Chapter 2: Bounty on Their Heads
He could only dodge. If he got hit, he would die.
He tried to run forward, but its feet caught him again.
He dodged, but then he looked at the monster.
This time, the wolf-like monster moved its front right leg fast... too fast for him to notice.
In the next moment, from the side, a hand-like attack came.
It hit Arya in a single second.
He couldn’t dodge this time.
His small body was thrown through the air and crashed into a huge rock wall.
But a protection barrier activated.
When he hit the wall, the stone cracked.
Yet he didn’t feel pain.
But the energy... was going down.
Fast.
If his energy finished, he could not use the barrier anymore. freeweɓnøvel.com
And if that happened... he would fall.
And if he fell now... he would die for sure.
Then he flew again into the air as the wolf came toward him at full speed and jumped, all three heads opening their mouths to eat him. Before they reached him, he moved away, and the wolf crashed into the wall before falling down, blood coming from its heads.
Before it could get up, the wall cracked and stones fell down onto it. Dust spread everywhere, filling the air, and for a moment nothing could be seen.
Slowly, the dust cleared.
The wall was broken, and everything became quiet. He thought the monster was dead, and he felt relief.
Then he looked at his status and saw he didn’t have much energy left. Before another monster came, he knew he had to leave, because with low energy he would not survive long.
He turned in the air to move away, but before he could go, stones behind him shifted.
The monster came out.
It was not dead. freewebnøvel.coɱ
But its left head was cut by the stones, and now it had only two heads.
Arya had only 25% energy left.
I should finish this fast, he thought.
Then he remembered his fire ability. This was his last chance—if it worked, he would survive, if not, he would die.
The monster attacked again, rushing toward him. Before it reached him, he used a fireball. It grew bigger as he made it, but as its size increased, his energy dropped quickly.
He reached his limit.
The fireball shot forward and hit the wolf monster.
Monster was burning from it... flames spreading across its body
This time... it died.
But Arya’s energy reached zero.
His body slowly fell, his eyes closing as he lost consciousness.
He was lucky.
He didn’t fall straight into the river.
Instead, he landed on a large piece of wood, a broken tree floating in the river, moving slowly with the current.
Hours passed, and he was still sleeping while the river water carried him away through the dark forest.
Near the riverside, two adventurers were camping there. A monster rabbit was burning over the fire, and the smell spread in the air. It was a little big, and they had brought it to eat.
Both of them were adults, Ronnie and Hina.
As they sat there talking to each other,
Hina suddenly noticed something in the river.
"Ronnie... look there," she said softly.
She looked carefully.
A baby was floating on a piece of wood, moving with the river current.
"There is a baby in the river!" Hina shouted.
Both of them quickly stood up.
"You have to save that baby, or the baby will drown in the water!" Hina said.
Without thinking anymore, Ronnie jumped into the river and swam toward him. The current was fast and strong, pushing against him, but somehow he reached the baby and pulled him out from the water.
Then both of them checked if the baby was still alive or not.
The baby was still breathing.
They felt relief.
Hina carefully took the baby from Ronnie.
The baby was still sleeping peacefully, and she used her healing magic item on him.
"Whose baby is this? Why was this baby left in Dark Forest where monsters are everywhere?" Hina asked.
Ronnie stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
"I think this baby was given as a sacrifice to demons," Ronnie said quietly while looking at the sleeping baby.
"I heard some villages give baby sacrifices to demons so demons will not attack them. Instead, demons protect them."
He stayed silent for a moment before continuing.
"Many years ago, a demon attacked a village. Then the demon told them, ’If you give me offerings, I will stop attacking. Instead, I will protect all of you.’"
"So from that day, the village started giving offerings every year."
The fire moved slowly between them as Ronnie looked down.
"But after many sacrifices, the village population started decreasing. Only old people were left there. Many people ran away because they thought one day their children would become the next sacrifice."
Hina’s expression changed slightly.
"I thought this ritual stopped long ago... but some places still do this."
"Because they want power from demons," Ronnie said. "They worship them like gods."
Both of them became confused.
Because they knew if they returned the baby back to his parents, it would not solve the problem. Instead, it would create even more problems.
The parents and villagers would think the demons did not accept their offer.
That would mean the village was in danger.
And because of this baby, they would think the baby was cursed.
Not only the baby... even his parents could be blamed.
And in fear, they would kill them.
After thinking for a long time, they finally made a decision.
They would take him with them.
Both of them were a couple, but they did not have a child.
Now, they decided to make the baby their own child.
But before they left, they promised each other one thing.
They would never tell anyone that this baby was not theirs.
And because they had stayed outside the town for two years, it would make things easier for them.
A happy ending...
That was all Arya wanted.
After being thrown from the mountain to die, his journey suddenly took a turn when he met them.
Now he had a new family.
People who loved him.
The normal life he wanted.
But while he was still sleeping, he did not know what was happening around him.
And who knows what would happen in the future.
After traveling for days in a horse carriage, they finally reached near the town.
The road passed through forest areas, and the carriage moved slowly across the rough path.
Then suddenly—
Another horse carriage rushed past them at full speed.
As it crossed by, many papers flew from the back of that carriage into the air.
Some flew away with the wind.
One of them suddenly hit Ronnie’s face.
At that moment, he was driving the carriage.
Inside, Hina was sitting beside the sleeping baby.
The paper blocked Ronnie’s eyes completely.
The carriage was still moving.
"Damn—!"
Ronnie quickly grabbed the rope tightly and pulled it hard.
The horses stopped suddenly.
The carriage lost balance and tilted toward the side of the road.
But luckily, it did not fall.
Inside the carriage, Hina quickly grabbed the baby and covered him with her body.
Dust rose into the air.
Hina pushed away the cloth covering the front side of the carriage.
"What happened? Why did you stop suddenly? Did something happen?" Hina asked worriedly.
Ronnie removed the paper from his face and took a deep breath.
"I don’t know... suddenly this paper came in front of me and blocked everything."
He was about to throw it away.
But then he noticed something written on it.
His eyes stopped.
Slowly, he opened the paper and started reading.
Then his expression changed.
Shock appeared on his face.
Hina noticed immediately and walked closer while carrying the baby.
"What is it?" she asked.
When she looked at the paper—
She froze.
It was not just a paper.
It was a poster.
A wanted poster.
And on it... were both of their faces.
There was a bounty on their heads.