Chapter 9 - 9: Origin World

It was a quiet late night in an unknown and dense forest. The cold night breeze was constantly causing the leaves to shift while Owls hooting and crickets creaking were among the few sounds that resonated in the area.

All of a sudden a bright light appeared right in the middle of the forest and brought that tranquility to an end. A strange brown door had appeared out of thin air, once opened the only thing that could be seen was a bright yellow light.

For a moment it remained that way, glowing yellow like a setting sun but then a hand appeared out of the light. What followed was an entire figure slowly walking out of the door. The figure wore a plain robe and held a large black cotton sack in one hand which he soon settled on the ground.

"So this is my origin world. In the end, you abandoned me too after I lost my purpose..." The figure was none other than the newly awakened Aron who spoke in an irritated tone.

So much had happened so fast to him, Nine years and three months of him constantly enduring a torturous technique all for a body he knew nothing about. A legacy that gave him only a set of clothes, a sword, a pair of strange weapons designed by an even stranger old mage and lastly a ring that set itself on Aron's index finger.

As Aron prepared to open the cotton sack, the door behind him vanished. He quickly glanced back but gave no reaction as if it was to be expected.

'At this point why bother trying to figure out Argos's mechanisms...' Aron thought to himself before turning his attention back to the sack.

He first began by removing the plain robe he wore and started putting on the set of clothes he carried. Plain black trousers held up by a brown belt with holsters and a sword sheath. The belt had an additional brown strap that housed tiny metallic objects that Argos called explosive bullets.

'The first time he showed me an Arcane gun as he called it, he fired them by simply infusing mana into them. The Arcane gun then shapes the mana and makes it take the form of a deadly projectile and fires it at a speed no archer can match...if that's the case then why these...' Aron paused to look at one of the silver bullets before instantly understanding why.

'Just one of these is infused with ridiculous amounts of mana forcefully compressed within them. The concept is simple but can I replicate them?... best to save them until I study the matter more.' Aron concluded before placing the bullet strap on his belt and continuing to dress.

He proceeded to wear dark silver boots whose only upside seemed to be a strong material, which was the same case for the chest plate he wore after putting on a plain black t-shirt underneath it. He finished off by wearing some black mana infused gloves and finally a red hooded jacket.

'I highly doubt you'd store useless item's Argos so it's best I wear everything for now...with that out of the way I should leave. It's not wise to linger in places I'm unfamiliar with' Aron assessed before tossing the now empty black cotton sack.

*Grrr*

"So much for avoiding an encounter before properly assessing my situation" Aron sighed before turning in the direction of a growl he heard.

Once he did so, he saw numerous red eyes lurking in the shadows of the forest that surrounded him. However Aron wasn't the least bit fazed once the creatures became visible to him.

'It looks familiar but I can't remember its exact name' Aron thought to himself before the silver ring he wore gave off a momentary glow. When the glow faded, Aron narrowed his eyes and looked at his hand before showing a small smirk.

'So that's how it is...' he thought with an approving look before taking out one of his Arcane guns.

"The Night Terror..."

[BEAST INDEX #3: Night Terror]

The red eyes that were lurking in the forest belonged to what Aron called a night terror. It was a large wolf-like beast standing at 10 feet in height. It's body was very muscular and covered in thick fur whereas its head had terrifying blood red eyes and sharp protruding teeth with drool constantly running down its mouth.

*Howl*

The largest of the Night Terrors released a fierce howl before stepping forward slowly. Although Aron had an intimidating aura and stature, a human was still a human in their eyes.

*bang*

A loud bang resounded in the forest causing the many howls and growling to stop. For a moment, the forest returned to its tranquil state, then all of a sudden the largest Night Terror fell to the ground and blood began flowing out from its head.

"You're pretty confident for mere Tier 12 rank C beasts." Aron mocked while aiming his arcane gun forward.

The remaining Night Terrors began to back away slowly with their ears lowered. Unfortunately for them Aron had no intentions of letting that happen.

Multiple bangs resounded in the once quiet forest along with the pained howls and sequels of multiple creatures. This lasted for only a moment before silence once again filled the air.

'If Tier 12 beasts can be this confident it must mean there isn't any greater Tier beasts present. Given how territorial beasts are if a stronger one was present then these weaklings would already be dead. The average territorial radius for beasts between Tier 12 and 11 is 100 kilometers so I'm unlikely to encounter a threatening beast for a while' Aron sighed and assessed before putting his arcane gun back in its holster.

"Better leave before anything or anyone shows up because of the loud noises." Aron glanced around at the multiple bloody bodies that covered the ground before leaving the scene and disappearing into the forest.

Meanwhile not too far from where Aron was, a group of humans were huddled together in a panicked manner.

The group was made up of three men and one woman, all in armor of poor quality. The tallest of the men wore metallic rusty armor and wielded a large mace in his right hand. He had a shaven head and a scar on the upper part of his left eye.

The remaining members of the group all wore leather armor of varying designs. The man next to the large bald warrior wielded a short iron sword and looked to be the most panicked of the bunch. He had bright brown hair and average features.

The woman was more composed and wore a wicked smile on her face. Her leather armor was black and complimented her curvy figure quite well. Strapped to her exposed hips were a pair of sharp daggers that seemed to add even more allure to her.

The last man was composed but looked to be out of place in the group. His armor was of the poorest quality and his sword carried many dents on its surface. The biggest thing that set him apart from the rest however...was the fact that he was just a boy that looked to be no older than 15.

"Uhh...Boss? Did you hear those sounds? S-sounded like Night Terrors...and plenty of them." The panicked man pointed out towards the large bald man who simply remained silent and began to ponder.

"Oh come now Luke, why panic over something we haven't even seen? I thought you were more manly...." The raven haired woman placed her hand on the shoulder of the panicking man she addressed as Luke and lightly rubbed it.

"Uh...I am manly Rilda...it's just I'm worried for that kid...yea that kid. It'll be a problem with the people of the town if he gets hurt, you know?" Luke wore a nervous smile as he explained his reasoning for not wanting to stay any longer.

"My name is Thyrus and I'm not a kid so I'm not scared" The child Luke referred to spoke up for himself and voiced his views confidently.

"Mmm, I like brave men. Since Thyrus has no complaints then it's all up to you now boss. What do you say?" Rilda asked the large man who had been silent for a while.

"*sigh* it's best we check it out, let's just be careful. Follow me" The large man ordered before turning in the direction the noises had come from. Rilda happily followed while swaying her hips while Luke gave Thyrus a scowl before following as well.

The group continued through the forest following the large man who led the way. All of a sudden however the large man came to an abrupt halt.

"Hey boss? Why are you stopping? And is it just me or does it smell strange here...." Rilda asked as she approached the large man but trailed off once she reached his side.

Soon Luke joined the two and had his eyes immediately widened and his palms began to tremble as he saw the scene in front of him. Thyrus however went pale and leaned against a nearby tree before throwing up.

"What could have done this....we need to leave now!" The large man looked at the many Night Terror corpses that covered the ground only for a moment before feeding a sense of danger overwhelming him. His decision received no protests as everyone cautiously retreated as fast as they could.

Some time later, they managed to escape from the forest unharmed and were currently rushing towards a large gate with two guards standing on either side.

"Branos? Even you?" Upon seeing the group approaching them, one of the guards called out towards the large bald man in the lead.

"What do you mean even me?" The large man inquired while breathing heavily. The two guards glanced at each other with worried looks before one spoke up.

"Since a while ago, many adventurers and hunters have been rushing into the town. Each one of them is saying they saw many dangerous beasts brutally killed in large numbers...I'm starting to worry Branos. You're the best adventurer in this town, how bad is it?" The guard asked worryingly but Branos simply gave the guard a look that said it all.

"Dammit alright, quickly everyone get in, we're going to have to lock the gates until we know more of what could be out there" The guard quickly instructed and Branos nodded with a cold sweat running down his forehead.

After Branos and his group entered the town, they could see many locals talking in whispers with looks of worry on their faces, he paid them no mind and went directly towards a tavern.

Once he and his group entered, they saw many familiar adventurers and hunters which caused Branos to look all the more worried. Before he could say anything though a loud cry from a woman resonated throughout the tavern.

"Thyrus! All thank goodness you're okay *sniff*" A blonde haired woman in a tavern wenches clothing hugged the boy with tears running down her face. The boy hugged the woman back while nodding his head.

"It's alright mother, I'm fine." The boy reassured but the woman continued to hug the boy.

Branos looked around the tavern and let out a sigh of relief as all hunters and adventurers he knew were present. However his gaze soon settled on an unfamiliar face that sat alone at a table in the corner of the tavern.

"Who's he?" Branos asked the adventurers seated at a nearby table but all of them shrugged.

"The guy just walked in and didn't say a thing when we asked, he looks like a traveling adventurer who came into the city because of what's going on in the forest. A lot of people who were traveling have settled in the local inns because they were warned about the dangers." One of the adventurers answered, causing Branos to give a nod and return his gaze to the unknown figure sitting alone.

"What's wrong Boss?" Rilda asked curiously but Branos simply showed a smirk.

"Let's go ask this unknown "adventurer" a few questions, I can be very persuasive" Branos stated before starting to walk over to the table.