Side Story: Mischievous Observer

"Faq it! Faq it! Faq it!..."

He keeps running away from that place, from those young Adventurers, and from the abomination of a monster they have released.

"This is not supposed to happen. We're supposed to become Nobles after this. We're about to achieve our dream to live a luxurious life. This is not how things should have been."

He and two of his friends are members of the Iron Rank Adventurers Party Huntsman. He and his friends have been Adventurers for more than 15 years. They spent all of their youth training and adventuring to become stronger and to find more powerful Monster Core, Monster Materials, Magic Items, and even Dungeon Artifacts.

But despite all of their efforts, they never got stronger. Not strong enough to defeat a Rank 4 or higher monster, collect their Monster Cores and Monster Materials, not wealthy enough to buy higher level Magic Items, not lucky enough to obtain Dungeon Artifacts while defeating monsters within the Dungeon, and not strong enough to become a Silver Rank Adventurer.

They have been stuck being Copper Rank Adventurers for five years, another five years being Bronze Rank Adventurers, and five more years being Iron Rank Adventurers.

15 years is more than enough time for them to realize that they will never be strong, that they are not as talented as they thought, and that they won't be able to achieve their dream just by being an Adventurer.

That is why the Huntsman accepted to become part of a sinister plan. To feed the monster they were hiding inside the meadow area Inner-Layer of the Forest Valley Dungeon, to attract the attention of the Rank 4 monsters outside their territory, to sell those high-level stealth Magic Item, Warding Robes, to a certain group of Adventurers, and to release the monster so it will kill those young Adventurers.

They don't feel guilty for who might die because of what they're doing. After all, it was all for their dream. They're prepared to leave everyone they know in the Kingdom and become a citizen of the Rein Empire just so they can become Nobles and live the life they always dream of.

But now, all of his friends are dead. They were eaten by the Black Weretiger Monster.

The Black Weretiger Monster was supposed to hunt a certain Lightning Beast-kin girl. But the moment the Huntsman releases the monster from its chains, it immediately charges straight towards one of his friends and bites him in half.

Then Black Weretiger Monster looked at them as it was eating one of his friends. It gave them a snarl like it was telling them to run and that it would chase them again after finishing its meal, which was the lifeless body of his friend.

So the two of them ran as fast as they could. They ran towards the direction of the Soldiers Outpost Town to ask for help.

The Black Weretiger Monster eventually caught up to them, yet the monster only injured them bit by bit, letting them run away again.

The Huntsman doesn't know what the Black Weretiger Monster is doing, but they continue to run until they finally encounter the young Adventurers who were supposed to be the target of their sinister plan.

For a moment, he got relieved thinking that the Black Weretiger Monster would stop chasing the two of them anymore, that they can escape now and head toward the life they always dreamed of, and that the two of them could finally become Nobles of the Rein Empire. Because the Lightning Beast-kin girl is now in front of them, the monster will go after her.

But that didn't happen because the Black Weretiger Monster suddenly appeared behind them and bit his other friend, taking his life in the blink of an eye.

He was the only one remaining among the three members of the Adventurers Party Huntsman. His friends are dead, but that doesn't mean he also needs to die. So he got up on his feet and ran away while the Black Weretiger Monster attacked the groups of young Adventurers.

He ran northwest of the Forest Valley Dungeon towards the escape route that their group had planned to use.

That's what led him to where he is now, back inside the forest area Middle-Layer of the Forest Valley Dungeon.

After running for more than an hour, he stops to catch his breath and check if anyone is following him.

He enhances his senses using his Mana and surveys his surroundings. At the thought that there seems to be no one following him, he takes out his Heal Potion from his Item Bag to heal himself from the injuries caused by the Black Weretiger Monster.

After taking a break for a few minutes, he prepared to continue his escape. However, before he could leave from where he was standing, he noticed someone ahead of his path.

It is a woman with long gray colored hair and wearing a black Sorceress outfit. Her eyes are closed, but she is steadily walking towards his direction.

"You!... Stop where you are and tell me what you are doing here!"

He raised his Sword as he said those commands. The woman listened to what he said and stopped 20 meters away from him. Then she slightly opened her mouth and said something unexpected.

"You.. should not go... in this direction... Mister. Adventurers... and Soldiers... are in this direction... rescuing a group... of injured Exam takers."

What the woman said is concerning and the way she spoke creeps him out. It's like the woman's voice is not coming from her mouth but rather from an instrument producing a fake sound. Like strings being vibrated to replicate the voice of a person.

Disregarding his concern for the creepy voice, he decided that what the woman said about the Adventures and Soldiers in his path ahead was a lie. The Adventurers and Soldiers are probably behind him and the woman only wants him to turn back and be caught.

With those thoughts, the idea that the woman is just a weak Adventurer who doesn't want to engage in a fight and tries to outsmart him.

But he wouldn't let that happen. After all, the life of his dream is just waiting for him outside the Dungeon, at the border of the Rein Empire.

"Move out of my way if you don't want to die!"

"No... We can't let you... Head this way... Mister."

"Then I guess I have no choice but to kill you."

He charges straight towards the woman. Unable to react to his speed, she was left defenseless, and his Sword pierced her heart.

"If you didn't get in the way then you would have been able to live. None of this is my fault. It's all your fault for not listening to my warning. Blame yourself for being stubborn. That's why you have to die here... Huh?..."

As he said those words to deny the crime that he did and make himself believe the lie he just said, he tried to pull his Sword from the woman's body. But no matter how strong he pulled, somehow, his Sword just wouldn't budge.

"Pfft!... Hahaha!...

...Hahaha!...

...He said that we are going to die...

...He is thinking that he can kill us...

...What an Idiot...

...What a weakling...

...Right! Right! Right!...

...Pfft!... Hahaha!..."

There's that weird voice again. It was definitely coming from the woman. But now that he was closer to her, he noticed that her lips weren't even moving every time she was speaking.

"Get away from me!"

He got scared of her erratic way of speaking so he just let go of his Sword and tried to run away from her. But as soon as he let go of his Sword, the woman grabbed his right arm to stop him.

...CRACK!...

"...Arghhh!!!..."

He kneels as he endures the pain coming from his broken right arm.

...Damn it! How is it possible for her to be this strong?...

...I need to leave this place. Away from that monster, away from this woman...

...I need to reach the border of the Rein Empire so I can receive my reward for this mission. So I can achieve my dream to become a Noble and live a luxurious life...

With those thoughts in his mind, he gathers his strength as he crawls into the ground to escape.

"...Where are you going, Mister?...

...Where are crawling to, Mister?..."

"Stop, get away from me!"

"...We won't let the Adventurers catch you...

...We won't let the Soldiers catch you...

...If you get caught, Master will be in trouble..."

"Then let me go, help me escape this place!"

"...No! No! No!...

...You need to disappear, Mister...

...You need to be gone, Mister..."

"Ehh?!..."

"...No one must find where you are...

...No one must know which monster ate you...

...Pfft!... Hahaha!..."

...This woman is crazy. What does she mean that no one must know... No!... I know what she means... I need to run away... Huh?... Why can't I move my body?...

"...You won't be able to move...

...You won't be able to stand up...

...You won't be able to run..."

"You! What did you do to me!"

"...You can't see it?...

...We bind you with our web...

...Attach it all over to you...

...Then attach it to the ground..."

Hearing what the woman said, he moved his eyes and looked around. Then he finally noticed some thin threads of spider web attached to him and into the ground.

When he looked back at the woman, he found her crouching in front of him and looking straight at him. And when she finally opened her eyes, what he saw was something horrifying.

Inside her hollow eyes are a dozen small spiders looking at him like their laughing and making fun of him. And when the woman pulled out his Sword that was stuck in her chest all this time, he saw that there was nothing inside her body. Not even blood came out of her injury.

The woman is just a doll, a puppet controlled by those tiny spiders inside of her eyes. She is obviously not a Human or Demi-Human. The woman is just a...

"Monster!..."

"...Pfft!... Hahaha!...

...He called us a monster...

...Yes he did...

...What an idiot...

...Pfft!... Hahaha!...

...Anyway, it's time for us to leave...

...We still have work to do...

...We need to hide the evidence...

...The evidence that they're hiding the monster inside the Dungeon...

...Right! Right! Right!..."

"Wait! Don't leave me here!"

"...Don't worry, Mister...

...You won't be alone...

...Because a lot of monsters are coming..."

...swish...rustle...swish...rustle...

With all the rustling sounds from a distance, he realized that what the monster said was true.

"Wait! Please, let me go! I will do anything! I will tell you who planned all of this! I can tell you what they want. I can help you capture them."

"...Pfft!... Hahaha!...

...We know who they are...

...We know what they want...

...We saw when they were killed...

...We saw when they were burned...

...We saw when they were captured...

...Pfft!... Hahaha!..."

"What are you talking about..."

...SWISH...RUSTLE...SWISH...RUSTLE...

"No... They're here..."

"...Goodbye, Mister...

...We enjoy watching you and your friends...

...We enjoy seeing them being eaten...

...We want to see you being eaten too...

...But no one must know which monster ate you..."

...SCREECHHH!!!...

"...ARGHHH!!!..."