Psyuu...
The recoil made Rayne's shoulder crack and shift slightly, but it quickly returned without any damage.
The bullet shot out, leaving an invisible black trail.
Crattt!
The bullet hit the vital part of the monster (its junior). Its massive hands clutched "it," almost crushing it, while the glare in its eyes blazed even more.
The Doddlarrybear monster... is a level 25 monster extremely rare in this world, most likely a descendant of monsters above level 50 that humanity has yet to discover.
Rayne remembered having defeated several level 68 monsters very similar to Doddlarrybear.
This monster has high defense with thick skin and bones. One of its unique traits is that it grows stronger in proportion to its emotional state, though it still has a certain limit.
From its characteristics, it's almost certain that Doddlarrybear is a descendant of that monster.
Its only weakness is one: the genitals (the monster's core), whether male or female.
However, if attacked there without killing it immediately, its rage will skyrocket.
Everyone found the growl strange.
The King, watching from afar, narrowed his eyes as he noticed a small hole in the formation.
"Grraaaaaaaaaaa!"
Boommm!
The monster slammed the ground, creating a terrifying shockwave that instantly destroyed the formation and everything around it.
Ardyn, the only one able to withstand the wave, was instantly stunned by what he saw.
Through the smoke, a massive body stood, with gleaming claws and fangs and glowing eyes.
"A-what the…?"
He gritted his teeth, and when he turned, everyone behind him collapsed, powerless.
"Damn!" he shouted loudly.
With the pure soul of a warrior, he rushed forward to slash the monster. His slash only cut a few strands of fur, but it was enough to fully capture the monster's attention.
The monster targeted Ardyn, and he ran away, leaving the Voltare house area and entering the nearby forest.
Meanwhile, Rayne had already left his room, and… even the house itself?
???
He ran casually without any trace of guilt.
{DING! Has your revenge been satisfied, Master?}
Rayne glanced at the system panel.
"What are you saying? That revenge was real back then, but now I've realized."
His speed increased.
"They weren't wrong to treat me like that. They were just being normal humans. Because it's not normal to pity someone who can't do anything in this world, right?"
{DING! Makes sense, Master.}
"Haha, next, I don't want to be tied to any relationship with them. Rayne Voltare is dead."
"Whether this is reality or a dream, I will do everything I want, everything… I've ever wished for."
"Kid! Hei! Don't run so fast!" A heavy voice called from behind.
Behind him, the old grandfather (the servant) struggled to chase after Rayne.
"Astaga, wait for your grandfather!"
Rayne glanced back and smiled slightly.
"Disappear," he muttered.
And strangely, the grandfather suddenly vanished.
"Thank you, Grandfather," he said before turning and continuing to run.
The grandfather… the person so important, probably the only one important to Rayne, someone who could accept him sincerely. Unfortunately, the grandfather was not real, merely an imagination formed from Rayne's trauma.
Trauma. Powerless at the edge of death, that was something he feared greatly.
Back then, after training to exhaustion, his older siblings appeared, and Rayne's brain received threat signals, then created the imagined grandfather being hurt, giving Rayne a strong reason to push himself and fight.
And this wasn't the first time it happened; the grandfather was simply the most memorable.
After running for a while, he arrived at a city still within the Voltare area.
Voltare lies in the middle of three cities and two forests.
The three cities are famous for providing a wide variety of complete and high-quality resources.
Meanwhile, the two forests yield abundant resources, though monsters still reside inside, but they are mostly under control.
Though several times, incidents of rampaging monsters have occurred.
Rayne did not stop running; he wanted to leave the Voltare territory immediately.
Even though his legs were numb, his face showed no hint of stopping.
{DING! Endurance +3}
{DING! Strength +1}
{DING! Agility +1}
Some time passed, and as the city gates came into view, he only needed to pass through them to exit the city.
Suddenly, he stopped—not because he wanted to, but because he had to.
Right at his feet lay the body of a little girl, extremely thin, her clothes torn here and there, her skin pale like his own.
"You ungrateful slave!"
Rayne stared sharply ahead, at the middle-aged man who had treated the girl like that.
His mind instantly generated thousands of ways to kill the man in an instant.
"Hey, what are you standing there for!" he barked, like a threat.
"Ah, forgive me, sir, I will leave," the man replied, slightly bowing.
But before he could step away, the middle-aged man spoke again.
"Wait, since you seem to be about the same age as that child, why don't you just take her with you?"
"So she can have a companion to die with, you're both slaves anyway."
(Slavery is normal in this world)
"Hahahaha."
Some of the people around laughed along.
Rayne clenched his teeth; this was still Voltare territory and he didn't want to cause trouble.
After a moment of silence, he crouched and shook the girl's body.
When he touched her, what he felt wasn't skin or flesh, but very fragile bones.
"Hey, wake up."
Receiving no response, Rayne immediately lifted the girl.
"Very well, sir, then I shall leave first."
"Ugh, ungrateful slave!"
After that, Rayne walked toward the gate and exited the city.
(People entering the city must undergo various checks and pay, while exiting can be done freely.)
Outside the city stretched a vast expanse of gently rolling grasslands, covered in green grass that swayed softly in the wind. Trees grew scattered across the land, some standing alone, others forming small clusters that cast cool, sheltering shade.
Rayne looked at the girl's face in his arms.
Then he walked toward the city wall and carefully placed the girl's small body down.
If left alone, she might die, but… why should Rayne care?
Without a word, he turned and walked away.
"Do-don't go…"
"Don't… don't leave me." a small, weak voice came from behind, but Rayne did not stop.
Until the distance between them was enough.
Suddenly, the system sounded.
{Ding! Carry the girl and save her life.
Reward: a piece of high-quality meat from a level 2 monster and a set of women's clothing.
Penalty if mission fails: total paralysis for life}
Rayne was instantly startled and stared sharply at the system panel.
"Damn it, this is coercion!"
Grumbling, he turned back heavily.
In the distance, he saw the girl crawling toward him.
"What the… that child? She really wants to follow me like that?"
Upon arriving, Rayne did not wake her immediately; he noticed her face filled with tears, and a gaze full of hope.
"Pl-please, t-take me."
Without saying a word, he woke her and carried her again.
{Ding! System mission to carry and save the girl's life completed.
Reward: a piece of high-quality meat from a level 2 monster and a set of women's clothing}
The two items appeared before him, but Rayne stored them in the system storage and walked on.
A few minutes later, Rayne stopped under a fairly hidden tree and carefully placed the girl's body down.
The girl looked at Rayne, full of confusion.
"Do you want to stay alive?" he asked.
The girl nodded.
"Why? Wouldn't it be better to just die?"
She paused for a moment.
"I… I just don't want to die like that."
Rayne was slightly startled; her reason felt very familiar.
"But, is it worth holding on to life like that any longer?"
The girl paused again.
"Anything can happen, I still have many things I want to do."
For a moment, Rayne gave a small smile.
"Then, you must not die like that."
As he was about to take out the piece of meat, he remembered—humans don't eat raw meat.
"Wait here," he said, then gathered some dry leaves and twigs.
After collecting everything, he made two knives.
Then he struck the two knives together near the pile of dry leaves and twigs.
When the knives met at high speed, they produced sparks.
It took a few attempts, but finally, the leaves caught fire and a flame was formed, ready to be used.
Rayne took out a piece of meat weighing 1 kg, skewer a strong enough branch, and began roasting it.
The girl watched the meat with sparkling eyes but didn't dare come closer.
About an hour later, the aroma of the cooked meat made the girl salivate.
Since the meat was cooked, Rayne put out the fire and erased the traces, then approached the girl.