I had woken up in a small bed. Looking out of the small window, I could see the sun about to rise. I then wrote a note and began to head out. It looked like another receptionist was taking over.
Walking to the receptionist, I gave him a note. "Could you give it to my friends? I have to head out and do something. Give it to them if you see an elf and a girl with white hair." I gave her some extra cash and the keys to my room.
Agreeing to my request, I thanked her and left the building. I had decided that I wanted to venture into the forest alone. It would be more efficient if I did that. Before I went to the woods, I searched for food.
There weren't many people around during this time of day. Some stalls were still closed, and some were about to open up. I didn't have many options in deciding what to eat.
Choosing a stand that looked the most appealing, I ordered food off the stand dealer's choice of recommendation. He gave me a stick of bread with some jelly in it. Taking a bite out of it, I wouldn't say it was great, but at least he didn't make it stale. The jelly made the meal a bit less boring, though.
After I finished my breakfast, there was nothing left for me to do in this town. With my speed going to the forest only took an hour, half of the time it took when I came with my group.
Arriving in the outer forest, I could see some people camping outside of it. I could see that they had just woken up, I didn't know them, so I didn't disturb them.
I then walked in. The forest was the same as usual, bright purple making it easy to spot other monsters. Seeing the rank one monsters, I had killed them only taking their mana core. I had noticed that their materials were low cost and it would be a waste of space taking them.
Going deeper, I saw a group struggling against a rank two monster. It left me a bad taste if they died because I decided I didn't want to help them. And if they could kill it, I would proceed forward.
It had taken them a while to kill a rank two tortoise. The tortoise is very known for its defensive powers. They were tired when they finished it. It was a shame that I couldn't help and get the loot.
Walking further, I had finally found my first rank three monsters. It was a black bear that had red eyes. The size of this monster was about ten times mine. Seeing that I was within its range, it growled at me.
"HRAAAW!" It charged at me, trying to strike me down. Since it was going in a straight line, I charged my mana, condensing them and making a powerful beam.
I don't know why or who made the bear angry, but I was thankful. I shot the bear's skull because my beam was strong enough. The bear howled in pain, my beam couldn't pierce it instantly, but over time the bear's skulls began to crack. Seeing the skull crack, I put a little bit more mana into my shoot, killing it.
It was pretty bloody since I shot my beam and busted its brain. The body was clean, but the head, not so much. Putting the corpse in my storage box, I continue my adventure.
While the scenery was excellent, I don't think I could travel just to kill monsters. While there was a rush of adrenaline when I fought them, I don't think it would be mentally good for me. There were only five more days before the exam ended, including today.
Would I be first? Or would something unexpecting things happening for me to lose? While I began searching for more monsters, I saw something that looked interesting. I saw a giant boulder in the middle of the forest.
The trees surrounded it, and there was nothing but a boulder in the middle of it. Does this rock contain a secret? Interested, I fired a sun towards the giant rock. Smashing it into smithereens, I found a stair leading underground.
I didn't know whether I should enter or not. It could be leading me somewhere dangerous, or it could be a trap.
Being the idiot I'm, I went in curious about what I would find. The underground cave was dark. I went back out and grabbed a wooden stick. Making a torch, I head to the underground cave.
The cave was pretty narrow. I hadn't heard anything as I kept walking deeper into the cave. It was rather eerie walking on this narrow path. Walking for about two more minutes, I found the end of the track.
In the end, there was a small pillar holding an item. I walked closer to the thing, inspecting what the object might be.
It was a circular orb that was purple. I didn't know what to do. Should I leave it alone or touch it? Maybe something dangerous would happen if I felt it. Should I take the chance? I may regret it, but I was going to take it.
With me taking it, nothing had happened. The purple orb was now in my hand, and nothing had happened. I didn't know what it did or how to use it, but I think it would be better if I left this area.
Going back to the forest, I looked at the purple orb. I couldn't tell what the use of this object was. Maybe it was an artifact. I then put the ball in my storage. Looking back at the stairs, I found it pretty creepy that the stairs had disappeared.
Maybe the orb that I found was very important. Seeing that I had no lead on it, I began to continue exploring the forest.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶