March 22, 5th year of the federal calendar

I have to admit that I'm not a very smart person. In the middle of a treacherous forest, is there anything I can do to help me kill a pack of cunning wolves? I've been thinking about it for a long time, trap? Poison? Or something else? I couldn't come up with anything that could be done right away.

I sat high on a hard branch, and from this angle I could clearly see eight wild wolves scattered over a hundred meters to the southwest. They either lie on the grass and yawn, or squat on the boulder and look around, and their casual appearance makes people hate it. But I also know very well that these wolves are by no means slack off on the outside, and if I do attack them, they will react immediately.

"I think I should have learned some long-range attack methods in the first place." I can't help but think like this in my head.

I had apparently become a fool again, a fool of patience with wild beasts. I'll just take this time as a break.

As it turned out, my luck was probably really good. After about half an hour, I was suddenly startled by the wailing of a wild wolf and almost fell off a branch. By the time I looked in, there were already three red-maned wolves lying on the ground, motionless, with a few arrows stuck in their necks and hearts, and a small patch of grass red with blood. The remaining wolves probably sensed the danger to their lives, and immediately dispersed in a hurry, burrowing into the jungle and disappearing.

"Friend, you're safe, come down." The one who helped was a little guy named Hanekawa, who was only sixteen years old this year, and introduced himself as from Chishui Castle. According to his own words, he had just been recognized by his master not long ago, and then he was kicked into the black pine forest to go through the training.

I feel a little pity for this little fellow, who was thrown into the forest at a young age. But it can also be seen that Hanekawa is not an ordinary person, but a strong person similar to the player.

I was a little embarrassed to be rescued by a child. But in order to maintain my image, I jumped straight from the tree, imitating the movie scenes I had seen in the past, and came up with a superhero landing pose.

"Wow! Don't your knees hurt? Hanekawa asked.

Hurt...... It hurts indeed.

I have to admit that it was a fool's decision to come to the Black Pines Forest alone, and one or two buddies can help you more than you think. I even started to think that I should find a few regular partners in the player base in the future. As for now, a ready-made one has come to the door.

Combined with the data about the mood in the character information window, I quickly confirmed that Hanekawa is a little guy who has been studying with his master all year round, has no social experience, and has no bad intentions. Taking this opportunity, I decisively invited him to join me in investigating the circumstances of the attack.

And just like that, I had one more friend in my team.

……

Hanekawa is a very interesting little guy, and he doesn't feel any raw when he talks about the world. Duzi was not very talkative, but he was a good listener, and the occasional echo made the trip much more enjoyable. And after entering the night, it is also much more reassuring to have a partner who can take turns to keep watch.

"In other words, Brother Duqi, you said that you wanted to track down the murderer, but you didn't stop for a while along the way. Tell me...... Tell me, any tricks? Hanekawa asked with sparkling eyes.

"How so? It's a special ability of mine! Duqi took the scales out of his personal space and said casually, "I can roughly sense where it came from." It's not easy to explain, but unfortunately, I can't teach you this. ”

"That's it!" Hanekawa was a little disappointed, but with a turn of his eyes, his attention turned to the leather armor on Du Qi's body, "The equipment on your body is a bit interesting, it feels much better than ordinary standard armor, and the shape is much better than those ugly iron shells." This leather ...... Hey? Did you create it from the materials on the Spotted Helmet? ”

"yes, I built it myself."

"Wow...... You're still a hunter, did you design it yourself? ”

"How could it be my own design, it's called Starry Night."

"Starry Night? Ah, I've heard of it...... It seems to have been designed by the Fire General Grandmaster. Alas! When I was at home, everyone said that I was a genius, and when I came out, I realized that I was a frog at the bottom of the well, and you are a real genius, big brother. Brother Duqi...... Look, can you help me build one? ”

"Now that you've heard of Starlight Night, you should know that this set consists of three pieces of equipment, and I've only created this one myself. To tell you the truth, I'm still just a rookie, and the last time I built it was too draining, and I couldn't start work again for a while. However, for the sake of our fate, if there is a chance in the future, I will give you a better set. "Du Qi first wrote the blank check. According to his thoughts, since the skill is followed by a novice suffix, it means that there is still the possibility of improvement.

"Really? Then you will be my big brother from now on. ”

Hanekawa is like a curious baby, constantly asking questions. And Du Qi is not annoyed, probably because of the influence of the little guy's cheerful personality, or maybe it is rare to meet a little friend who is more blank than himself, he has brought out the knowledge he has heard these days, which can be regarded as a big brother's style.

"Wait a minute!" Hanekawa, who was talking and laughing, suddenly stopped, and reached out to pull Du Qi, who was a little carried away, "There is movement ahead." ”

Duqi, who had returned to his senses, could only dimly see the slight tremor of the bushes in front of him, and dozens of green vine-like objects flew out of the grass. As if they could sense the state of their prey, they split into two groups in mid-air, and rushed towards Duqi and Hanekawa respectively.

"What the hell is this?" Du Qi's left hand moved slightly, and the shield was suddenly included in his personal space. He changed to a two-handed sword posture and quickly cut off more than a dozen vines that were coming at him.

"I don't know!" Hanekawa's immature face also carried a hint of panic, and the dagger in his hand waved indiscriminately.

They could feel that the ground was shaking slightly, and vaguely it seemed as if a terrifying beast was roaring angrily underground, and the vines that gathered together instantly dispersed and turned into a net of heaven and earth. Du Qi swung his sword again to cut off those unrelenting vines, pulled Hanchuan with his free left hand, and roared angrily: "Why are you stunned, hurry up!" ”

Hanekawa calmed down a bit and followed closely behind Duqi. However, as soon as the two of them took a few steps back, more vines frantically broke through the ground, like long green snakes, scrambling towards where they were. They don't look like slow-growing plants at all, but like terrifying beasts.

In the blink of an eye, Tengman was already all around, besieging the two of them. Back to back, Duqi and Hanekawa swung their weapons to slash Fujiman, their feet already entangled in them.

"Hell, this thing doesn't look like a plant at all." Du Qi swept down, splitting the vine man wrapped around the calf, and at the same time, the leg exerted force, tearing off the remaining vine man.

These vines have a strange feel on the skin, they look like tough plants, but when touched, they give a slippery and soft feeling, like an octopus that has just been fished out of the water.

Duqi tried to break through, but there were more and more vines that wrapped them, and the movements in his hands began to slow down due to exhaustion.

The roar of the ground became clearer, and Dozi felt a dizzy nausea. At that moment, he seemed to see an indescribable disgusting monster slowly seeping out of the ground, it was like a mass of flesh and blood, and countless green tentacles spread outward with the flesh as the center, dancing wildly in the chaos. He felt an infinite fear, not the fear of death, but the feeling that the soul would also be consumed, an inexplicable fear that came from the depths of his consciousness.

Under the suppression of fear, he could not even shout out a cathartic roar.

Duqi's body was completely wrapped in vineman, and only his head was still exposed. He struggled frantically, trying to break free from the shackles of fear. Beside him, Hanekawa had completely lost consciousness, and the ground became as soft as quicksand, dragging him into the ground little by little.

Time had become incredibly long, and Duzi could clearly feel the slippery tentacles slowly sliding upward, from his jaw to his cheeks to his ears.

Faintly, he seemed to hear the sound of something shattering.

Finally, the fear and unwillingness that had been held in my heart turned into a roar, and it sounded at that time.