37 Splitting Up, Making Discoveries

It's been roughly an hour since the previous 'Incident' back in the forest. For the whole journey until now, none of the three said a single word, whether it be the girls asking just what happened there or Kirou coming up with some form of defense for what he pulled off. All in all, it was quite a quiet walk.

The trio traveled that way until they got to the end of Thousand Wood Forest. Having arrived at this point, one of the girls, Navi, spoke up.

"So...What are we gonna do now?" When Navi asked this, she was staring at Kirou, as if his decision would decide the group's direction. Reya also gave Kirou this stare, signifying her agreement with Navi.

Kirou, for his part, looked at both women with a peculiar expression before releasing a breath. It seems that the two women have become subservient towards him after the spectacle they just witnessed. Kirou then shook his head free of any weird thoughts before he spoke up.

"I'm guessing that the quest you both received requires you to head to head to different directions, right?" Both women nodded in response to his question, causing him to nod as well before speaking once more, "Then I suggest we split up our party for now."

Both women looked at Kirou as if they wanted to say something else and Kirou didn't stop them but they never said anything in the end. Seeing that they weren't saying anything, Kirou spoke up once more.

"I'm sure you two have a lot of questions about what just took place but I'll only say this; that was a result of me using the system as it was designed. Nothing more and nothing less. I'm sure you were shocked since I was as well, but you need to know that I have no plans on joining the ranks of elite players for any guild. At best, I'll either join a crafting guild or make one myself since that is the route I plan to take in this game. It may seem like a waste in your eyes, all things considered, but I want nothing to do with the politics of guilds, nor do I plan on working for any guild as an elite member so I apologize in advance for any offers you two might have wanted to make towards me in joining your guild." Having said his piece, Kirou now leaned his back against one of the tall trees from the edge of Thousand Wood Forest, awaiting the girls to exit their respective stupors.

Both women adopted wry smiles on their faces before they too released a deep breath. They gave each other a look before Reya spoke up, "Well, thanks for being considerate towards us when you obviously didn't have to. We're sorry about how we acted after you went out of your way to help us back there." When Reya said this, both her and Navi gave Kirou a bow as an apology.

It was after they both straightened up that Navi took over, "Just like you said, we did want to invite you to our guild but we were struggling in what we could use to do so. After all, from the looks of it, what you lack in equipment can be made at any time you get the materials and considering how you harvest them, you would have an easier time harvesting them than everyone in our three crafting guilds. So we were at a loss for what to do. Skills are something you can make for yourself, especially if we consider your class and how you use them. Even something simple can be taken to another level, especially if we consider how you use even basic skills."

Hearing her words caused Kirou to nod in agreement and Reya was the one who continued the conversation, "Since that is the case, we'll just go with whatever you decide on doing. I mean, with your skill you can shine regardless of where you go."

"That's right," said Navi with a smile.

"While it's a nice thought, I plan to be just a simple crafter, through and through," said Kirou with a gentle smile on his face.

Both Reya and Navi looked at Kirou with blank expressions on their faces. Kirou returned the stare with a gentle smile. The trio stayed like that for a minute before they all started laughing.

Reya wiped a tear from her eye as she said, "That sounds just like something you would say."

"It IS something I would say," countered Kirou.

"Yes yes, Mr. Wolf. You're the only player we know that could be this strong yet casts it away in order to do something tedious," said Navi with a smile.

"Well, sorry for being weird," Kirou said with a shrug.

The trio shared a moment like this, enjoying the laughter and company before Kirou decided it was time to break it.

"Anyways, before we split up, I've got something to tell you two." When Kirou said this, the jovial mood from earlier vanished and was replaced with a heavy one. Both women locked their eyes on Kirou while listening to what he had to say next.

"That group was after you, Navi." Navi's eyes narrowed slightly when she heard this but showed no other reaction. Seeing this, Kirou continued, "I have no idea who ordered, but I get the feeling you do. Anyways, they were tasked with retrieving that blueprint we obtained from Apothecary Redwood. I'm not sure if they'll back off for good after the previous incident but be careful on your journey. for the next few days."

Navi nodded her head solemnly in response to Kirou's warning. Reya made a face of understanding before she scowled. It seems like they both know who the mastermind is.

"Another thing." When he said this, both women made sure to pay attention. "I suggest you both keep quiet about the world quest unless it's absolutely necessary. Don't even tell your closest associates about having it or you might find it hard to complete the next parts in the future." Both women adopted slightly confused expression, prompting Kirou to continue, "There are spies in all guilds, no matter how close they claim to be, especially in the upper management. If word of you two owning a chain of the world quest is revealed, you might just find all sorts of people approach, either in the name of joining to help or people actively trying to sabotage you. I'm guess the mastermind behind the latest incident would fall into the latter group."

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Having said this, Kirou started walking down the path that leads to the direction of Stone Mount Village in the Stone Mountain Range. He could head back to Elderwood Village first but he's saving that for last.

Both women watched him leaving without even bidding them farewell. Navi stomped her foot on the ground before turning in the direction of SC Pier City while Reya giggled at her actions and followed behind her. As usual, they failed to notice that they are being tailed. The good thing for them is that this time it is someone that they know that is doing it, or rather, his clone.

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Somewhere within Thousand Wood Forest, a group of players numbering just ten with the stalker included was standing before a handsome human male wearing plate armor. While the human had features that would cause women to normally swoon over him if he gave them the time of the day, he was currently staring at the group with an emotionless expression on his face.

The group had just recounted the series of events that led to the failure of the mission he had issued to them. The man's face got frostier and frostier the more that he heard that by the end, his face just lost all trace of emotion. Thinking that the boss might not believe him or his mean, the initial stalker sent the boss a recording of the entire fight.

By the time the boss finished watching the video, he gave the group a cold glance, causing them to lower their heads in shame before he removed his gaze and released a sigh.

"Shadow Stalker, the mission is over. Return to the base and face disciplinary actions. As for the rest of you, get out of my sight." As soon as he said this, the other players fled the scene as if they had just been given a pardon and were afraid the boss would take back his words.

As for the one now identified as Shadow Stalker, he remained kneeling before this handsome man before he spoke up, "Boss Lord, what should I do about the target?"

The handsome man now addressed as Boss Lord gave Shadow Stalker a glance before releasing a breath, "What can you do? I saw the video myself. Even if I sent you back, you'll have no chance of taking down the target and retrieving the item. For now, it's best you return to the base and take your punishment. Consider this your punishment from underestimating your target." After he said this, the handsome man turned away, leaving Shadow Stalker still kneeling on the floor behind him.

Shadow Stalker gnashed his teeth before saying, "As you wish." Following those words, Shadow Stalker disappeared from the area in stealth, leaving just the handsome man alone.

The handsome man was currently gnashing his teeth in anger as well when he spoke, "Sooner or later, you WILL fall into my hands, Jia Rong." After saying this, the handsome man also departed from the area.

If Kirou was present, he would recognize the face of the handsome man. The reason for this is due to the fact that he had seen the handsome man's face before when he was at work earlier that day. He was the same one who tried hitting on Secretary Yin but was shut down, hard.

As he walked away, the handsome man never saw the pair of eyes watching him leave from the shadows. It seems like the handsome man's face was recognized as the one who's watching from the shadows was Kirou, or rather, his second clone. It was only after the man was gone did the shadow clone dissipate, returning back to Kirou's shadow with the information it had.

*******************

Kirou was currently walking through a random forest between Stone Mountain Range and Elderwood Forest when he received the information obtained by his dissipated shadow. It took him a few seconds to sort through it all with his eyes closed before he opened them. His opened eyes now revealed a sharp glint which was slowly reverted back to normal.

'It seems like I should keep an eye out for this man both in reality and this game. They both belong to the same studio yet he's doing things like this means that he'll be one to cause trouble later on.' Those were Kirou's thoughts as he resumed his travels to the Stone Mountain Range.

During the brief moment that he wasn't focusing on the area around him, a creature had managed to enter his range of perception unseen. Now that he was focused again, he noticed the creature's presence within fifty meters of him. Kirou wasn't sure what kind of creature it was, nor was he intending to spook the creature just yet so he allowed it to get closer while pretending to be ignorant.

Just as the creature got within twenty meters of Kirou, however, a long string of thread was fired at Kirou, forcing him to take evasive actions. When he turned towards the creature and focused on it, he realized that it was a spider. The spider itself wasn't the biggest creature Kirou has fought but it was still over two meters in height. Kirou couldn't help being surprised when he saw the creature's details.

Monster: Demonic Spider (Rare Boss)

Level: 10

HP: 47000

Attack: 250

Ranged Attack: 150

Def: 50

Skills: Sticky Thread, Poisonous Thread, Poisonous Bite, Thread Generation, Thread Manipulation, Berserk.

Looking over the details of the boss monster, Kirou couldn't stop the smile that formed by his lips. 'It seems like it was a good idea to accept that quest since it did allow me to find a creature I was planning to look for in the future.' As Kirou thought that, he took out the gloves that he uses to manipulate his wires along with a knife.

"Let's go, you bastard." Immediately after he said this, Kirou pounced towards the spider while the spider fired off another line of thread at Kirou.