chapter 32 : true side of heroine

The warm, morning sunlight gently caressed the face of the fair maiden, awakening her from her peaceful slumber. Her emerald-green eyes sparkled brilliantly as she surveyed her surroundings in the gentle glow. The radiant blush on her rosy cheeks seemed even more enchanting than before.

The truck had come to a stop at the outermost zone of the forest. Questions flooded the girl's mind. "Seems like we've reached Bounder Forest, but where is everyone? And when did I fall asleep?" Confusion clouded her thoughts.

"Hah, why do my lips hurt?" The girl's fingers brushed her lips, and the lingering sensation of dried blood brought back memories of the previous night.

"Jerk, I'm going to kill you!" Her fierce declaration echoed through the awakening forest, startling the birds from their slumber.

"Hey, are you a deadhead? We're in the forest. Alex, I said taking her with us was going to be troublesome, but you didn't listen to me," scolded Calida, who was busy repairing the engine.

Then, a figure emerged, exuding the charm of a protagonist, and took Mary's hand.

"What happened, Mary? Why are you shouting? Did you have a bad dream?" inquired Alex, embracing her with the care typical of a protagonist.

True, never believe someone's character by their beauty. Innocent beauty is a clever wolf; she instantly reacted to hide the truth about what happened at night. If it's known, it might affect his relationship with Alex. "Yes, you're right, Alex. I had a bad dream."

"It's okay. Right now, you don't need to be afraid. I'm with you. I'll save you, even if it's just in a dream," reassured Alex, the ever-wordy protagonist, holding her slim form.

Mary blushed, "Thank you, Alex. You're my true hero."

"You're right; I am a hero, and with me here, no courageous villain can touch a single strand of your hair." Alex began to flirt with Mary.

"By the way, where's that villain? I mean, that shameless boy," Mary inquired.

"What villain? Oh, you mean Zen. I have no idea. Maybe Calida knows something," Alex replied nonchalantly.

Calida, with a puffed-up jealous face, replied, "He woke up and went inside the forest to collect breakfast materials."

Alex, confused by her anger, asked, "What happened, dear Calida? Why do you seem red like fire in the morning?"

Frustrated, Calida banged the engine and replied, "You dare flirt with another girl in my presence and ask me what's wrong? I am an idiot for falling for a man like you. Instead, I should have fallen for that pervert; he's better than you."

Clever Mary intervened, "What, Calida? Are you comparing Alex with a worthless side piece? What's wrong with Alex being with another girl? It's very common for men to do so. And Alex, I'm not—you're the one who came to me. If you wish to separate, don't bother us; we are very good together."

Mary's taunt made the tough girl Calida almost cry. With hope of Alex's support, her watery eyes gazed towards Alex.

Alex's awkward face brought the two girls together. "Please don't fight; you both are very precious to me. I love both of you with all my heart," he said, hugging both young beauties.

Mary curled in his arms, "I believe you, Alex. I love you too."

On the other hand, Calida's thoughts were questioning. She herself was not aware of why her flame heart had fallen for that kind of man. Most irritatingly, because her flame heart once falls for a man, it's almost impossible to deviate from or end feelings for that person.

Calida bit her corner lip, having no other choice. "I also believe you," she said, her heart burning inside.

Thanks to Zen's return after an hour, when all the protagonist's cringe plot ended.

As Zen approached with two large wooden blocks on his shoulders, a grass piece dangling from his mouth, he greeted them with a casual, "Yo, Woody, you're already awake. Take this; you really need it. Eat it with the soup I'm going to prepare."

He tossed a bag of herbs he had gathered in the forest, and without waiting for a response, headed toward the center to set up camp.

"Hey, Chilli, don't waste time fixing that big piece of junk. Come with me; I need chili for my spicy soups," Zen commanded, playfully slapping her glutes.

"Ouch! How dare you slap me?"

Everyone was stunned by Zen's sudden change in behavior, except for one person feeling frustration from Zen's newfound energy.

"Just wait; I'm going to tear you to pieces!" threatened Mary in thought.

Throwing the wooden blocks to the ground, Zen announced, "Now, to test my new strength," as he revealed a pair of black chakra blades.

"Incredible! A mere middle recessive grade gene Awakener exerting that kind of strength? Or are these weapons unique?" Alex marveled at Zen's physical prowess, challenging the stereotypes of a dustbin-class healer.

"Wow, I thought you were just all talk, but I'm surprised. Even with a dustbin-grade awakened power, your physical strength exceeds ours, people in the same rank," said Calida, astonished.

Alex chimed in, attempting to demotivate Zen, "Yes, Zen, you're beyond my expectations. But be aware, physical strength is limited to the low class. You can compete with class D or C, but against class B and A, you're just like a chicken. The human body can never surpass the pinnacle of gene power."

Mary added her support, "Yes, no matter how hard you train, you can never surpass him."

Zen looked in green of white marry to found disdain and disgust for him.for zen, he thought capture heart of womens after night incident but seeing reaction and behaviour towards him as they never no each other.

" what side two face women , at night she bleed by lip and now pretence untouched flower front of stupid protagnist.

So this what heroines two face characters you can't read in one side image of novel.

utterly disgusting , i thought of taking responsibility of nights matter but since other himself is character less , more better to me , i get taste to dinner without paying any price ".

Ignoring their discussion, Zen busied himself setting up camp, but within, he clenched his heart at the harsh reality. He had hoped to achieve ultimate physical strength, but it seemed that it wasn't a gift the gods were willing to bestow upon him.

"Hey, Chilli, I need some chill, I mean fire, to make some soup," Zen awkwardly looked toward Calida.

"Alex, he's ignoring us," Mary whispered. Alex, with a solemn face, glared at Zen.

"A mere side character dares to ignore me. Zen, I will remember you," said Alex.

Calida, observing Zen's reluctance to engage in further conversation, suggested, "Okay, Alex, could you please find more petroleum root for me? Mary can use it to easily start the truck. We really need to get moving."

Alex couldn't deny her request and went off to search for petroleum root using Mary's magic.

Calida pointed at a wooded area with the Flame Gene attribute 1, "Flame Spark." Zen took out various utensils for making soup from his space card.

While the soup was being prepared, they set up camp for the day.

"So, why did Ms. Chilli suddenly decide to help me instead of her crush? Don't tell me she's fallen for me. But make it clear, I'm still a virgin; just my first kiss has already been stolen," Zen said

By the way, how did a girl like her fall for his protagonist charm? Know Alex. He declared battle against the hero. Shouldn't you, as the hero's son, treat him as an enemy?" Zen inquired.

"Initially, I only knew Alex through my mother, due to her special identity. After that, I heard the Wisdom Tower master took on a new apprentice. But I didn't focus much on it.

When I was at the hunting grounds for the same quest, searching for the queen ant, I made a terrible mistake. I encountered a Level 29 monster while I was still just a Class C warrior, with the strength of a Level 29 monster being akin to a Class B.

Even with my flame elemental power, I was only struggling against the monster, and I thought that day would be my last. That's when my hero made his entry to save me. At first, I was disappointed to see Alex, just a mere awaken disappointment shadow , i lost all hope of living .

But to my astonishment, he was incredibly strong, fighting better than me, a Class C, against a Level 29 monster. This ignited my fighting spirit and dedicated my heart to him. Once our flame hearts species are dedicated to someone, it always remains his," Calida explained with love evident in her eyes.

While Zen felt a twinge of jealousy, he couldn't deny the truth.

"Damn, monster protagnist ,

His strength already exceeded the class C warrior; how fast is his growth rate? Previously, I lost life fighting against the awakened buster.

I am mere awaken now, will I be able to survive against him? Hateful, I hate the protagonist effortlessly surpassing those in the same level and then pretending weak when already at a higher level.

"Why do all the perks fall only for the protagonist? At least leave something for us side characters." Then, the blurred image of the girl's lips all night tarnished by him flashed before his eyes.

"Hehe, at least on one thing I am ahead of him.

Being a side character in this world, I realize, snatching something from the protagonist makes me utterly excited. Hehehehehhhe." A sinister chuckle escaped Zen's lips, leaving Calida wide-eyed and worried.

"What a dangerous freak; maybe I made a mistake staying alone with him," Calida thought to herself.