Chapter 33: Ch 33: What is this Monster? - Part 1
I entered the alley I had seen the shadow enter with, moving with high caution.
I was ready to face anything, but I did not see anything at first.
The alley was dark, but my eyes were good against the dark — it was yet another skill I had acquired.
[Skill: Night Vision active]
I slowly walked toward the deeper end of the alley, and my sharp hearing picked up various sounds.
tip
The sound of water hitting the ground broke the monotonous silence, along with a rustling tal noise.
screech
Sothing was being dragged against a tal surface and it made
shiver to hear that loud noise.
The sll in the alley was overwhelmingly disgusting — a mix of rotten flesh and fresh blood. I almost did not want to take another step forward.
But I forced myself to keep moving, even as the alley faded and kept reminding
of the battlefield I had left behind.
’Just a little more. I need to keep moving.’
I forced myself, and then I felt sothing run over my foot. The furry thing touched my leg and I instinctively kicked it, but I connected with nothing.
The alley was getting creepier by the second and I suddenly regretted coming here.
’Why is curiosity such a bastard? Every ti I follow it, things never end well. I should kill it—’
Sothing furry touched my neck and I clasped my hand over it to check what it was. But just like before, there was nothing there.
The sudden contact and then finding nothing was maddening.
grrrr
The slight growl sounded too loud and echoey in the alley. I could not pinpoint where it was coming from since my ears picked it up from all sides.
"What a hassle. Should I just attack everywhere I hear the sound coming from?"
I asked myself, but my voice sounded too loud in the silence.
Just as I reached the source of the rancid sll, I felt sothing jump at
and I dodged to my left.
The heavy body landed on the ground but made almost no noise. I quickly activated a flash spell to see what had attacked .
[Skill activated — Lightning Ball]
The flash of light gave
a better look at the half-rotten beast in front of . It looked like a horrible mix between a tiger and a wolf.
I almost mistook it for a dungeon monster, but truthfully that thing was too degraded to be one.
After all, most monsters I had faced or checked docuntation for were healthy, with shiny fur and able bodies. They also healed fast if you left them alone.
But this half-dead beast did not feel or look like a dungeon monster.
’Then where did this monster co from and what is it doing here? Ugh, I can find those answers later. For now, I should take care of the monster.’
The chira jumped toward
once more, but this ti I took out a staff from my inventory and intercepted the attack before using my strength to push the monster back.
GRRRR
The monster sounded confused and angry at the sudden show of force.
Sharp claws headed toward my face, but I dodged them again and attacked the monster from the side.
My staff struck the lower side of its belly and the sharp impact made the monster huff in pain.
"Do you want
to end this painlessly? Then hold still."
I told the monster, my eyes showing no rcy. I did not know whether the monster understood
or not, but it was too stunned to move.
Ultimately, my staff landed a critical hit and the monster died in a single blow, finally freed from its misery.
I did not feel bad for the creature, or about what I had done. Killing was second nature to most hunters and I was no different.
"I should check whether the monster was really from a dungeon or not first. Then I should remove the evidence that anything happened here."
I kneeled in front of the dead body and used my skill again.
[Skill activated — Lightning Ball]
Unlike the first ti, my skill lasted longer and I was able to see the extent of the damage and how the monster looked.
The chira was in even worse condition than before. Both the one I had killed and the already dead one had rotting bodies.
Not only that, but bones showed through in places. The sll began to give
a headache again.
’Let’s see... if this truly belongs to a dungeon, then it should retain the residual power of that dungeon. As expected, I cannot feel anything from it.’
And it was not for the lack of trying on my part. There truly was no identification to mark where this creature ca from.
I could only conclude that this was a human-made creation.
As unlikely as it sounded, humans were cruel enough to force such a painful fate on other creatures if it served their purpose.
’But the bigger question is — why did they send these creatures here? Was it an accident or...?’
I had no clear answer, nor did I want to look too deep into things. It was entirely possible I would never have found this place if not for my hypersensitivity to my surroundings.
My logic told
to leave the issue alone, but my training told
not to. Between instincts and training, training won.
I took out a pen and paper from my system’s inventory — the kind hunters used to leave notes — and I quickly wrote a note about the situation.
Then I used my most useful skill.
[Skill — Evidence Erasure activated]
Soon, a mist covered the area and erased any mark that could identify
or my presence. Anyone below my level would never know I had been there.
Then I went to the calling booth and made an anonymous call to the Luminous Guild to report the scene. I made my voice sound harsher by speaking through a mask while giving the details.
Then I used Evidence Erasure once more to erase any trace of my presence.
This was likely the skill I had used most during my ti as a hunter, and sohow it remained my go-to after I retired.
I did not wait around to see whether soone would co.
After all, the hour deadline I had told Emma about had already passed and Theo would likely throw a fit because I was late again.
"Ugh, I do need to do sothing about Theo and his reliance on . I know he does not have any mory of his ti before eting , but still — he needs to live his own life now."
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