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Path to Prosperity - B1 Chapter 22
🕑 Added 2024-06-29 12:11:07 +0000 UTCShould I [Consume] the bunnies and continue hunting until I’m tired, or do I need more money? The Prosperity earned through [Consume] is too low. The Guild’s additional rewards, in addition to the guild missions, should earn a fair bit. I can always use [Consume] after earning a fair buck.
Percy looked down on his body and winced. After fighting a few more Berserk Rabbit packs, Percy’s clothes were torn in multiple spots. Several spots were drenched in blood – not his – and it was only a matter of days before he would have to throw this set of clothes away as well. Percy might have saved some money, but it was still not enough to purchase the leather armor he’d been looking for.
“Money it is then,” He murmured, stuffing the last bunnies into his overflowing leather bags before returning to Raewood.
His trip to the town didn’t take long. He met some Adventurers, who noticed him with a curt nod. Percy nodded back and hurried to the Guildhall, where he found Olivia.
“I killed 51 Berserk Rabbits,” Percy announced, retrieving his Bronze Guild Emblem and the hunting spoils. Since he’d registered a culling mission for 50, 100, and 200 Berserk Rabbits, processing his mission was simple.
Olivia counted the spoils and nodded in satisfaction. She updated his Bronze Guild Emblem and retrieved some coins.
“That’s one silver and 31 copper coins. Here you go,” Olivia slid the money across the wooden counter and watched Percy break into a vibrant smile.
“If I may say something,” She said suddenly, only to wait for a second as Percy pocketed his money, “I’d recommend you to stay near the outskirts of the forest, as close as possible to Raewood, if you’re planning to continue hunting today and tomorrow. We never know when something…happens again…”
There are so many Berserk Rabbits near the outskirts. I don’t think anyone can hunt that many in a day or two. There shouldn’t be an issue with that.
“I’m not going to rush too deep into the forest yet,” Percy nodded with a smile and turned around. He left the Guildhall, only to hear Olivia mumble behind him, “Yet, is not exactly what I wanted to hear.”
More hunting!
Returning to the wilderness after a forced break lasting more than a week was a fantastic experience. He’d gained more combat experience, his mana mastery had increased, and his Tier was two ranks higher than the last time he’d been out hunting. It came as no surprise how excited he was after hunting a few Berserk Rabbits. However, he wanted more. Percy sincerely hoped to encounter another Hill Hog.
But before he left Raewood again, Percy visited Butcher Kevin with the Berserk Rabbit corpses.
Interestingly enough, the butcher wasn’t alone in his shop. Three unknown faces worked diligently behind the butcher’s counter. Less surprisingly, they dissected Berserk Rabbits.
I thought he was a longer. To think he would share his counter with other butchers.
Percy greeted Butcher Kevin, but neither had any time to spare. Kevin was busy and knew Percy had come to him with more work. While more work was appreciated, Butcher Kevin couldn’t help but abhor Percy’s timing.
They exchanged a few sentences before Percy left with emptied leather bags. He rushed back to the wilderness with hurried strides and jumped into action, ignoring the sensation in the back of his head.
Calm down. Nobody encountered any monsters other than the Berserk Rabbits. They scared everyone away with their numbers. I will be fine.
Percy didn’t endure it any longer in the town’s safety. He didn’t dislike the town as much as before. The old man’s prejudice against Raewood no longer existed in his mind. If anything, Percy took a liking to Raewood.
That was why he couldn’t stay in the town while the other Adventurers were hunting with their lives on the line. Maybe others wouldn’t mind. It was likely they wouldn’t care about him in the first place. However, Percy didn’t want his reason to hide in Raewood to be the threats in the wild – the unknown threat who’s eliminated several experienced Adventurers.
He loathed himself for thinking it would be alright to stay hidden in Raewood and do nothing about the Berserk Rabbit plague. He would hate himself until the day he died if the reason he didn’t dare to venture outside town was… because he was too afraid to die in the wilderness where nobody protected him.
No, Percy could protect himself.
Hunting is exciting, and so is growing stronger. Of course, pain is shit, but it’s not like I’m losing an arm every time I leave Raewood. Even if something happens, I will make it out alive and return stronger!
He grasped his iron dagger tightly and resumed the rabbit hunt. The plague had to be solved, and a fortune had to be earned. After all, he had to grow even stronger!
Percy’s hunt continued seamlessly. The number of packs around the area decreased, and he barely managed to kill one pack with too many Adventurers roaming around to earn a small fortune, just like he wanted to. The decreasing number of Berserk Rabbits near Raewood was great for the town but annoying for the Adventurers, who were forced to venture deeper into the forest or around.
Percy considered entering the forest with some Adventurers but decided against it. He promised Olivia to be careful, so he ended up being one of the few Adventurers who made a detour around the forest.
That came in handy because Percy discovered several groups of Berserk Rabbits in an hour. They died quickly at his hand, filling his bags to the brim once again.
Since I’m a bit further away, it shouldn’t be an issue to use [Consume]. Running back and forth for an hour wastes too much precious time. Maybe the Berserk Rabbits won’t be here by the time I retu–... What is that?
Percy’s attention lingered on a few Berserk Rabbits. Their interface, to be precise.
[Berserk Rabbit – Mature/Corrupted – 14 Prosperity.]
The Berserk Rabbits with different interfaces had a few things in common. A new tag appeared next to their growth cycle, [Consume], which would reward Percy with a lot more Prosperity, and they smelled awful. It hadn’t been five minutes since he killed the corrupted Berserk Rabbits before their carcasses started smelling really bad.
What is going on here? Their combat prowess wasn’t different, but I could gain more Prosperity. They also stink…terrible. That shouldn’t be a monster evolution. Evolving monsters should be stronger than the norm.
Percy contemplated what to do with the corrupted corpses. The easiest solution was to use [Consume] on the bodies and have them disappear. However, that didn’t sit right with Percy. He shook his head.
Rustling bushes and creaking trees forced Percy to empty his mind. He dived to the ground and crawled to a nearby trunk, unsure what was happening. But the combination of loudly creaking trees and corrupt Berserk Rabbits didn’t sit well together.
Percy’s heart beat wildly, but he didn’t make a move. A single wrong move could decide between life and death.
The commotion continued and intensified. It wasn’t long until a nearby tree cracked and split apart. Percy had to suppress his urge to jump up and run for his life. That would pull more attention in his direction, and attention was certainly the last thing Percy wanted right now.
A terrifying roar reverberated through the surroundings, but something was off.
Pain? That isn’t the roar of a monster filled with vigor, confidence, and raw power. It’s a desperate scream filled with pain.
The commotion intensified, and more roars resounded. It continued for several minutes, which Percy used to change his position. He didn’t make any big moves but crawled over the ground, searching for a thicker tree trunk to hide behind.
I am too far from Raewood to reach the guards. Whatever is out there will tear me into shreds long before I warn anyone.
Percy recalled his fight with the Gnoll and the death of the Silver-ranked Adventurers, and he shuddered. Maybe he was growing stronger quickly, but that didn’t mean anything. He was still not truly powerful. Not powerful enough just yet, at least.
The commotion continued, and Percy listened intently. He infused his ears with mana to listen carefully, but there wasn’t much to listen to.
A snort? No, it is a laugh. Someone is laughing?
Percy wanted to remain hidden in the bushes near the large tree, but his drive to understand what he was dealing with overshadowed his fear. Even if it was merely a quarter of a second, Percy moved slowly until he could see around the tree trunk. He pushed the bushes aside, not longer than a moment, and unraveled a devastating scene before his eyes.
The first thing he saw were several greenish-brown-skinned humanoids. They weren’t human or part of any officially registered intelligent races. However, Percy recalled them. They were three-meter tall, and their bodies were more muscles than anything else. Their bodies were riddled with old scars, but that didn’t matter anymore. The marks that had been a clear indicator of their achievements were useless now that they were dead.
What are Orcs doing here, and how is this…thing…dealing with them?
Orcs were already dangerous foes. Their physical strength was extraordinary. It mixed well into their physique and weapon mastery of heavy weapons. Fighting an elderly Orc was difficult for Silver-rank Adventurers as well. Yet, a lone hunter had torn those fearsome Orcs into countless pieces.
The lone hunter was humanoid as well. However, it didn’t look anything like the monsters and humanoids Percy had seen in his books.
No, that’s not true.
He broke into a cold sweat studying the lone hunter. It couldn’t have been taller than Percy and had an even more fragile physique. To Percy, the lone hunter looked malnourished.
How can anyone with such a frail body be so…strong?!
Percy shuddered. The lone hunter’s purple skin was coated in shimmering black oil. He didn’t know where the oil came from but saw darkness oozing from its claws.
It laughed – a grotesque sound etched deep into Percy’s mind – while tearing the Orcs’ corpses into tiny pieces. The lone hunter wasn’t even trying to feast on the bodies. It was playing with them!
As the lone hunter turned around, Percy stopped breathing. It didn’t notice him or maybe didn’t care about his existence. All the creature seemed to care about were the Orc corpses. However, as the bodies didn’t return from the back, the lone hunter cursed aloud. Percy didn’t know the creature's language, but he could tell its anger.
It kicked one of the orcs’ heads, shattering it at once. The skull fragments and brain matter spurted in all directions, but the lone hunter didn’t pay any further attention to that.
It roared aloud and only stopped when it smelled something in the air. It sniffed and laughed again.
It dashed deeper into the forest a moment later, leaving a trail of pained screams and desperation.
It ignored the corpses after playing with them…
He stared blankly at the carnage before him. Not a single orc body was left intact. Either their limbs were twisted or ripped out of their bodies, or they missed a leg. Some orcs had been ripped in two halves as well. Percy imagined how strong the humanoid monster must have been in using raw power to rip an orc into two halves.
He shuddered and swallowed even harder when his eyes traveled to the spilled intestines, the hearts that had been carved out of their chests, and their shattered skulls.
I should leave before this…thing returns.
For a quarter of a second, Percy was overwhelmed by greed. Dashing to the corpses and staying around them for a while should be enough to claim possession of them. Using [Consume] to swallow the orcs and turn them into Prosperity would be enough to grow much stronger in no time. However, a single screech from the humanoid creature – its grotesque laugh – was enough to discard that thought.
His life was still more important than some Prosperity.
He took a deep breath and moved slowly. It wasn’t until Percy could be certain that the humanoid creature was running away from the carnage field that Percy jumped into action. First, he walked slowly, making as little noise as possible.
However, when the creature’s sound echoed through the forest from even further away, Percy started running. He didn’t hesitate to augment his legs with mana and return to Raewood.
Percy broke into a sweat, realizing only how far he’d gone on his way back. It took much longer than expected to return to the town.
He reached the guards and ushered a warning before charging straight to the Guildhall.
Inside the Guild, he came to a halt. His chest heaved up and down heavily.
“You’re back already? How many Berserk Rabbits did you sl–...”
Percy didn’t allow Olivia to finish her question. He shot to the counter, taking the receptionists by surprise.
But his next words shocked them even more.
“I found a Demon in the woods!”
