Chapter 18 - Saved

After killing the Ex-Humanoid, Theo continued his journey to the next area. He killed a few monsters and grabbed all the loot he found on the way.

When lunch came, he went to a safe place to have lunch.

He grabbed the sandwich he bought in the morning while checking his status.

Status: Normal

Level: 21

EXP: 223/267

Blessing: God of Mischief

Skill: Pierce (F), Clone (F), Monkey Fist (F), 7 Slots Remaining

Attributes: Strength 35, Endurance 15, Agility 24, Vitality 15, Magic Power 30

Free Attribute Points: 0

After defeating the Ex-Humanoid, he realized how much he relied on his clone. And using a clone required magic power. With his current fighting style, he wouldn't have enough magic power to continue until sunset, so he chose to spend all the attribute points he got on magic power.

With the additional magic power, even though he still had no confidence, he should be able to get by had he used the clone conservatively.

"It's really hard to maintain two different attributes.." Theo furrowed his eyebrows while letting out a long sigh. "Most people don't need a huge amount of magic power because they usually fight in the front line. Using skill is necessary, but not the most important. However, I need the clone, which happens to take a toll on me.."

He took out the loot he got from the monsters he met earlier.

Bear Fur (F)

Good materials for clothing.

Ex-Humanoid Claw (F)

A hard material that could be used to strengthen a weapon when it's forged.

Wilow Bird Great Talon (F)

A good looking material for house decoration.

".." Theo fell silent when he looked at these three items aside from the monkey tail. "Hmm..Everything has been digitalized and I can sell these digitally. However, I can only sell cheaper because of the commission I need to pay for selling it, so most hunters, including me, prefer the traditional way of trading since it gives me more money."

People sold almost everything on the internet, but they also paid a significant charge for the safety of their items. And even though the items would also be delivered to your home with drones, it just drained their money even further.

That was why the hunters, usually newbies, preferred the traditional way because they could get at least twenty percent more.

Besides, the transfer wasn't recorded, so they didn't need to pay taxes since the government didn't know about it.

historical

That was Theo's reason for trading with the old man.

"Well, I like the fact that my name or bank account is not known by the other party when doing the Swift Transfer. This way, I can keep this second identity for a little longer which will benefit me in the long run."

"Let's see..If I sell these four items to the traditional market, I should be able to get around 3000 Zils, while if I go for the Skylink route, I will only get 2500 Zils."

Skylink.. was the name of the biggest network on the internet that connected everyone in the world. They controlled almost everything, starting from Search Engines, e-commerce, and any other things that could be found on the internet.

They had the help of governments worldwide because their network also helped them monitor the people to get a tax record.

"Well, I don't plan to do it the traditional way forever. I will start using Skylink if my situation is a bit better." Theo let out a long sigh. "Anyway, rather than feeling down about this trivial stuff, I need to put more effort in killing monsters today. I should be able to get 6000 Zils at this pace.."

He finished his lunch and rose from the ground, ready to look for another monster. However, he quickly hid behind a tree when he heard something moving in the bushes. He took a peek and found two people crawling behind the bushes as if they feared something around the area. "Hmm?"

He almost forgot the fact that this place was often filled with people. He quickly reached out the mask in his bag and put it on, not wanting to be recognized by someone.

Theo avoided this type of trouble, so he quickly went around them to stay away from their problem.

Suddenly, he found himself getting entangled in something that was not supposed to be here. He thought by going around the two people, he would be able to go on his way.

But to think that the monster had yet to arrive and made its appearance in front of Theo.

"Wh—" Theo drew a gasp and took a step back when he saw a blood-red bat flying in front of him.

He had no knowledge about the bat, but he knew that the bat was not supposed to be in this area. The wingspan of this bat alone was ten feet and the fangs on its mouth looked sharp enough to shred him into pieces instead of sucking his blood.

The bat continued on its way, flying straight toward Theo.

Theo threw himself to the left, but the bat was too fast. With this timing, the bat would obviously hit him.

In the last second, he managed to put up his spear on the front, stopping the bat's charge.

The impact hit harder than he expected. Rolling a few times on the ground, he kept his mind calm and pushed hard with his hand, launching him to the air to stabilize his body and adjust his position.

Before the bat turned around, he took out his device to check the bat's identity.

Name: Blood Sucking Bat

Level: 51-60

"!!!" Theo blinked his eyes a few times. As he expected, the monster wasn't supposed to be here.

He found that the bat had turned around and made the same turn for himself before running as fast as he could.

Unfortunately, the bat caught up in an instant and opened its jaw, trying to his shoulders with those sharp teeth.

Theo spun his body and protected himself with the spear, but the bat's strength was far higher than he expected. It pinned him to the ground with its two teeth almost hitting his shoulder.

'I won't die..' He clenched his teeth and summoned his clone.

The moment Clone Theo appeared, he drew the sword in Theo's waist before swinging upward.

Sensing the danger with that sword, the bat flew several feet back while glaring at the two Theos.

'Should I fight the bat? I once killed a Rock Turtle. Their level is about the same, so..' Theo shook his head. 'I shouldn't be too naive. Even the God of Mischief told me how lucky I was.. I should run.'

Theo decided not to take the risk. He believed that those who could win against the bat were only protagonists in stories or abnormal people. At the very least, he was neither of the two.

A normal person followed the most logical option. And that option was run.

The two Theos turned around and ran away.

The bat chased both of them, but its movement was more inclined to the real Theo.

Theo found a giant boulder in front of him and went around it without hesitation.

The bat surely couldn't recognize him, so he quickly traded places with his clone, but Theo forgot one thing.

The bat let out its ultrasonic sound and followed the movement behind the rock. After locking on the real Theo, the bat increased its speed, trying to hunt him down like earlier.

Theo glanced back with a smile. "I have expected that you won't get tricked by this.."

Suddenly, Clone Theo appeared next to the bat, swinging his sword down.

The bat didn't even look at him and simply opened its mouth. A high-pitched voice came out, disturbing Theo's brainwave. His eardrums were about to burst from that sound.

But more importantly, Clone Theo stopped and dropped the weapon because Theo lost control of it when taking the full brunt of the sound wave.

"Not good!" Theo used his spear to block the charge, but the same thing repeated. He was launched, rolled on the ground, and hit a tree with his back. "Gah."

He spat a mouthful of blood while looking at the bat that had yet to stop its charge.

"I was truly lucky back then.." Theo finally felt the impact of those words, albeit it was on his last moment. "It seems this is the end.."

Although he knew that he would die at this point since his body refused to move, he still managed to set his spear's butt on the ground and raised it so the bat would die when it tried to kill him.

Suddenly, the most unexpected thing happened. The bat let out a sound, and its eyes looked hollow.

The body began to separate from each other, perfectly in the middle. The blood spurted out following the movement of the body, which dyed Theo in red. The ground, his clothes, and his spear were not spared.

He could see a figure after the bat passed his body. Even though his vision was red, he could recognize who just killed the bat and saved him.

Alea Eilric.