Chapter 283

Rapidly descending with the help of his lasso, it took Ray approximately ten minutes or so to get completely down from the hill.

Landing softly on the grass, he dismissed the skill, allowing the golden lasso to vanish into a fine rain of light.

’Hm. Oddly useful. It doesn’t really feel like a magic skill, but more like a physical tool... a weapon of some sort.’

"..."

"Doesn’t mean it isn’t a useless skill overall though," he muttered, still stubborn.

His jacket, which had rested on his shoulder throughout the climb down, was now removed and wrapped firmly around his waist.

Referring back to his incredible memory, a clear map of the Hill Valley appeared in his mind, granting him instant access to where he needed to go, which directions to avoid, and so on.

"The yellow auras had been on the move, which means they are heading somewhere right now."

Checking his mental map, he calculated the trajectory and guessed where the distant figures were headed and where their next stop would likely be.

"I have no doubt that those are my friends. But which ones? I have no idea," he uttered silently while recalling his aura checklist.

Using his Thermal Vision previously, he had created a distinct checklist:

Yellow auras for humans.

Purple for Beasts.

Purple for Werewolves too.

Taking in a deep breath, he exhaled and then began his journey of traversing the treacherous terrain of the Hill Valley.

Recalling the exact spots where he had caught sight of the creatures eating, he knew precisely how and where to avoid them, so he began walking cautiously, yet almost carefreely.

’I mean, what can even harm me out here right now? All the powerful King-rank beasts are in a deep slumber for several hours.’

He smiled to himself and continued walking briskly, hoping to catch up to the humans before they strayed too far and he lost them completely.

’I just hope that’s Van. I will really be at peace with myself if he’s the one.’

Stepping over a stray twig, he continued forward while thinking about the giant hill where the King-rank beasts were currently holed up.

He was actively keeping himself busy in his own mind, as his internal companions were strangely quiet today for some reason.

He wasn’t surprised about Bruce.

The werewolf was a total nutcase and just spoke whenever he deemed it absolutely necessary to.

While Elyon... he was usually a total chatterbox.

Since Ray was busy moving at the moment, he couldn’t exactly dive into the mindspace to see if everything was okay in there.

’It’s even been a while since I last went in there...’

Walking around the base of a hill, he paused for a split second and quickly crouched down behind a small shrub, making sure to keep his body as low to the earth as possible.

And it was just in time, as an Earth Shaker sauntered slowly past his hiding spot.

«Thought you weren’t afraid of the Advanced-rank beasts?» Bruce questioned from within, his tone dripping with mockery.

’Oh? Now you talk?’

Hissing inwardly, Ray calmly listened, stretching his perception thin to discern if the creature had already gone far enough or if another was trailing behind it.

After waiting for a minute or two and realizing that he was completely safe, he stood up and quickly continued on his way.

’I’m not scared, Bruce. Just cautious. There’s no way our fight won’t draw massive attention to our location, which means more endless fighting, and I might miss my friends entirely.’

Thinking for a few seconds, he added a final thought as he continued along his path.

’... And I need to find them, then get onto another high hill before nighttime arrives, when the truly powerful beasts become active again.’

He also couldn’t help but notice that there were barely any hiding spots in the Valley.

Just a few shrubs and a handful of smaller mounds here and there could serve as a concealment location for a human, but they were few and far between.

He needed to get to his friends quickly before he spotted another beast.

It was quite annoying traversing the valley, as it was filled with tons of tall, irritating grasses that twisted together, hindering his steps at times.

There was barely any free path for him to walk on.

’Ah... my boots. I wonder how much gas I have left.’

He wondered as he kicked a twisted clump of grass with all his might, shredding it in two before briskly continuing forward with his hands tucked in his pockets.

Looking around, he spotted a few shorter, smaller formations that were barely a meter off the ground.

Jumping onto one, he began leaping from one to another with incredible agility and speed.

He continued pushing forward with such immense momentum that he was beginning to sprint without even realizing it.

’Come to think of it... I can survive weeks without food. A week at most. But what about the others? How will they survive? What will they even eat? And most especially, drink.’

Leaping off another short mound, he landed on the next, then paused and looked ahead for several seconds before leaping off again with fluid ease.

’The human body can live without food for two weeks at most. But the same can’t be said without water. Even being a Tribrid, my throat is getting parched and irritated, let alone a regular human.’

Landing on the bare ground, he heaved an exhausted sigh.

’Why didn’t this damn system give me something to drink instead of that useless lasso?! Tch!’ he scoffed and then lifted a leg to continue his stride.

’My luck has been incredibly good so far. I hope I can reach them in time.’

Dropping his foot and preparing to lift the other, Ray’s eyes widened as he spun around and quickly bounded backward just in time to see an Earth Shaker crashing violently into the short hill he had just jumped off from.

Rocks shattered into the air, stunning the Aspirant as he peered closer to see the beast lying unmoving for several seconds.

’Was it tossed here? By—by who or what?’

Before his question could be answered, the beast twitched and then suddenly lunged toward him, as if the crash it had just endured were basically nothing to it.

’Damn my shitty luck!’