"I'm hungry."
Slowly, Arvani reached into her jacket pocket. Inside, she found a mango-flavored candy. Arvani unwrapped it and ate the candy while lying down.
"I wanna eat Alaskan king crab."
Not long after, Rian appeared carrying a small new bag—its contents unknown.
"Sir Arvani, do you need help?"
"Are you blind or something?" The woman in the red rabbit mask let out a tired sigh.
Just as Rian was about to open the first aid kit, he received another order from Arvani.
"Don't bother with me. Take all of their belongings." The black-haired woman pointed toward the bodies of the five people she had killed.
The blond-haired man said nothing. He placed the first aid kit near Arvani and carried out her orders.
Arvani waited. Once her vision started to improve, she slowly sat up and casually lifted her shirt. Her right hand removed the blood- and dirt-soiled bandage.
The stinging pain from pulling off the bandage made her wince. Once it was off, Arvani applied ointment around the wound and then covered it with a new bandage.
"Sir, here are all their belongings."
Rian had finally completed Arvani's orders. The blond man brought her loot, which included firearms with ammunition, a first-aid kit, ID cards, snacks, and communication devices.
"They're not from my country," Arvani thought, looking at the ID cards with unfamiliar writing.
Without needing to be prompted, Rian offered what information he had.
"They're from the Land of the Thousand Islands. If I'm not mistaken, one of that nation's officials is the son-in-law of the Grand Noble Abraham family. That must be one reason they were targeting you."
Arvani stared intently into Rian's blue eyes. "And where are you from?"
"I'm from the Land Beneath the Winds."
"Government or guild?"
Rian paused in thought. "I... was just following my sister. Lena—she planned to join a Guild, and I had to help her."
Hearing that, Arvani could guess what Rian had gone through. This man might've had parents who played favorites—or maybe parents unworthy of the title at all. Judging by Lena's somewhat childish nature, she was likely a burden hindering Rian's growth.
Then there's the Land Beneath the Winds—that explains why Rian and Lena had some military skills, as that country had mandatory military service. Though, their abilities were quite weak and poor by Kensei's standards.
"What should we do now, sir?"
"Let's find a safer place."
The safe place Rian found was a dense forest area. Arvani began to notice that the challenge area on this second floor was much larger than the previous one.
The woman observed the surroundings, dark due to the lack of moonlight.
"Just need to wait until day ten, huh... There's no way it'll be that easy," Arvani thought.
Time passed. Several Hunter candidates struggled to survive—especially those unskilled in wilderness survival.
"Damn it! We need to find food immediately!"
"Hey, keep your voice down. You'll attract monsters."
"I don't care! It'd be great if those monsters came—I'll eat them!"
"Young master, please don't be reckless."
"You dare give me orders, lowly servant? Remember, my father paid you handsomely for this. Go hunt down other Hunter candidates and take their food!"
"Dammit! Why isn't the guard post providing food?!"
"I'm willing to pay anything for better food than this!"
Before a massive holographic screen displaying the condition of the Hunter candidates, Sean Faraday sat comfortably while sipping red wine.
"As usual, some Hunter candidates from influential families are struggling to survive."
Sean tapped the edge of his table with his finger. His blue eyes glanced at his phone, which kept notifying him of incoming funds to his account. A thin smirk formed on his face.
"Well, well. I should work according to my pay, right?"
The man adjusted his sitting posture. He pressed several buttons. On the hologram screens, several deadly monsters appeared, attacking anyone they encountered. Using monster-repelling technology, Sean directed the monsters away from the candidates whose families had paid him.
One of the screens showed Arvani from a distance, relaxing.
"The Red Rabbit, huh? I'm kinda curious about the face behind that tacky mask."
Elsewhere, Arvani—now feeling better—began flipping the snake skewers roasting over the fire.
"Got any salt?" she asked Rian, who was skinning another snake.
The blond-haired man shook his head in reply.
"Ah, such a shame the water supply here is so limited. I wanted to make snake and mushroom soup."
Hearing that, Rian stayed silent, caught between awe and confusion over Arvani's actions. The snake he was skinning and the one Arvani was roasting were different species. Whether intentional or not, Arvani had given him a non-venomous one.
Arvani watched the roasted snake meat. Once she felt it was cooked well enough, she began eating.
Crack!
Her black eyes turned toward the tree trunk that had cracked. Her pupils widened at the sight of a monster—a chameleon the size of a motorcycle with semi-transparent skin and shimmering star like lights surrounding its head.
The monster's large eyes stared directly at Arvani and Rian, who stood frozen.
Slowly, Arvani's left hand grasped the sword Daniel had given her. The woman was ready to run at any moment.
The shimmering stars around the creature's head began to dim. Quietly, it stepped closer to Arvani—more specifically, to the small campfire she had built.
The next second, the chameleon monster lay down on the ground.
Arvani's black eyes carefully read its expression, then let out a relieved sigh once she understood.
She glanced at Rian, who remained on alert.
"Relax, this monster just wants to sleep somewhere warm."
Rian didn't act recklessly upon hearing the good news. He remained cautious of the monster's presence.
As for the chameleon, it stared intently at Arvani. The star-like lights around its head showed no danger signals—normally triggered when encountering Hunter candidates.
The chameleon also observed the bracelet on Arvani's left wrist. Faintly, it sensed a calming aura from it.
'Kensei, I've made my decision. I'm going to use my right eye to summon Kayril's soul.'
'Huh? Why so suddenly?'
Arvani stared at the snake skewer in her hand. 'Because the top-tier Hunter's ability will be useful moving forward. I don't want to kill monsters that don't deserve it.'
A mocking laugh echoed in Arvani's mind from Kensei. 'Foolish woman. In this era, your naive emotions and sympathy are worthless.'
'Who's naive? I just can't be bothered to fight monsters who are forced to fight too. Like now, instead of killing them, I'd rather use them to guard me... Besides, it's not like I care that much about that half-cat girl either.'
'...I wasn't talking about her.'