Venus forest

Weird, that was the only word that immediately came to Asher's mind. How could this old fairy survive in the forest alone? Were there no beasts chasing him? All those questions kept popping up in Asher's mind, like a ticking clock.

"Ash, maybe this old fairy can help us find the materials we're looking for." Chronos patted Asher's shoulder, with an excited look on his face. "Come on, let's ask him." His face smiled continuously, revealing a row of perfectly aligned teeth.

The two of them stepped closer to the old fairy, trying to ask where they were. Just a few steps away, the old fairy suddenly turned around, looking at Asher and Chronos standing there like statues.

"Welcome to the forest of Venus." The old fairy smiled broadly. "I am the guardian of this forest. Please don't make a sound, they're still sleeping," he whispered.

"What? What are you talking about?" Chronos rounded his eyes, his face slightly tense.

"Shhh, be quiet!" The old fairy put her hand between his lips, a sullen expression on his face.

The old fairy's words left Asher and Chronos scratching their heads. They didn't know who the old fairy in question was. No one was here except the three of them. Or maybe this old fairy was delirious?

As Asher tried to digest the meaning of the old fairy's words, he saw the old fairy's fingers slowly moving on the board he was holding, his fingers tapping continuously, signaling him to read the inscription.

Forest of Venus (part 1/2):

Welcome, players, to the forest of Venus located east of the village of Altaria. This forest is full of large plants that sleep more, but they can become vicious if you make noise or use fire. So, good luck!

Drop items: Flower nectar, chitin.

After reading the clues, Asher finally realized the old fairy said that before and why the spiked fence was there, of course, it was to prevent the creatures inside the forest of Venus from getting out of this forest. It would create chaos in Altaria village if that happened.

"Hey, this is the material we need, Ash." Chronos patted Asher's shoulder, happiness visible on his face.

"Yes Chronos, but please be quiet, okay?" he whispered, his shoulders tense. "I just don't wanna make any trouble in here."

They finally entered the forest of Venus and began searching for the items they needed. The atmosphere in this forest was much gloomier than the previous forest. There was nothing to see but a bunch of tall and large trees. There were even more of them, blocking out the quarter of the moon in the sky.

"Ah, damn it! I can't see clearly at all." Chronos grumbled in annoyance.

"Besides, we're only relying on moonlight. How are we supposed to find those creatures?" Asher sighed, frustration setting in.

A few minutes later, there was a strange noise not far from their position, sounding like snoring. Asher and Chronos immediately looked for the source of the sound which turned out to be coming from a very large bulbous plant. It was far from normal in size, had a wide mouth, and of course, sharp teeth.

"Hey Chronos, look!" Asher tapped Chronos on the shoulder, his face tense.

"Yeah, Ash, I saw it too, and I know what to do." Chronos gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, a serious look on his face.

Asher just stared at Chronos who bent his body, ready to use his dash skill. A few seconds later, a strange blue light emanated, surrounding Chronos' body. Not long after, Chronos instantly darted quickly like an arrow toward the creature.

'Slash! Slash!"

'150 exp gained'

'You have earned 50 gold coins, 1x flower nectar'

"Very good, Chronos. So, we just need to kill more of these plants to get the ingredients." His eyes twinkled with excitement.

However, it wasn't as easy as Asher thought. The dark forest environment forced them to be extremely observant of the large plants, and not all plants dropped the required items. So, it seemed that a lot of luck was also necessary in situations like this.

'150 exp gained'

'You have earned 20 gold coins'

'150 exp earned'

'You've earned 10 gold coins'

"Argh, this quest is starting to make me sick. " Chronos grumbled in an annoyed tone, his soul on fire "We've killed enough of those big plants, but none of them give us the items we need." Chronos thrust his sword into the ground in annoyance.

"Hey, calm down" Asher patted Chronos on the shoulder, trying to calm Chronos down.

A few minutes later, Asher managed to find another large plant. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. Without hesitation, he immediately told Chronos about the existence of the plant and directly used his Dash skill again, preparing to finish off the plant.

'Cling!'

"Argh! What is it?" Chronos furrowed his brows, something was blocking his attack.

An assassin-class player slowly emerged from one of the trees in front of Asher and Chronos. It seemed like he was also targeting the same creature, just like them, and so he threw his dagger to block Chronos' attack.

"Hey newbie, that's mine." The red-haired man stared at the two of them, his gaze filled with hatred.

"Huh? But we'll see first." Chronos' head began to feel hot, his emotions began to boil.

The player didn't hear Chronos' words at all, so he started throwing his small dagger quickly towards them. Seeing the dagger darting quickly towards Asher made it difficult for him to dodge. His body immediately felt stiff, like a statue. Fortunately, Chronos moved quickly, deflecting every attack the player threw and managing to protect himself and Asher.

"Ash, hide behind that tree." Chronos gripped his sword tightly, his jaw instantly hardening. "I will finish off this player." His gaze was smoldering.

"What? You want to kill me?" The player smiled, looking at Chronos sarcastically. "Come on, show me if you dare." His facial expression instantly turned serious.

"Chronos, this player is provoking you on purpose." Asher tried to warn Chronos, with a tense look on his face.

But Asher's efforts were to no avail. The anger in Chronos' heart had overtaken his mind. Without hesitation, he immediately ran over, pointed his sword at the player, and a fierce battle ensued.

'Cling! Cling!"

As the sound of swords and daggers continuously clashed with each other, it seemed that their strength was evenly matched. Their gazes looked so sharp, full of anger. Attack after attack went on, starting to cause a disturbance, until the large plant started to get disturbed.

Asher kept calling Chronos' name but he was too busy with the fight in front of him. "Gosh, I have to do something fast." Asher moved his eyeballs, his panic starting to show.

As Asher tried to find a way out, he unexpectedly saw Chronos step on a rock, making Chronos' defense immediately falter. Unfortunately, the player saw a small opportunity, so he immediately attacked quickly, knocking Chronos to the ground.

"Chronos!" Asher widened both eyeballs, his face tightening at the sight of the player about to finish off Chronos.

Without thinking, Asher immediately threw a bomb item at the player, causing an explosion loud enough to make the player scream in pain. His efforts were successful, and the player quickly moved away from Chronos.

"Argh! Fucking white mage!" The player's gaze stared at Asher with anger. "It's time for you to die!" 

Damn. The words came out of Asher's mouth. He had not expected that the bomb had not killed this player, which made Asher his target. A smoldering anger and hatred was in the player's eyes, ready to take his life.

"Oh, Damn. I'm gonna die."