Chapter 378 Believers Who Do Not Want to Be Knights Are Not Good Players
Caius was a warrior who had awakened combat aura and possessed some degree of accomplishment.
That meant that he could skip the interview to become a pastor if he went to the Temple of Glory, or a priest in a more remote location.
Even so, a stable job like that did not mean great rewards, not to mention that the daily life was dull and repet.i.tive.
Clearly, that was not a life that Caius would want after awakening his combat aura.
After all, once most people had gained supernatural powers, their mental state seemed to bloat and become dissatisfied with present circ.u.mstances. They would yearn a life of adventure for excitement and new experiences, imagining that they would suddenly get rich by exploring ruins or slaying magical beasts.
It was the same for Caius too.
And the northern border of the Valla Empire was no doubt the most popular place for exploration.
To name a few, there was a mysterious religion with a strong background and profound power to hold a major event like the Twin City Cup; the wood elves who were recently beginning to reveal themselves to humans after a long seclusion; the undead dragon that rocked mountains and earth that appeared as suddenly as it vanished, the fishmen island that was said to land from the skies, hill-sized giants that easily crushed an entire army, as well as rumors of the recent appearance of a city of fantasy, said to hover in the skies…
The word ‘treasure’ seemed to look within every rumor, and it was enough to p.r.i.c.k the nerves of adventures and draw them all towards Northern Valla.
And yet, for some reason, magical beasts were suddenly increasing in numbers at the various frontiers of the Valla Empire… or indeed all over the country and the regions around it.
Many adventurers who proved lacking were therefore advised to withdraw, with some already ended up as snacks of magical beasts even before they set foot within Valla borders.
And yet, that danger did not stop the adventurers and made them even more excited instead.
The reason for that was simple: Do you think you are heading towards treasure if there was nothing standing in your way?
As such, adventurers who were confident in their own ability began to swarm towards the Valla Empire. That naturally left the border magistrates on their toes, believing that the nearby countries could no longer hold back and was about to invade Valla what with their unstable state of affairs…
And Caius was one such swarming adventurer.
Although he was not too far-reaching the level of superhuman, his combat strength was already quite good and he was naturally confident in his skills.
In the end, the treasure which all adventurers seek was never a.s.sured to fall into the hands of the strong. Movement, observation, and luck were quite important too.
And most importantly, the confidence of ‘who-else-other-than-me-could-achieve-th at’!
That was why Caius was about to die now.
“Why would a Scorptail Ape show up here!?”
While the name Scorptail Ape sounded like a species of ape, it was in fact a h.e.l.lsp.a.w.n with some extent of demonic bloodline. Its appearance resembled a giant bipedal lizard that stood over one point two meters tall, with sharp spikes growing over its back and a tail that was twice the length of its body, the tip of which was dark-red stinger resembling a poison stinger.
Still, they were not as dangerous as most h.e.l.lsp.a.w.n, which was why not one church was sending people to cull them, leaving them to spread in the remote locations on the continent.
The problem was that although Scorptail Apes were a minor species amongst magical beasts and could lose an actual beast such as the Dragonfang, they were pack animals. Moreover, the most important reason that put them in the category of magical beast was the stinger on their tails that could shoot venomous needles. Those needles were not actually solid but a pseudo-magic, although it was not too toxic that it merely paralyzes human-sized prey for a moment.
That being said, there would at least be five Scorptail Apes even in the smallest of packs (Their kind would have been easily wiped out by stronger beasts or magical beast), and typically moved around in flocks of up to a hundred!
As such, although poison needles from a single Scorptail Ape were very weak, having more shot at you meant trouble.
It was just like the Earth saying, ‘the dose makes the poison’: once the amount increases, even clear water could drown you…
And despite being a warrior who had awakened combat aura who could hold his own against up to five Scorptail Apes, the group which Caius had run into was a midsized tribe, with up to fifty of them.
He’s dead if they closed in on him, and the Scorptail Apes just had to shoot him to death with their poison needles even if they did not attack with their limbs.
“Oh no, it’s a cliff ahead!”
Having lost his way in the jungle, Caius suddenly realized he had nowhere to run. “Those d.a.m.ned Scorptail Apes chased me here knowing that there’s a cliff!”
He turned, ashen-faced while holding his sword against the Scorptail Apes that had surrounded him.
Just as their tail stingers began to glint in a dark-red light which would kill Caius with the pain of a thousand needles, a dog suddenly leaped out of a bush, knocking down one of the Scorptail Apes and throwing the rest into confusion.
Soon, a blue streak of light shot out from deep in the jungle, hitting the ground and materializing the silhouette of a ma.s.sive sea monster that looked like a sealion, chomping and crashing into the swarm of Scorptail Apes.
The poison needles that the Scorptail Apes were so proud of were useless against the sea monster-in fact, the creature appeared to become even more excited.
Knowing that their advantage was lost, the Scorptail Apes turned and attempted to run, but that was already too late!A young man with a sword leapt out of the bushes, yelling ‘Demacia’ and slashing down wildly after stunning the monsters.
Who cares if there was any damage? He had plenty of vigor. And soon enough, every last Scorptail Ape was slain by one human and one dog. It was only then that Caius realized that he had been saved.
“Thanks for the help, young man… but who are you?” He couldn’t help asking.
Before he got too close, however, the silhouette of the ma.s.sive sea monster and the dog turned to stare at him, keeping him from doing anything reckless. Nonetheless, the youth answered casually, “Just a Player pa.s.sing by.”
That was when another youth dressed like a mage came out of the nearby thicket and said, “Two Players, to be precise.”
“What do you want?” Caius gulped even as he looked at the leering silhouette of the sea monster, remembering how it had easily killed dozens of Scorptail Apes. “We can talk about this…”
“Fear not, we’re not the good guys… I mean, we’re not the bad guys. We just wanted to ask you about something.”
The young mage smiled. “After all, we want to earn more exploration points to get the Pioneering Seat next season.”