The Refuge of Fate

Chapter 117 - Trails

A/N: Sorry for the awfully long update, y'all! Got switched to a new position in my job and had to adjust hehe. All better now. I'll write tomorrow too ;)

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"Kurkh..." Perez watched as a human-sized monster with two horns, three eyes, and a small mouth lay on the ground bleeding from his sword. A few seconds later, the creature took its last breath but in return, he was able to do one for himself.

"Ha..." he wiped the sweat off of his forehead even while holding his weapon.

It was hard for a person with one hand to do such difficult tasks like killing monsters and taking care of himself at the same time.

Sighing, he continued taking deep breaths as his fast-paced heartbeat started slowing down. He looked around the forest and even though he had been joining the said competition for four consecutive years now, he could still never wrap his head around the eerie feeling circulating inside the place.

Just like its name, it was a hollow place filled with nightmarish creatures. There are tons of monsters in other forests of Belmaid too but none of those could top this one that was closest to civilization.

Hundreds of people die every year here in an attempt to gather resources such as food, herbs, and even precious plants that could be sold at high prices in the market. But alas, the needs of humans that could be found within the dark territory is subjected to consequences if one isn't strong enough to overcome the creatures that lurk in the dark.

Once Perez calmed himself, he looked at his clothes and placed his sword back in its sheath. He grabbed something from his chest pocket and took out a pocket watch. The small golden chain attached on it jingled as the Knight Captain moved it out.

"Let's see..." He murmured before opening the pocket watch.

Soon enough, a small projected screen appeared from it and he could see one screen on it.

[Lysander Perez – Rank 112 – 32 Kills]

It was a newly invented device by the magic tower made especially for the hunting competition participants. It recently launched a few months ago but it was already so helpful for the people who joins and wants to know their rank and kill count.

"One hundred and twelve?" He asked himself because he had been fighting in the forest non-stop for three hours already and he was still so far even from the top ten.

Why was his rank so low?

Are his efforts still not enough? He was sure he put all of his skills into killing monsters though?

His teeth grinded subconsciously as frustration took over his mind. His hands instinctively went to the projected image and scrolled it downwards to know who the people on the top spot are.

[Flame Paladin, Horus – Rank 1 – 532 Kills]

[Pier Belmiunde – Rank 2 – 327 Kills]

[Aeris Skylancer – Rank 3 – 199 Kills]

[Obek Jotunn – Rank 4 – 136 Kills]

[Amelia Winterfield – Rank 5 – 113 Kills]

"..." he gulped while looking at their status and kill counts.

Were his efforts truly not enough? How can people like these included in the top five gather so many kills in just a short span of time? Even though Perez considered himself quite skilled with both magic and the sword, raking up more than a hundred kills in just three hours is impossible.