Chapter 33: Mommy, it's me
"So, it's going to be a bus then?" said the girl while feeling dissatisfied.
Adam on the other hand nearly lost his composure after hearing the young girl's statement for he didn't expect to hear such words from a young girl of the same level.
'Bus? Me?', Adam thought while knitting his brows slightly.
This action had not gone unnoticed for the young girl saw it, however, she misinterpreted Adam's expression, and began to speak...
"Don't worry, it's not that I'm mad or whatever, I just felt that something was unfit here, but don't fret about it as I will protect you at all cost", said the girl while tapping Adam's shoulder seemingly to comfort the latter as she thought that Adam was feeling bad for her having to bus him.
Adam on the other hand shivered due to the girl's action and thought, 'Did she think she looks cool saying that?'
He then replied, "What do you mean by something being unfit here?", as he was confused by the girl's words.
Later, the girl removed her hand and began to speak again while facing Adam...
"Never mind that, ... what's your name by the way?", she asked curiously while seemingly avoiding the question.
Nonetheless, Adam thought for a second then answered instantly.
"It's Ace!", Adam responded.
Telling his real name was not a good choice and might bring him some inconvenience, if not now, in the near future. Hence, he planned to create an 'alias' that was common for Chosen who preferred some confidentiality.
Of course, the girl noticed that as well, but she just let it be and didn't ask further.
She soon extended her hand sideways aiming for a pleasantry then spoke...
" I'm Samantha by the way", she utters nicely while revealing a gentle smile, completely wiping out her previous demented image.
Adam then reached out his hand while being fascinated by the girl's smile, then spoke his name.
Soon, after exchanging regards, the young girl named Samantha shared the quest details with Adam.
A holographic message soon appeared in front of the latter.
[Quest Name: Kill a normal-grade monster 'Feral Ogre'
Quest Grade: E-rating
Maximum Party member: 3
Reward: +5 remaining attribute points
10,000 pesos ($206)
Progress: 0/50]
After he saw the quest details, Adam felt aggrieved by the quest reward for it was so 'bland'.
Specifically, the remaining attribute points awarded were only +5, which was indeed only a handful to him. Needless to say, the monetary reward was only 10,000 pesos, which he can gain easily by selling monster carcasses.
Hence, Adam felt somewhat dissatisfied.
Though that's the case, he still planned to accept the quest as he had another ulterior motive, namely: finding out what the girl knew about what transpired in the Dark wolves hunting ground.
Soon, after accepting the quest, they left the building and moved directly towards their destination.
Along the way, Samantha kept bugging Adam, which somewhat irritates the latter. She kept asking questions which Adam answered abbreviately. Sometimes he didn't answer at all for the questions were somewhat personal.
The 'Feral Ogre' hunting ground was only kilometers away from the City, hence, it only took them almost 20 minutes of travel.
Soon, they arrived at Balagtasin City, which is a city near the hunting ground.
It was noon when they arrived, so they began eating at the stalls on the streets.
While munching, Samantha kept on talking about things to which Adam listened keenly.
"Did you know that this stall was where Tristan usually ate before?", Samantha uttered while gnawing on the food and making gestures with her eyes flickering from excitement
Adam on the other hand was baffled by Samantha's nonstop blubbering as she even began talking about nonsense things like the stall...
After half an hour of eating and taking a short rest, they then continue walking towards the hunting ground.
Soon, they finally managed to arrive at the 'Feral Ogre' hunting ground. Nonetheless, Adam wore a dissatisfied look as Samantha didn't talk about the Dark Wolves hunting ground at all, hence, he wasn't able to get any information.
Likewise, together with Samantha, he took a step forward and entered the hunting ground.
At the entrance, many chosen can be seen chatting, some of which were taking a rest.
Hence, Adam and Samantha didn't attract much attention due to the many chosen in the area.
Soon, they enter the zone which is mainly a huge forest filled with enormous and broad trees. The forest looks like a normal forest on Earth with the only difference being larger and broader trees.
The two then stepped in directly and went deeper into the forest without hesitation. Since a chosen can revive anyway. For them, death is not a thing to be afraid of.
Likewise, Samantha is a level 184 chosen, and considering that, a forest that contains the level 150 monster 'Feral Ogre' is not daunting at all.
After a while of walking, they spot a lone Feral Ogre.
And as part of their plan, Samantha was the first to take a step forward while taking her scythe from her storage ring, which she then swiftly brandished towards the Ogre.
The slaughter took only seconds as the Ogre was not given a chance to retaliate and died on the spot.
Adam was satisfied with Samantha's performance as it was indeed outstanding. Though there's the factor of level difference, Samantha still did the slaying cleanly, which exhibited her years of experience.
Soon, a message rang...
[1,800 exp gained]
[Progress: 1/50]
Since they are currently in a party and doing the same quest, the experience gain was split into two.
After a while, Samantha began to speak while walking towards Adam...
"So what do you think of my execution?", Samantha uttered.
"Its good", Adam replied briefly while grinning a little.
This somewhat made Samantha feel shame as she was expecting that Adam would be certainly fascinated by her showcase of skill, but alas, he was not amazed at all.
Soon, she then took a step forward again and searched for an Ogre.
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Meanwhile...on Earth
Two days had passed since the mysterious disappearance of Chosen throughout the world.
People had been in a state of panic on the first day which was then resolved due to the government's immediate action.
Currently, the people are now walking on the streets and doing their tasks with full vigor.
One child in the room of a certain house could be seen lying on the bed with her mother.
A later while, the child began tucking his mother into bed and gripped her dress tightly then he spoke...
"Mommy check for monsters up there."
The mother then tilted her head slowly as she felt shivers all over.
She had looked at their ceiling to amuse her son and then she saw him, another him, up there on the ceiling staring back at her while quivering and whispering...
"Mommy, it's me", utters the other child on the ceiling.