Expedition: Hunt or Be Hunted (5)

In Drymin Forest:

Five shadows moved at high speed, their footsteps silent, as they headed toward the center of the forest.

"The target is heading toward the center of the forest," a male voice came from the pod in their ears.

"Are we just supposed to catch the target?" one of the five shadows questioned, bringing out a phone that had Draco's picture.

"Yes, just move according to plan if you don't want to lose your head," the male voice threatened. The five shadows shivered upon hearing the man's voice.

"Roger, sir," they replied respectfully.

---

CLANG! CLANG!

"What monstrous defense," Draco muttered, watching Blum, who was tackling a Level 12 Brown Bear Volkoid alone.

"You guys should hurry up, not chit-chat over there. I'm under pressure here," Blum shouted, defending against the bear's claws with his sword and ability.

"Just wait a bit longer," Draco shouted back.

"I never thought you were such a trickster," Thundero said, watching Blum, who was yawning and feeling sleepy from defending against the bear's claws.

"What do you mean? I'm just following the plan," Blum replied righteously.

"Both you and I know that if the bear's strength is limited to this, you could easily eliminate it alone. So why are you pretending to be weak?" Thundero's angry voice sounded.

"It's called being low-key. Also, it's a teamwork fight; I can't just kill all the Volkoids and leave my friend with no experience points."

"As if I would believe that," Thundero snorted, minding his own business and keeping quiet.

"Same tactic as in the simulation," Draco said as they prepared for battle.

Since Blum was strong enough to keep the bear Volkoid at bay, Draco had no need to join him. Sharon's ability, "Wood Elementalist," and her skill, "Plant Control," made her the favored daughter of the wood. Moving her hands, tree roots sprouted from the ground, wrapping around the bear and keeping it at bay.

Then Blum moved at extreme speed as he tried to make the bear dizzy according to the plan, but alas, this didn't work.

The bear roared and enlarged, breaking free from the tree roots that held him. Blum, who was running, sensed something was wrong; looking behind him, he muttered, "Oh sh*t."

The bear slapped him, sending his body crashing into a tree, and he felt extreme pain all over his body.

"Blum!!" they shouted, running to where he had landed.

"Are you okay, bruh?" Ming asked, worried.

"Let the bear hit you, then you'll know if I'm okay," Blum spat out, as Ming whistled in embarrassment.

It was heaven that saved his head; if he hadn't dodged half of the bear's strike, he would have been heavily injured.

"We underestimated the bear's strength; it's stronger than we thought," Draco said solemnly, seeing the bear roaring toward its surroundings.

Hiding behind a tree trunk, they eyed the bear, which was roaring and attacking its surroundings.

"We need a plan if we want to get out of here in one piece," Blum whispered.

"Shit, spread out!" Draco shouted as he ran from where he was.

CRACK!!

The ground around them shook, splitting into two.

"That was close!" Blum wiped the sweat off his face, his heart beating loudly, still feeling scared from the danger. "But how did you know?"

"Instinct," Draco shrugged his shoulders, a bit scared by this. "But how are we going to get to the others?"

Blum asked, seeing that he and Draco were separated from the others.

"Fool!" Thundero roared with anger. "You have the greatest weapon with you, but you aren't making use of it!"

"Chill, chill, bruh," Blum said, trying to calm Thundero down. "But what's the greatest weapon?" he asked, confused.

"System," Thundero replied with just one word, then went silent. No matter how many questions Blum asked, he was met with no reply.

"I hope he's not lying to me," Blum thought.

---

**Host Name:** Blum Nacort

**Race:** Human

**Level:** (9)

**EXP:** 400/1200

**Class:**

**Talent:** Thunder Elementalist (S-Rank) - Upgradeable

**Skill:** Thunder and Lightning, Thunder Roar, Appraisal

**Physique:** Thunder Origin Physique

**HP:** 100/100 ------> 490/500

**MP:** 100/100 ------> 400/500

**STR:** 18 (90)

**AGI:** 18 (90)

**INT:** 17 (85)

**DEX:** 18 (90)

**STA:** 18 (90)

**DEF:** 18 (90)

**Inventory:** Clothes, Accessories, Bronze Sword

**Passive Skill:**

*Mark of Divinity (Thunder):* X5 Effects to all stats, skills, and points.

Increases destructive power of any thunder skill by 100%.

---

"Let's hope this works," Blum prayed, checking his skill.

*[Appraisal (Lvl 1): Allows Host to analyze and evaluate the characteristics, attributes, and properties of objects, creatures, or people up to five levels above you] X5*

With the X5 Effect, that meant Blum could check the level of those ten levels above him.

"Appraise."

---

**Earth Bear:** A Volkoid known for its affinity toward Earth. It has high defense. Its lineage descends from a Platinum Rank Volkoid.

**Level:** 12

**Rank:** Half-Gold (Awakening its rank toward Gold)

**Ability:** Claw Swipe, Earthquake

**Strength:** Extremely sensitive to sound, has impenetrable defense

**Weakness:** Abdomen

---

Blum's eyes were wide open, appraising the Bear Volkoid. The bear was like a naked woman before him.

"What happened?" Draco asked, seeing Blum's surprised expression.

Grinning, Blum said, "It looks like there's a way out of this."

*[Thunder Roar (Lvl 1): A thunder-based sound skill, able to stun a target for one second. Cooldown: 2 hours] X5*

"Get ready to strike, Draco. We've only got one chance," Blum shouted.

"What do you mean? Explain yourself, bruh," Draco replied as they both dodged the bear's attack.

"Just know that when you strike, aim for its abdomen with all your strength," Blum roared.

Rose, Sharon, and Ming, who were on the other side of the split ground, watched Draco and Blum with their hearts racing.

*CRACKLE!*

This was the sound they heard, as if ten thousand horses were galloping toward them.

The bear, the main target of the skill, felt its body stiffen in fear.

"Now!" Blum shouted, and Draco activated the Five-Tailed Fox Power: Silver Fox Energy. His ears, claws, and four of his tails lit up.

Concentrating all his strength into one attack, Draco slid under the bear, slashing its abdomen, blood gushing out.

The bear, now able to move again, felt life draining from its body. With a mournful roar, it fell, giving up the ghost.

*[You successfully killed a Lvl 12 Silver Rank Earth Bear, gained 17 Exp]*

"Nice one, Blum. I never thought you had such a strong skill." They shook hands, Draco giving Blum a light punch on the shoulder.

"Are you okay, Draco?" Rose's concerned voice followed up as she checked Draco's body for any injuries.

As for how they crossed over, Sharon had used her ability to create a plant bridge for them to come across.

Draco reassured Rose that he was okay. She then asked Blum, who also replied he was fine.

"That was good coordination," Ming praised them. "I wonder if, with this, we're able to kill a Lvl 15 Volkoid."

"That, I can't say, but we can give it a try. If we're not able to tackle it, we can just give chase," Draco chuckled, checking their loot.

Apart from the regular meat, he saw a scroll and a piece of hand gear.

*[Earthquake (Silver): An AOE wide-range earth spell that causes damage to the surrounding earth. Cost: 10 Originat per second. Applicable to Class: Earth Magician]*

*[Hand Gear (Bronze): Equipment used for close combat. +3 Strength, +3 Defense]*

They sighed, seeing both the skill and weapon. They couldn't wait to see the mystery of reaching Level 10.

"I guess if none of us can use this, we can exchange it for points at the academy. Any objections?" The others nodded, finding no fault with Draco's suggestion.

"Then I'll store it for now," Draco said, waving his hand to store the loot.

They headed deeper into the forest to try their luck with killing the Lvl 15 Volkoid. As Draco had said, if they weren't able to win against the Volkoid, they could always run for their lives.