Chapter 6: Ambition
Tit ~
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Arsen opened his eyes, which felt so heavy. He felt that he is sleeping on the grass under a clear sky. His body is hard to move. He could do nothing. Then someone came from somewhere.
"... ei. ... you .. ight?!"
Arsen doesn't know who that is, but at least, somehow, someone has come to save him.
~~~~~~~~
Arsen woke up once more. Finding his body bound on a stretcher pulled by someone.
[Trophy Earned: Giant Leaf Woods Visitor]
It looks like that person will head to Giant Leaf Woods. Arsen does not know, his body is so weak for him to think of anything.
~~~~~~~~
Arsen woke again. But this time it is already night.
"You finally awake."
Arsen can see the person who saved him. A man in his 40s. Long hair and beard. Looks like he's Asian, just like Arsen.
"You should go back to sleep. I will take care of you after arriving at my house. "
"Thank.. you."
Arsen expressed his gratitude for being saved.
The man only smiled when Arsen closed his eyes again to sleep.
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Arsen did not know how long he had been asleep. When he woke up, someone had bandaged the wounds on his body.
He sleeps in a small room. Strangely, the walls of the room are like walls made of soil, or that place is actually in underground.
He thought he would have taken to the West Station. But it turned out he got taken to a strange house instead.
Walking out of the room, Arsen immediately found a family room that had a table and two chairs, and a kitchen connected to the living room.
The man who saved him sat in a chair while reading an old book with a cup of warm coffee on the table.
"You're awake? It's better not to force yourself like that."
The man looked surprised at Arsen, who had recovered.
Immediately the man got up and caught Arsen who was about to fall. Then sit Arsen in one of the chair.
"Sit first." The man then provided a glass of drink. "Drink this."
When Arsen wants to take the cup, he found his hands are full of bandages, and when he wants to hold the cup, his skin aches.
"What happened to me?"
Not only hurt outside, his voice is also sounds hoarse. That man also tied his neck with bandages.
"I don't know, young man. I found you in a pretty terrible condition. Your whole front body hgot burnt."
"Burnt?"
Most likely it was because of Fafnir's fire gust.
Fafnir. How Arsen can forget? The cruel Red Dragon who ended the lives of five of his party. The giant lizard even ate one of them alive.
"Do you recall anything?"
His Savior asked a question. Arsen was a little doubtful, whether he should discuss it with his savior or not.
"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. By the way, you can call me, Yin. I'm just, well, an old man who had retired for being a hunter."
Yin, a man in his 40s, who has a well-trained body that looks trained. Arsen just realized that Yin lost his left hand.
"This? Don't worry about small things. I only lost this arm when I opened the road to Level 2."
When opening the road to Level 2. That sentence triggers Arsen's memory.
The hole to Floor 2 was found two years after the appearance of Abyssal Terra. The hole to Floor 2 only opened after six months of fighting with monsters guarding the hole. That means Yin has been on Abyssal Terra since - most likely since Abyssal Terra appeared. Which means seven years ago.
"Why? You look surprised, young man."
"To meet a living legend. Of course, surprised a lowly Hunter like me."
Arsen indirectly informed his ranking. Yin just fell silent in response to Arsen's self low-esteem.
When he looked at the water that reflected his face, Arsen realized something.
"My glasses?"
"Eyeglasses?"
Glasses, of course. He did not forget his shortsighted eyes because of study hard, and he must wear glasses so he can see well. But at that time, he could see clearly even though he isn't wearing glasses.
"Sorry, I didn't find your glasses when I looked around the area you were lying on."
"Area?"
The northern part of Silver Steel Mountain.
"Do you see any other items there?"
"Hmm. Five barrels filled with rocks. One wagon with supplies. And you, who are lying on the ground injured."
So the memory of the five comrades killed, and the Red Dragon Fafnir was not a dream.
"I don't know what you have been through to receive such a severe wound. But the most important thing now is your recovery. After that, you can decide what you want to do."
What to do? That memory is not a dream.
Arsen tried to remember Fafnir's words, 'Say, mortal, do you want to reveal the truth of his words?', Arsen answered Fafnir's question indirectly with, 'yes'.
That means. It was a miracle that Arsen can get out of the dragon nest because of his heart's decision.
"The deepest place of the Abyss."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Abyss' deepest place."
Arsen looked at Yin with a gaze filled with ambition.
"Hey, hey, don't be in a hurry. You just experienced something terrible, didn't you?"
Arsen's gaze did not change. His gaze grew even more serious as Yin starts to doubt him.
"That is a very difficult, and the journey you have to go through is not easy."
"Because of that, I need your help to train me."
Yin became a little afraid because of the huge of the youth's desire in front of him.
"Wait. First, that's not how you ask someone to train you. "
"Should I bow?"
"That's not the problem here."
Yin doesn't understand the way of thinking of young people these days.
"Tell me your name first."
"My name is Arsen Si -"
"Si?"
"Ars, weak Bronze ranked Hunter."
Yin confused because Ars suddenly cut his name. But he did not want to bother.
"I don't care about your rank, young man. If you really have that much desire to go deeper into this hell, I will help you. But before that, you must get well. Only after that, we can start the training."
Ars did not answer. He drank the water, then got up and walked out to the front door.
"Is it safe enough to be outside?"
"No problem. This place is on the border between Giant Leaf Woods and Silver Steel Mountain. There aren't many monsters going through here. Beside, this house is under Father Tree's corpse."
Before Ars opened the door, he had a question: "How long have I been unconscious?"
"Three days."
That's natural, seen from his conditions, three days is a short time recovery.
Opening the door, Ars immediately presented with a view of giant forests as high as an average of 50 meters. Besides being tall, the trees in the forest have very wide leaves. For this reason, this area is called Giant Leaf Woods. Areas that only Hunter with Silver ranks may allow to enter.
Even more surprising is that where Ars stands now is far from the other trees. Some roots come out of the ground, stringing a strange art around.
Ars came forward a little, then looked up. A tree that is bigger than the other trees. Has a scary face, but that face has a hole that got pierced from the nose.
"Is this your first time seeing it?"
That is the Father Tree. It's the first time Ars seeing it. He was only a month in this hole.
"You beat this alone?"
"Yup. You could say Father Tree is a simple opponent. He can't go anywhere. But you must not carelessly move within its range. This old man can be even more difficult than five Bear Beast Claw."
Yin is truly a legend. Ars is so lucky being saved and going to be taught by a great man like him.
"For your exam later, you will fight one of these old men, you afraid?"
"I can't go down to the deepest place if I'm afraid of a minor threat like this."
"Haha, your guts are large for a thin man."
The skinny man from now on will train to be very strong. Strong enough to head to the deepest place of hell.