Chapter 22: Fortune favors the foolish (1/2)

”Help. Help!”

The brown-haired boy panicked as he ran at them. His body was riddled with multiple cuts and injuries. Terror filled his face as he ran at full speed to the group while staggering.

'I got a bad feeling about this,' suspected Jake, as he used the distraction to leave the group.

The situation just didn't feel right. It felt too smooth.

Nico, being the type of person he was, caught the young boy as soon as he got close to the group.

He looked at the boy's wound and gasped, ”What happened to you?”

”I was hunting when a group of bandits tried to steal my hunt. I managed to hide it in my spatial ring, but when they saw the ring, greed stirred in them. They tried to steal my ring, but I escaped just after receiving heinous injuries, ” said the young man, wincing, as he showed them a ring on his right hand.

The group looked deeply as they saw the spatial ring. The spatial ring was just like any other ring. The only difference was that it contained a huge space hidden in it. It was also very expensive; the lowest quality spatial ring was worth one gold coin, which most average families would not be able to earn in their lifetime. The spatial ring was owned by nobles and cultivators.

”I fear that I cannot go on. Please, take my ring. I would rather you have it than them,” he said to the group.

Blood spilled out of his body, as he staggered to the ground, collapsed.

It was silent for a while, before Nico broke the tension, ”What do we do? We can't just leave him here?”

Jaya bent down and touched the stranger's neck, ”He is still alive, barely breathing. We should leave him. Don't forget his pursuers are still chasing him.”

”But…,” Nico tried to argue.

”Nico, the benefits do not outweigh the risks,” reminded Lola.

”...Okay,” said a defeated Nico, who understood the circumstances.

Yet, he picked up the boy as he said, ”....but still, I can't leave him. I will carry him and do my best not to drag behind.”

After that, he began to run, not giving the rest any way of retorting.

'Here we go again,' the girls sighed as they ran after him.

....

Five minutes later.

Nico with his amazing speed had caught up to Jake.

”Hey,” he said to Jake, who ignored him, but later replied when he saw the boy on Nico's shoulder.

”Why are you carrying him?” Jake squinted his eyes at Nico

”He fainted.”

”So…,” asked a puzzled Jake.

”You know, if we removed the appearance of zombies, you and he are not so different. We met you the same way and we protected you when you were unconscious, ” Nico wryly smiled ignoring Jake's question as he stated.

Jake was shut down by what Nico said. It was the truth. He knew deep down that he was saved by the trio. He owed them, maybe that was why he was hostile to them. Jake didn't like owing people.

Taking a deep breath, Jake cleared his hostile mind as he cooperated, ”Can you trust him?”

”I don't know, we just gotta believe,” replied Nico.

'Belief..,' the word echoed in Jake's head. It was a foolish concept, but still, he didn't deter Nico because of that.

Jake noticed something about the stranger, ”He is awake.”

As soon as he said that, the stranger yawned. From this pretense action, Jake suspected this stranger all the more.

He jumped away from Nico's back as the group paused.

Jake spotted something strange about the boy, 'His healing factor! Master Luca said that Physique Modeling cultivators possessed a good healing factor, but it is not as good as this. The boy's injuries healed swiftly which could only mean he is beyond the Physique Modeling realm!'

”Thank you for saving me. My name is Roy,” the boy introduced himself.

”Don't thank us yet. We haven't left the forest,” intervened Nico.

Jaya also noticing the abnormality asked, ”By the way, what cultivation realm are you at?”

”Ehh, the first official realm. What is it?” Roy furrowed his brows as he asked.

”Nothing, we just didn't expect for you to be a cultivator of a higher realm,” smiled Nico.