Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 24- Who Was He?
Chapter 24- Who Was He?
[You have killed a D-Rank Grey Wolf.]
[You have gained +10 Soul points.]
Zen instantly received a notification after the monster died. Staring at it, he grunted painfully. ’I guess we shared the points since she was the one who delivered the killing blow. Good. That will give her far more points than it gave me.’ He thought to himself as he tried to stand up, only to crouch again after he felt the sharp pain assault him out of nowhere.
"You can’t move like that. Here, hold my arm." Cipha said with a worried look on her face.
"Thank you, ugh, and I’m really sorry. I hurt myself pretty bad there." Zen said as he used Cipha for support to stand up again. "I should’ve expected what would happen and reacted accordingly. Really bad mistake."
"What? You were clearly hurt, so you couldn’t move." Cipha said. "You didn’t make any mistakes. In fact... I’m quite surprised that you were able... To fight like that. Where did you learn all of that?" She asked as she squinted her eyes.
"Hm?" Zen looked at her for a second. "Oh, haha, was I good? I didn’t learn anywhere, honestly. I was just fighting with instinct." He laughed awkwardly as he averted his eyes.
’Well, that’s a load of nonsense. But it’s certainly more believable than telling her that I’m actually a 50-year-old man from another life and that she will be my wife in the future. So, for now, this should do.’
However, Zen could see how Cipha didn’t believe what he said. She pored holes into his face with her eyes, and he could only cough awkwardly.
"Anyway, it seems we won’t have a peaceful time. So, we can’t stand around." He said. "I can still fight, so we need to move."
"Hm, yeah..." She said with a suspicious look on her face. Then, she helped Zen as they started walking away. Since their fight had created quite a bit of noise, they knew more and more beasts would come to them soon.
With that, the two continued their journey through the forest. Cipha used her sword to cut through the vines and branches as they headed north. For several hours, all they did was move, and through it all, they encountered several monsters that tried to attack them.
More wolves, rabid monkeys, and even large insects that fed on human flesh. However, none of them were strong enough to fight the two. Even if Zen was injured, he was still able to easily kill every target he faced.
[You have killed an E-Rank Golden Monkey.]
[You have gained +5 Soul Points.]
[You have killed...]
[You have gained +4 points...]
[You have killed...]
The notifications kept rolling endlessly and piling up rapidly as Zen slayed every monster in his path. With Cipha’s help, the two were invincible with almost perfect chemistry. They knew how to coordinate their attacks and effectively work on each other. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Zen knew why that was the case since he had worked with Cipha his entire life and he knew how she fought and how she liked to approach any situation. On the other hand, Cipha herself was surprised at how perfect their chemistry was.
"ROAR!!"
*Swish*
With a swift move, Zen sliced the head of a large rodent as it fell to the ground dead.
[You have killed a D-Rank Horned Rat.]
[You have gained +5 Soul Points.]
"Fuuuh..." He stretched his arms painfully. "We really can’t catch a break. Everywhere we go, there are monsters that want to kill us."
"Yeah..." Cipha said as she wiped the blood off her blade. "So far, we haven’t encountered any strong monsters."
’But, this is so odd. We have been working really well together... Almost too well.’ She thought to herself. ’I don’t know if he is doing it deliberately or not, but it’s as if he knows how I fight and immediately adapts to the situation...’
Cipha had never met anyone who understood her fighting style as well as Zen did, even though they had known each other for less than two days. Something just didn’t add up, but she couldn’t quite put her hand on it.
’Oh well, it is working out, so there is no point in worrying too much about it. But... Zen is... so odd.’ She mused as she stared at him. He was simply shrouded in mystery, to the point where it almost felt... unreal.
Something about him seemed out of this world and she didn’t understand why he made her feel that way. The more she got to know him, the more mysterious he got and that made her even more curious about him.
"Cipha?"
"Hm?" His voice snapped her out of her daze and made her look up.
"Are you ok?"
"Oh yeah, I’m fine." She then looked up at the sky. The sun was already setting in the distance, and the darkness was looming over their heads. "I think we should lie low for the night and rest. Moving in the darkness isn’t ideal."
"Yeah, I also need to recover a bit. The pain is getting worse." Zen said as he touched his side. While his healing was way faster than before, broken bones usually take weeks or even months to completely recover, so even if he could recover fast, it would still take days at least.
’By tomorrow, I should feel a lot better. It’s annoying to fight when your movement is so restricted.’ Zen thought to himself.
With that, the duo decided to find a good hiding spot to rest. Since this jungle was very thick, it wasn’t hard to find a big tree that they could cover with large leaves to create a primitive tent.
"That should do it." Cipha said as she dusted her hands.
"Hey, Cipha, look, I found these berries," Zen said. "I think they’re safe to eat. Here, have some."
Giving her a handful of them, Cipha examined them before she tasted one. "They’re wild berries, quite sweet."
"We should probably hunt tomorrow and find some actual food," Zen said as he sat down under the tent. "You did a great job with this tent."
"Thank you, it’s nothing fancy. I just learned how to survive in such situations as a part of my training as a kid." She replied.
"Oh, that is very cool," Zen replied. "I guess being a part of the Heavensoul clan makes you an expert in most situations."
"Hm, yeah," Cipha said as she sat down facing him. The sun had finally set behind the trees, so the world around them became darker. Using some branches, they set up a camp that illuminated the world around them.
The world became quiet, for the first time in several hours. The two spent the time quietly staring at the fire and trying to rest from the brutal day they had gone through.
A lot of things to think about, and even more to plan for the future.
"You can get some sleep, Zen. I will stay up to guard." Cipha said after a while.
"No, I’m not feeling tired. You can get some rest first. I will stay awake for a bit." Zen replied as he stared deeply into the fire with a serene look on his face.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yeah, you can get a few hours of rest, and then we will exchange." He said. "You deserve to get some rest."
Cipha stared at the smile on his face and could only wonder... Who this person was truly?
