Chapter 10: Run
Mateo let out a sigh.
He was quite sensitive when it came to large amounts of money.
One thousand dollars was not a small sum for him.
Hearing someone waste money on gambling was something he disliked.
Even if it was William’s own money, it was still his right—he had risked his life to earn it.
If it had been Jack, who had helped him many times, Mateo wouldn’t have hesitated to help financially.
"I can’t," he said after a moment of silence.
William was stunned when he heard that.
The Mateo he thought was an innocent, simple guy said it so calmly.
His eyes blinked repeatedly in disbelief.
"Mateo, please, I really need it. It’ll be hard for me to run if I don’t pay Alex," William panicked, grabbing Mateo’s shoulders as he pleaded.
"The problem is, you used your money for gambling. Is one thousand dollars even enough to pay your debt? Gamblers usually use it to gamble again first," Mateo replied, frowning.
William’s face instantly turned red, as if his plan had been exposed.
"What else am I supposed to do? I have to pay 4,000 dollars. If I’m late until tomorrow, Alex will add more interest. Mateo, I’ve lost so much already—the site will definitely give me a win this time. It’ll be enough to pay Alex and return your money."
"And what if you lose again?"
That single question left William speechless.
"If I were you, I’d just run and hope for another kind of luck. What matters is keeping yourself away from gambling. There’s no point doing anything else right now. Even if you win and pay your debt, the urge to gamble will just make you fall into debt again."
After saying that, Mateo walked away.
He didn’t want to talk any longer. It only made him more uncomfortable.
"Damn, that chameleon ran so fast."
"It chose to run instead of fight. If it fought, we might’ve been the ones in danger before help arrived."
"Now we’ve lost the Extract of Primordial Life. Is anyone still selling it? That’s the only thing that can lure that chameleon. It seems to grow stronger after consuming it."
"How could there be any? This isn’t something you find every day. Even those who find it won’t necessarily sell it—only the poor who need money would."
"..."
Mateo was surprised by the conversation of a group passing by.
They seemed to be people from Earth.
Extract of Primordial Life.
It seemed that chameleon would be attracted to that item.
Although Mateo couldn’t yet extract his own Primordial Life Element, wouldn’t it still work in its raw form?
Extraction was just a method to store it for people who weren’t Life Element users.
Maybe he had a chance to lure the chameleon.
He didn’t plan to capture it—maybe he couldn’t—but if he could kill it, the reward would definitely be higher. That was what interested him.
Mateo immediately headed to the gate and entered a forest.
He wasn’t that afraid anymore since he had grown stronger.
As long as he didn’t go too far, he wouldn’t encounter monsters above Level 10.
He followed paths commonly used by others—safe routes.
More than once, he encountered groups searching for the chameleon, though they were starting to give up.
The deeper the night, the harder it became.
But Mateo went farther until he truly felt alone.
He turned onto a small path leading to a cave.
This cave was smaller than the one he found with William.
Without caring whether there was a monster or not, he entered—and found none. Perhaps it had already been killed.
Mateo lit a fire inside the cave. Realizing how bright it was, he reduced it to something the size of his fingernail—yet it was still enough to illuminate the entire cave.
There was no treasure in sight.
He sat on a rock and waved his other hand.
Buzz!
A bright green Primordial Life Element surged out like waves of water.
It resembled water—but glowing green.
Some of it fell onto the ground, and the moment it did, plants began to grow, expanding rapidly.
It didn’t take long before the entire cave was filled with vegetation.
Each plant emitted Primordial Life Element, acting as conduits for him.
With his Spiritual Energy constantly replenishing, Mateo could release it repeatedly at full capacity.
The quantity became overwhelming.
He just hoped no humans would pass by—it would be troublesome if someone discovered him.
Whiz... Whiz... Whiz...
After a short while, he faintly heard footsteps.
They were distant—but very clear to his ears.
Mateo extinguished his fire, though the cave didn’t become dark since the Primordial Life Element emitted a faint green glow.
The footsteps grew clearer over time—like something stepping on many branches at once, indicating a large creature.
It wasn’t long before Mateo saw a pair of red eyes right at the cave entrance—each the size of a human head.
But it seemed to have no body—just floating eyes. At least, that’s what Mateo saw, as it was too dark outside.
Then he felt the Primordial Life Element he released being absorbed.
Curious, he released a larger burst of Primordial Fire.
Light immediately illuminated the outside of the cave—revealing the creature behind those eyes.
"Not a chameleon..."
Mateo was stunned.
It was a massive green frog, taller than the cave itself.
The frog also seemed startled by the sudden light.
It stared at Mateo with anger.
(Level 10 Monster!)
A System notification appeared.
It wasn’t a Boss Monster.
But it seemed to possess Primordial Life Element as well.
Shua!
Its tongue suddenly shot forward at incredible speed toward Mateo.
Instinctively, Mateo raised his hand—still holding fire—toward the tongue.
Buzz!
The tongue was engulfed in Primordial Fire and instantly turned to ash.
But that wasn’t the end—parts untouched by the flame also seemed to burn, turning to ash rapidly.
"Wak! Wak!"
The frog cried in pain, jumping wildly outside the cave.
Mateo finally understood just how dangerous his fire was.
He rushed out of the cave and unleashed his flames in a massive burst.
He still lacked proper control—his only method of attack was releasing everything with all his Spiritual Energy.
The frog was engulfed.
He only attacked once.
When the flames vanished, nothing remained but a pile of ash.
There was no Monster Core.
DING!
(You have killed a Level 10 Monster. You gained 0.10 Heaven Path Soul Energy and 3 System Points!)
[Soul:]
Heaven Path Soul > 0.10 (SSS Class Soul)
[System Point: 3]
Mateo was stunned by the notification.
Last time, he received 10 System Points—this time, only 3.
Much less.
Was it because he had grown stronger?
"...Eh?"
At the side of the cave, he saw a creature with colorful, lizard-like features—about one meter tall—running away at high speed.
(Level 10 Boss Monster!)
The System notification appeared again.
"Forest Chameleon!"
Mateo immediately realized.
So it had been here as well.
The frog was likely just its subordinate—sent to test whether the cave was safe.
And once it realized the danger was too great...
...it ran.
