Free Web NovelChapter 18: One move
Cole was no saint.....ahem, but he was not a demon either. Seeing a person begging for help stirred something in his heart, and he suddenly had the urge to jump down from the tree and fight the monster to the death.
Just as those thoughts appeared in his head, he shook his head to get rid of it.
No, I can’t let emotions get the better of me...
While hiding, he had already asked the Saint AI to assess both the monster and the young master from the Blue Family. Both of them were at the same stage as him. If even the young master could not do anything against the monster, he would be of no help either.
The only advantage he had over the young master was the AI chip, which could help him.
Just as these thoughts appeared in his mind, the Saint AI’s voice echoed in his head.
[Attack pattern of the monster completely understood.]
[Chance of predicting its next move: 95%]
That’s right. Ever since he arrived here, he had asked the Saint AI to study the monster’s attack pattern. Now that the AI had enough data, it could easily predict the monster’s next move, giving Cole an edge in the battle.
While he was thinking, the young master’s pleading voice continued to echo from below. By now, there was even a hint of anger in his tone.
"How dare you watch a member of the Blue Pegasus Family struggle to death? Once my family finds out that you watched a young master of the Blue Pegasus Family struggle against a monster and refused to help, neither you nor your family will be spared!"
Cole had already jumped down from the tree when he heard those words. If he had heard them a moment earlier, he might not have jumped, but now, no matter how much the young master angered him, he had no other choice but to fight.
Thud!
Cole almost lost his balance when he landed on the ground. Neither he nor the previous Cole had any experience doing such crazy maneuvers. Thankfully, before moving out, he had refined his body, otherwise he might have twisted his ankles or, worse, broken his legs.
Still, the next moment, something unexpected happened. Cole, who had almost been on the verge of losing his balance, moved in a heaven-defying way and almost instinctively regained it.
Cole felt shocked at his own movement, but now was not the time to pay attention to such things.
"Saint AI, show me the most optimal way to kill this monster."
[Processing request... deducing path...]
The surrounding space in Cole’s vision changed. A white line that only Cole could see appeared in the air. The line shot directly toward the monster’s rear, which was apparently its weakest spot.
Feeling slightly shaken, Cole tightened his grip on his newly bought sword and moved at his fastest speed.
The peak of the Nascent Trainee Realm was no joke. It allowed warriors to move at almost superhuman speed. Cole felt the wind brush past his cheek in a sweeping motion. Maybe after a prolonged battle with the young master of the Blue Pegasus Family, the monster was already tired or something else, but it was not able to react in time. By the time the monster detected his presence, Cole was already behind it, raising the sword in a threatening motion.
The Blue Pegasus young master also watched this scene and shouted loudly in disbelief.
Following his words, a dull wet sound of flesh being torn echoed through the air, and the three-foot sword sank deep into the monster.
it wasn’t clear whether the sword hit a vital spot, or maybe it was the humiliation itself... or something else, the next moment the monster spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.
Huff! Huff!
Cole’s heart was beating like a war drum beneath his chest. The hand holding the blood-stained sword was shaking like crazy. A deep realization hit him then.
This was the first time he had killed something in both of his lives.
If it were not for the Saint AI helping him, it might have been him dying instead of the nameless monster.
Meanwhile, the Blue Pegasus young master, who had been watching with a slightly stunned look in his eyes, had asked Cole for help but had never thought the young man would actually kill the monster in one attack. At most, he had expected a slight delay so that his reinforcements could finally arrive.
But as time passed, the Blue Pegasus young master looked into the distance, and his face darkened.
The reinforcements he had been waiting for might never arrive.
Thinking upto this point his face turned black.
Cole was not aware of what was going through the Blue Pegasus young master’s head. He turned to the bloodied monster and muttered something under his breath.
"Saint AI, scan this monster’s blood sample and add it to the monster bloodline database."
[Command accepted! Creating a new database: Monster Bloodline.]
After this, Cole finally turned his attention to something else. Looking at the monster’s corpse, he was reminded that because of this short detour, he was not going to forget why he had come to this forest in the first place.
With the Saint AI guiding him, Cole quickly found the monster core, a red mana stone no bigger than an adult fist.
After doing all this, he turned to the Blue Pegasus young master and said with an indifferent look on his face:
"So, young master, where is my reward for saving you?"
"Are you suggesting I will go back on my word? Visit the Blue Pegasus Family estate at any time and collect your reward."
Hearing those words, Cole shook his head. There was no way he was walking directly into the enemy’s den. If they realized who he really was, he might lose his identity faster than anything.
He gave the young master one look and said, "Keep the reward to yourself. If I have saved your life right here, then the reward should be given here as well."
"You...!"
The Blue Pegasus young master twitched intensely while looking at Cole’s behavior. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"You have quite the attitude. If you want the reward now, then I can only give you the monster materials I gathered while hunting in this forest."
Cole, who was walking away, subtly stopped when he heard those words. He turned and saw the young master holding a large leather pouch filled with red mana cores.
The next moment, like a ghost, he appeared directly in front of the young master and grabbed the bag without hesitation.
The young master’s face darkened. Seeing Cole take the entire bag, all of these cores were the result of his weeks of hard work. He felt bad.
Cole noticed this and smirked.
Huh? What’s this? Could it be your young master life is not worth the same as these cores?
The young master wanted to nod, but stopped himself. Although his family was rich but the resources spent on cultivation were too much, he had to save every penny. This was also the reason he had wanted Cole to collect the reward from the family. Now he had to part with his own money, young master felt as if heart had been stabbed by a sharp knife.
Cole firmly held the bag and started to walk away.
The Blue Pegasus young master watched Cole leave until his back was about to disappear from view. Then, gathering his courage, he asked:
"What is your name?"
Cole did not stop. He did not even turn back. Only his voice echoed through the silent atmosphere.
"Saint... Cole Saint."
