"What kind of monster attacked him? This poison is very lethal. If we were a few seconds late he would've been in an even dire state." Acht asked as he looked at the poison on the ground.
It was a very purple substance, there was also a faint smoke coming from it indicating the toxicity of this poison. But, for awakeners, it was still nothing but a small discomfort at best in case of comfort.
The woman looked down sadly as she touched her son's face and then said.
"It's a northern snake. We have been suffering from this monster for a long time and my son, being the only one that hunts animals in the village, has to face these snakes basically every time he goes out hunting. He had learned how to avoid them so he never really got bitten by them. However….He didn't get lucky this time." She said the last sentence with a painful look.
Acht nodded his head in understanding as he looked at Leislet.
"Let's go." He said and then started walking away.
"Where are you going, young man?" The village chief asked with a worried tone.
"I will just take a stroll around the area since I'm new here. I won't take long, old man." He replied with a small smile.
"I see…Be careful."
The two then left the area.
When they went far enough, someone approached the village chief and asked him.
"Is it really fine for them to go out at this time especially when we know that these snakes are still roaming the area?"
The chief didn't hesitate to nod as he replied.
"Mrs. Leislet is very strong…impossibly strong. She could protect him easily." He said.
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"There might be a snake nest close to her. We might stumble upon it on our way out." Acht said casually.
"I did hear about these attacks before but never really heard about any casualties because of it," Leislet added.
The two left the village and found themselves in the embrace of the beautiful mother nature. The weather was very perfect and the warm sun was like a golden blanket that warms them up constantly.
"It seems I will never get bored of this sight. Such a beautiful place is truly a treasure to be kept safe." The boy muttered under his breath with dreamy eyes.
Acht had always been attracted to such sacred places that had never been tarnished or ruined before.
It had such a weird charm that made it even more beautiful than anything a human created.
"That's why I wanted you to come here. It's my dream place after all." Leislet said with a soft smile on her beautiful face.
Acht smiled back and then started walking again.
They both walked on the dirt road that was surrounded by large plains of greenery and trees.
The air breeze that moved along the plains, moved the grass left and right in a mesmerizing dance of nature.
This sight alone made the two just walk silently. The silence isn't awkward at all since they both basked in the great atmosphere.
The duo soon reached a small forest nearby. It wasn't a dense forest but more of a small group of tall trees close to each other.
"There doesn't seem to be any monsters nearby. Hmm, this is weird." Acht commented out of nowhere.
"It's most likely the fact that they sensed our auras and they simply ran away. Monsters are cowards when it comes to stronger opponents. You can call it instinct."
Even though Leislet was talking casually, her mind was in total chaos over one simple question.
'Should I touch his hands?! Maybe I could do that so naturally and he won't even feel it. Yes, I can. Come on, it's easy!' She thought as she eyed Acht's hand which was very close to hers.
She had made sure to close the distance between them during the trip without him noticing.
It was a process that needed careful planning and perfect execution and Leislet was basically just one step away from achieving her goal.
All she had to do was just grab his hand and then it was over. However, that proved to be something but that's easier said than done.
'No! No! I can't!! It's too hard. Hick, I'm such a coward. Even though I'm already 22 years of age.' She clenched her teeth and cursed her weak self repeatedly.
Being oblivious to her thoughts, Acht was just looking around before he caught sight of something weird.
So, without thinking much, he grabbed Leislet's hand and pulled her to a close buch to hide.
Leislet, who was having her own train of thoughts, was very surprised by the sudden yank of her arm that she even made a weird sound during the process.
"..What?"
Even though she asked such a question, her eyes were glued to her hand. Acht was still holding her hand.
This scene alone made her mind crushed. Her face also turned bright red as she screamed in her head.
'It…It happened!!!'
"Shhh," Acht replied as he pointed at a certain place slightly far away from them.
Leislet looked at where he was pointing and finally saw what he meant.
There, a deer was standing casually, eating grass. However, this was no normal deer.
'An Emerald deer. I can't believe I could stumble upon one of these so suddenly.'
An Emerald deer or as many call it, the triple-horned deer is a soul animal that was known for being one of the most delicious meats to taste in this whole entire world.
It was a very very high-grade delicacy that even Acht didn't have the opportunity to experience before.
So, seeing one of these amazing creatures in front of him made him feel hungry for some reason. His eagerness to try its meat also skyrocketed.
Leislet was also having the same thoughts. So, the duo looked at each other.
"We will hunt it," Acht said.
Leislet nodded her head in approval. There was however one small problem. This problem was actually the reason why this deer was one of the rarest meats in existence.
It's a matter of catching it. This animal had a special ability that made it one of the hardest creatures to hunt even for the best of hunters in the world. The moment this deer senses danger, it basically turns into blue particles that resemble dust and then disintegrates in the air. Nothing could touch it the moment it turned into that form.
Acht was aware of this fact and so he had to be very careful in order to catch it.
"Listen, I will sneakily attack it, and then when it turns into dust, you follow it until it returns to its original form and then kill it," Leislet said while eyeing the deer in case it ran away for one reason or another.
"I will try to do so. I can't be sure though."
Leislet smiled lovingly and replied.
"You don't have to worry about it. We could always try again next time. We have alllll the time in the world after all."
Acht felt really weirded out by her phrasing but still nodded. It was something very Leislet-like to say.
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