Chapter 68

The damp leaves were slippery underfoot, and Rain was getting tired after fighting monsters and at the same time walking through this uneven ground.

Suddenly, another monster came.

He had lost count of how many monsters he had encountered and fought. Ogres, Skeletons, Slimes, Magical Beasts, Trolls, and Goblins. Although he can feel himself getting stronger but truly, even the mightiest need some break. However, in this forest, there seems to be no concept for rest.

Rain finally knows why this Forest was known as a Death region, forbidden to any man. Even if one is strong, a high chance still existed of them losing their lives in an instant because of this almost unending battle to death. Rain had never felt this before because the Lamians are always with him whenever possible. But now that he was all alone, the dreadfulness of this Forest is finally creeping in.

A faint stench of blood suddenly wafted in the air, and a rustle could be heard from nearby bushes. His mind immediately turned sharp. And even though his body was somewhat tired, which left him fatigued yet relaxed due to slowly recovering with the help of his numerable skills, he had recovered his senses in an instant, while jitters filled him from his body to the extremity of his fingers. When he came in contact with an enemy, his body naturally entered into fighting mode.

Then, the monster finally made its appearance. It was a long snake, almost similar to Najahara, the snake-type Magical Beast reared by the Lamians as their fighting partners. However, this one has a single horn on its forehead, shaped like a sharp sword in the form of a lightning bolt, giving its snake-visage an incredible allure.

Its scales were dyed brown with a golden line at the center running from its head to its tail. And like a rattle-snake, the tip of its tail released a buzzing sound as it vibrates at an incredible speed.

Judging from sight, it was more than three meters tall as it raised its head in front of him—the length of it perhaps over ten meters. It was surely an incredible horrifying beast to encounter, that even Rain started to feel sweat coming from his forehead.

[Whistling Horn Boa] that was its name, and it was a bit stronger than ordinary Najahara. To his current strength, fighting against it would be a very difficult battle. It’s a monster that even Drova needs to take seriously.

The moment the giant serpent saw Rain, his appearance clearly reflected on its jewel-like eyes. It opened its jaws and bared its long, sword-like fangs in a warning. Rain felt pressure overwhelmed him. Although he wants to fight against it, if he found no chance of victory, he had decided to immediately turn around and run away.

Up until now, in this alone venture of his, there were only six times he had to choose to run away. With his speed, it was easy for him to escape from most powerful monsters. And this would be the seventh time. He would never play with his life.

However, the battle he was expecting didn’t happen.

When the [Whistling Horn Boa] stared at him, it tilted its head and turn around, seemingly ignoring him. Why? Rain didn’t know. From what he had heard, this kind of monster is very ferocious as it immediately attacks its prey the moment it sighted them.

But why did it ignore him? Was it because it already has a full-stomach and didn’t want to bother with a twig like him, who perhaps can’t even, passed its throat before being digested completely?

[I think it’s the Lamians influence, Master]

Sylphy answered his doubts.

"Hm? Influence? What do you mean?"

Rain tilted his head in bewilderment.

[Just like what I said, Master. Especially, the Medusa. She is basically the King of all Serpents in this region, and her scent and mark are on you, so every snake-type beasts would surely see you as one of them. It basically works as a protection from Monsters of the same kind…

Though, it’s not absolute. Monsters, powerful, and those not living in this region that covers the Lamian’s territory would feel only a weak influence, and might even try to attack you, due to many reasons, including territorial invasion, so be careful.]

It’s basically double-edged protection, which can also be a cause of sudden aggression, is what she was saying.

“I see,”

So basically, he would have good protection against snake-type beasts. Well, that's something good. In fact, Rain knows that not only snake-type beasts but also, Wolf and Ant-type Magical Beast. Rain didn’t know why he had such influence among the Wolf-type beasts, but he can only connect it to his ability to turn into a Werewolf. He seemed to be an Alpha or some sort.

As for the Ant-type Magical Beast, such as Killer Ants and Antmen, it was because of Scarlet’s protection. She too had given her Mark so that he could control most Killer Ants, and have some protection against them.

Whatever the case, Rain was relieved.

He wiped the sweat out of his eyes with a swipe of his sleeve, as he watched the giant snake glide away in, perhaps, searching for a more secluded spot to curl up and sleep. He didn’t bother with it, as he was not really too keen on fighting against it either. He continued on his exploration. It’s already passed noon—he took out his phone and look at the map that was slowly being filled up with accurate information.

This exploration is not only because he wanted to wander around and fight, but also due to the fact that he wanted to fill in the unexplored area in his Phone’s map. Although his smartphone automatically updated as long as he passed and visit a particular region, it would actually be lacking accurate information, such as monsters, caves, plants, and materials found, and many more. The map that would appear in the map would just be like a rough sketch of a map, and would hardly be of any use.

“The river should be close now,”

Around the time that the sun was gradually sinking on the day, Rain finally reached the river.

…. ….

A strong wind whistled through the forest, rustling the trees.

A grey figure zoomed past the trees, then suddenly it stopped, leaping into the air and landed with a graceful finish on the ground. It then turned around, growled, its beautiful pair of azure jewels sparkled with feral ferocity. It was a large wolf, over two meters in height with glossy, and slick grey strands of hair—grrrr, it growled and glared at the deep bushes in anger.

Roooooaaar… another roar came about.

But this only elicited another anger to appear from the expression reflected in the eyes of the large wolf. Then, a few minutes later, a flurry of noises emanated from behind some bushes, before it suddenly shook, and then a large grizzly-like bear reared up on its hind legs and roared, its large maw opening as wide as it can, baring its drooling fangs at the sky. It was larger than three meters, probably four, with for arms and horn on its head. It’s a monster that can easily swat a giant ant and made it into a terrible mud of flesh in an instant.

A Four-Armed Demon Bear.

To kill this kind of monster, it would need two Lamians to work together—this was how strong this monster was.

The bear’s red eyes sparkled and turned towards the large grey wolf, then it bounded straight towards the wolf, running on all six-legs.

The wolf gritted its teeth and let out a guttural sound, its body suddenly gleaming brightly and Crackle! Electric sparks flew out from its body and shot towards the charging giant bear. The bear let out a painful cry, but it didn’t stop its charge and run through the wolf’s direction like a bull.

The wolf could only jump away from its charge, with annoyance flashing on its eyes.

This large grey wolf was none other than the Rain Revert.

Because of his sudden urge, he had transformed into his Wolf Form and run around, playing. But who would have known, his animalistic urges wanted more freedom than he had expected, and now he running through the woods the moment he changed into his wolf form. He even pounced on a monster and broke its neck in an instant with a mighty clench of his jaws.

The raw blood still remains in his mouth, driving him into satisfaction, a feral satisfaction. However, when he went to cleanse his mouth in a river, that’s where he met this damn bear.

Rain leaped, and then roared and pounced at the four-armed bear, clamping his jaws onto the monster’s arm and ripping into his flesh with his teeth. His fangs might not be able to tear into metal, but it was still strong enough to pierce through it. Its piercing power was even comparable to his rapier. And with his strong jaws, his bite was a lethal weapon.

However, the four-armed bear was extremely strong, with its other arms, slap away Rain, causing a painful yelp to come out from his mouth. But Rain was never the type to cower, and he once again pounced without care.

In the forest, bear, and wolf- Rain twisting and snapping his jaws. He landed a few bites, causing the bear to roar in pain, but not any concern. Rain had already enhanced all his attributes to an incredible number, and even the skills he obtained from consuming monsters had raised his attributes, even more, making him even stronger than those with the same level.

What’s more, even though the bear’s strength and toughness were incredibly strong. But he was slower than him. Perhaps, its size is weighing it down.

He spat out a fireball, Wind Blades, and Lightning bolts, then made a sea of sharp spikes appear around it. The combination of [Flame Weakness] and [Fireball] was an incredible find. And if only he has more than fire-type skill, even a monster like this would have been killed in no time. The damage dealt from his fire-type skills was incredible, it was able to hurt it more than expected.

In addition, the combination of [Beast Roar] and [Tiger Howl] also gave out an unexpected result. It can actually intimidate the Four-armed Bear even for a moment and stop its movements. Even [Impact Charge] boosted his tackling ability when he was in his [Wolf Form]!

Fighting with all he's got, and could, the battle of chasing and then fighting and then chasing once again almost reached more than an hour. After every attack he dealt, he would immediately run away, being chased all around. Because the Monster was much stronger and tougher than him, Rain can only fight it with a hit-and-run tactic, whittling its life little by little. He was using every skill he had. Even creating a web and summoning vines to stop its movements, then once again attacking.

But it was truly strong.

Fortunately, its speed was much inferior compared to him.

The four-armed demonic bear lunged back, and Rain immediately scrambled away, retaking his human form. He was completely butt-naked. But Rain didn’t care. In any case, he was the only one here. And most of all, living in the Lamian Tribe where there’s basically no custom of wearing clothing, he found himself sometimes in his birthday suit from time to time, making him somewhat used to it.

Half-transformed, his arms were stull furry with long sharp claws. Although being a wolf is strong and fast, but not used to fighting in that form gave him a hard time. He narrowed his eyes. After a few weeks of practicing and mastering his transformation, he can now change in either form without a problem. And most of all, he found out that the wounds and injuries he suffered in either form quickly heal the moment he transforms back to another form--which is quite convenient.

Rain cursed in his heart that he didn’t bring any weapon with him. However, not like he was helpless. He’s not a true Beast, after all. He is Rain...

Rain Revert—!

Rain slammed his paw on the ground, and countless bone spikes immediately speared out from the ground. The Four-armed Bear let out a cry of shock and pain due to the sudden appearance of the bone stakes again, and immediately leaped at the side. But Rain was already there, waiting.

The sky rumbled, and the clouds darkened. Rain yelled out and a massive thunderbolt struck from the sky. He felt his magic power immediately squeezed dry—damn, even after training so hard, his magic power hardly reach C rank, and still not enough to completely rule over his magic. Though it was not something he can easily blame to anyone, after all, Rain trained his magic, not to increase it, rather, how to use it efficiently.

That’s what Zarda and the others were teaching him all this time. And now, he was finally able to understand it.

Finally, the Four-armed Bear was still alive. However, it was barely able to have the strength to stand up now. Rain hurriedly charge towards it, his figure so fast he seemed flying. And with a pounce, Rain turned back into a large wolf, digging his fangs into the four-armed bear’s neck with all his strength.

… …

After returning to the place where he had left his clothes, Rain immediately wears his pants and shirt, intending to go back. It seems like his wolfic urges had now been satisfied after hunting that four-armed bear. Well, for a Wolf to be able to hunt a Four-armed Bear, which rank was certainly much higher than his own, surely it has satisfied its vanity.

Lafetti must have been worried sick by now.

Rain look at the full moon hanging in the night sky and smiled wryly- would he really spent his entire life turning into a wolf every full moon? In normal times, he can somewhat control it, but only at the full moon where he would lose restraint and let his wolfic urges run free. Fortunately, he was not entirely uncontrollable.

Ahh… I'm so tired.

Rain stretched his arms wide, somewhat exhausted after using his magic several times tonight.

Rain smiled wryly and started walking back to the village. His adventure today was incredibly thrilling, but also fulfilling. He was now able to fill his map around the area of the village as well, with more accurate information. Aside from that, he was even able to hunt stronger monsters than him, including the Four-armed Bear. Surely, Zarda and Lafetti would praise him with this achievement.

With a tap of his foot, his body leaped a few meters in the air, landing on a tree branch and started running through it, then once again leaped after reaching the end, towards another tree. With graceful and elegant steps, he runs through the sea of trees with incredible speed. However, after a few minutes of running through the woods, zooming and zapping along the tree branches, suddenly Rain’s brows furrowed.

"This is...?"

A strong wind whistled past him, and to him, the night seemed to have become even more gloomy—a whisk brushed past him, an unmistakable odor—the scent of death.

What is going on here?

Rain wondered as he weaved among the trees, his direction veered off-course from the usual path. Although he always senses death around him whenever he was in the forest, many creatures die and hunted every minute by strong monsters, but this time was different. Strong, it made a tugging on his mind.

The scent of human blood.

But why is this kind of scent here?

Does it mean another human is in this place?

Rain stop. He stood in the shadow of a large tree while he scanned the surroundings.

Where does this scent come from?

His eyes turned icy blue, and his perception heightened than normal. His emotions run wild, and all of a sudden, a storm was brewing, building pressure and moisture in the air.

Where?

Where is it?

Thick gray clouds swept across the now three-quarter-full moon, covered by dark clouds and blotting out the stars.

A shriek echoed through the forest, eerie and ghastly. But Rain knows that it was just a wind passing through the thick leaves, bushes, or hallowed trees.

A sudden gust flipped his clothes, and he winced somewhat at the chilly air on his abdomen and chest. Then, another gust of wind ripped another of hair free from the leather tie. His shoulder-length hair needed a trim, but Lafetti seemed to be fond of it, twirling his strands with her fingers, so he didn’t have the heart to cut it. He hooked the free strand behind his ear and continued his silent surveillance.

The scent of blood carried by the passing wind thickened… indeed human blood.

How many had died for this scent to be so thick?

Why had humans come into this place?

Just the thought of human dying made his always calm heart disturbed. It seems like he is still human—adventurers?

Perhaps, they are the ones whom the Lamians called Adventurers. After all, there should be no sane people who would go into this place. Only adventures, those brave men who chased after glory and wealth would dare risk everything to come into this place.

Living in this forest, Rain knows how rich and incredible this place is. After all, even those Sylphy regarded as precious materials, some even rare and unique could be found quite abundantly in this place. To humans, this place is certainly like a treasure trove.

But to think they would come until here, diving too deep in the cave, and even the most elite human adventurers would never dare ventured this far…not if they have certain wants that can only be found in this place. But what is it? The Desolate Cave is full of monsters, what could humans want from this dangerous place?

The scent of human blood made his heart race. Emotion this intense made the blue of his irises glow, tinting his vision with an ice-cold blue. His fists clenched with the need to transform again.

But not now!

Rain cried out.

Silence wolf, this is not yet your time to shine!

The wind blew stronger, tossing the slender trees and littering the path with small branches and pinecones. Loose locks of hair whipped across his face. He shoved the strands back and glanced up at the moon. It was eerie blue, almost completely enshrouded with thick clouds. His extra-sensitive, glowing eyes stung with the biting wind.

There!

His eyes gleamed brightly as his nose twitched.

His figure blurred and his figure shot towards the direction where the smell of blood was coming.

… …