Draven stared at Jude for a second before he swept his gaze past his people and then returned it to settle on Jude's face.
He calculated, 'There are few reasons why an enemy would invite me. Yeah, he's an enemy after trying to kill me. One, to lead me from the Haven and snuff out the tiny life I'm managing. After all, everybody here is his people. But he can still be reported, so it might be the second option. Two, he wants to practice that quote: keep your friends close and… what is that quote again?'
"Are you coming?" Jude interrupted his thought.
Draven blinked, then replied calmly, "No. As you can see, I have something important to attend to."
"More important than ascending?"
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Well, not sure, but it's very important. See you around."
Draven said this and swiftly left before Jude could continue pressing him to join the hunt.
After Draven came out of the Haven, he trudged toward the forest. Unsurprisingly, there were very few people in his path, and the number reduced the deeper he went.
Draven didn't blame them for avoiding this part; that vine—a bundle of many Second Order Transient monsters clustered together—still scared him, even if he hadn't fought it. What if it just densely wrapped around him, transforming him into a cocoon? If he had a choice, he would have avoided this forest.
Soon, he reached the border of the forest. Draven took a protracted deep breath and exhaled sluggishly. He activated Soul Eyes and cautiously marched into the forest.
When he had walked a bit deeper into the forest, he spun and meticulously scanned his surroundings. He was more thorough than he had ever been. When he saw nothing, he swapped his armor to Obsidian Carapace, summoned and readied his bow and arrow—Horizon Vanguard and Wintervein—before treading deeper into the forest.
Even though he didn't say it, he was scared of that girl for many reasons: her whip skills and control were on another level. But most importantly, her ruthlessness and psychotic nature made her hellbent on killing him, even with her heavy injury. Though he found her ruthlessness for missed shots suspicious.
Draven shook her off his mind and focused on his goal. Maybe he would have time afterward.
He walked through the woods with lithe footsteps to avoid alerting anything, though he doubted it was necessary with the innate silent-step trait of the armor. But after that psycho girl had been able to track him through unknown means, he was being extremely careful.
Even with his deliberate movement, Draven reached the spot where he could see white flames in the distance on the crowns of trees. He pushed a bit closer to get a better view before scaling a tree.
When he found a branch that wouldn't impede his vision but made it easier to retreat into the veil of dense leaves, he perched on it and turned to search for any sign of the vine. Finding nothing suspicious, he locked onto the spiders that disorderly huddled in their open den and activated [Stasis].
He observed them for a few minutes, picking targets at the edges of their arrangements.
They rested like lifeless boulders, with their legs coiled. But he knew better that they were alive and would swarm him if he dared get close.
Draven pulled the string and aimed at his first target. After a moment's thought, he released the tension and summoned his First Order arrow, Silver Streak. He kept it by his side.
Then he pulled his bowstring, aimed at the one coiled on the ground, and readied Wintervein for his shot. Steadying his breath, he released his shot, quickly nocked another arrow, and fired again.
Wintervein sped through the air and pierced the shell of the spider, freezing it for a second before Silver Streak stabbed it.
Draven instantly recalled the arrow the moment it connected, and in a split second, just as he caught the arrows, a notification flashed in his vision.
[First Order Transient rank killed: Tank Tarantula!]
[+1 Soul Vitalis.]
[+1 Gear received.]
Draven looked at the Tank Tarantula, and to his relief, it remained still, with blood oozing from the two holes punched in its body. A gleeful gleam shone in his eyes when he realized the other Tank Tarantulas didn't notice the dead one.
'They didn't even notice. I thought they were sensitive to sound. Maybe it's ground vibration? Most importantly, Selene's arrow is badass; it silences them and keeps them still. Mental Serration is good, but it would make them scream. I got a gear on my first try. Nice! I'll check it later. Now, time to farm Soul Vitalis.'
He nocked Wintervein and aimed for the next spider beside his dead target. Like before, Silver Streak followed in quick succession the moment he fired Wintervein, killing the monster in its 'slumber'.
Draven was swift in recalling the arrow.
He began lacing each of the monsters with two killer shots that reaped their lives before they could scream. Scrapping his plan to leave after receiving fifteen Soul Vitalis, Draven went on an assassination spree, pausing only briefly to observe and stay hidden.
On the 43rd kill, Draven noticed them stirring awake.
He decisively ceased his kills, ready to escape, when he heard rushing footsteps in the distance.
Draven retreated into the cover of the tree's crown and activated [Stasis].
The sluggishly stirring Tank Tarantulas quickly sprang awake, all of them getting into a battle stance. But they swiftly noticed the dead ones. Then, they released a long chorus of piercing shrieks that echoed like guttural, clicking screeches.
But surprisingly, they got a reply of another high-pitched, chittering shriek resounded from the distance. The Tank Tarantulas fell silent and alert, forgetting their dead members.
Draven became very cautious as the footsteps closed in.
It didn't take long for Draven to see the source, and to his shock, it was a young boy donned in armor that left his head bare, running diagonally toward the Tank Tarantulas.
From his speed and the ferocious white flame in his chest, Draven realized the boy must be a Third Order Transient Elite.
His heart tightened as the boy dashed past a distant side path from the Tank Tarantulas. He expected them to lunge at the boy like rabid dogs after their angry shrieks, but surprisingly, they remained still, ignoring him.
The boy ran past them, reached beneath Draven, and sped past his tree.
Draven felt confused for a second but then remembered something.
'That roar…'
He shuddered.
Just as he lifted a leg to flee regardless of the Tank Tarantulas, he saw three people running anxiously, with varying short distances between them.
'Second Order.'
He halted and peered into the distance behind them, and his heart tightened.
Far behind, with his Soul Eyes, he spotted four ferocious white flames—Third Order—chasing them at a blistering pace.
'That speed… running away is foolish! That girl couldn't detect me with Stasis, so…'
Draven retreated deeper into the tree and activated [Stasis]. Then he gingerly watched how things would unfold.
The first soon ran past his tree.
Just as the second person—a girl—ran past, the four flames came into sight. Yes! Flames! Because even at this close range, all he saw was the white flames, not seeing what was chasing the humans. Hell! He wouldn't have believed anything was there if not for the people escaping—and, most importantly, Soul Eyes.
The last boy was close to a tree when the four things closed in.
The Tank Tarantulas were becoming extremely tense.
Focusing intently, Draven could pick out vague outlines of their figures. Very easy to miss.
And they reached the boy just as he entered a few meters from his tree.
Three shot past while the last white flame 'ran into the boy'.
He watched with bated breath.
All Draven heard was a muffled, screeching metallic sound, and the boy's head lobbed up, spinning through the air before landing with a thud, rolling a bit before stopping.
The headless body, spurting blood, toppled to the floor.
Draven pressed his lips together at the sight of the decapitated body to seal any sound that threatened to escape. The horror in the head's eyes tingled his nerves. The hairs on his nape rose.
With vacant eyes, he mused, 'Kil–Killed without resistance…'
He snapped out of it. Trying not to move and deactivate [Stasis], he squinted, noticing he could make out the outline at such close range.
But he couldn't tell what it was.
'Invisible monsters. Shit! I thought that vine was scary, but this… this is inescapable. Fast and one-shots a Second Order Transient Elite. It can even fly. That thing attacked silently and invisibly from behind like a ghost—'
His thoughts abruptly cut off.
Realization dawned on him. 'A monster as scary as the vine, coming from the right flank of the Tarantulas, far right of the Vineguard. Ghost… Ghost… GHOST MANTIS!'
Suddenly, something broke through the leaves and landed on the tree.