Free Web NovelChapter 22: Doorway To Earth Is Near
[Frontier Experience: 8.5%]
A grin appeared on Rohan’s face but immediately faded. Yes, he had truly taken a huge leap after slaying the three-headed serpent and gaining 2.0% from it. The remaining 6.5% had come from the red ants, the Rampaging Ursine and its guards, and the Man of Swarm.
Just one more day would be enough to get him to ten percent, and then he would leave for Earth and pay another old friend a visit before the Epochs were finally gathered.
Currently, he and the team sat around a fire that was roasting the meat from the three-headed serpent. Although these monsters might look inedible, in the hands of Hunters they could be turned into unique survival dishes worthy of a feast.
None of the team spoke as most of them threw strange glances at Rohan. He frowned slightly.
’I really didn’t try to hide it, but why are they still staring at me? Argh.’
"Umm," Priscilla broke the silence and called out to Rohan. "Don’t you think you should tell us what happened back there? How exactly did the beast die? For one, you were buried under the mud the whole time before the beast mysteriously fell."
Rohan carefully turned the stick holding the roasting serpent meat over the crackling flames, letting the fat drip into the fire with a soft hiss. He could feel four pairs of eyes drilling into him, each Hunter waiting for an explanation that made sense.
"I already told you," Rohan said, keeping his voice relaxed as he looked up with a slightly confused expression. "I slipped. The mud in that swamp was like grease. When I fell sideways, I completely lost my footing and went under."
Priscilla narrowed her eyes, her hand resting on her knee. "And then? A Standard Elite beast in a state of rage doesn’t just snap its own spine and collapse because a Hunter fell near it, Rohan."
"It didn’t collapse because of me," Rohan replied with a light shrug, gesturing toward Barry. "You guys are forgetting the massive spear Barry threw right into its left eye. That head was going completely wild from the pain. When the middle head lunged at Dominion, the blind left head thrashed sideways at the exact same moment. From what I saw right before I went under, the two necks literally collided with each other mid-strike. With the momentum they had from the Rage Trait, the impact basically snapped the middle head’s neck joint."
Barry blinked, looking down at his empty hands before looking back at Rohan. "Wait... my spear did that? I know I hit the eye, but the structure of an Elite beast is incredibly dense. And even if it did, the System would have announced the kill to me."
"It was already weakened," Rohan added quickly, building on the lie before anyone could dissect it. "Priscilla shattered the right head earlier, which probably put a massive strain on the main body’s skeletal structure. Then Dominion shifted the ground, throwing off its balance. My fall just happened to be in the right place at the right time to watch the whole thing cave in from below. The spear weakened it, but its own body ultimately killed it, so no one was awarded the kill."
He lied with ease.
Eric scratched the back of his head, a loud sigh of relief escaping his lips. "Man... talk about a miracle. If those heads hadn’t tangled up, Dominion would have been history. We got incredibly lucky."
Dominion didn’t say anything, but her tense shoulders finally relaxed a fraction. She looked at the fire, likely replaying the chaotic sequence in her mind. In the heat of battle, with mud flying and vision obscured by thick fog, a bizarre anatomical collision between two raging heads was just absurd enough to be believable for an unpredictable Frontier monster.
Priscilla, however, kept her gaze fixed on Rohan for a moment longer. She wasn’t entirely convinced, but without any proof of a hidden class or a high-level skill activation, she had no choice but to accept the explanation.
"If that’s what happened, then we used up a lifetime of luck today," Priscilla said coldly, leaning back against a stone. "We rest tonight. Tomorrow is our fourth day. We only need a fraction more to hit our ten percent and get out of this pavilion."
Rohan nodded in agreement, staring into the dancing orange flames. Internally, a cold grin flashed across his mind. At 8.5%, he was just a single solid hunt away from his goal. Tomorrow, he would secure the remaining 1.5%, leave the Frontier Realm, and finally return to Earth.
He glanced at the others out of the corner of his eye. His own status bar displayed a beautiful 8.5%. But for the rest of them? The System only distributed experience based on actual contribution and proximity. Since his hidden attacks had dealt the massive finishing blows to both the Rampaging Ursine and the Mire Serpent, he had swallowed the lion’s share of the points.
Eric, Barry, and Dominion were likely sitting somewhere around 4% or 5%. Even Priscilla, who had done the most visible damage, probably hadn’t crossed 6%. If they kept hunting at their current cautious pace, they would be stuck in the First Pavilion for another week.
Rohan couldn’t wait that long. He needed to get back to Earth immediately.
"Hey," Rohan broke the silence, tearing off a piece of the roasted serpent meat and chewing it casually. "How much percentage do you guys have anyway? We should check so we can plan tomorrow’s route."
Eric groaned, staring at his floating blue screen. "I’m only at 4.8%. That serpent gave me barely anything because I spent half the fight drowning in mud."
"5.1%," Barry muttered, poking the fire with a stick. "Even with that spear throw, the System didn’t give me the kill bonus because of the collision theory. It’s a joke."
Dominion simply held up four fingers, looking thoroughly exhausted.
Priscilla sighed, her cold aura flaring slightly as she looked at her own screen, visible only to her. "5.9%. At this rate, we’ll need at least three or four more days of hunting weak beasts to get everyone over the ten percent threshold."
"That’s too slow," Rohan said, leaning forward. He made sure to inject a tone of slight impatience, acting like a gamer who just wanted to get a tedious quest over with. "Look, we survived an Epic beast and an Elite beast back-to-back. Our teamwork is getting better, and we know how these higher-ranking monsters react when they get desperate."
Priscilla raised an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting?"
"I say we don’t look for low-level bugs tomorrow," Rohan said, his eyes reflecting the orange glow of the campfire. "We should head toward the rocky ridges near the upper edge of the swamp. Higher-rank monsters gather there because of the elevation. If we find one more Standard Elite or even a couple of high-end Common beasts, we can coordinate, take them down quickly, and push everyone straight to ten percent in a single afternoon."
"Are you insane?" Eric whispered, leaning forward. "We almost died today, Rohan! If you hadn’t gotten lucky with that neck snap, we’d be digested right now."
"But we didn’t die," Rohan pointed out calmly, turning his gaze to Barry and Dominion. "And think about the reward. Do you really want to spend three more nights sleeping on wet rocks, eating monster meat, and risking a real ambush when we could finish it all tomorrow and sleep in our own beds on Earth by tomorrow night?"
Barry looked at his cracked boots, then at his hands. The promise of returning home to modern luxuries, video games, and proper food was incredibly tempting. Although they were meant to adapt, they were still in the early stages of their growth as Hunters and clung tightly to their Earth lifestyle. They were teenagers, after all.
...and Rohan had used that to his advantage.
"He’s not entirely wrong. The longer we stay out here, the more our gear degrades. My spear is already losing its edge. Pushing hard tomorrow might be safer than dragging this out," Barry said.
Dominion looked at Priscilla, waiting for the leader’s verdict. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Priscilla closed her eyes, thinking it over. After studying her, Rohan had learned that she hated relying on luck, but she hated inefficiency even more. Her eyes snapped open, locking onto Rohan.
"The rocky ridges are dangerous. The terrain leaves very little room for Dominion to manipulate the earth, and my ice magic takes longer to manifest at higher elevations."
"But it’s dry," Rohan countered smoothly. "No mud to trap Eric or Barry. Pure positional combat."
Priscilla stared at him for a long, quiet moment, perhaps trying to find some hint of ulterior motives. Rohan kept his expression perfectly open and simple. He couldn’t care less what her thoughts were.
She should be the one afraid if she ever discovered what she wasn’t supposed to know about him.
"Fine," Priscilla finally decided, standing up. "Tomorrow, we hunt the ridge. But the moment a fight looks too dangerous, we retreat immediately. No exceptions."
"Agreed," Rohan said, hiding the cold grin threatening to spread across his face.
Everything was going exactly according to plan. Tomorrow, he would lead them straight into the hunting grounds of a beast powerful enough to fill the remainder of his experience bar. And once that barrier broke, the doorway back to Earth would finally open.
