“This is your fifth mana beast now. It should be enough to last a while. Now let’s go get our herbs before the night sets in.”
Eren commented as he saw a mana beast getting devoured inside a slimy ball of mass. Soon that beast’s body was nowhere to be found.
Even the beast’s bones had vanished into the thin air. The slimy ball of mass turned into a naked woman in her late 30s with the average face but well-defined curves. Reen wore the clothes nearby while complaining:
“Why do humans wear clothes? They don’t serve any purpose to me.”
Reen was wearing her panties now. Or to be precise, the panties of the prey she had eaten and found out later on in her ID (ID Stone).
If it was Eren from before, he would have nutted then and there, after witnessing that scene. But geezer-brain Eren of today had only one thing running in his mind right now. The forest’s undiscovered treasures!
“Alright. Eren, there’s an F Grade wood elemental crystal nearby.”
Eren nodded and followed Reen who was now dubbed by him as a treasure-seeking device. It’s been a few hours since they reached the forest.
They had already collected plenty of herbs. It was enough for Eren to finally break into F Rank and start his ranking journey. Now Eren was focusing on collecting elemental crystals.
Reen also had her fill in between their forest traversing. Eren was getting impatient whenever they stopped for Reen’s snack time.
Eren only had till twilight to collect as many treasures as he could. He needed to be back by the next day’s morning, lest aunt Nina tries to contact Jack to confirm his whereabouts.
The duo reached the place and collected the elemental crystal hiding inside the tree’s trunk. It didn’t wait for long before heading to its next treasure destination.
The forest was soon covered by a layer of darkness. The moonlight was the only solace creatures of night could find.
Eren was about to head to get the next elemental crystal when Reen informed him about some activity ahead in their path.
The duo paused in its tracks. Eren told Reen to morph into her original form and get inside his shirt to her usual position.
Eren was rankless. So his vital signs were not as apparent as the ranked entities. At most, he’d be considered as another rankless animal in the forest.
Reen had become even more inconspicuous than her morphed form after getting back to her usual state. Plus, the duo had darkness as its cover.
Eren proceeded further with caution. No hunting party would prefer hunting at night unless there were specific conditions. And Eren was sure the hunters of the city of Osan didn’t excel in nocturnal hunting. So he took extra precautions when approaching the entities in front of him.
Eren wanted to avoid any conflict if he could. He had just settled his earlier crimes. He didn’t want to waste time covering his tracks once more.
But at the same time, Eren’s instincts told him he should at least have a look before jumping the gun. Reen had already told him they were all D and E Rank entities.
That meant Reen could still somehow handle them. Or at least escape safely if push comes to shove.
Eren could see a kinda open area ahead with a campfire lit right in the middle of it. Eren didn’t exit the woods. He quickly got into the nearby bush and observed from there.
Eren could barely see what lay in front of him. But he guessed at least four people were sitting around the campfire, talking among themselves.
Eren couldn’t hear their conversation. So he asked Reen to help. Reen spread her mana sense in their direction while keeping it inconspicuous.
The mana sense was an extra sense a ranked entity would develop after starting its ranking journey. With each rank up, the mana sense would cover more area and be more thorough in its investigation. It also had an array of uses.
Mana sense could double up as a 360-degree vision inside the ranker’s mind. It could also serve as an added ear, or an intangible taste bud.
Reen used her mana sense on the people ahead and shared the feedback with Eren. Eren could now envision and listen to the people ahead as if he was sitting right in the middle of them.
“Is there any rankless animal nearby? Should I go check it out?”
One of the four members spoke. He was a tall and dark man. He had an eagle-beak-like nose and a medium stubble. With Reen’s senses, Eren found out that he was a Rank E entity in the upper stage.
“Stop being always on edge, Ronald. There’s nothing to fear from a rankless rabbit. Here, drink this. This will calm your nerves.”
A woman in her mid-30s offered Ronald a bottle of booze that she was drinking a moment ago. She was lean and looked to have a medium height. Her features were generic except her blood-red hair.
“Haah! Keep that filth to yourself, Linda. I wouldn’t want to turn like you after drinking such a potent amount of Golden Grain.
This is the fourth bottle in a day that you’ve gulped down. Do you want me to serve as an excuse for you to take out one more?”
Ronald refused Linda’s offer. Linda wasn’t sad though. ‘More for me it seems!’ She celebrated that thought with another huge gulp of Golden Grain.
“Ronald, don’t worry. I have taken precautions to secure the perimeter. Your vigilance is appreciated but your anxiety is not. And Linda, you might want to slow down on the booze a little considering we are still in the Osan woods.”
A calm voice shut both Ronald and Linda. Eren could sense through Reen that he was the only D Rank entity in the group. He was only a tad shorter than Ronald. But had a more defined physique. His looks were also above average with his golden locks, blue eyes, and chiselled face. He would be their leader, Eren thought to himself.
“Jaime, forget about these idiots and tell us our next set of plans. We can’t be roaming in the forest every day and have nothing to show for it.”
The last person to speak was another woman. But unlike Linda who was dressed messily and talked crassly, this woman was exuding elegance and sternness. She had dark green hair and short stature. She looked stronger than Ronald and Linda.