Blood Nemesis

Too much information was always better than too little. That was why Luna was interested in hearing what Oliver had to say.

On the other hand, Oliver wanted to know what happened to Luna before speaking about his conditions, so he asked promptly.

"Before that, could you please tell me how you were injured. From your file, I know a monster attacked you and your team during a mission. Is that right? And did something else attack you?"

Oliver was eager to uncover the truth.

"Ah! What happened to my team members!" Suddenly, it occurred to Luna that she didn't know what had happened to the people who were working with her.

"Were they injured like me?"

"None as severely as you. Most of them recovered and are still working as hunters."

Oliver didn't want to change the topic, so he used the bare minimum words to assure her that nothing bad had happened to them.

"Does that mean some of them retired?"

"Yes."

"Because of the monster attack!"

"Yes."

"This…"

Luna felt guilt swallow her. She was the team's scout, a superhuman with exceptional sensory abilities. And yet, she led them right into the mouth of the hidden monsters. It was her mistake that led to her team members being injured.

A wave of sadness swallowed her.

Oliver knew of this and waited.

There was more to the story than what he heard. If Luna were willing to share, it would be great.

After taking a moment, Luna began to recount the events leading up to the disaster.

"There was a bounty for a Perfume Deer. Naturally, we took it on since the pay was great. After completing it, I would have had enough money to clear all my debt and buy a house to move to an inner city residential area. So, it was not something we could ignore."

Luna spoke with her eyes glossed over. She was thinking back to the time everything started.

"As you know, perfume deers are weak C-rank grazing beasts. They have to be caught alive to be worth anything."

Oliver nodded.

He knew what a perfume deer was.

It was a creature known to secrete the concentrated scent of anything that it ate from its antlers.

If it were fed jasmine or rose, it would secrete the overwhelming scent from its antlers. Therefore, the antlers were considered a valuable material for crafting luxurious perfumes.

However, these buggers were rare and difficult to catch.

You might think they are easy to track because of the scent they release. But that was not the case at all.

The Perfume deer only releases its scent when it is threatened. And it would be released in such overwhelming quantities that an entire area, kilometres wide, would be engulfed in it.

Imagine if the deer were eating grass.

Then, the entire area would stink like grass.

What if it were dirt, or something stinky that it ate?

Then, it was better to leave before the stench knocks you out.

Because of the overwhelming smell, no animals or beasts could track it.

Hence, you need someone like Luna with sensory ability to take over.

Oliver looked at her and waited.

"My sensory ability allows me to track life signs within a kilometre radius. So, I was crucial in our plan to catch perfume deer."

Luna paused to take a breath.

"We followed some information we got through the hunter network and went to the place the perfume deer was last seen. And fortunately, we found it close by. With my ability, I was tracking it."

The vivid images of the day began to appear in Luna's mind. At the same time, the anxiety and pressure she faced also reemerged.

She breathed heavily and continued.

"At some point, it sensed us and dashed away. We chased the deer for kilometres through the thick jungle of the west."

The west she meant was the west direction from the Dragon City within Second Earth.

"The perfume deer was truly an elusive creature. It didn't stop for even a second. It continuously evaded us."

"Fortunately, as long as we kept it within my tracking range, we could follow it."

"So, we increased the distance and followed it for hours. Until we reached an unexplored part of the jungle."

Luna felt her chest tighten.

"That's when we came across the monsters."

Luna gripped the bedsheet tightly.

"I failed to notice their presence."

She blamed herself for the mistake. Her eyes teared up.

"Usually, the stronger the creature, the bigger the life sign. Therefore, it should have been easy to detect. But I still failed."

A tear drop fell, trickling down her cheeks.

If someone had come at that exact moment, they would have thought Oliver was bullying the young woman.

Thankfully, no one did.

Oliver was able to keep his nonexistent reputation because of that.

"Then, what happened?" Oliver asked.

Luna wiped her tears and suppressed her pain.

"The deer released a horrendous stench of flesh and blood."

"Flesh and blood…" Oliver repeated.

He had heard of it from the other survivors.

It was also one of the reasons he concluded that the whole situation had something to do with demons.

"...you know that the deer are herbivores, right?" He asked.

"Hm…But it still released the stench of blood and flesh from its antlers. The stech travelled throughout the forest. At the same time, the monsters hiding within the forest attacked us."

"Then, it must have been pure chaos. You and your team were fighting to survive the monster as more predatory mana beasts approached your location after sensing the stench of blood, right?"

"Hm…" Luna nodded.

It was a terrible situation they found themselves in.

They had to fight tooth and nail to survive.

That was how she was critically injured.

Fortunately, someone from her team must have saved her.

"Who saved me?" She quickly looked at Oliver and asked.

"It was your team leader. I don't know the name of the guy."

"How is he?"

"Injured and disabled. He lost his left arm in the fight. And yet, still carried you out of the forest. I say the guy deserved to be called the leader. You should make some money and send him to get stem cell therapy and regeneration treatment."

Oliver acknowledged the man.

"Yes, I should." She spoke in a muffled voice. "What about the rest of my team?"

"The others are in one piece. You were fortunate to meet a patrolling military airship. That's why you made it out in one piece." Oliver added.