Greed II

"Huft..."

Noir let out a long, heavy sigh. He sat on the top of the mushroom monster's mountain corpse.

Removing the worn gauntlet from his hands, Noir threw the now useless equipment.

He grabbed a bottle of water from his bag, drank it, and poured it on his head.

He was dirty with the monster's purple liquid, but now he was a bit clean.

Checking his progress panel, Noir grinned.

//Ascension Progress 49.35%

Class (Soft Essence) 637/1000

Soul Depth (Solid Essence) 175/500//

"This area is so large there should be around or more than a thousand monsters here, but after six hours of hunting, I only got 350 orbs? Is there someone else around here?"

Noir closed the panel.

Standing up, he rummaged through his pocket. He pulled a map and opened it, trying to locate his position, but it was futile.

He only knew he was in the Great Mushroom Forest, but in which part specifically? He had no idea.

Sighing, Noir put the map back and brought out the compass instead.

He stared at the compass. The pointer pointed straight ahead.

'So I'm in the center part of the forest.'

It meant that if he headed forward following the pointer, Noir would find the south return point.

'I guess I'll continue east, then.'

It was the right choice since he came from the western part of the area and had cleared half the monsters there. He could have returned and wiped the area, but it would take time.

On the other hand, the eastern part was the area he hadn't explored.

And the number of monsters there would be higher than on the opposite side now.

With that in mind, Noir set on his next hunting destination.

However, just as he had feared, there seemed to be someone else in this area.

Noir didn't find any monsters. Precisely, he only found dead monsters scattered across the forest.

The corpses were already scavenged for their essences and lucky drop items. But Noir still could extract the materials from them, which was the purple liquid.

It could be sold for 1500 LC per liter.

However, since Noir already had a lot of it, he didn't take more. And even if he wanted to, he didn't have the place to store them.

Ignoring the dead monsters, Noir kept walking and walking until finally, he spotted someone.

'That is...'

A girl stood with a grin on her face. Around her were dozens of mushroom monsters slowly closing in.

Before the monsters could entrap her, she moved first.

She used a sword. Her swordsmanship was precise, without unnecessary moves for a dazing display. Deadly might be an appropriate way to call it.

The girl aimed only for the monster's weakness, killing one to three monsters in single swing. In fact, she had swung it multiple times at a speed humans couldn't follow.

Shocked, Noir's jaw dropped.

'How is that possible?!'

Despite her delicate hands, she gripped the sword tightly. Her black hair danced together with her graceful movements. Her red eyes calmly studied the situation as she fought.

'Is she really a student?'

Battle sense, swordsmanship, footwork, and awareness, she mastered it all. The girl's skills were too high to be considered a student or newbie who had awakened just a year or two before Noir.

Not to mention that the girl didn't have a prestigious family to support her growth when Noir did her background check.

She was only a member of an ordinary family whose father had gone missing and whose mother fell sick. Trying to keep the family running by working part-time, taking care of her little brother, and paying her mother's care cost. All that by herself.

'Fotia Ustrina... she has the backstory and characteristics that could fit the protagonist role. But...'

Noir was looking for the male protagonist. It was a shame.

However, after witnessing his senior's skill levels, he disregarded the stereotype he made.

'Who cares about whether the protagonist is male or female! No one said it should be a man if the story is action and a woman if it is romance. Moreover, it's not even about writing a novel. But the world itself.'

Noir pulled out his FT Phone but then remembered it couldn't function while he was in the rift.

Shoving it into his pocket, Noir watched Fotia Ustrina again.

Shortly after, Fotia shoved her sword into the mushroom monster and cut it in half.

The fight ended.

'It's fun and all watching her fight, but I have to find more monsters, or else I can't level up.'

Right after Noir turned around, a voice resounded in his ears.

"Where are you going? Shouldn't you show yourself and apologize for peeping at me?"

Noir glanced behind. His eyebrow raised.

'Is she talking to me?'

He shook his head.

'Nah, no way.'

As he stepped again, Noir felt the heat radiating behind him. Then, an arrow flame flew past him. It almost grazed and burned his ears.

"I said come and show yourself. Don't you dare run away, or you'll be burned alive."

'She's talking to me?! H-how?!'

Turning around, Noir walked out from the dark forest shades, revealing himself to the girl who looked at him with a frown.

'Can she even see me clearly in this place?'

Noir noticed the amount of glowing mushrooms in the eastern part was fewer than in the west.

'Well, if she can fight and win against 15 monsters without breaking a sweat, then she must have her own way to solve the visibility problem.'

Bowing his head, Noir apologized.

"I'm sorry for peeping at you. But don't worry, as you can see, I have no intention of stealing your loot. I was about to go and--"

"Okay, I know. So stop talking."

Noir sealed his lips.

Massaging her wrist, Fotia continued.

"I forgive you."

"Thank you," Noir responded almost immediately.

"But, I have a question. Why are you wearing a mask in a dark place? Isn't that hindering your vision even more?"

Noir sighed. He removed his mask, showing the girl the injury on his face. Noticing Fotia not reacting to it, Noir put on his mask again wonderingly.

Clearing his throat, Noir told the girl that the mask was helping him to see the world as it was. But he kept the hidden features to himself.

"Oh. What a useful Curio."

Fotia's eyes glowed with fascination.

Holding his smile, Noir agreed with her.

"If not for this mask, I would have lived as a cripple for my entire life."

Fotia's head started to bob up and down, a smile playing on her lips.

"I see. I see. Thanks to that, you can still live as a Resonant, right?! Anyway, what's your name?

"Xue Yu."

The smile on Fotia's face widened.

"Xue Yu? Snow Rain... Snowy Rain, huh? Is that why your hair is as white as snow? Haha."

Then, her smile disappeared. All that was left was a playful grin as she extended her hand.

"Well. Mine is Fotia Ustrina. Nice to make an acquaintance with you again, Noir Teundre."

"!!!"