Chapter 6- Slavers

[Congratulations Host. You have reached level 2]

[+10 stat points, +5 skill points]

Phew

Now that they have been dealt with, I should grab their cores and get out of here. Lucious was beginning to feel a little anxious after seeing the fire slimes.

They are most notably known for residing in hot regions with other fire attributed monsters, not in forests like this one.

Either they were fleeing something, or someone brought them here. Regardless of which it is, I don't want to stick around and find out. After gathering the beast cores, Lucious hurriedly made way to leave the forest.

While leaving the forest, he noticed that there weren't many monsters in the around.

Though he had never been here before, his instincts that he had honed over the years in his previous world told him something was definitely wrong.

Hm?.... are those... footprints? In the distance, Lucious could see small footprints leading further into the forest. Upon closer inspection, he saw that whoever they belonged to wasn't wearing shoes of any sort.

Sigh

Against his better judgment, he drew his sword and followed them. He knew that whoever they belonged to would likely be in need of assistance and thus decided he should help.

Father always warned me not to play hero... Despite his father's constant warnings, Lucious wouldn't actively ignore somebody in need. As they have no shoes then they likely have no weapons or gear to protect themselves.

Barely a few minutes passed while following the trail before he started to find bits of bloodied cloth scraps and occasional blood markings.

Odd. There're no monster tracks, was this person already injured. While shaking off the bad feeling he was getting, Lucious quickened his steps and started jogging.

The overgrown grass and weeds made it difficult to see the footprints, but he could just about make them out thanks to his high perception stat.

It wasn't long before he came face to face with an unconscious body.

Due to the way the body was positioned, he quickly deduced that the body in question was previously hiding. But from what, he didn't know.

I should be quick and wake... His thoughts were cut short as he approached the body, and he momentarily froze.

Laid beneath him was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Despite being covered in blood, her clothes torn, and the cuts on her arms and legs, she was still a world class beauty.

Her long frosty blue hair cascaded down her back, and two pointed ears could be seen poking out. The slender figure underneath was still noticeable.

The most noticeable feature on this elf, was the big metal ring around her neck.

While slavery was considered illegal on this continent, there would always be criminals looking to buy and sell them on the black market.

But why does she look so familiar? Something about her appearance looked too familiar.

But before he could think on it, he heard footsteps approaching.

Typical. With a silent sigh, Lucious quickly moved the unconscious elf out of sight before getting behind some cover to prepare an ambush.

"I'm telling you; she ran this way."

"So, you keep saying, but we've been walking for hours, and we still haven't found her."

Two gruff voices could be heard slowly approaching. Upon closer look, there was actually a third person behind the two arguing with each other.

"Will both of you shut up already!" The third scruffy man interrupted the others with an annoyed tone. "You've been arguing for hours, and it's pissing me off"

His interruption angered the other two who had suddenly united against him. Lucious prepared to case a water shot spell and waited for the perfect opportunity.

He didn't have to wait long as the three split up to search for their escaped slave.

He looks like he weakest, I'll take him out first. As he got closer, Lucious fired his water shot and hit his target in the face.

Caught off guard, he got knocked over, which gave Lucious time to fire a lightning shot at him.

Despite taking the additional damage from a water and lightning attack, the gruff criminal still didn't die so Lucious rushed towards him from his hiding spot.

"Urgh, who-" Not giving him time to recover, Lucious quickly swung his sword and beheaded him.

[Ding]

[1 slaver has been killed]

[Rewards: +100 Exp, +4 intelligence, +3 agility, +3 strength]

Human targets give way more exp? Nice. Well one down, two to go. Without wasting any time, Lucious got into cover and got as close as possible to his next opponent.

Upon approaching his second target, Lucious prepared a fore shot and aimed for his head.

"AARGH!!! PUT IT OUT-" Unfortunately, his loud cries for help alerted the third slaver so Lucious had to rush in and finish the second slaver off with his sword.

[Ding]

[1 slaver has been killed]

[Rewards: +130 Exp, +1 intelligence, +3 agility, +1 strength]

Just as the system finished announcing its notification, the third slaver appeared with his weapon drawn.

He glared at Lucious with anger but remaining cautious enough not to attack.

"You damn mongrel, who are you?!" He barked while carefully closing the distance.

His stance is a little bad. So long as he doesn't use aura, I should be able to defeat him. Instead of answering him, Lucious just flashed a smug grin.

Seeing this, the slaver's anger boiled over. An unknown assailant attacked and killed his brother and now dares to look down on him.

"YOU!" He charged forward and began to swing his sword in an aggressive manner, forgoing any careful or thought-out attacks.

...that's all it took? I thought it would be harder to get under his skin. Lucious was quickly pushed back as he was forced to defend against each strike.

"I'll kill you, fucking pig" As soon as his back was against the wall, Lucious took a nervous gulp as the slaver prepared an overhead killing strike.

Just before he could swing his sword down, Lucious suddenly charged forwards with surprising speed for a man of his size.

"Urgh..." When the slaver looked down, Lucious held his sword in a reverse grip as it pierced his heart. He dropped his sword and collapsed while the light faded from his eyes.

"You talk too much." Lucious sheathed his sword then looted his corpse before doing the same to the other two.

[Ding]

[1 slaver has been killed]

[Rewards: +120 Exp.]

Now, let's go deal with the slave