PATH TO MY (ONLY) UTOPIA

Chapter 2 - Scent Of Blood

"We're here," said the boy named Kion, he then slowly put down the girl that was saved by him a while ago.

That girl looked around, the floor and wall have a dark brown color and it looked like being made from earth. Not far ahead, there are some plants and maybe a couple of things that looked like parts from an animal. From everything she saw it was to identify that this place was a cave.

"Are you thirsty?" Said Kion from his back. He has a water bag that is made from fur in his hand. That girl doesn't answer, she just sit down quietly in silence with empty eyes.

Watching her condition like that, Kion sit down in front of her. He open the hood on his head and the mask that covers part of his face. He touched her shoulder then said, "you're safe now, those ghouls not gonna hurt you anymore."

She lift her looked at his eyes. his face was full of blemishes, his hair was blue like the moonlit night sky, and his eyes were bright blue like water that was not stained by any dirt.

He doesn't show any emotion when he says it whether it's a smile or something, even so for some reason his words calmed her down.

Finally, she grabbed the water bag. After it, she looked at Kion and then bowed down for a few seconds, she then said, "my name is Aleisha Wylen, thank you for saving my life."

Kion looked at her from up and down. He then said, "I'm not saving you, I just do it for helping myself."

He then turn around and said, "I will go outside for a while, don't go anywhere if you don't want to die."

He then pointed with his finger to a bunch of fruit and some other things not far around it and said, "if you need something to fill your stomach, just pick it from there."

After it, Kion walked away and disappeared under the moonlight. She stared at the place he disappeared for a short time before backing into the cave.

She then came to place inside the cave where a bunch of food was being placed. He looked around the pile of various foods, and then took an apple from it.

She took a bite and started eating it. tasted the sweet and slightly sour taste watering her tongue, the texture of the crunchy and juicy flesh filled her mouth with pleasure after the many bad events that had happened to her.

She finished very fast and begin to choose other fruit and started to consume it while walking around in that place.

While doing it she notices that there is a bunch of metal, wood, cloth in very bad condition.

"Why does he collect all this? Doesn't all this already not worth it in this condition?"

She thought deeply about it, but suddenly her throat felt tightness and pain, and started coughing.

"Water! Where is water?!"

She casts her eyes in all directions looking for where the water is. After searching for a few seconds, her eyes focused on two bowls with dark gray colors that piled each other.

She picked it up and open it and found fresh water inside of it. Without hesitation, she gulped it down right away

until there is not a single drop of water left in it.

"Haahh ...."

She close her eyes and take a deep breath, and after it, her eyes focused on the bowl in her hand.

"Why do I feel this thing looks similar to something I know?"

He brought it close to his face then smelled it carefully, the fishy smell slowly entered his nose. She also closes her eyes while doing that, and recalls where she ever find that smell.

A minute has left and she finally remembered what was that smell and quickly threw that bowl away.

Her eyes open widely and her body shakes very intensely. She looked at that bowl with eyes full of fear and horror.

"Wh-why ...? Why does that thing have something like that?!"

She has been remembered where has been that scent from. It was still really clear in her mind, not long before in the middle of her way, she was suddenly attacked by ghouls.

At that time there are many people with her, releasing that smell make her surrounded by that fishy scent. It was a scent of something that all humans have, the smell of blood.

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In the other place inside the forest, Kion was sitting down on the side of a falling tree. He was looking at the light blue transparent screen in front of him. On that screen, there was some text with white color that still he read.

[Mission List]

1. Collect animal meat (20/20)

2. Collect Herb (19/20)

3. Find daggers (0/2)

4. Exterminate the Ghouls (67/100)

5. Save the girl trapped in the forest (1/1)

He then touch on all the missions that were already been accomplished. After that those two missions disappeared from the screen, leaving only three that are still not clear yet.

He looked closely to mission number one that before was number three on the list, find daggers.

"What exactly the thing called daggers is? Why I can not find it anywhere?" Said himself.

That mission already he received two months ago and from that time he already explores many places inside this forest. But, he still can not find it and truthfully he doesn't know how it looks.

He just wandered around and just relied on intuition, luck, and the system as before.

Tiinngg ...!

A familiar voice sounded in his head. He quickly turn his head around for a while and stopped his eyes on the grass not far from his place.

That grass looked not different from other grass he meet before, but there is a smaller version of a light blue transparent screen on it. On that screen, there is a text written herbal in it.

He walked towards that herb and then pick it. After it, the same voice as before rang in his head and mission number one disappeared, leaving only two missions. He then kept that herb under his cloak.

Then he moved his head in another direction toward a place in the forest that has a bunch of little screens with ghoul on it.

"Target," said Kion without any emotions in his voice. He then stepped on his feet and start running to that place.

While running in the middle of the way, Kion discovers a river that has not big. He stopped beside it and then jumped to a stone in the middle of the river.

He bit his finger until it bleeds then dipped it in the water. After that, he focused his eyes on the screen with ghoul text in it, that a mile ahead.

At first, those screens were still in their place, but after five minutes started to move slowly closing to the river stream ahead and finally, after more than ten minutes all of them moved fast to his place.

He closes his eyes and then act like a stone, doesn't move his body even for a single inch.

Fifteen minutes...

The splashing sound of water starts being caught by his ear, but he doesn't give concerns and still become a stone.

Twenty minutes...

The sound of splashing water becoming more strong, but he still not moving even for only an inch.

Thirty minutes...

"Larrrlll!"

The familiar sound that almost every day he heard started to sound from not far ahead.

Forty minutes...

Numerous ghouls could be seen ahead of him, their distance is less than thirty meters but he looks like just ignore them.

Finally, when their distance only left five meters, Kion open his eyes, and then with a low voice he said, "bloom."

From under the water, dozens of ice thorns that look like a wonderful rose suddenly appear. But that wonderful image can not erase the terrifying image of countless body parts from the ghouls and the fishy smell of blood.

1. Find daggers (0/2)

2. Exterminate the ghouls (87/100)

A few drops of blood fell on his face, but he only glanced at it for a few seconds before ignoring it.

"I think it's enough tonight."

He then jumped back to the ground and walked away from that place. At the same time, the ice on the river began to c***k and make noises. The sound grew louder as the cracks spread and finally the ice exploded into white dust which disappeared without a trace along with all the ghouls that Kion killed.