"Right, I should get moving."

Feeling rested enough, Xiao stood up from the tree he was sleeping under and did a stretch.

(Alright, where to next?)

Xiao's original plan was to retrieve his stuff to get his red potion for Owen, but the route to there was further than he thought. Plus, Owen's condition was so bad that he might die first before Xiao gets his hand on the potion.

So sending Owen away to safety was Xiao's best bet, as he thought he had a higher possibility of getting help.

With Owen gone, Xiao began to think of what he would do now.

(For now, let's retrieve my stuff first, only then will I have enough resources to get the hell out of here.)

The main goal for Xiao right now was to get out of this jungle, but seeing as how deep he was already in, he would need supplies to escape.

The undying skill may be helpful, but Xiao would rather not die his way out of here.

With a goal set in mind, Xiao pumps himself up and begins walking towards his destination.

Compared to how urgent and anxious Xiao was a while ago, he was now walking at an average pace and in a calm manner.

Though Xiao was calm, his mind was reviewing everything that had happened just now.

The 37th platoon got ambushed by a horde of Goblin, only he and Owen survived.

The 37th platoon was designed to be a "Human Disposal Place". That's why there were no seniors in the platoon because all of them were already dead.

And finally, the fact that Xiao had killed a living being with a real weapon today. At that time, Xiao's mind was only focused on slicing down as many threats as possible while keeping sure that Owen was safe. He can't spare any moment to care about his ethics.

But now that it was over, Xiao subconsciously thinks back on what he had done.

Though Xiao was only defending himself from an ugly and evil creature like a Goblin, it still doesn't change the fact that Xiao had ended life with killing intent.

Xiao looked at his palm, which was shaking as he was reliving the experience. He still remembers the sensation of slashing through living flesh, the force he inputs on his sword each time he works his way against the friction to slice through the meat.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Guess it was a completely different experience than cutting chicken meat. Haha..."

Xiao tries to make a joke out of it to laugh it off, but the shaking won't stop. In the end, he grips his hand hard and tries to think of something else.

Xiao shifts his focus to what he is going to do after he escapes from this place. He can't go back to the empire because they may already write him off as die in duty, and he prefers to keep it that way.

Since returning to the empire was a no go, that leaves him with two options.

The first one is to settle down in any village far away from the empire.

The second option is to live around Latiti Plain as a hermit, that means living a camping life for a long time.

(Both options have their pros and cons. To sum it all, one is life among humans, the other is living in the wild, but with freedom.)

Xiao decided to rest under a tree after walking for a while. He also holds the decision on which option he will take after he gets out of this place.

Xiao estimated it may take another 30 minutes to reach his destination. He decided not to rush things as he still hasn't fully recovered his strength yet.

It was around afternoon when Xiao took his break. He lies on the grassy ground under a tree, then closes his eyes and tries not to think of anything to relax his mind and body.

Though the grassy ground was not as comfortable as the real bed, it was sufficient for Xiao to feel comfortable. It may be because Xiao was already used to sleeping outdoors that he no longer felt uneasy compared to the first time he arrived in this world.

The wind blew softly, carrying a nice breeze as it passed through Xiao.

The only strange thing that Xiao noticed was how quiet this place was, almost as if no animal was around here.

"....this doesn't seem right..."

Sensing something was wrong, Xiao opened his eyes and was about to leave when he heard something from afar.

"THUM! THUM! THUM!"

Footsteps can be heard, it's getting louder and louder, almost as if it's coming to where Xiao is, and it's coming fast.

(No wonder there's no animal around here anymore, just my rotten luck!)

Already sensing danger is coming towards his direction, Xiao quickly hides in the bushes at the side and brace himself for what was coming.

Right after Xiao successfully hid inside, he saw a large shadow figure leaping across his head before an earth-shattering sound blasted out upon its landing.

(Wh-what the hell is that?!)

Large lion, that was what came into Xiao's mind the moment he saw it. Still, as he observes clearly, Xiao was so shocked that he nearly let out a scream. Immediately, he covered his mouth and stayed put.

What Xiao saw right now was a monster with a lion head and lion body on the front, a goat head that stuck out at its back and goat body on the back, and a cobra that made out its tail.

Not just the sight of the bizarre mix of animals that scares Xiao, but also the size of it, which was at least 40 feet tall.

Xiao knows too well what monster he was looking at right now because this monster also appears in one of his video games. But compared to how he reacts to the Goblin, he doesn't feel excited at all, fear has taken over his mind.

(Why the hell is a Chimera doing this?!)