Amina sat in front of a campfire, eating some meat in the middle of the forest.
She took the last bite with satisfaction.
"This is amazing! I finally managed to have a proper meal!"
She relaxed for a moment, then looked at her bow thoughtfully.
She recalled the moment she had escaped from the cave after encountering Dana, Estrella, and Dalai's group.
An excited expression appeared on her face.
"I still get chills thinking about it... that was so cool!"
Then her expression suddenly turned serious.
"But I got lucky that day. There were three of them. I wouldn't have stood a chance against them. I need allies."
"Allies? How about me?"
A boy suddenly emerged from the trees.
He was tall, with dark hair and eyes. The tears in his tank top and pants told the story of more than one battle, yet they couldn't hide the confidence in his movements or the presence he carried.
"W-What!?"
Amina jumped backward to put some distance between them.
"Don't come any closer!"
She threatened the stranger by pointing the stick she had been using to cook the meat at him.
The sight amused the boy.
"Or what? You'll skewer me and turn me into a kebab?"
Amina blushed slightly in embarrassment.
Then she spotted her bow and tried to reach it quickly.
The boy, however, was faster and got there first.
"Stop and calm down for a second!"
He showed her the bow.
"Look..."
Then he placed it on the ground and calmly sat down beside the campfire.
Seeing that gesture, Amina, though still hesitant, did the same.
"What do you want?"
"The same thing you want: an ally."
She examined him from head to toe, trying to figure out whether he had ulterior motives.
The boy noticed.
"Listen, you can trust me."
"I think you're making this sound way too easy. You sneak up on me, steal my weapon, and then ask me to trust you. Instead of telling me to trust you, explain why I should."
"Why, huh..."
The boy took out his Divine Weapon and showed it to her.
"I'm running out of food, and with this thing, as you can probably imagine, hunting is pretty difficult."
Amina examined the weapon.
[Divine Weapone: Double Fang]
It was a long, flexible, shimmering chain, with a spear-like blade on one end and a more curved blade on the other.
"Yeah, that doesn't look very practical for hunting..."
"Meanwhile, you have a bow, and judging by your food supplies, you know how to use it... or you have a skill that makes things easier."
"I see... but you're asking me to trust you just because of that? Just because you want to use me to get food?"
The boy scratched the back of his head, visibly uncomfortable.
"Well... you see, I haven't eaten in three days! I'd treat you like a goddess if you gave me food regularly!"
Amina stared at him in disbelief.
"You must be pretty desperate to say something like that..."
"Don't twist the knife any deeper into the wound!"
She smiled faintly, amused.
"Well, that's definitely a good reason to trust you," she said sarcastically.
The boy blushed in embarrassment.
"So... do you accept?"
"Why not? We're both desperate, from what I can tell. But I'll be keeping an eye on you at all times!"
"I'll do the same with you!"
The two shook hands and then sat back down across from each other in front of the campfire.
"So, what's on the menu?"
Amina picked up a stick and skewered a piece of meat onto it.
"Boar meat."
The boy took the skewer as if he were receiving an object of priceless value.
"Finally!"
He held the meat over the fire, then looked at his new ally.
"Can I ask your name?"
"My name is Amina."
"I'm Ethan."
Ethan smiled at Amina before turning his attention back to the meat.
Amina, on the other hand, watched his every movement carefully.
I won't let first impressions fool me, but judging by the way he acts, he seems like a friendly and polite guy...
"Excuse me—"
"Finally, I can eat!"
Ethan abruptly interrupted Amina, leaving her slightly annoyed.
Never mind...
Ethan was about to take a bite of his meat, but when it was only a few centimeters from his mouth, two boys suddenly appeared behind him.
"Don't move!"
"What!?"
Amina tried to back away, but a third boy appeared behind her.
"Get back to where you were!"
"No!"
"Amina, do what they say..."
Amina met Ethan's gaze and sensed the seriousness in his expression.
So she did as he said and sat back down.
"Lucas, go collect their weapons," the dark-haired boy ordered one of his companions.
Lucas retrieved the weapons and brought them back to him.
The leader then noticed the meat.
"What kind of meat is this?"
"Boar meat..." Amina replied hesitantly.
The three aggressors grinned.
"Nice, guys! We hit the jackpot!"
"Awesome!"
[After some time]
The three of them had eaten a large portion of the supplies, while Amina and Ethan watched them from a distance.
Amina looked worried.
What can we do?
She glanced at Ethan, who had remained in the same position ever since the attackers had arrived.
"Hey, do you know what they might do to us next?" she asked in a low voice.
"I don't know... but if I had to guess, nothing good. There's no reason for them to keep us alive."
"Should we do something? We can't just sit here..."
"For now, nothing. But stay ready."
"You want to surrender just like that?"
Ethan slowly turned toward Amina.
"I told you: for now, stay ready."
"Ready for what?"
The three finished eating.
"Ahh... what a great meal!"
"Joe! There's still some left. What should we do with it?" Lucas asked, referring to the meat.
"Obviously, we're taking it with us."
The young man with his hair tied back looked at Amina and Ethan.
"Instead of them?"
"What kind of question is that, Idris? We kill them! We have a chance to level up easily, so why wouldn't we?"
Idris grabbed his weapon: a spiked mace.
"Sounds fair to me!"
He walked toward Amina and Ethan.
"Which one of you should I kill first?"
He looked at both of them and noticed Ethan's calm expression.
The young man grinned wickedly.
"Then you're the first to die!"
He was about to strike Ethan.
Amina shut her eyes, unable to watch.
"Wait! I have something to show you!" Ethan shouted.
Ethan's words made Idris stop in his tracks.
"What did you say?"
"I have something to show you... interested?"
The three young men exchanged glances.
"Show us whatever it is!" Joe ordered.
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out something completely black.
Everyone tried to figure out what it was.
"What is that?" Idris asked.
"I don't know," Lucas replied, confused.
"It's a fragment of a horn!"
Ethan's statement immediately caught their attention.
"A horn from what?"
"From a creature that attacked me three days ago!"
At those words, Amina realized something.
He said three days ago...
She thought for a few moments, and her expression turned pale with shock.
No way... it can't be what I'm thinking!
She finally understood the situation and looked at Ethan in fear.
"As I already told my ally, I haven't eaten in three days. But at the exact moment I was finally about to get some food... you showed up!"
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Idris shouted.
Ethan stared him straight in the eyes, frightening him enough to make him take a step back.
"The creature this horn belongs to got pretty pissed off after I broke it off... and honestly, I can't blame it."
Everyone began hearing noises coming from deep within the forest.
"I became its target. From that moment on, it started chasing me without ever stopping! But somehow, I managed to put some distance between us."
The noises grew closer and closer.
They could even hear trees crashing to the ground.
Everyone was terrified.
"Then I figured something out about the bastard... it has an incredible sense of smell and never loses track of me!"
"What kind of monster attacked you!?" Lucas shouted.
"Well, they're pretty famous... but I can't seem to remember the name."
Ethan played dumb.
Lucas stepped closer to his companion.
"We need to get out of here!"
Ethan carefully observed all of his attackers and flashed a wicked grin.
"Right! They're called minotaurs!"
"Lucas, watch out!"
Joe tried to warn his companion, but Lucas didn't understand immediately.
A moment later, a minotaur slammed into Lucas at full speed, crushing his head and splattering Joe's clothes with blood.
Everyone froze in shock.
It was a massive minotaur with a powerful build, covered in dark fur.
Its bovine face was marked by scars, and its broken right horn only made it look even more ferocious.
After a couple of seconds, Idris turned toward Ethan in a panic.
"Die, you bastard!"
He swung his weapon at him, but Ethan calmly dodged.
"I told you. I'm its target. If you want to kill me, you'll have to step over its corpse first!"
The young man realized his mistake, but it was already too late.
The minotaur's fist smashed into his face, sending him flying into a tree.
The impact was so violent that it snapped his neck, killing him instantly.
The minotaur then tried to gore Ethan with its horn, but he managed to dodge, causing the creature's horn to become lodged in a tree trunk.
Ethan immediately headed for his weapon, but Amina got there first and aimed the bow at him.
"What is it? You don't trust me anymore?"
"How could I!? You hid that monster from me, and now look at the situation I'm in because of you!"
Joe, the last surviving member of the group, saw what was happening and started approaching Ethan aggressively.
Ethan glanced at him.
"Didn't you learn from your friends' mistakes? Don't aim for me, or it'll kill you immediately!"
"It's stuck in that tree. I'll kill you and then get out of here—"
Suddenly, a tree collapsed on top of him, crushing him beneath it.
"Looks like you're the one who's stuck now..."
Ethan stopped looking at the corpse trapped under the fallen tree and turned back to Amina, who still had the bow pointed at him.
"I thought you were a little smarter than that."
The minotaur was backing up for another charge, and Ethan noticed it.
"Look, I know I messed up. But right now I need that Divine Weapon and its Unique Skill!"
"Give me one reason to trust you!"
"You don't have one!"
The minotaur lowered its head and charged straight at Ethan.
"But you do have a chance! If I die, I don't think you'll survive it either!"
Amina hesitated.
In the end, she handed him the weapon.
I don't know him... I don't know if I can trust him...
Ethan picked up the weapon and examined it.
[Divine Weapon: Twin Fang]
"Excellent choice!"
But why does it feel so natural to go along with him...?
Ethan smiled at Amina, leaving her stunned.
Right now, his face is practically screaming at me to trust him!
Ethan could feel the minotaur almost directly behind him.
He turned around and, in a single motion, hurled one end of the chain forward, driving the spear-like blade into the creature's neck.
"Move, Amina!"
Amina quickly stepped away.
Ethan took advantage of the minotaur's brief hesitation, leaping onto its back and wrapping the rest of the chain tightly around its neck.
The creature thrashed violently, trying to shake him off.
"Warrior's Will!"
The moment those words left his mouth, a crimson aura erupted around him.
[Unique Skill Activated: Warrior's Will]
[Warrior's Will: When the wielder enters combat, they may activate this ability for a short period.]
[Effect: +10 Strength, reduced pain.]
[Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.]
[Drawback: Once the effect ends, the body suffers severe fatigue.]
Amina watched the scene in amazement.
He's actually matching that creature's strength!
After a while, the minotaur seemed to be losing its strength. However, while thrashing around, it somehow managed to strike Ethan with its left arm, hitting him with enough force to stun him.
"Ethan!"
Worried, Amina rushed closer.
Dazed, Ethan looked at the skill's timer.
00:15 remaining.
I can't win without the skill!
He regained his focus and pulled the chain even tighter.
"Do you want to die!?"
Another punch was about to hit him, and this time he had no idea how to avoid it.
Suddenly, an arrow pierced the minotaur's right eye, stopping the attack.
Ethan looked at Amina in surprise.
She had activated Celestial Tracking.
Amina continued firing at the minotaur relentlessly.
I have fifteen seconds to make that monster's life miserable!
She kept bombarding it with arrows, piercing its body again and again.
Until the minotaur finally collapsed to the ground, nearly unconscious.
Seeing the opportunity, Ethan grabbed the other end of the chain and drove the curved blade into the back of the creature's head.
"Die!"
The strike killed the minotaur.
A moment later, as the effect of his skill ended, Ethan fell from the creature's back in complete exhaustion.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 4!]
The notifications appeared before Amina's eyes.
So helping to kill something grants experience too...
Still unable to believe what had just happened, she walked over to Ethan.
But he suddenly pushed himself back to his feet, making her jump in surprise.
"Amina, are you okay—"
Ethan collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness instantly.
[After quite a long time]
Where am I?
Ethan caught a pleasant scent, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Amina placing pieces of meat over the campfire.
Amina noticed that he had woken up.
"Welcome back!"
Amina looked at him relieved.
"What happened after I passed out?"
"I decided to move to a different area, considering the mess we had caused..."
"You carried me all the way here?"
"Yeah... it took me two trips."
A brief silence followed.
Ethan looked away from her.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I think I'll keep trusting you for a while. After what you did to kill that minotaur, it's the least I can do... assuming you don't have any more surprises hidden away."
After hearing her words, Ethan looked back at her and noticed she was holding out a skewer of meat.
Seeing that, he looked almost on the verge of tears.
"Thank you..."
Amina smiled, satisfied.
"Eat before someone else shows up!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
Ethan took a bite of the meat and looked as if he had been brought back to life.
Amina grabbed some meat for herself as well.
"Thank you..."
Amina looked at him in confusion.
"You already thanked me for the food."
"I know. This time, I'm thanking you for trusting me back then. It made me happy."
Ethan smiled at her.
Amina blushed slightly and looked away.
"It's nothing..."
Ethan took another bite.
"Is this still the boar meat from earlier?"
"No, that's minotaur meat."
Ethan froze.
"What?"
Seeing Amina's serious expression, he immediately grew concerned.
A few seconds later, however, she burst out laughing, leaving him even more confused.
"It's a joke!"
"A joke..."
Ethan let out a somewhat forced laugh.
"Amina."
"Yes?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you have a strange sense of humor?"
"No."
"I see..."