Chapter 19: Hidden Intentions

Chapter 19 – Hidden Intentions

Where am I even supposed to go?

Rael glanced around.

There wasn’t any cover—it was quite literally a flat battlefield, likely flattened by the beast itself.

However, Rael spotted something: a group of soldiers running in a particular direction.

Therefore, he made haste, running toward them.

They were pretty slow, so it didn’t take long for Rael to catch up. He appeared beside a soldier, startling him.

“Heya, how you been?” Rael asked, and the soldier began tugging on his sword. “W-Wait! I’m not here to fight—I want to run away too.”

“You insensitive little shit. It can hear us, so quiet down,” one of the burlier soldiers said.

“

Yes, boss,

” Rael replied with a salute, causing the soldiers to grow speechless.

Nonetheless, it seemed like he found a hint about the quest—where he had to go—so that was something, at least.

But…

He glanced toward the skies and noticed a faint silhouette traveling past at lightning speed.

That thing is going to be a massive fucking problem.

“New kid,” one of the guards whispered. “

You’re not a soldier—then how did you end up here? The civilians were all evacuated months ago.

“

Rael tilted his head. “

I… accidentally arrived here, I guess?

“

“

…

” The soldiers looked on speechlessly.

However, their moment of banter was broken when a giant black fireball came crashing down, incinerating a few of the soldiers who walked in front of him.

Out of instinct, he took a few steps backward and ran. Not even a few seconds later, he saw another fireball crashing down on the same place—just much bigger this time.

[03:11]

[03:10]

These are the longest five minutes of my fucking life!

Rael exclaimed inwardly and dashed to the side, dodging a smaller fireball.

Nonetheless, he wasn’t safe. Therefore, he continued running forward, trying to still his breathing as he spotted another batch of people.

They seemed to know what they were doing more than the previous group, so he began approaching them.

But again, before he could even get close, a massive black fireball annihilated them.

W-What is happening? This was just like a game a few minutes ago…

Rael thought with a grim look.

The difficulty had shot up by a landslide, and he was in the very brunt of it all.

Furthermore…

<50% Movement Speed Reduction!>

<90% Decrease in all stats!>

Just great… It can’t get any worse than this—

Oh, fuck off.

Rael exclaimed as he began running even faster.

But one thing was a bit strange.

He was out in the open, and the beast could easily kill him at any moment.

However, the only thing it had done so far was spit out fireballs at the groups he was with.

Getting an idiotic idea, Rael slowed his pace to a walk.

And just as he expected, the fireballs—although aimed at him—were narrowly missing him.

“So it doesn’t want to kill me… but is it trying to do something?”

Rael thought.

Yet as he did, a ring of black fire suddenly appeared around him, circling him in the very middle.

In the very next moment, a black system interface appeared.

<###: Don’t commit a foolish action and follow the questline.>

“And if I don’t?” Rael said, his gaze directed at the clouds.

<###: You shall die.>

“Bullshit,” Rael scoffed. “If you wanted to kill me, your aim wouldn’t be so shit.”

Getting a stupid idea, a grin appeared on Rael’s face as he suddenly stopped, standing completely still.

“Kill me then,” Rael said, spreading out his hands.

The penalties—which should have killed him—did not do anything.

Instead, he merely stared at the sky, holding eye contact with the massive black eye that was hidden behind the gloomy clouds.

“Let’s cut to the chase.” Rael shrugged off the dust from his clothing. “What do you want from me?”

<###: I don’t need anything, foolish human.>

Rael tilted his head before pointing to the charred battlefield. “Then what’s with the scenery? If you truly didn’t want anything, then why not take me to some cozy beach instead?”

<###: There are restrictions. You are talking to a fragment of my younger self.>

So that’s what it meant when it said it was supposed to be a long-term quest.

Rael nodded as a grin appeared on his face. “If it’s nothing, then could you perhaps compensate me for the five minutes you took from me?”

<###: I don’t understand how someone as foolish as you was chosen to be the successor. You are getting a reward, and it will happen the moment the timer ticks down to zero.>

“Seems a bit anticlimactic, don’t you think?” Rael asked with a raised brow.

But the beast didn’t answer, and the timer slowly began ticking down.

[0:41]

[0:40]

<###: One last thing. This is the first and last quest where I will have consciousness. If you try to pull what you did earlier against the future me, you will die, foolish human.>

“Sounds like a deal, beast…” Rael trailed off. “What’s your name?”

The beast remained silent for a while, and Rael finally clocked what it was trying to do.

[0:02]

[0:01]

<###: It’s…>

That motherfucker…

Rael grumbled as his vision suddenly shifted.

Soon, he found himself in the forest—the same one right next to Celestara.

The boars were still dead, and after taking out the compass, he could tell it was still working.

Nonetheless, that was a terrifying experience.

Had he paid less attention, he’d probably be haunted by nightmares of that giant beast.

But the only thing it seemed to want to do was make him pass the main quest.

Soon, Rael found out the reason why.

He clicked on the prompt, and the moment he did, his eyes widened.

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