WebNovels

Chapter 3 - Never fight a fair human as a human

[Explanation]

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The forest was quiet—too quiet for the six blue-ranked adventurers pushing through the underbrush with forced bravado and swinging camera angles.

"Yo, guys, we just passed checkpoint 17," the orange-haired one said, flashing a cocky grin to the camera while adjusting his green headband. "We're officially in deep territory now—no turning back. Say hi to the stream."

The others whooped, laughed, flexed, and posed. All of them were in their early twenties—lean, athletic, armed with blades and overconfidence. They weren't here for survival. They were here for views.

"Relax," said one, chewing gum loudly. "There's no real green ranks out here—just stories to keep rookies scared."

The forest didn't answer. It simply watched.

Then the laughter stopped.

One of them froze. "...Yo. Who's that?"

A figure stood motionless not far from the trail, where the trees grew tight and crooked like ribcages. The camera's light flicked over them.

Short. Small. Beautiful in a strange, haunting way. Brown hair fell around a porcelain face with red irises glowing faintly like dying embers. They smiled—softly, pleasantly. Too pleasantly.

In one hand, they held a dagger, angled loosely but perfectly within striking range.

"Ah," the figure said, voice smooth, melodic...and laced with lethal intent. "More blue ranks. You smell cheap."

The orange-haired one chuckled nervously. "We—we're just filming, man. We're not looking for trouble—"

"But you found it," Ari whispered, stepping forward without a sound. "You walked into my grove."

The red irises gleamed like twin blades in the dusk. The adventurers reached for their weapons, muscles tensing.

"Wait—green bandana guy," whispered another, suddenly pale. "That scent—cookies... he's a Fair Human. Back the hell up. He's green rank."

Too late.

Ari Rayne tilted his head, smile unwavering.

"You shouldn't be here," he said, voice now quiet and cold as frostbite. "But since you are... let's make this quick."

The camera caught only one frame of Ari vanishing. Then static. Screams.

The forest took the rest.

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Fun fact: Fair human transcends the human limits meaning they could last months without food and possibly years and hold their breathes for a very long time and can manipulate the natural world

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