A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 28: First Hunt

The underbrush parted, and a beast the size of a small car stepped into the clearing. It looked like a hound, but its skin was formed from rotting grey bark, and thick red vines pulsed underneath it like exposed veins.

Shu tightened his grip on the bat as the monster locked its glowing yellow eyes on him.

It lunged with a speed that would have easily killed him a few days ago, but with his new upgrades, his body reacted before his brain could even finish processing the movement.

He sidestepped the heavy jaws, pivoting smoothly on his heel, and swung his bat hard into the beast’s exposed ribs. The impact cracked through the clearing, shattering the monster’s bark armor into jagged splinters and sending it crashing into the ground.

’My strength really did jump,’ he thought, taking a step forward. ’I barely put any effort into that swing.’

The beast scrambled to its feet and snapped at his legs, but he stepped past the bite and brought the bat down on the back of its neck, feeling the satisfying crunch of its spine snapping under the force.

The hound dropped to the ground and dissolved into a pile of red ash, leaving behind a faint metallic smell.

[Kill Registered: Bloodwood Hound]

[Objective: Clear the Crimson Forest (1/150)]

[Base EXP: +250]

[Credits: +100] 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He dismissed the screen and rolled his shoulders, but the silence did not last long. Low growls echoed through the fog from every direction, completely surrounding him.

Six more Bloodwood Hounds stepped out from behind the massive trees, their red vines pulsing. They fanned out, lowering their heads and baring wooden fangs.

"So they travel in packs huh," he muttered, raising his bat to his shoulder. "Fine by me, I need the kills anyway."

He activated his skill, and a thick purple aura instantly flared around his body.

[Slaughterer Lv.3 has been activated]

[All stats boosted by 25% for 40 seconds]

[Applying side effects]

The familiar heat rushed into his skull, sharper and more aggressive than it was at level two. A violent itch crawled up his arms, demanding he swing at something.

He did not wait for the hounds to attack first.

He rushed the closest one, covering the distance in a blur, and drove his bat straight into its face before it could even raise its head. The hound’s skull caved in completely, turning into red ash before it hit the ground.

Two more lunged at him from the sides. He ducked under the first, sweeping its legs out with a hard kick, then drove his elbow into the second one’s throat.

While the second hound gagged, he channeled his core energy into the bat and swung it in a wide arc that caught both monsters at once, ripping them apart in a single heavy strike.

[Objective: Clear the Crimson Forest (4/150)]

’This is too easy,’ he thought, a wide grin spreading across his face. ’With my stats boosted like this, these things are basically made of paper.’

The remaining three hounds hesitated, their instincts finally warning them that they were outmatched. One of them took a step back into the fog, clearly trying to retreat.

"Where do you think you are going?" He asked, his voice coming out rougher than he intended.

He threw his bat like a spear, sending it whistling through the air until it punched straight through the retreating hound’s chest. The beast collapsed, dissolving into ash while the bat clattered onto the ground.

The last two charged him in a desperate final push, trying to take advantage of his empty hands.

He met them head-on, grabbing the first hound by its thick wooden jaws, halting its momentum entirely, and slammed his knee into its chest hard enough to burst its ribcage.

He tossed the dying beast aside, stepped inside the guard of the final hound, and grabbed it by the throat. The monster thrashed, its claws scraping uselessly against his arms, but his grip was like a vice.

He tightened his fingers, snapping its neck with a quick twist, and let the ash fall through his hands.

[Kill Registered: Bloodwood Hound x6]

[Objective: Clear the Crimson Forest (7/150)]

[Total EXP Gained: +1,500]

He walked over to his bat, scooped it off the ground, and took a long breath as the timer on his skill ran out. The purple aura faded, and the heavy aggression in his head slowly cooled down to a manageable level.

’That was seventy monsters worth of progress in two minutes,’ he thought, wiping a smear of ash off his cheek. ’At this rate, I can clear the whole dungeon by tonight.’

A loud hum interrupted his thoughts, followed by the distinct sound of boots walking behind him.

He turned his head toward the entrance, seeing the portal flashing brightly as a group of voices started echoing through the clearing.

"Form up! Shield bearers in front, casters in the center!" a familiar, rough voice barked.

’The guild team made it through,’ he thought, his eyes narrowing toward the fog. ’I need to get out of here before they start securing the perimeter.’

He turned away from the portal and sprinted deeper into the Forest, leaving the small pile of red ash behind for the guild to find.

The guild team fanned out as soon as they stepped through the portal, weapons raised while the shield bearers locked down the immediate perimeter. The white-haired hunter scanned the dense fog, his face tight with focus.

"Keep your eyes peeled," he said, stepping carefully onto the ground. "The scouts said the first wave would be heavy."

Raniel walked past him with her sword drawn, her eyes scanning the ground instead of the fog. She stopped a few feet ahead and crouched down near a patch of disturbed dirt.

"Don’t wander off, C-Rank," the white-haired man snapped. "Are you already trying to get yourself killed?"

She ignored him and reached out, rubbing two fingers against the ground, coming back coated in a fine, warm red ash.

’Monster ash,’ she thought, rubbing the dust between her fingers. ’And it is completely fresh, the heat hasn’t even faded yet.’

She looked around the clearing, noticing the broken branches, the crushed underbrush, and several more small piles of the same red dust scattered nearby. There was no blood, but the cracked ground and shattered bark pointed to a very one-sided fight.

’Someone was just here fighting,’ she thought, her eyes narrowing as she stood up. ’But how?’

The guild had locked down the street outside the moment the portal stabilized. There were guards, barricades, and constant surveillance. No one could have just walked through the front door without them noticing.

’Did someone from the guild go ahead of us?’ she thought, glancing back at the strike team still holding their tight formation.

She shook her head a second later, ’no, that makes no sense. The guild leader ordered us to go in together, nobody would be stupid enough to jump into a corrupted zone alone.’

"What did you find?" the white-haired man asked, walking up behind her and looking down at the ash.

She brushed the dust off her fingers and looked deeper into the fog, her grip tightening on her sword.

"We are not the first ones here," she said, her voice dropping low. "Someone else is already inside."