Roman entered the valley again, and it was officially his second hunting mission since he entered the Badlands.
All these moments of lost hope and depression... all of them had resulted in unrelenting hard work and pursuit.
Roman was already wondering how his mother and father would have reacted to him miraculously being summoned to the Badlands. His main concern was his father, whom he was sure would have started healing from whatever had been eating him up for years.
The entire neighborhood, the academy... the Proprietor.
All those people who had thought that he wouldn't stand a chance. He was sure that they must have been stunned when they heard it, and that was the part that sweetened Roman the most.
And for his former friend Alby...
"Well, I hope I find him someday," he muttered, nodding strongly.
Why he wanted to find him? Roman would swear that he didn't really have a certain reason, but it should surely be about... "Yeah, I made it in here just like you."
Or maybe just something more than that.
...
Roman had walked for over twenty minutes before finally coming to a stop at a location he had deliberately gone for.
[Location: The Rot Flats.]
[Inhabitants: Blood Mice.]
[Chances of survival: 58%.]
Just like the Blade Ants, the Blood Mice are also one of the common monsters one can find in low-tier hunting zones, or rather, the outermost part of hunting zones.
It would be stupid to underestimate a Blood Mouse, as they are not only fast but also very dangerous.
Unlike most monsters, they don't feed on human flesh, but are only desperately interested in blood. Surely, this was why they had that prefix to their name.
A Blood Mouse would stop at nothing to make a perfect deep bite and suck out a lot of blood; however, that was not possible if they don't get to overwhelm their target firsthand.
This was why they always attacked in swarming groups, and if one is not careful, they can be easily covered by a staggering amount of Blood Mice, who wouldn't waste a second before tearing into one's flesh in search of blood.
"Well, I studied well about Blood Mice. I don't think I'm going to die here," Roman muttered with a smile.
"Yes... you aren't."
Just when he had said that, a familiar feminine voice added, and Roman flinched and turned.
He would have considered trying to attack, but it was really someone he shouldn't dare raise a finger at.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice filled more with amazement than stun.
"I'm here for what you are here for," Rena smiled and began to walk over.
"I visited your place, but you weren't there, so I knew you would have come here. I had to follow up," she added.
Roman raised his brows.
"Oh, trust me. I already planned to come to the valley before. This is not all about you," she said, striking a wide smile.
Roman hesitated and shrugged before returning his attention to the Blood Mice territory.
"Well, since you are here, let's not waste much time with these rats," Roman said without looking back.
"Sure."
That was the response she gave before they faced the territory, and well, this duo responsible for the extinction of Stone and Bone Castle shrugged and saw the Rot Flats as a pushover.
Roman saw no reason to use Queenfang, and all he did was bombard [Fireball] at the massive holes they were coming out from.
One Blood Mouse was the size of a big bottle of beer, and with the way they charged, a couple of dozens could reach an enemy at once—a group capable of bringing one to the ground at impact.
Thanks to [Anti Balance], which did most of the job by whipping a considerable amount of them out of the way when they got too close.
[You have killed a Level 2 Ordinary Monster, Blood Mouse Messenger. +15 EXP gained.]
[You have killed a Level 2 Ordinary Monster, Blood Mouse Messenger. +15 EXP gained.]
[You have killed a Level 3 Ordinary Monster, Blood Mouse Messenger. +20 EXP gained.]
[You have killed a Level 2 Ordinary Monster, Blood Mouse Messenger. +15 EXP gained.]
The battle started with taking down the lowest-ranked Blood Mice, and they were understandably the most abundant in the Flats.
They were arguably the most aggressive as well, but unfortunately, they weren't as aggressive as the attacks that had come against them.
Rena would only move from one spot to another when they attempted to throw themselves at her and would make a whole lot of strikes with the short sword she came with this time.
One by one, the Blood Mouse Messengers met their end, and the Rot Flats was already facing the wrath of the Mage and Assassin duo in no time.
[You have killed a Level 10 Ordinary Monster, Blood Mouse Defender. +55 EXP gained.]
[You have killed a Level 11 Ordinary Monster, Blood Mouse Defender. +60 EXP gained.]
[You have killed a Level 11 Ordinary Monster, Blood Mouse Defender. +60 EXP gained.]
They progressed to the point of reaching the very last stage when the Boss, the size of a hyena, showed up with a tough stare and jaws that looked like those of a wolf.
Roman gave it a look for a moment and turned to Rena.
"It's yours," he said.
Rena smiled back at him before grabbing hold of her dagger and charging forward.
The Blood Mouse Lord instantly began to charge at her the moment she started approaching, and just as they both went for each other... suddenly...
It got to a point when Rena vanished after getting close. The Blood Mouse Lord had almost thrown itself at her but then made a crashing fall after she suddenly vanished, and before it could even turn...
SLASH!
STAB!
Rena slayed the Territory Boss of the Rot Flats and had most of the accolades to claim, and Roman only clapped, making her cheeks flush.
"Nice one... that was clean," he said as she walked over.
"I hate flattery," Rena stated while still smiling.
"Well, I'm just going to have to give you that one," Roman insisted, and she chuckled softly as they walked out of the Rot Flats.
They walked through a path that was leading west of the valley, where neither of them had explored since they got there, and it seemed exciting.
Roman just didn't know how it had gotten to them hunting and smiling together. Just about twenty-four hours ago, they were some of the biggest enemies to each other.
'Life is really a bitch!' Roman thought.
They had walked quite far through the path when Rena stopped and turned to Roman.
"Thought about it yet?" she asked.
"Ummm, no... not rea—"
He wasn't even sure what to say, because in truth, Roman hadn't even given it a second thought after they departed in the morning.
The next thing he witnessed was Rena drifting close and her face coming so close that before he could realize it, a soft feeling was already pressing against his lips.
'She's kissing me! She's fucking kissing me now???'
Rena didn't hesitate, as she kept her lips pressed on his, and she didn't look like she was withdrawing anytime soon.
Roman, who once felt shock, grabbed her waist at some point and accepted her kiss openly.
Soon, they both were having a deliberate moment, the smooching sound going softly between them.
TAP!
And yeah, to go even more crazy, Roman grabbed her ass with one hand and gave it a soft, slow press like it was dough.
Crack!
They suddenly stopped after hearing a cracking sound, and they tried to scan the area to observe the cause.
However, they didn't notice a thing, and Rena was the first to grab hold of him again and return to what they were doing.
Roman wasn't resisting.
And right there on the pathway, the most unexpected event continued.
******
Meanwhile, in one part of the valley, a rookie was running at high speed towards a known direction.
He was running so fast, like he had information that really needed to be delivered.
Slowly, he approached a place that seemed to be like a camp, and there were quite a couple of rookies like him chatting and waiting over there.
They all stood up in alert when they spotted him coming, and among them was Arnold.
Arnold glared as he approached and quickly walked over.
"Arnold, I finally found him. But... but he's with her," he said.
Arnold's face turned dark the moment he heard that, a tough frown forming right after.
"And I also have to tell you this, Arnold."
"What's that?" Arnold asked in a rough tone.
"I... I..." the guy continued to gasp.
"You what?! F**king tell me, you dimwit!"
"I saw them kissing. He was kissing her... holding her... Her ass. And she seemed to like it."
Arnold's face had already turned red before he could even finish talking, and he couldn't resist the urge to punch the guy in the face.
"Take us there!" he then grabbed him and shouted.
They all set out and headed in that direction, and Arnold couldn't, for once, be relieved of the rage he felt.
"Roman Rings. You have no idea who you are messing with."
"I'm going to make sure you don't live until Privilege Day."