Chapter 30 – Weird

Fifteen minutes passed.

According to the scout, they had entered the fourth level for some time so the oxygen in the air had even gotten thinner.

_Pant, pant, pant_

Continuing forward, the breathing of the weaker hunters has noticeably gotten louder. And it has also made their eyesight blurry. Even Carl could not help himself. He had already consumed all of his mana stones.

And the thing was they had not encountered strong monsters now that they needed to get some mana stones. Surely, there must be some lurking around, but it's too dark to go around chasing them like they're in daylight.

The most decent beasts they got were in the size of normal animals like rabbits, foxes, and snakes.

Journeying this far, not only were they challenged by the high altitude, most of the group was also tired, physically and mentally.

As they go up, they saw the rocks and the woods that had suffered from the onslaught of the stampeding direwolves.

But the most disturbing part was the ominous silence in the area. They could only hear their footsteps and the sound of cicadas in the area.

_Gulp_

"Are we really all right doing this?" the hunter behind Carl said. His name was Jack and was the one who lost his friend, Sam "Are we still far?"

"Do you still have some mana stones?" Jack asked the one with him in the rear, who was also struggling to keep up.

"Pant, pant, I don't and please don't talk to me."

Looking at them, the front group knew they had to rest.

Obviously, those who had fallen off were the weaker and less experienced ones. It looked like they still had half of their strength just before the wave, but after losing their focus earlier and the increasing altitude; they expended more energy just by going up.

Carl continued looking ahead, but he had to say it looked they had been walking for two hours now. Fortunately, he could keep up with this altitude, but he honestly was itching for a rest. He might have a rank 1 body, but he was still newly advanced.

Alex noticed that Carl was beginning to show exhaustion in his face, and showed a worried expression. He then gave the last of his mana stones to him and smiled.

Carl obviously didn't shy away and cracked all of it, much to the jealously of the duo behind them. Absorbing the mana, it had not restored much, but it was enough for him to stop huffing and muffing.

"If you can't go on anymore, we could go back." Alex then whispered to his ear.

Carl regained his breathing, but hearing Alex, he slowed down and looked at Alex.

He had been very kind to him but he can't find the right words to speak. Alex was strong, probably one of the strongest in the group, but what did he really come here for? Doesn't he want the rewards of slaying the leader class monster?

In Carl's eyes, Alex, this blonde teen, was weird. He had been really weird.

Alex did not stop and said something silent to him.

"I don't know if you noticed it already, but what the Captain said might not be true. Sure going down at night is bad, but this is not an ordinary night. That wave of wolves earlier, if that was the whole population going down, they should have scared the other monsters away. It also explains why it's so silent up here, and why there are fewer monsters. We could go down."

Carl of course knew this. He was the one who presented the real situation in the first place. The person who suggested to the captain to not go up at any cost, but at the same time, he was not foolish enough to go down without a group.

'If they were so few monsters here, there should fewer down below'; this thinking was right. But that doesn't mean it's safe to go down.

Smiling to persuade, Alex said something again;

"Don't worry, we could go down now. I'm really strong you know. I will protect you."

Seeing the passionate flare in Alex's eyes, Carl absolutely decided to reject his idea.

Going there alone was stupid, but he felt like going there with someone as strange as Alex was stupider.

"Stop it, Alex. Thank you for the mana stones," Carl smiled, brushed his shoulder and continued walking.

Seeing Carl reject his idea, Alex could not help but stopped in his tracks, staring at Carl's back. Some crazy thought floated above his head for a second, but he abandoned it with a shake of his head.

But he talked to Carl again.

"Why? Didn't you yourself said to go down? Something unknown and powerful is up there, and despite the unknown danger, that clown captain is too greedy to see his limitations."

Carl was already tired. In Carl's eyes, Alex had been very kind to him but now, he was just being ridiculous.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Alex asked seeing that Carl shot him a glance but proceeded to ignore him again.

"Yeah," Carl said, "of course he is greedy, he's a hunter and so am I. I honestly don't know why you're here if you don't think that way. But surely, you must have your reasons."

As he said that, Alex could not help but turn silent.

Carl was right.

What if the captain was being greedy? Most hunters were indeed that way. And for him to say something unbefitting of the profession, he could not help but feel ashamed of himself.

"You're right." Alex then awkwardly said, faintly smiling.

"Thank you." Carl said, relieved.

At first, he thought Alex was very suspicious but after talking and journeying with him, he was not that bad. Maybe he's just not that bright.

He might also be weird but at least he doesn't seem to have a vendetta against him like Mason, and if any trouble ensues like the upcoming battle against the leader class monster, having Alex there would up their chances of victory.

'I just don't know what his motivations are,' Carl sighed to himself.

Ten more minutes passed, and the group noticed that the ground was becoming more even. For the first time in a while, their faces lit up and they felt a rush of energy allowing them to climb upwards, with louder footsteps.

In the front group…

"Do you think something is really up there?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that the rest point is up there."

Of course, everyone knew that, but at the same time, they also knew the wolves obviously passed through these areas, seeing the evidences on the surroundings.

Their hearts started to race, and soon, the scout from the front group came back, wearing complex expression on his face.

"What about it, Nymphall?"

"It's safe up there. No monster," Nymphall said, and shook his head, "But the rest point? It's gone. It's all in ruins."

Everyone showed surprised reactions. The rest point was gone?

Advancing forward, the group soon stopped.

Reflected on their eyes was the ruined circle house in the middle of the forest. But a part of it had gotten destroyed, as if an asteroid fell from the skies, hitting it.

That was not the only thing they saw. There was no one there. Only corpses. Bodies hung into several places, from the yard, the roof, and the balcony.