Chapter 263

Bram faced the Lizardman, who was mindlessly plucking grass with a clueless expression.

At that moment, a thought flashed through Bram’s mind.

‘If I use this Lizardman as bait…!’

It was an idea Bram would never have considered under normal circumstances.

If Bram were truly the kind of despicable person who would sacrifice others to save himself, he wouldn’t have tried to save his party members by doing something akin to suicide.

But after a week without proper rest, food, water, or sleep, pushed to the brink both physically and mentally, even the most unthinkable ideas can easily take root in a person’s mind.

Especially since Bram’s mind was already filled with hatred for the party members who had abandoned him.

Anger is like a flame—a highly volatile emotion that consumes all other feelings while it burns.

At this moment, Bram felt no guilt about sacrificing an innocent Lizardman.

‘Yes. That Awakening Species would prefer a fresh, energetic plaything over a dying adventurer like me! And socially, it’s far more beneficial for a nameless Lizardman to die than a promising Silver Rank Adventurer like me! So this is clearly the rational decision!’

Having rationalized it to himself, Bram immediately spoke to the Lizardman.

“Hey…”

The direction from which the Awakening Species’ cry had come, where the Lizardman, who seemed to be an herb gatherer, was heading.

To tell him there were more herbs that way.

“This mountain is dangerous. Haven’t you heard about the Abnormal Birds appearing? You should run down the mountain.”

But what came out of Bram’s mouth was a warning.

“Abnormal Birds?”

“Yeah. Haven’t you heard? *Cough*…! A flock of featherless monstrous birds settled here recently. You should run now.”

“Hmm. You don’t look so good yourself. Why don’t you come down with me?”

“No. It’s too late for me. I’ve already been marked by their leader. It’s better if you leave me now. I’ll try to lead them away, so you should run down the mountain as fast as you can.”

Bram suppressed his rising selfishness and explained the dangers of the mountain to the Lizardman.

Yes.

How could he do this?

Sacrificing an unrelated person just to save himself.

In the end, Bram wasted what could have been his last chance with the Lizardman.

As Bram prepared to run in the opposite direction to draw the Awakening Species away, he turned back one last time.

“Ah. It’s not much of a repayment for saving your life, but… could you do me a favor?”

“A favor?”

“If you make it to Astram, could you go to the Adventurer Guild and find a party named ‘Alliance’? And tell them something for me. Tell them I don’t resent them.”

In truth, Bram had known from the start.

The Abnormal Birds were already monsters of Silver Rank extermination level.

And Awakening Species are known to be at least one danger level higher than their original species.

A Silver Rank monster could typically destroy a small village single-handedly, while a Gold Rank monster poses a threat to an entire city.

To exterminate such a monster, proper preparation is naturally required.

For example, a party of Gold Rank Adventurers, who might even be on the verge of becoming Masters, or an army-level force would need to be mobilized.

No matter how elite Silver Rank Adventurers are considered, with only three people pooling their money and a week’s time, it was impossible to gather a rescue team or pay for their services.

And who would volunteer to enter the territory of a monster that even a well-known Silver Rank Adventurer party in Astram couldn’t handle and barely escaped from?

Bram had already realized this.

He had just been avoiding and denying the reality until now.

But finally, at the very last moment,

Bram decided not to turn away from the truth he had been ignoring.

‘Haha… At least I won’t die meaninglessly. Sacrificing my life to save someone else has a certain dramatic flair. I even got to send my last words. Not a bad life, all things considered.’

With that, Bram forced his body, which was already screaming past its limits, to move once more.

‘At least it’s a relief. Talking for a bit restored some of my stamina. Stop screaming so much. I’ll let you rest forever soon enough.’

Just as Bram was about to turn in the opposite direction of the Lizardman,

The Lizardman, who had been calmly plucking herbs, stood up, brushed off his knees, and spoke.

“Well… As I heard, you’re an adventurer too valuable to die here.”

“…What?”

“Sorry, but you’ll have to deliver that message yourself.”

With that, the herb-gathering Lizardman, Kurt, smirked.

.

.

.

As he spoke, Kurt looked at the man before him.

When they first met, his clothes were a disgusting mix of vomit, sweat, and blood, his eyes unfocused, and a hint of madness in his gaze, making him seem mentally unstable. Yet, even in such an extreme situation, he was concerned about a stranger like me.

Definitely not an ordinary person.

Suddenly, I recalled the words of the adventurers who had begged me in tears at the Adventurer Guild.

.

.

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‘Bram is the precious leader of our party! Please save him!’

‘He acted as bait in front of that monster to save us until the very end! Please! He doesn’t deserve to die in a place like this!’

‘I’ll give you all the money I’ve saved as a reward! Please bring him back!’

As they spoke, the three of them offered me valuable-looking Artifact swords, their personal ornaments, and pouches of gold coins, pleading desperately.

Logically, it was unheard of for adventurers of the same rank to offer prepayment without question to someone of a lower rank.

Regardless of whether a same-rank adventurer could rescue someone, the fact that they were willing to spend their entire fortune to save someone who was most likely already dead…

If I took the advance payment and ran, it would be the end for them.

And they, who had been adventurers longer than I, knew this better than anyone.

Yet, they had forgotten all common sense and begged me desperately.

But no one at the Adventurer Guild could laugh at them.

Everyone knew they had been pleading with adventurers at the guild for days to save Bram before I accepted the request.

But of course, no one was willing to step into the dangerous territory where even a party of Silver Rank Adventurers had been severely injured, with their leader missing.

So they had been rejected repeatedly until I, who had just returned from a Trent hunting request, agreed to take the job.

By then, it didn’t matter if the person accepting the request was of the same rank or a scammer—they were that desperate.

They were grasping at straws.

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.

.

As I thought of his party members desperately begging me to save Bram, I looked at him again.

Even so, his reputation was extraordinary. He’s no ordinary person.

I can see how much his party members cared for each other.

And yet, he managed to survive for a whole week.

No. In this case, it’s more accurate to say he was kept alive.

Sometimes, there are cases like this.

Monsters that, after becoming Awakening Species and gaining overwhelming power, act arrogantly as if they’re something special.

*Screeeech───!*

While I was thinking, the Awakening Species’ cry echoed once more.

It was louder than when I had entered the mountain.

Meaning it was getting closer.

“Ah, ah…! It’s too late. It’s too late!”

Hearing the monster’s cry, Bram, who had been composed just moments ago, began to lose his mind.

After a week of torment by the Awakening Species, he must have been traumatized.

*Crunch*

*Snap*

*Thud!*

Following the cry, the sound of bushes breaking grew closer.

And soon, a tree nearby snapped, revealing the Awakening Species monster behind it.

“Ah…! It’s here! That demon…!”

The Awakening Species Abnormal Bird.

Named by the Adventurer Guild as ‘Demon’s Hand.’

The monster, with wings covered in a grotesque membrane resembling a demon’s palm, freely used them like hands to crush the trees it had knocked down.

Then, it looked at us with its featherless, hideous face and grinned.