Chapter 8: Abnormal
I continued my monster hunt in the Braveheart Kingdom's forest. It's been three weeks of intense training here from dawn till nightfall.
At this point, Envi—the system assigned to help me—got so bored he left me to level up alone. His laziness was off the charts. If he could turn into a human, I'd probably teach him a lesson myself.
Each session, I pushed myself to my limits, driven by the need to grow faster and stronger. I had to improve quickly. I knew I'd broken my promise to Lilia; each night I came back well past midnight. Strangely, though, every time I returned, Lilia was awake in the garden, sipping tea as if waiting for me. I'd been sneaking back in by climbing the roof to avoid her.
Between Lilia and her son Mark, they made things pretty tough for me. Did they really hate Naoki this much? I couldn't understand it.
I had to get stronger—fast! I was certain Mark had received special training from the Patriarch and might have even mastered the entire Blackmore Swordsmanship. Just imagining it sent a chill down my spine.
No matter what, I had to defeat him. I couldn't afford to fail, not when my own mother's life was at stake!
...
This morning, I headed north to the forest as usual. By now, it had become routine. Starting with a jog to warm up, I felt my muscles come alive, ready for a day of monster-slaying.
I ventured deeper than usual this time, as I was already level 30. My goal was to reach level 35 before my inevitable showdown with Mark, who, no doubt, was leveling up as well.
Six hours in, though, something felt off. Monsters, especially trolls, were unusually sparse.
I pushed further in, trying not to overthink it.