Zero led the group through the forest, trying to make as much distance as possible from Woodland Village. Staying stealthy with a number of people wasn't optimal, as Skin Snatchers had already found them twice. Zero had managed to dispatch the enemies the first time without any casualties, but the second time, they weren't as lucky.
The Skin Snatcher had snuck up on the back of the group while Zero was at the front leading them. It was as a person screamed in panic that Zero discovered the attack. The Skin Snatcher had slammed the sharp side of a shovel into a woman's head, killing her instantly and splashing blood alongside bits of her brain onto the person beside her. The woman collapsed to the ground alerting the other members to what was going on.
It seemed that the Skin Snatchers had given up attempting to recapture the group, but instead were opting to kill them, courtesy of the now-deceased Amalgamation. The Skin Snatcher, giving up trying to dislodge its weapon from the woman's skull, tried to escape to regroup with its allies. However, an arrow quickly found its way to the back of the Skin Snatcher's head, exploding and ending its life.
[You have slain a Skin Snatcher. +20 EXP]
Zero frowned, as the group was now reduced to eleven members, excluding himself.
"Keep an eye on your surroundings," Zero warned. "One mistake and you'll die."
The rest of the members hurriedly agreed as they stuck closer together, watching each other's backs. It was then that Zero heard the galloping of horses in the distance. He quickly motioned for the group to stop moving and not to make a noise.
Zero activated {Camouflage} to move closer to see what was going on. It was Harry, Kai, Anun, and... the stable owner..?
Zero quickly used {Inspect} to make sure that Skin Snatchers were not posing as one of them. After making sure that there were no problems, he deactivated {Camouflage} and whistled. All four pairs of eyes looked over while unsheathing their weapons.
"Zero..?" Harry slowly questioned as they stopped their horses. "Is that you?"
The four of them got off their horses, walking closer warily. Before Zero could have a chance to answer, Kai spoke.
"Be careful," Kai motioned them to be cautious. "He might not be Zero anymore."
Harry had thoroughly explained to the other three what had occurred in the village on the way here. While the other three still had some doubts in their minds, they believed what Harry was telling them.
"Wow," Zero laughed. "This is the second time this has happened."
He then took out his dagger before slicing open a wound on his palm, letting red blood drip.
"See?" Zero said. "Not one of them."
Harry sighed in relief as he told the other three, "He's telling the truth. Those monsters bleed black."
Harry walked closer to Zero, asking, "What happened? How did you escape?"
"I just did a bit of this, a bit of that," Zero answered. "But on the other hand..."
"You can come out now," Zero shouted.
He gestured at the former captives of the Skin Snatchers as they walked closer.
"I saved a couple of people."
Harry looked alarmed at their appearance, all looking close to death.
He then leaned in and whispered to Zero, "Are you sure they're not..." trailing off.
"Yeah, they're all real people."
Harry relaxed as he walked over to them and began studying their conditions.
"They're all in need of immediate medical aid as well as food and water," Harry said, shocked. "What happened to them?"
"They were being kept by the Skin Walkers to be harvested," answered Zero. "We have to get them to Sunshine Town."
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"Harry," Kai said from the side. "You take them back on these horses."
He then looked at the stable owner, "You don't mind, right?"
The man shook his head.
"Alright," Zero called out. "The weaker ones on the horses, the rest of you have to walk."
He pointed at Harry.
"This is Harry. He'll bring you to Sunshine Town to get help."
The group tiredly nodded to show that they understood before stepping out onto the road and allowing Harry to lead them. The ones who could barely walk were helped up onto the horses, slumping down exhaustedly onto the horses' backs. As the group left, Anton walked up to Zero with a solemn face.
"I will never forget this act of kindness you have bestowed upon all of us," Anton swore. "I may look like this right now, but I have quite a bit of connections in Sunset City. If you ever need a favor there, I'll be at the Vigursa mansion."
Zero chuckled before he patted Anton on the back.
"Get going, your wife and daughter are waiting for your return."
Anton took one more look at Zero's face before reuniting with the group.
Zero then turned his attention to Kai, Anun, and the stable owner.
"We have to distract the Skin Snatchers to allow the group some time to get away. They're heading toward us now as I speak."
"Don't worry, I'm prepared for that," the stable owner angrily said.
"I almost forgot," Zero asked. "Harry went back to ask for help, right? Why are you here?"
"I may be a stable owner now," the man responded. "But I used to be a pretty successful adventurer myself. Does the name John Givens ring a bell?"
Zero, Kai, and Anun looked at each other in confusion before all saying, "No."
John laughed embarrassedly before saying, "Seriously? Nobody? I was a gold-ranked mercenary."
The three shook their heads again.
"Well, I still have a bone to pick with them," John continued. "They killed my darling horses. Now they're going to pay the price."
"Here's your chance," Zero said, readying his bow. "They're coming."
The others also readied their weapons; Kai, his bow, Anun, his staff, and John, his spear. A horde of the Skin Snatchers rushed over, some with weapons, others barehanded.
Zero attacked first, firing an arrow that struck a Skin Snatcher in the chest. The ensuing explosion removed the Skin Snatcher's entire upper body, sending it spiraling through the air.
[You have slain a Skin Snatcher. +20 EXP]
Zero didn't notice it earlier, but it seemed that the explosions occurring from his arrows were now significantly more powerful compared to when he first started using the bow,
System, I'm not using any more MP to charge the runes on the bow than before, so why are the attacks stronger?
[As your INT increases, so does the quality of your MP. Your skills and magic will also be strengthened accordingly.]
The others had already also entered the battle, each using their own unique set of abilities.
Anun was using tiny shards of ice to incapacitate the Skin Snatchers before using another stronger spell to directly blow their heads off. Kai had switched from his katana to a longsword, looking no less proficient. He cleaved through his opponent's bodies before crushing the wriggling flesh that was trying to escape from the destroyed body.
John was the one who was providing the most trouble to the Skin Snatchers. Although he had a relatively short stature compared to the other three, it didn't affect his fighting abilities. He was striking and defending with his spear as if it were a part of his body. His spear effortlessly cleaved through the Skin Snatcher's skulls, a testament to his mastery of the spear. John wasn't lying. He truly was a gold-ranked mercenary.
When a group of Skin Snatchers attacked him at once, he still remained calm. His spear glowed a bright yellow before he waved it, a burst of wind flying forth. The wind was extremely sharp, dividing the Skin Snatcher's bodies in half, causing them to collapse to the ground.
"If I was in my prime, I wouldn't even need to use my skills on the likes of you," John sneered. "This is for murdering my horses!"
Another burst of wind flew forth, killing another few Skin Snatchers.
Zero gulped. He really wanted that skill. The only long-range magic he had currently was {Dark Fireball}. He debated whether or not to "accidentally" stumble into one of John's strikes.
Zero ultimately decided against it, as he didn't want to take such a risk while being in the middle of a battle. He then started firing his bow, explosions ringing out among the Skin Snatchers as notifications rolled in. He had to get his share of EXP as well.
[You have slain a Skin Snatcher. +20 EXP]
[You have slain a Skin Snatcher. +20 EXP]
[You have slain a Skin Snatcher. +20 EXP]
After Zero exhausted his supply of arrows, he activated {Camouflage}, waltzing into the Skin Snatchers with dagger in hand.
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As Anun fought, he also kept his eye on the battlefield. He would have to report back to the White Light about the man named John. An extra gold-ranked mercenary could be an unexpected variable in their plans. As Anun ended another Skin Snatcher's life, he switched his gaze to someone else.
Zero was in the midst of the Skin Snatchers, silently ending their lives while invisible. Blood flowed while the Skin Snatchers tried to figure out where the unseen attacks were coming from. He sometimes disabled {Camouflage}, allowing the Skin Walkers to gather toward him before hurling a {Dark Fireball} at them, the spell delivering them to the hands of death. Zero then reactivated his {Camouflage}, searching for his next target.
Anun smiled. Looks like his conjecture was correct. Zero was indeed the prophesied "Hero". There was no other way to explain his abnormal growth and learning capabilities.
He could learn spells after experiencing them once. Anun still remembered when Zero had magically copied his {Ice Aegis} that he spent months developing. Zero also grew stronger extremely fast, having gained such strength in such a short amount of time. Anun would have to report his findings back as soon as possible.
He sighed. What a waste of talent. After all, the Hero was also prophesied to die.