Chapter 54: 54.Forest of No Shade-4

He meant it literally: the handwriting was such a chaotic mess that single sentences started at the top of the page and spiraled all the way to the bottom.

The book possessed no clear structure, consisting purely of pages crammed with frantic, messy scribbles without any defining formatting.

"This must be the direct log that lunatic kept while conducting his research...

Motherfucker, no wonder you got exiled from your workplace!"

Cursing under his breath, he searched the area for a writing tool. Finding a piece of charcoal rolled into a corner, he grabbed a stack of blank parchment and set to work.

Page by painstaking page, he deciphered the text, writing down key details whenever he hit anything relevant.

This tedious process stretched on for how many hours-no, he now had an exact way to measure it.

[16:23:45]

"Three hours... Damn you, bastard! There wasn’t even that much useful stuff in here! Who the fuck writes ten pages on the different types of Vexfang poop?!"

The journal was packed with nonsensical observations necessary only for a lunatic’s experiments, and Mylo couldn’t help but curse the dead man from the bottom of his heart.

Nevertheless, he had managed to extract enough detailed notes to formulate a basic strategy.

"Vexfangs and Tkerns are a numbers game; as long as I isolate them and handle them individually, they shouldn’t be much of a problem. For Nothroughts, it’s the opposite, I need to cluster and face as many as possible at once."

"The Barebone will definitely be the toughest, but if I bring another element into play, it might work out."

"The trickiest ones, though, are going to be the Bearashs. Hmm..."

Leaning back, he let his mind rest. In the end, these were all theoretical ideas; the real challenge would be translating them into practical results on the field.

Besides, there was another immediate concern: he was utterly exhausted.

Sitting up, he searched the chamber for any spare cloths or rags he could find, spreading them across the stone floor to make a crude bed. He had already decided to take a quick nap.

There’s no way I can fight these creatures in this condition and come out alive.

He laid down on the coarse ground beneath the faint, crimson glow emitting from the ceiling.

Whether it was the weight of his physical fatigue or the dark quiet of the cave, he couldn’t deny one thing.

...This really is the best place to sleep...

With that thought, his eyelids fluttered shut, his consciousness vanishing instantly as his body surrendered to the deep pleasure.

That pleasure gradually shifted as his consciousness began to return.

As Mylo’s eyes opened and his vision settled, he caught the silhouette of Tritia laying right beside him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a low voice.

Supporting her head on her hands, Tritia looked up at him, her scarlet eyes unblinking in the quiet red glow of the cave.

"Hmm. I didn’t know you could build a comfortable floor to sleep on. Hmm. Tell me, do you have a lot of experience in this?"

​"No, I just put whatever I could find."

​"Hmm." Relaxing, Tritia laid down on her bed of rags, staring up at the glowing ceiling for a moment before turning her head back toward Mylo. "I am sorry for earlier."

​Mylo snapped entirely out of his lingering grogginess upon hearing her words.

​He let out a quiet sigh and replied solemnly, "It’s my fault too. I shouldn’t have gotten so aggressive... forgive me for that."

Raising her hand slightly, she curled her fingers, the sight of her long, curved nails and deep scars catching Mylo’s eyes once again.

​"Can you forget my earlier request? Tell me."

There was something different about her. That’s what Mylo’s instant thoughts were. But after noticing her seriousness, he decided to ignore it.

​Mylo nodded. "I won’t talk about it."

​Standing up, he dusted himself off and walked over to the old desk, picking up the notes he had written earlier.

​"I would actually like to ask you something."

​"Hmm?"

​"Do you want to escape this forest?"

​Hearing his question, Tritia sat up straight, crossing her legs on the makeshift bed. She looked directly into Mylo’s eyes.

"You want to go already? Hmm."

​"We can’t just remain in this forest forever."

​"But even if you try, you can’t," Tritia countered softly.

"There are different kinds of animals that became wierd. How would you even escape? Tell me."

​"You’re strong. You said so yourself, right? And I’m pretty confident in my own abilities now. I think if we combine our strength and try together, we can definitely make it out."

​"Hmm. I don’t feel good hearing your words. In the first place... I don’t even see any need to try."

​Mylo crouched right down to her eye level.

"What do you mean you don’t have a reason? Look at yourself! You have to hunt Vexfangs just to get a decent meal!"

​"Yes, and I can get all the food I need just by hunting those wild dogs. Isn’t that amazing? Tell me."

​"And that’s insanely dangerous! Don’t you know that they’re poisonous?!"

​He tapped his hand against his notes emphatically, but Tritia barely glanced at them. She simply scoffed, tossing her messy hair back.

​"I can just drain their blood first. Hmm."

​Mylo looked down at her, concern in his eyes.

Meeting his gaze, she reached out and rested her hands gently against his cheeks.

"You are very worked up. If you want something from me, then don’t lie to me. Hmm?"

His eyes flickering with uncertainty, Mylo glanced down at his own hands before answering her with hesitation.

"I... I have to kill those monsters. It’s, I can’t tell you all the details. I’m sorry."

"Hmm. Is it really that important? Even compared to your life? Tell me."

"Well, yeah... maybe it is."

"Hmm. I still don’t understand."

"I... know. It must seem really weird from your perspective."

"Hmm. Even if I help you, it won’t matter much."

​Taking back her hands, she stood up, prompting Mylo to do the same.

​"Even I don’t fight anything other than Vexfangs. Hmm. If I sense anything else, I just run straight back to this cave, since no other monsters enter here."

​"Is there really such a big power difference?"

​"Hmm. It’s much more dangerous. Tell me, how are you even going to do anything?"

Mylo contemplated Tritia’s question and weighed how much he should reveal to her. If they were going to fight together, he would obviously have to show his capabilities eventually.

Still, lingering doubts held him back, especially as he remembered the lunatic mentioning that his ’sin’ was a rare one.

"I practice a Sin."

Tritia’s eyes widened upon hearing Mylo’s admission. Taking a step back, she asked in surprise, "There is no way. I didn’t sense anything from you. Are you lying to me? Tell me."

"No, no! I’m not lying," Mylo said defensively, explaining cautiously after seeing her unexpected reaction. "My skills are just still a little weak, so maybe that’s why you didn’t feel anything."

"The thing is, the more I hunt, the stronger my skills will get," he continued. "That will help us hunt even more effectively. Don’t you think with this, we actually have a real shot?"

Eying him suspiciously, Tritia asked, "What is your Sin?"

"It’s the Sin of Pleasure."

"Hmm... I have never heard of it."

"Well, it’s pretty rare, you know."

Aiming to shift the focus away from himself, Mylo asked, "So, what is your Sin?"

Tritia pursed her lips before sighing and looking up at him again.

"You really don’t know much at all, do you? Hmm. Are you even really from around here?"

Although she asked, she didn’t wait for his answer.

"I don’t practice any Sin. In our Rommar tribe, only high-level leaders and warriors get to practice a Sin."

"Is... that so?"

The more Mylo heard about her tribe, the more intrigued he became about Narak and its inhabitants, but now was not the time for world exploration.

I thought having her help would make this easier, but if she doesn’t have any skills, that changes things. Bringing her along might just put her in danger without accomplishing anything...

"But I have my own way of fighting," Tritia added, bringing Mylo’s attention snapping back to her.

"Your own way?"

"Mylo, I will help you. Hmm," she declared, her eyes fixing firmly on his. "But I have one condition."

"A condition?"

"You will have to grant me one request after we are done. I’ll tell you what it is once we finish. Do you accept? Tell me."

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