Free Web NovelChapter 8: Chapter 8: Greed
Aiden stared at the three approaching hobgoblins.
When they looked into the crimson eyes of their prey turned predator, they felt something about the creature had changed. It was instinctive. The fellow was more dangerous than he previously was.
But, if they returned to the village without a prey, especially after the leader of their hunting group had died, they would be in big trouble.
They would be severely sanctioned.
Glints of coldness flashed through their eyes.
Their clubs came down on Aiden as their towering figures loomed above him.
Aiden didn’t move.
Blobs of his blood materialised before him, thicker, denser.
They transformed into several arcs of blood and sliced through the heads of the three hobgoblins at the same time.
Their descending clubs halted midair. Then fell out of their hands to the ground.
Their heads had been cut cleanly into several pieces. The pieces slid off their necks, blood spraying all over.
Their figures plummeted to the ground.
They were dead.
The arcs of blood that had sliced through their heads, turned into blobs of blood and returned into Aiden. His eyes resumed their normal black color.
Aiden closed his eyes slightly.
Aiden reached for the blood essence within the three dead bodies with awareness.
The blood essence responded.
The blood essence flowed into him.
He felt a surge. He opened his eyes. A crimson hue flashed through it.
"My strength can still be quantified on the level of a beginner rank 1 warrior. But I’m several times stronger than I used to be previously," Aiden said.
"Do these guys have energy cores?"
Energy cores were always located in the chest region of creatures with energy cores. Creatures who had energy cores could be classified as chaotic beasts, even if they were humanoid.
Aiden decided to check.
He formed a crimson knife with his blood and gently sliced through the chest of one of the hobgoblins.
His hand dug through the chest. Eventually, he hit something hard, near the heart.
He pulled it out. It was crystalline and shiny.
"Seems like I won’t have to worry about money for a while when I return. I should also keep their bodies. If most of the creatures I’ll come across will have energy cores, I could make a lot of money when I return. I will have enough money to spare after renting an apartment. Fortunately for me, I bought a storage bag from the guy who was selling storage bags on the train."
The bag was very small. It was a new technology the Global Artifact Engineers Association had come up with. These storage bags were very tiny, like pouches. However, one could store large items in them. The storage capacity of a storage bag naturally depended on the price.
Aiden took out the storage bag and faced the opening towards the corpses after he dug out all their energy cores.
The corpses and energy cores of four hobgoblins disappeared into Aiden’s storage bag.
The storage bag shrunk considerably. Aiden put the tiny storage bag into his pocket and zipped the pocket.
"How convenient," Aiden thought. Technology these days was really advancing.
"I can’t head to the Hobgoblin village. Also, if they are an organized community like I’m theorising, they will most likely send stronger ones to investigate what happened to the four hobgoblins. I can’t remain here. It’s a pity I have to miss out on the chance of hunting the ostrich. But, I can’t be careless. Besides, even if more hobgoblins don’t show up, I should leave this place. The ostrich is far stronger than I am, and there is no way to distract it and kill its newly hatched babies. Perhaps, the mountains ahead will be a better hunting ground," Aiden thought.
When he climbed the tree earlier, he had mapped the routes that led to the mountain ahead in mind.
So, getting lost was not a problem. At least, he had a fair overview of possible routes to navigate.
But he did not know the kind of dangers he would encounter as he journeyed there.
Aiden decided to move. Instead of passing through the route where the ostrich was, Aiden decided to move around it.
He eventually arrived at a place in the forest, far from the territory of the ostrich.
"Humans? They must be from the train," Aiden thought.
Instead of approaching, he decided to observe them.
He hid behind a large tree and observed them.
"Why are you doing this to me?" a female shouted, distressed and pained. "I trusted you... aren’t you supposed to be my boyfriend?"
"Are you crazy? Do you think I have a hero complex?" The gentleman chuckled. "This is a secret realm for fuck’s sake, and you are bleeding to death. How are you expecting me to carry you with me? I’m not a warrior. I can’t even survive the dangers of this secret realm. How can I protect you?" The guy, angry, removed her hands from his chest.
The lady fell to the ground in tears. A gaping wound was on her abdomen. It was obvious that she had run into trouble and had gotten herself injured.
"I took the attack for you... you son of a bitch! When the creature attacked, I took the attack for you because I loved you," the lady said.
"Did I tell you to do that? Don’t be naive! It’s each man for himself," the gentleman sneered, about to walk away.
However, a creature appeared.
It was a large snake, as large as a car.
Before he realized, the creature had bit his head off. The remainder of his body fell on the ground as blood from his headless figure splattered everywhere.
The lady was so shocked that she died due to a heart attack.
Aiden observed everything from behind the tree with a calm expression. As for the altercation between the couple, he was not surprised. This was how the world was. A ruthless place. One had to think twice before they inconvenienced themselves out of kindness for another person.
He could not call the lady stupid for what she did for her boyfriend, and whether the man was wicked or he was simply trying to survive was not his to decide.
It was not his place to judge. But as for him, his desire was to become powerful so that no one would ever be able to decide how he chose to live his life. His goal was eternal autonomy through power. And to do that, he needed to be alive first. Aiden would always prioritize his survival first.
He looked at the large serpent. It slithered towards the dead body of the lady and bit off the head.
"A beginner rank 1 chaotic beast. It’s not weak. It’s a good thing I didn’t rush ahead. But seriously, what’s with this creature and biting off heads?" Aiden shook his head.
"It hasn’t discovered me. I can kill it from here."
A glint of greed flashed through his eyes.
