02:26, 16 July, 20XY.
Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India.
"It would've been easier if we knew more about this demon."
A large man muttered as he sat on the grassy ground, leaning against a large red tiger who was licking its paws.
*Slash*
*Squelch*
*Ksch*
The sound of a blade slicing muscles and bones kept repeating in the background as if someone were butchering someone.
The large man, who was Garvit, however, ignored it as if he was used to it.
"Growl."
The large red tiger, Shera, also nodded its head.
Right now, Garvit is in an area east of Khaliyan, quite close to the border of India and Nepal.
Well, there was no border anymore, but still...
Garvit swiped his finger, trying to open the personal chat option in his world chat, but the moment he opened the chat, his eyes fell on news related to Alex.
[Ramu: Hey guys! That Alex guy is still in Meerut!]
[Roshni: Didn't he already leave the area?!]
...
..
.
The chat went on like that, but Garvit just grinned.
"Hehe, looks like our brother is doing well on his side."
He chuckled as he saw the amount of tension among the people of the area Alex was in.
"Grrr!"
Shera also let out a low, happy roar, its tail wagging from one side to the other.
*Click*
But as soon as Garvit clicked on the personal chats, his expression turned serious, causing Shera to turn solemn as well.
"They want to meet up, buddy."
Garvit muttered as he stared at the message from a certain person who was forming a group to defeat the demon in their area—which, fortunately, was not moving around killing humans like the one in Alex's area.
This certain group of people was going around texting different people on the bounty list; the leader was also someone from the bounty list—a guy just above Garvit on the list.
"Growl!"
Shera, however, scrunched his nose with a frowning expression.
"I don't trust them either, man, but we don't have much choice in this matter.
We can't just rush at the demon alone."
Garvit sighed, lying back on Shera's soft fur, staring at the unblinking and stationary stars in the sky.
"Grr..."
Shera, who heard Garvit's words, also sighed, staring up at the sky.
[The Trickster Hero is saying that it never hurts to try.]
Just then, a notification flashed in Garvit's vision, inciting another sigh from the guy.
"I can't do it.
Risking my life for others is just not the thing I can do; I'm no hero."
He just shook his head as he knew that fighting the demon meant risking his life for everyone in the one.
Why would he do that then? He would just wait for the next scenario, no matter how hard it is, all he would have to do was protect the small group he was in.
[The Trickster Hero is staring at you.]
"What?"
Garvit frowned as he could feel the gaze of his contracted god on himself.
[The Trickster Hero is sneering and saying that you are just a coward.]
"Say that again?!"
Garvit stood up with his eyes wide open as he stared at the sky filled with countless stars.
People say that truth hurts, and well, it looks like it did hurt...
"I'm not a hero, but I'm not a coward as well!"
She stomped his feet in annoyance, but the next notification paused him in his tracks and made him swallow his words.
[The Trickster Hero is asking you to prove it by actions.]
"I-I, well, I-I'm not really in the mood to fight this demon, and I-I can't fight when I'm not in the mood—
Garvit hurriedly tried to come up with an excuse as he understood what this god was trying to point at, stuttering as he spoke.
But a new notification cut his words.
[The Trickster Hero is now sure that you are a coward.]
"Y-You—"
Garvit tried to retort, but the next second.
*Step**Step*...
The sound of someone moving toward them was heard, causing both Garvit and Shera to turn to look at the third member of their small group walking toward them, covered in blue blood from head to toe.
"Cough!"
Garvit coughed, not wanting to argue with the god right now, as that would expose his cowardice to the little girl, to whom he was slowly growing attached.
"Are you done?"
He questioned the little girl, his tone changing into a confident one.
*Nod*
The girl didn't say anything and just nodded her head, but that alone was enough to make Garvit smile, as it was better than nothing.
"All right then, let's get out of here!"
*Pat**Pat*
Garvit nodded back at the girl before he patted the tiger's back, gesturing for it to stand up, and it did just that.
Garvit and the girl quickly jumped on the large tiger's back, grabbing its soft fur for support before Garvit spoke.
"Let's go, buddy."
"Roar!"
Shera roared in acknowledgment before he rushed forward, leaving the area.
[The Trickster Hero is saying that you must be born after 10 bluffers and 20 cowards died.]
The trickster hero, however, kept to his point, causing Garvit to grow increasingly annoyed, but only on the inside.
'Fuck you, mf!'
He roared inwardly as he glared at the stars in the sky.
He knew that the god was just trying to motivate him by taunting him, but there was no way he was going to do it—there was no way he would team up to fight against the demon—especially when he was a bit suspicious about the said group that had been inviting him.
What if he was called a coward? He would at least be alive to see things to the end.
'I wonder what Alex would do...'
Garvit muttered inwardly, wondering what Alex would do if he were in Garvit's spot.
How happy would the guy be if he knew that Alex just sat the whole thing out, as he was no hero as well?
The guy wouldn't even care about the fact that instead of being scared or incapable of achieving the feat like him, Alex would not do it because he just didn't care.
Right now, however, Alex didn't have that luxury, as he already had the demon chasing after him.
There was a good thing, though: He was now a level 20 human, with all of his stats balanced.
He wasn't going to run anymore, but before he faced the demon Chalitanetra, he wanted to clear this one level 20 zone from where he had run away.
He stared at the bright purple fire that kept burning on the live trees as if permanent torches were placed there to ward off any being that wanted to enter the area.
He was going to enter the area again, and although he would still kill the beasts in a stealthy way before they could even transform, he wasn't going to run away this time. S~eaʀᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
He recalled the three items he made by the use of both 'Basic Royal Medical Arts' and 'Alchemical Enchantment' before he stepped forward.
{The items he created –
[[Blood Clotting Lotion (Uncommon): A lotion made by common herbs. Can be used to stop bleeding by clotting blood faster than it normally would.]]
[[Healing Bandage (Uncommon): A bandage made out of a leaf along with some other herbs, it can heal large gashes or cut marks by prolonged use.]]
[[Healing Potion (Uncommon): A potion made to help wounds heal faster than normal.]]
}