Chapter 155 - Escaping
Ban threw the boulder down after aiming at the Ant beast that was the closest to climbing up.
The huge boulder arrived in front of the Ant beast a moment later, taking it by surprise. It's eyes widened in shock as it's body shivered in fright upon seeing the shadow above its head.
Boom!
The Ant got smashed by the boulder squarely. It wanted to dodge the boulder but unfortunately, the side where it dodged was actually the side where the boulder landed.
Strangely enough, there was no System notification about him killing a beast this time. Ban was actually hoping to acquire another Skill, Beast Core or even just some rewards from the System by killing an unrecognizable beast.
He wanted to complain again but he knew that the System would not answer his complaint and would just spat at him instead.
But there was no harm trying. So he immediately asked the System about it again.
[The rewards will be calculated once the punishment has ended.
Rewards will depend on your performance!
Good luck!
]
Was what the System replied.
Ban released a sigh as his plan of using the rewards to deal with the beasts was now gone just like that.
Anyways, he dismissed the system screen as he stared at the area where the Ant beast was again.
Blood sprayed all over like a fountain as the Ant became a minced meat. The boulder bounced away and when Ban saw the state of the Ant, he could not help but nod his head in satisfaction.
"Strike!" He yelled instinctively as he turned around to lift another boulder and try the same attack method once again.
However, it seems that his tactic would not work for the second time.
Seeing what happened to the Ant, the other four beasts immediately became alert, especially to that method of attack that Ban was using. However, it does not mean that they will give up chasing him.
Due to them being alert, Ban could not get a perfect aim towards them. After throwing the second boulder, he actually missed his mark by more than a meter away. He took another boulder and the result was still the same. He tried switching his aim towards the other beasts but the results were the same, they would only jump away the moment he released the boulder towards them.
Ban frowned after seeing that. He was actually slowly getting tired from those heavy lifts. On the other hand, the beasts are getting nearer and it was not one, but four of them with the same distance away.
The boulder throwing no longer worked so Ban decided to abandon it immediately. He looked around in search for methods and ways that he could use to kill the beast, but unfortunately, he could not think of any.
"It looks like the only option for me now is to run away again…" he said as he looked over the dead Ant beast.
He could try and contract the four beasts, but with their current situation where they look like they are in a mad state, he was afraid that he would get torn apart even before he could draw the Blood Contract symbol on them.
He was already tired from throwing those heavy boulders but he planned to get rid of his fatigue by making use of Greed's passive effect.
However, there were four beasts around that might stop him from doing that easily. Greed's passive effect was not instantaneous, he needs to be in the proximity of the dead body to absorb the leftover energy over time.
After pondering about it for a bit, Ban suddenly got an idea.
He could not see the status screen of the beasts as the System says that his rank wasn't enough to scan them yet.
However, based on his observations so far, it looks like the beasts don't have that good of a vision. It might be their inherent traits or something that came along when their eyes turned red earlier.
And from the looks of it, it seems that they were only relying on their other sensory parts in order to locate him, for example, from the sound he was making or from his scent.
Ban immediately worked on it. He made large movements before taking his shirt off. He then placed it above the boulder, making it appear as if it was still being worn by him.
Ban then made some final big movements to tell them that he was still there, before he silently tiptoed away. He made sure that he was careful with his every movement, so as to not alert the four beasts that had now almost reached the top of the hill.
Ban arrived at the back of the hill a while later and he immediately circled around it to return to the dead Ant beast's side.
Atop the hill, the four beasts were now circling over the boulder where he placed his shirt. It looks like his assumptions were correct as they still haven't figured out that he was no longer there. They kept on scratching the boulder, as if they were trying to feel if they could tear it apart in one attack.
Ban no longer wasted his time observing them as he went beside the minced Ant to let Greed's passive effect do the work. While doing so, he also searched around to see if there was any Beast core that he could collect.
Unfortunately, it looks like he was only thinking wishfully as he did not manage to find any.
His stamina and strength slowly recovered as Greed's passive effect did its wonders one more time.
After a couple of minutes, Ban felt that he was already 'full' but he could still feel the lingering energy of the dead Ant beast around. It looks like the wasted energy was also much more as it was also a beast that cannot be scanned due to rank restrictions.
It was at that moment that Ban heard a loud commotion above him. He looked over and it seemed that the beasts had finally realized that they were tricked. His shirt was now on the ground below them as they stomped on it like a child throwing a tantrum.
Ban did not wait for them to notice him as he immediately turned around and ran. Better use this opportunity to gain a distance from.
With his big strides, the four beasts immediately felt the sudden air movements, making them turn their heads to look at his direction at the same time.
Shriek!
Each of them produced their own unique roar as they immediately rushed towards the direction where Ban fled to.
And so, another hot pursuit had taken place again just right after Ban recovered his stamina and strength.
After a few minutes of running, Ban arrived at a dense forest full of humongous trees.
Looking at it, he could not help but recall the forest that he always used as a training site with his gramps. It was in that forest that his gramps ordered him to train and when he came back, the scene of his gramps being beaten to death along with his pet, King, before being forcefully taken away was what welcomed him.
Ban shook his thoughts as he smiled at the current location. It looks like he would really be able to survive the remaining time now that he was in this dense forest.
If he was very confident in using the baton as a weapon, then he could also confidently say that a forest with humongous trees like this was like his homeground.
Like a fish in the water, Ban immediately sprinted inside the forest of humongous trees confidently.
The four beasts hesitated for a moment before they also followed behind him. They were still adamant on killing him, almost like they will gain a reward from it if they somehow manage to kill him.
However, unfortunately for them, the moment they entered the forest, they could no longer detect Ban's movements. Even his scent somehow disappeared like a bubble being popped.
They felt at a loss as they no longer knew which direction to take. The four of them could only stick together as they moved forward side by side.
Meanwhile, the moment Ban entered the forest, he immediately moved agilely as if he was a fish that was released in the huge river.
After he arrived inside the forest, his confidence rose to another level as his worries about surviving the remaining time became nonexistent.
He climbed atop a humongous tree and took some leaves from it. He squeezed the leaves together and when the extracts started coming out, he immediately smeared it all over his body to cover his scent.
It was at that moment that the four beasts arrived. Ban immediately became as still as a branch, almost like he was part of the humongous tree that he climbed earlier.
The beasts went past him without even noticing that he was only a few meters above them.
After a few minutes, the beasts finally disappeared from his lines of sight. He waited even more and when he was sure that they were already far away, he immediately jumped off the humongous tree and then started running in the opposite direction.
Time passed in the blink of an eye. Ban completely avoided the beast in the forest as if he was the one who was living in this place for years.. The beasts could do nothing against his agile movement and quick thinking, losing him every time.