Meeting

(Alexia)

Damn it, this jungle is such a pain!

My machete is about to snap just cutting through these thick vines.

I was close to giving up when a dim light caught the corner of my eye.

I push through the vines and made a discovery.

Eh? This path seems to be new.

Did someone get lost in the jungle too?

But that light…

Shit, did someone take the quest too?

I’ve got to hurry.

I ran along the trampled path and pushed through the brush and arrived at my destination.

Woah…

This scene… I just can’t seem to describe it in words.

The glowing flowers give the lake such a magical feeling.

It’s just, amazing.

…

I’ve got to focus.

I just need to gather a bunch of these flowers, right?

…

But I feel so tired…

Resting here won’t be such a bad idea.

I walked towards the lakeside and sat down.

Breathing deeply, I took the time to appreciate the sweet smell of the Vikshaw.

Suddenly, I got the feeling that I was being watched.

I got up and took out my machete.

Looking around, I tried to find the source of the presence.

“Insight!”

I casted a simple vision spell and glanced around again.

As I looked into the lake, I saw it.

AHHHHHHHHH

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(???)

I stared at the screaming girl.

A human? That means civilisation!

But, can I speak its language. I mean, I am a different species.

“Hey, can you understand me?”

“Ehhh!? Y-You can talk?!”

Thank god it can understand me.

“Yes, I can talk.” I growled in an annoyed tone.

“W-What are you? Oh wait, I can check its stats. Scan!”

I stared at it, confused.

Check my stats? How?

“Nameless?! How can that be… and health is over 5 000?!”

...Only 5 000? That’s sad.

“T-this is ridiculous… I can’t fight such a monster! Even though it’s not even at boss level…”

...Fight me? Looking at her frail body, I don’t think she would last even a second.

And not even at boss level? I feel insulted.

“Look, I’ve just arrived here. Where is this place? Is there a town nearby?”

The girl stared at me with a shocked expression.

“W-Why do you want to know? Are you going to raid my village?”

What the hell is wrong with this girl’s mind…

“No, I don’t want to steal from your village. Just tell me where it is. I have no intention of harming anyone.”

“B-But…”

This girl… What a pain…

Well, no matter many lives I go through, gaining trust will always be an important rule to me.

“If you want me to prove it, duck now.”

The girl stared at me again, but she followed my instructions.

I launched myself from the water towards the beast.

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(Alexia)

All I could do was stare.

What else can I do?

The monster can talk!

When he told me to duck, I was really confused, but my body followed anyways.

A shadow flashed past me.

A loud shriek echoed in the forest.

I turned around. What I saw stunned me.

The lake monster was battling a gigantic moth.

“A-A boss monster!?”

Shit, I forgot.

The reward was incredibly high not because this place was hard to find, but because of this moth.

It was reported that it killed any trespassers that enters the forest.

When the monster launched off the water, it rammed into the moth’s body, causing it to fall to the ground.

It then proceeded to claw away at its tough body, scraping off the moth’s tough scales like scraping scales of a fish.

The moth screeched is pain.

It then flapped its wings in an attempt to blow the monster away.

The monster grunted and used its claws to stab into the scraped areas of the moth.

The moth screamed and stop flapping its wings.

Suddenly, the monster gave a huge roar.

It lifted the moth and split it apart in one swift motion.

“I-Impossible…” I stuttered out in fright.

The monster turned around to face me.

“Now will you trust me?”

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(???)

I’ve finally managed to convince the girl that I’m trustworthy.

“So, what is your name? Did you use some sort of concealment technique to hide it?” The girl stopped stuttering, but she doesn’t raise her head to look at me.

Name huh…

“Don’t have one.”

She gave me that stare again. Man, that look gives me the chills.

“...nameless creatures…” The girl starts muttering to herself.

...This is getting nowhere.

“Let me ask you something then. What’s your name? Why are you here?”

The girl was startled by my question. Man, she needs to pay attention.

“...My name is Alexia Fetora, from the village of Desca. I’m here on a quest to gather Vikshaw for the pharmacist.”

Hm… Interesting.

So quests exist here as well.

“Fair enough. Then lets gather this Vikshaw and return to the village.”

The girl- I mean Alexia nodded and started gathering the light flowers. So those flowers are called Vikshaw, huh.

I followed suit and grabbed a handful of Vikshaw, tugging it out of the ground.

“What are you doing!?” Alexia screams at me.

I looked at her, puzzled. “I’m gathering Vikshaw.”

“That’s not how you gather it! You must do it gently, otherwise the Vikshaw will lose its glow!”

Hm? Really?

I looked at the Vikshaw in my hand. The Vikshaw was dull in color.

“...I’ll leave this to you.”

I went to the tree with my pile of stuff and gathered them.

When I returned, Alexia had her bags and arms filled with Vikshaw.

When she noticed me arriving, she meekly called out to me.

“Um, could you help me carry these?”

I sighed and passed her a spare bag.

“Thanks.”

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(Alexia)

By dusk, we made it back to Desca.

The monster started feeling nervous. I could tell because its tail started twitching.

“Hey, are you nervous?”

“...”

“Hey. Heeeey.”

“...”

Heehee. His tail twitched again.

This is fun.

As we past through the town gates, the monster’s stomach grumbles.

All the villagers who were finishing up work turned their heads towards the sound.

“AHHHHH!! THERE’S A BEAST IN THE VILLAGE!”

One lady screamed out.

The village erupted into a flurry of panicking residents, all running back into their homes.

The monster cleared his throat and called out to them.

“Uh, hello? I know I might be carnivorous, but I don’t eat humans. Really.”

“I don’t think your diet is the problem here…”

I responded as I see Celeste, my village’s seer-in-training, running towards us.

“Celeste? Why is she here?”

I wondered out loud.

“Who? That girl running over?”

The monster shrugged.

Celeste got closer and stopped in front of us, panting heavily.

“Celeste, why are you coming here?”

I asked inquisitively.

As she tried to catch her breath, she pointed at the monster and announced a shocking piece of news.

“You! You are the one who will change the world!”

Hey guys, IAmTheKroc

Hope you enjoy this chapter like the others.

The fight scene with the moth might not be the best, but I will try to improve on future battles.

As usual, if you spot any loopholes or find any sentences that sound weird, tell me in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Peace