, which was what had attracted the new monster. "Thank you."
Finn nodded and continued on. "Let’s go," he said. "Unless you want to wait for more monsters."
...
The trio continued to travel for the next few hours, climbing up trees every so often to make sure their direction was correct. They encountered small monster mobs or pairs every 20 minutes or so, though that number did reduce as they got farther from the danger zone.
During this time, the two were finally more receptive with his small talk. As an extrovert, Finn thought it was too boring without chatting for hours in the middle of nowhere!
"You’re pretty strong," Remus said, looking at Finn. "How do you usually train?"
Marie also looked curious.
"I fought beasts every day."
"Every day?" they mumbled. "But how...?"
Finn looked at them with a sly smile, and then they remembered his earlier ’joke’ about him living in the danger zone.
Realizing that it might not be a joke after all, the two flinched and gaped at him.
Finn chuckled, letting them absorb it before asking his own questions. "What about you guys? Are you local to Lotus Town?"
Ladies first, so it was Marie who spoke. "I’m from Rann Village," she said. "It’s one of the villages at the borders, so we do get attacked occasionally." She did not say anymore, but they knew she had a story.
Marie’s shoulders slumped, feeling her own awkwardness, but what could she do? Her inferiority complex was too deep.
She was already 31 years old, an old maid in her village, and she was unmarried not only because she was ’ugly’ and ’unfeminine’ but also because she had also gained a scar on her body during a previous attack.
She had a decent physique, however, and she figured to gain some standing by becoming an adventurer.
None of these could be shared with strangers, of course. The two men did not pry either.
Remus looked at Finn. "I’m from Lupus Town, one of the towns deeper in the safe zones," he said. Only guilds in border towns could hold registrations for adventurers, which was why he was here.
"I plan to obtain a permanent position as a captain in my hometown," he said. Captains generally had to be at a certain level. In his town, however, in order to maintain strong connections to the guilds, those serving the territory had to be members of at least one guild.
This was also a territory’s way of monitoring the guilds’ operations in their lands, which was actually smart.
That said, in order to maintain his strength in a sustainable way, he had been staying in Lotus Town long-term until he passed, going out to hunt in Level 0 with a few freelancing adventurers while waiting between the monthly exams.
One potential job of adventurers was to escort civilians in the danger zone to train. His family was not rich, but they were well-off, and they were willing to invest in his strength and position, also for the good of the family.
They were very supportive of him despite the scandal of his ex-wife cheating on him. Rather, they pushed him more so that he could move on from the betrayal.
It was also why he refused to go back until he got the status gem of an adventurer on him.
If he failed again, he was thinking of trying out the mercenary exam instead. It just wasn’t his first option because he disliked the hierarchical levels and the attitude of most mercenaries. He just felt he’d die early, not because of beasts in the danger zone, but because someone stabbed him in the back.
Not to mention, his ex-wife cheated on him with a mercenary, so he naturally didn’t have a good impression of them.
"If it’s alright with you, can you tell us why you failed? Other than the fact that you were stabbed."
"The first time, I arrived a week later."
"..."
"Well, you must’ve gotten strong."
"I reached tier 3 that time."
"I was stabbed in my second attempt. I took the lead as someone who had experienced the test before," he said. "When the town was in sight, someone stabbed me and left me for dead."
"Ouch."
"The person is an adventurer now."
"Tsk."
"At least he isn’t harassing you," Marie said. Wouldn’t many people hunt down their victims to keep them quiet?
"He thought I was dead, and we haven’t encountered each other because he’s relocated in an inner town near the capital, last time I heard." He shrugged. "Let him spread his dirty claws there."
The trio continued on, defending and beating the monsters.
At some point, Finn’s instincts flared, and he waved his halberd to the side, near Remus, in fact, and the man thought that he was betrayed again. Was he going to get stabbed again!?
Finn was fast, so he couldn’t react, and he could only have himself to blame this time. This thought ran in his mind the next second until—
"WATCH OUT!" Finn yelled, pushing him down rather than stabbing him.
Clank!
An arrow fell down.
Remus gaped while Maria took cover. They could only watch as Finn stood bravely in front of them. In terms of physique, the redhead was a little shorter than the two of them, who were taller than their peers, but right now, the two of them could only look up.
Finn continued to move, expertly twirling the pole in continuous circular motions. His passive [Monster Instinct] also activated as he waved his spear, redirecting two more arrows that came their way.
"We’re getting attacked!" he said, gritting his teeth. "By fellow examinees!"