Chapter 10: Scorched Forest

"I... expected something else." Melody said, taking in the sight before her.

"What were you expecting?" Lukas chuckled as he asked.

"I don’t know... Maybe an actual forest but constantly on fire or something." Melody glanced at him, before gazing back into the forest. "I never expected that the actual forest had already been burnt to the ground."

"Well, that’s exactly what we have here, so we’ll just have to enjoy it."

"I guess."

And with that, they took their first steps into the Scorched Forest.

Lukas took a few seconds to survey the view in front of them before picking his first prey.

"How about that Silver Ape?" He pointed.

Melody squinted, her eyes finding the monster in question. "D-rank, and extremely mobile. Other Silver Apes are near enough for you to target after defeating this one, but far enough that they won’t interfere as long as you finish the fight as fast as possible. Good choice."

"But you’ll still have to go after it alone for now. If it senses me coming after it, it’ll try to run away and that’ll be another hassle. Damn monsters and their survival instincts."

Lukas chuckled. "Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it quickly."

"Alright," she nodded. "If anything goes wrong, I’ll step in immediately. Also, don’t try to compete with it in terms of strength. And watch out for its speed."

Lukas nodded before jogging towards the ape. He had quite the distance to cover, but before long, he was near. He wasn’t even tired or breathing hard due to his high constitution. Any other E-rank Awakener would have at least felt something.

As he drew closer, the Silver Ape eyed him warily. This was one of the disadvantages of hunting in the Scorched Forest. While you could see the beasts coming, they could also see you coming.

It could sense that he was E-rank, and therein lied the problem. Why would an opponent as weak as that deliberately approach it unless it wanted to die.

The ape began encircling Lukas, who unsheathed his sword, cursed energy slowly wafting off the blade.

"Attack me, you ape." He grinned. "Or are you scared."

As if it could understand his words, the ape paused, its nose flaring. It stretched to its full height, a whole ten feet tall, and roared, fists beating its chest.

Lukas stood there unfazed, sword at the ready. Without warning, he surged towards the ape.

The ape bent down, and with its wide fingers, sent it deep into the soot covering the ground, scooped up a chunk of clumped earth and threw it at him.

The projectile blurred through the air, faster than it had any right of being.

Lukas’ eyes widened and he dove to the side, manifesting a [Hex Shield] to protect him.

The shield shattered as the projectile slammed into it, sending soil spraying everywhere. If he hadn’t dodged, it would have definitely been a direct hit.

He rolled to his feet and dove in the other direction, just in time, as the ape threw another clump of earth at him. He threw up [Hex Shield] again, the shield shattering once more from the hit.

This was another wake up call. Even with his increased mana capacity, his skills were still E-rank. Adding lots of mana into it wouldn’t suddenly raise the strength or anything.

Before the ape could pull up another clump of earth, he raced towards it. As it saw him coming, it raised both hands in a fist and sent it slamming down.

Lukas rolled between the ape’s legs just as its fists slammed into the ground before it, creating a small crater and sending soot flying into the air.

Lukas swung his sword, slicing deep wounds into the back of the ape’s legs.

The ape roared in pain, the injuries sending it down to its knees.

Before it could get its bearings, Lukas climbed onto its back, and plunged his sword straight into its brain.

Its movements stilled, and a second later, it flopped onto its face, dead.

[You have killed a D-rank Silver Ape]

Lukas pulled out his sword and stepped off the corpse.

"Have I ever told you that you look handsome when you fight?" Melody said from where she stood to the side. She’d moved closer the instant the ape had started throwing projectiles at Lukas.

"I don’t know. Have you?" Lukas grinned, turning to her.

She rushed up to him with a squeal and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Honestly, you looked so cool as you slashed the back of its knees, climbed its back, and killed it! That’s what I would’ve done if I was in your position too."

"I have to say, your decision making in battle is quite top-notch, you know. Others would’ve stopped using [Hex Shield] the moment they realized it wasn’t effective against the ape, but you kept using it. If the thrown attack had hit you after passing through [Hex Shield], the damage would have been minimal, so that was actually a great decision."

Lukas stood there, dazed. His hand slowly rose to touch his lips. It had been for an instant, but he’d felt her soft lips. He instantly had the urge to kiss it again.

Seeing his action, Melody’s eyes widened as she realized what she’d done. She turned away, a deep blush immediately rising in her cheeks. "S- Sorry. I didn’t know—"

Lukas immediately caught her hand and pulled, turning her to face him. "Why are you sorry?"

"E- Excuse me?" Melody stuttered, unable to meet his eyes.

With a smirk on his face, he reached up and lifted her chin until she was looking at him. "Isn’t it quite normal to kiss one’s husband?"

"I- I- I didn’t mean to..." her voice trailed into silence as Lukas leaned closer. Her eyes fluttered close in anticipation of the kiss.

And at that moment, several apes roared as they bounded towards them.

Melody’s eyes snapped open and she pushed him away, blushing furiously. "W- We’re in the middle of hunting, Lukas. Remember lesson one. Always be alert."

Lukas chuckled at the sight. "Cute."

Then he turned to the coming pack of apes, his expression darkening. They’d ruined his perfect moment to kiss his wife.

"You’ll pay for that, you fuckers."