Snow piled up to the size of boulders was sparsely found here.
Plenty of trees were found here as well.
They were 10 to 20 meters tall and 5 to 7 feet wide.
That was just one of the reasons why they were so eye-catching.
They had no leaves, were black in color, and excluded an air of eeriness.
Vines releasing a green glow could be seen wrapped around their trunks and branches.
They were the only light source here.
"This forest looks like something straight out of a horror story," Delilah said after looking around.
"I have been to places rumoured to house ghosts. And let me tell you, this definitely looks like one. Maybe a ghost would pop out from behind that tree."
Arlo cracked a joke to lighten the mood, but it only made it worse.
Julian looked at Arlo and Delilah in exasperation. "Don't jinx us, please."
Suddenly, an eerie growl sounded.
"Is it a beast?"
Immediately goosebumps rose on the skin of Julian and the twins.
Unintentionally or intentionally, they stepped close to Roy.
Unknowingly, he had become dependable in their hearts.
"It definitely belongs to a beast. But where did it come from?"
A half-moon peered down at them.
Roy looked around and then heavensward and realized there were no stars in the sky, only clouds that shed snow and ice flakes.
As he was lowering his gaze, he coincidentally saw a pair of green eyes.
Those eyes belonged to a towering monster.
It was eyeing them from the top of a tree.
Roy's eyes widened at the sight of it, and he was stunned.
"Bomb!"
The winged monster made its move just then. Its thick limbs pressed off against the branch with such strength that it snapped in two. The entire tree shook violently. The snow that had piled on its branches thudded to the ground.
"Whoosh!"
It plunged downwards, straight towards Amelia like a bolt of lightning. It was brimming with intense bloodlust. Amelia caught sight of it, and her heart shook, then skipped a beat. She was horrified to a standstill.
In mid-air, it opened its maw, revealing its menacingly flashing pike-like teeth that were the same color as snow.
"Whoosh!"
Just as it looked like it would have her for its meal, Roy raised his brows, and the fireballs circling the group closed in on the winged-beast from the sides at high speeds.
"Bomb!"
An instant later, a fireball struck its body and exploded. Its fangs failed to penetrate human flesh as it was blasted away from Amelia. Tongues of flame dared to lash at her, but with a single glance, Roy made them disappear.
It was at this moment, when the monster was still in mid-air and only a breath away from smashing into a tree, that seven more fireballs struck its body.
It exploded like a balloon.
A mess of well-cooked meat, shards of bones, and organs rained down alongside blood that colored the snow and Amelia's face and clothes red.
The smell of roasted meat filled the air. But no one was interested in touching the steak sprawled around the ground. God knows whether this monster was poisonous to humans or not. They didn't want to be the first to check out.
"No one touches what is mine without my permission."
Roy coldly gazed at the remains of the beast.
"You have my thanks for saving me, master. Please accept this bow."
Roy's expression eased.
"Don't mention it. I did what anyone here would do if someone was in danger." Roy waved his hand.
"Nice save!"
Julian and Roy high-fived.
"Another move wasted. My calculations are never on point when I am around him." With that, Delilah unsummoned her dagger.
『Ding! Congratulation. You've killed a level 13 monster. You gained 130 EXP, and your mana bar increased by 5 points.』
"Bomb!"
Just when this notification sounded in Roy's ears, the pile of snow close to the group burst open and a fierce black-colored beast that looked like a lion but had hooves and claws leaped out.
Its wings opened up like a bird as it rushed toward Roy.
His back was facing the monster, but he could feel it approaching.
Roy didn't turn to it, as that would be giving himself away.
The monster thought itself to be a predator. Roy was going to take advantage of its mentality to the very end.
『You have summoned the sword called Piercer.』
A sword appeared in his hand. He grabbed its hilt, and stabbed himself with it in the chest while lowering his body, and almost placing his knees on the ground, as if commiting suicide like a samurai, (seppuku search it up).
His suicidal actions didn't go unnoticed.
Arlo clicked his tongue. 'It hasn't been a day since he said he wouldn't rely on it unless necessary... Yet now, he is already using it against a childish beast.'
The monster pounced on Roy; its sharp claws that tore through the air and made it whistle could be seen going for his throat.
『You have activated your soul herding Ability.』
『-3 Energy』
『Partial Transformation has been attained』
The sharp sword passed through his partial mist form like a ruthless and fast arrow, then inched towards the beast, who was just half a foot away from him.
"Puchi!"
The sword sank into the winged-beast's throat and came out the other side. It was being forced to a stop too suddenly. Its body bent forward, curling up. It could be seen coming to a deadly stop in a fetal position because of getting stabbed by a sword.
A great level of pain assaulted it, dulling its consciousness. It screamed in agony. But no sound came out of its mouth, which was overflowing with blood.
Fresh blood spurted from the newly opened hole in its neck like a geyser and poured down on the snow-covered ground. It also dirtied Roy's hands and poured on the surface of the sword, which penetrated it.
Red blood slid to the tip of Piercer's sharp surface.
Then... the scene of hot blood dripping from its tip was played.
At the same time, the monster's bulging eyes slowly lost the ruthless shine in them. It looked like a dazed person.
Undoubtedly, it couldn't register how it has ended up near death's gate.
From the very start till now, Roy's back was to this monster. Thus, it never saw him pulling out a sword from thin air. Not to mention, it could have never thought in its wildest dream that its prey would stab it through himself. That was a sick move that only a soul herder like Roy could pull off.
『You have sneak-attacked a level 15 monster! It has been critically damaged. You have struck its weak point. Its HP has dropped from 48 to 0.1 point.』
"This should be enough to kill it."
Roy pulled his sword out of its neck, allowing its stiff body to slam to the ground heavily.
『The monster crashed into the ground. It lost -0.1 HP』
It breathed no more.
『You killed a monster stylishly. You get +150 EXP, +15 points increase in the size of your mana pool, and +6 HP, +3 STR, +2 Agility. You obtained 100 additional EXP!』
Hearing this notification, Roy lit up.
'I am back to increasing my basic stats by killing monsters. And... this time, my HP is also increasing. This feels too good.'
