20 Terrifying Discoverey

After killing the moose-like beast which was surely dead, Jay observed the corpse of the beast return to it's feet and walk away.

Afraid and shocked, he chose not to follow the beast but to rather head in the opposite direction. He was sure the beast had died due to his attacks and had no idea on what to do. Even The System could not provide an answer.

"No way in hell am I going to fight or even follow that thing." he thought as he quickly connected his scythe to his back and grabbed his bag. "How do I kill something that is already dead? Can I kill something that is already dead?"

After walking for a few minutes, another beast sprang from a nearby bush.

A green fox-like beast appeared. Wasting no time it charged towards Jay's location.

Startled, Jay knew he would not be able to grab the scythe from his back in time to react. Quickly, he leapt into the air in order to dodge the straight forward attack.

As he landed, his bag dropped to the floor and his scythe was now within his grip. However, the fox-like beast was no longer in view. It had kept running rather than stopping to fight.

"What the hell?" Jay thought as he stared into the direction in which the fox beast disappeared into. Now on high alert, he continued forward with the scythe in his hands rather than on his back. Something felt strange about this forest.

It was starting to get dark which was a very dangerous time to hunt. The plan was to hunt beast at day and sleep outside of the forest at night. Only the weaker of beast stayed towards the edge of the forest as the alphas lived deep within it's comfort zone away from humans. This would be the plan for the next five days.

In addition, the old man had supplied magical items that would keep the lower tier beast away when placed around and area. If a beast of a higher level was to stray out of the forest towards the campsite, bad things could happen.

The beast within the kingdom's forest were weaker than those that could be found outside but Jay was not at the level of the strongest beast in the forest.

Boom

The sound similar to that of an explosion could be heard ahead.

Birds began to flock through the skies and similar to the green fox beast from earlier, many beast dashed past Jay in hopes to escape whatever had made that sound. Green fox-like beast, Gazelles with spikes along it's spine, even moose-like beasts similar to the one from earlier.

Unsure on what made the sound, Jay began to tremble. He wanted to push his limits and increase his level as much as he could but his life was more important. Beast continued to run into view from the front and then out of sight behind.

Another fox like beast darted out from a bush. Unlike the others however, this one charged at him.

Assuming this beast would continue like the rest, Jay did not prepare to counter. This left him open enough for an attack. The beast leapt and bit onto left his arm.

Jay let out a scream of pain. The beast was still biting down on his arm as he slammed into a nearby tree. The beast between the tree and his body finally let go upon contact.

Before it could react, the large scythe slashed across it's head slicing it's head open.

Boom

The loud explosion like sound could once again be heard but it was clear that it was closer than before.

"10 EXP Gained" The System alerted. "Host has reached 220 EXP. 180 EXP needed before next level up."

"Only 10 EXP?" Jay thought as he remembered the 150 he gained from defeating the moose-like beast. He had yet to figure out The workings of The System.

It was possible that he gained more from the Mega Alces due to it being a stronger beast unlike the fox which was pretty weak.

The System had never answered any questions about it's origins or true purpose except to make the host stronger. Maybe a god gave it to him? Maybe he was a summoned hero? Although he had no plans to be a hero after what he has went through.

One thing was for sure, and that was the fact that the ring had something to do with it.

Boom

The sound once again echoed throughout the forest and was once again closer than before.

With his Scythe in hand and bag around his chest, Jay decided to turn and run as well. He had not been in the forest for even one day but already had to run from a supposedly life threatening beast.

Dashing around trees, over bushes, and past groups of beast, Jay made it his main priority right now to leave the forest. He did not know what was making the sound but all of the other beast were running away and therefore nothing good could be making that sound.

He had ran for a few minutes attacking multiple small beast which were unfortunate enough to come across his sights.

These beast were on the smaller side and reminded him of different animals from his old world. A beast similar to a squirrel, a beaver, a porcupine and others.

10 EXP Gained

10 EXP Gained

10 EXP Gained

After finishing the small beasts, he had earned another 50 EXP. His combined total was now 270 EXP.

Observing the EXP gained, he concluded that the smaller beast which were most likely harmless to him was worth 10 EXP.

In addition, the medium sized beast gave around 100, and the stronger ones gave 150 EXP. Of course, this was just a guess from what he had seen so far.

He was nearing the edge of the forest where he could now see the beautiful moonlight shining down on the open area outside. A smile appeared on his face.

Closer and closer he got to the outside as his stamina began to run out. His stamina stats were barely above average and he could not run or fight for long periods of time. Even with the lack of stamina, he planned to run until he was out of the forest.

Finally, he escaped the dark forest and entered the open area. A shocking sight startled the unsuspecting Jay.

Outside of the forest stood many men and women dressed in armor of all types. Each held a grimoire, sword, or other weapon or magical tool. Their attention turned towards Jay who had just popped out from the forest like a speeding beast.

Weapons were held against him as if he was a beast in their eyes.

From the group, a tall man emerged. He wore a set of brown light armor, with a long sword in his right hand.

"Who are you?" the man asked as the others still held their weapons against Jay.

"My name is not worth mentioning to people I don't know. I arrived in this forest earlier today in order to train." he replied as the man's sharp brown eyes felt like it was boring a hole through his own.

From behind the man came a woman with an angry look on her face. She was about the same height as the man but looked much younger. She wore black light armor and had a sword on both hips. Her black hair reached down to her collarbone where a scar could be seen.

After the woman whispered in the man's ear, he commanded that all weapons were to be put away. The man attached his long sword to his side as well.

With a quick hand gesture from the man, all of the adventurers began to disperse and check the surrounding area.

"I am Arthur Hale, the leader of this group of adventurers. This is my co-leader Martha. We were brought together after adventurers claimed to see walking corpses of fallen beast. Have you seen anything of the sorts?"

Angry at the group who pointed their weapons towards him, Jay reluctantly replied.

"I killed a Mega Alces which stood up afterwards and walked away. I have also heard sounds like that of an explosion deeper in the forest and many beast were fleeing the area."

The man and woman began to whisper to each other before turning their attention back towards Jay.

"The Mega Alces has strength surpassing any normal human even with it's low agility and stamina, we think you would make a great addition to this team." the man stated with a forced smile.

"Why would I join you guys? We have just met." Jay replied.

"If all goes well we will be earning a great sum from the guild that entrusted us with this mission. Although you are not an official part of the team, we will reward you equally."

The old man had already promised him enough money and therefore a small sum was not worth his life being put on the line. Also like the man said, he wasn't apart of the official team and therefore he could be killed without anyone knowing or get betrayed by the group.

"No thanks, I will be on my way. Good luck with your mission" Jay replied once more as he began to walk away.

The woman in black light armor stepped in front of him like a bully blocking their next victim.

"You appeared from within this dangerous forest which all adventurers were told to stay clear of. We believe you could be apart of the problem causing these walking corpses and unless you enter with us, you will be arrested and taken in for questioning." she said in a low voice as to avoid the others from hearing.

With no choice, Jay chose to follow behind. He was not strong enough to face all of these adventurers and if push came to shove, he would escape straight away.

He kept his anger hidden as he entered the forest with the group.