This was one of the worst parts for him. But hunger was hunger, and he needed strength.
Amon took a deep breath. "What great things humans need to do for hunger," he muttered to himself. Then he vanished from his position.
In the next instant, he dashed forward, his body blurring as black light wrapped around his sword.
The blade glowed with a dark sheen. It was darkness elent ford by mana. The monsters reacted instantly.
Screech!
All five turned toward him at once, shrieking loudly as they lunged together, claws raised, mouths open wide. But they were too slow for him.
Amon twisted his body mid-run and swung his sword.
Slash!
A clean arc of black light flashed through the air. Two monsters were cut in half before they could even touch him, their bodies collapsing lifelessly onto the forest floor.
The remaining three roared in fury and attacked from different directions. One leaped from the front.
Another from the side. The third climbed a tree and jumped down from above.
"Roaaarrrr!"
"Kkekkhhhh!"
"Kehkkkk!"
The monsters scread. They roared.
Amon’s eyes stayed calm. He stepped forward, ducked under the first claw, and drove his sword upward.
Stab!
The dark blade pierced straight through the monster’s chest. The black blood of the monster splashed through the air.
Before the body even fell, Amon pulled the sword free, spun, and kicked off the tree trunk.
Bang!
He launched himself upward, eting the monster mid-air.
Slash!
A black line ford in midair. The monster’s head flew off, landing far away with a dull thud.
The last one screeched and charged blindly. Amon landed softly on the ground.
Then he disappeared again. The monster froze. A thin black line appeared across its neck. A second later.
Thud!
The body collapsed. Silence returned to the forest.
Amon stood still, sword dripping with black blood. His breathing was steady, not even slightly strained.
"...That was easy," he said quietly. Amon stared at his hands. He was undoubtedly stronger than before. He smirked at that. At least there were so good things since coming here. He was getting stronger much faster than ever.
He looked at the fallen monsters, his expression conflicted.
"...I really hate this part."
Still, he walked forward. Hunger left him no choice. He needed to butcher their skin, clean the at, then find a place to rest and roast it well. Again without any salt or spice.
But skinning them was the worst part for him.
He observed his surroundings. Now he didn’t know where to go from this place, or which direction he should travel.
"For now, I will peel their skins. Hehe~ food."
Amon took one dead monkey monster near him and dragged it toward a tree. Amon sat on the ground and leaned his back against the black trunk.
Then he pulled out a knife from his storage ring. The monsters were rank one. Too easy for him.
The sharp blade of his knife made a cut on its skin. Then he slowly slid the knife inside and peeled it carefully.
Black blood continued to ooze from it.
"Shit! Where should I clean it? I don’t have enough water."
Amon stared back at the Celestial Tree. There was clean water at the bottom. He shook his head. He couldn’t go back. The bottom was too deep and too far.
He focused back on the monster. The peeling of the first monster was done.
After that ca cutting it. Amon cut only those parts that had more at. He didn’t try to cut every part. If he did that, then he would need to take out its organs as well.
Which he clearly wanted to avoid.
"The at looks so black."
One by one, Amon butchered the other monsters as well. He kept them in his storage ring. It didn’t matter if they got rotten.
He needed to keep them with him as long as they could stay good, though Amon didn’t think they would be okay for more than two days.
Amon had two storage rings. One from the assassin with whom he had co, and the other was his own.
So Amon stored all tools in one ring, making the other empty. Then he put all the black, bloodied at inside the second ring.
He stood up, stretched his stiff shoulders, and glanced around the dark forest once more.
The silence had returned.
No screeches. No movents. Only the distant rustling of leaves and the faint creaking of branches far away.
"...Alright," he muttered. "Next problem. Water. Fire. And a place to survive the night."
Since he saw monsters here, who knew. There might be water nearby. Weak monsters tended to roam around water sources since they needed to drink water like him.
Stronger monsters, like rank four or above, hardly needed any water. They could survive for months without drinking.
He picked a direction from where those monsters had co from and began to walk.
His pace was steady but cautious. The black forest was not a place where one could relax. Even though he felt stronger than before, he did not let his guard down.
His sword remained in his hand, angled downward, ready to be raised at a mont’s notice.
As he walked, he paid close attention to the ground.
Dry leaves crunched softly beneath his boots. Thick roots coiled like sleeping snakes across the forest floor.
"I never saw any normal animals in this forest."
Just like monsters or say beasts. Normal animals did exist. Most rank one and two monsters depended on animals for food.
But he had never seen any animal, insect, or anything here. Though these monsters also ate other monsters, they targeted weaker ones.
"No wonder those rank zero monsters are too rare here."
He continued his march. Occasionally, he stepped over broken bones. All of them belongs to monsters.
"This place really is ssed up..." Amon murmured.
Minutes passed. Then more.
He searched for signs of water. Damp soil, moss-covered stones, the sound of flowing liquid, but found nothing. The air remained dry and cold, carrying only the scent of rot and old wood.
After more than an hour, he finally heard sothing.
Drip.
Drip.
Amon stopped instantly.
His head turned slightly, ears focusing. The sound was faint but real.
Drip... drip...
"That’s water," he whispered.
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