Chapter 319: Ziers Dream. (1/2)

Zier, whose grandfather was worried sick outside the barrier, looked just like an average boy of 19 years.

He had a lean build which was almost too skinny for his age. Although he appeared rather good-looking, there were hints of exhaustion and sickness on his face. It felt as if he wasn't taking good care of his physical health at all.

Such an appearance in this world was rather rare for Fighters or Mages. It was because advancing in the ranks of either Fighter or Mage not only increased one's lifespan but also eliminated common health issues.

Other notable features of Zier were short purple hair and his energetic eyes that had a peculiar gleam in them.

Although he wore a sickly look, there was nothing peculiar about him that would betray his weakness.

'Ha... I am already getting tired. I'm only a Rank-5 Fighter, it will be a miracle if I could survive in the end,' Zier quietly thought in his head while advancing forward with a slower pace than before.

Although he had flashed his best smile for his grandfather before departing, he himself knew how hard it was going to be to survive. If his mental exhaustion was anything to go by, his thoughts were already proving to be true.

Currently, his goal was to get out of this eerie forest and find higher ground. He would have fewer chances of being ambushed if he could find himself a better hiding spot.

Unlike many others, he had no thoughts whatsoever of facing those strong Mages and actually hoping to win.

Being with his grandfather since he was just a child, he had learned countless survival skills. It was time that he actually put them into use.

Since he was the one moving, his greatest fear right now was that he wouldn't stumble upon any other participant.

As of now, he hadn't set up any traps and had no means of sensing others except for his basic instincts.

Regretfully, as if he had cursed his own luck, Zier suddenly found himself having to face the only situation he hoped to avoid now of all moments.

”Uh... hello?” he barely managed to mutter while forcing himself to squeeze out a smile to ease his own nerves.

He had abruptly found himself being stared at by two pairs of eyes. He was walking on the ground and the sudden appearance of these two people indifferently looking down at him from atop the trees managed to ring all types of alarms in his brain.

Zier forced himself to keep up the harmless smile while pondering on his situation, 'Heck! I didn't sense anything at all! It's just like... just like with grandfather!'

At the same time, his hand at once had stiffened for some reason. One would assume that he couldn't move his body due to the intense fear.

Just when one of his fingers had twitched, he heard the two people converse with each other and stopped himself from doing anything reckless.

”What do you want to do with him?” asked the man with azure hair, completely ignoring his harmless greeting.

There was a peculiar chillness around him. Zier, for a moment, even felt that he could see water vapors condense into fog around that man's body as it does around ice itself.

His question brought a chill down his spine as well since he could feel that the answer from the other person could decide his fate. Instinctively, his hands stiffened again.

At the same time, his eyes shifted to the black silhouette of the woman, vigilantly staring at her. The sunlight was shining just behind her head, so he couldn't make out her facial features. Yet, her presence was just as or even more overbearing than the man with azure hair.

There was a moment of silence after the man's question before it was broken by a sudden noise.

”Urh...”

The sound felt exactly like when a person stretched his arms after waking up from a night's sleep.

Curious, he shifted his head towards the sound at the same time as the two people on the trees.

”Leave him. He is harmless,” a voice came from the same direction.

These words left Zier speechless for a moment. Not only because he felt hope reigniting in this almost hopeless situation, but also because of how clear that voice had been just now.

It was like listening to a waterfall in the middle of a forest surrounded by lush green bushes, singing canaries, and sleeping animals under the shade of giant canopies of the surrounding trees — it was just that refreshing.

Shaking his head to clear out his thoughts, Zier decided to think about it later and focus on his current predicament. He again shifted his eyes to the two unusually powerful people and their eyes betrayed a feeling of hesitation.

They were clearly unconvinced to leave him alive. Yet, they didn't take any action to harm him either.

”Do you want me to deal with the other group?”

The voice came again, this time there was even a hint of displeasure laced within those words.

It seemed that Zier wasn't the only one to sense it. In front of his eyes, the man and the woman didn't wait for another moment before disappearing from the trees. They left him just like that!

'That... was it?' he thought to himself before relaxing his hands instantly.