The sun, which was high up in the sky when Marie first departed, was now slowly descending upon the tall, green pine trees.
The bright golden rays cast shadows amidst the thick forest along with speckles of visible dust floating along the soft breeze.
It was quiet, except for the occasional chirping of birds and the surroundings remained unmoved, save for the lone lithe figure nimbly making its way through with their dark red cloak covering their movements. Like a wandering spirit.
Marie had already been traveling for five hours and covered a lot of ground. He was ahead of schedule.
During those hours he had tried out the many weapons he had brought with him to get more used to them. Surprisingly, his aim was very accurate, probably due to the combined effect of the original's memories and the Master Swordsman Skill.
[System: Host just has really good aptitude~ #MyHostUnderestimatesHimselfSometimes #WhatToDo #HowToRaiseMyHost'sConfidence #Gasp #WillThisBeDetrimentalToMyHost? ]
Marie looked up to the sky, seeing it darken he decided to make camp soon. He didn't make a fire as that would alert others in the dark night, plus he had his cloak to keep himself warm. Using the original's memories, he foraged for some edible berries, nuts, and plants.
Unexpectedly, the original Marie is a pescatarian. He eats fish but won't eat the meat of other animals. He was a kind of black sheep in this society. Where good meat was a luxury and he could easily hunt for them, but he doesn't like killing animals. Which brings us to the main focal point that makes him the main character, besides his background.
The original Marie felt no hatred for werewolves, he only killed the ones that attacked him first. If they don't, he leaves them alone. He'd rather stay away, which made him more elusive and mysterious.
Marie thought, There's always a main plot task that essentially becomes a game changer, such as when I led Aiden to Princess Briar Rose, or when I took Snow White's place as the fairest in the last world. According to the history of this world and Marie's attitude, is the main goal "to dissolve the hatred between humans and werewolves"?
Just as Marie thought this a holographic screen appeared in front of him,
[Hidden Plot Task identified. Unite the humans and werewolves. +7000 points. Accept or Decline? ]
Marie was surprised by the sudden futuristic screen appearing out of thin air.
On the other hand, Jing was brimming with excitement. The little crystal orb was flying around and creating/throwing confetti.
[System: HostHostHost!!! ✯⸜(ّᶿ̷ധّᶿ̷)⸝✯ This is a Hidden Plot Task!╰(✧∇✧)╯ Host is great! All hail Host~!!! My host is the smartest! We are so lucky~!!!Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ]
Marie: Jing, calm down.
He had to take a moment to clear his head because of Jing spamming his excitement to him.
"What's a Hidden Plot Task?" He asked.
[System: A Hidden Plot Task is exactly as the name entitles. It's when Host finds an unknown variable in the world and identifies it that a Hidden Plot Task is activated. Though they're very rare and the reason for that is because they give many bonuses! They reward more points and best of all, there are no penalties if you do not succeed! Host you must accept!!! ]
Hearing the benefits, how could Marie not take this cake that had fallen from the sky? So he accepted.
[Hidden Plot Task. Accepted. ]
The screen disappeared and Jing went off into the Magic Space to celebrate more quietly and mindfully not disturb his host.
Right now he had a trial to complete, so Marie decided to think about a plan when he got to headquarters.
He stopped, using his sharp senses to observe his surroundings before skillfully climbing up a tall tree and landing himself on a large branch. Not too high, since he's afraid of heights.
Even from there he could see the bright stars in the night sky.
He wrapped the cloak more tightly around himself, carefully holding the basket to his chest as he gradually dozed off into a light sleep in case of an attack.
. . . . .
It was early morning, nearly dawn, when Marie was on his way again. He snacked on some wild blueberries and white clover flowers as he continued to travel east.
Along the way he was starting to get dehydrated so he carefully listened for any sounds of water nearby, when he didn't, he expertly followed some animal tracks and lush vegetation until he successfully found a large creek.
Filling up his water bag, he saw a flash of silver swim past. There were many native fish swimming around and it was also conveniently lunch time.
His tummy grumbled.
Drinking some water, he hung his cloak and basket on a nearby branch and got to work. It didn't take much time or effort as he just accurately threw small knives. Soon he had a bagful of freshly caught fish.
Just as he was turning around to get his things and leave he was suddenly face to face with a bear.
Not even a meter away was an abnormally large black bear in front of him. It's fur was thick and matted but there was a strange smell coming off of it that gave him bad vibes. Its eyes looked glazed over and white foam was spilling from its mouth.
Marie: Is it sick?
Marie knew he wouldn't be able to outrun it but maybe it would leave peacefully?
ROARRRRR!!!
Or maybe not.
The bear charged at him with its jaws open for the kill, its heavy and surprisingly swift paws making the ground tremble with each step.
Marie immediately pulled out his gun from his boot and shot at it with a calm posture, the loud bang! sound reverberated around them. The silver shell casings clinking as they drop to the floor.
Maybe it was the illness, but the bear was more agile and the bullets missed his forehead and hit its shoulders, yet it still continued to charge at Marie. With no choice Marie ran up the closest tree, and jumped off right after as the bear crashed into and knocked it down with a humongous paw.
Marie received a large gash across his chest and gracefully flipped in midair while also aiming at the back of the head of the bear as it was currently turned the other way and wide open.
He shot, and it hit, making the bear stiffen before finally falling down with a loud thump.
Marie collapsed on his knees holding his chest. He had an extremely high risk of infection, he needed immediate medical attention.
[System: AHHHHHHH!!! HOST IS BLEEDING!!! MY HOST IS BLEEDING!!! ]
Marie chuckled at the loud and concerned voice in his mind. Makes me wonder how he reacted back in the first world. . .
"Jing I'm fine, I have a medical kit with me."
He pulled out a small box from his boots.
[System: Ah? Didn't he just pull out a gun from the same boot? ]
Jing calmed down and started to drool as Marie took off his shirt to reveal an erotic chest that contained smooth abdominal muscles and small mermaid line, the gruesome red gash only seemed to look appealing among the milky white complexion.
Marie carefully wiped the gash with water and applied medicine as he winced. He wasn't used to the pain.
He was going to put his shirt back on after bandaging his chest but suddenly didn't see the point as it was thoroughly shredded and filthy.
He decided to try out the new gift his lover gave him.
"Jing, how do I use the magic mirror?"
[System: Host only needs to summon it by name and imagine the outfit you want then it will automatically appear. ]
"Alright" Marie replied. He willed the mirror to appear in his mind and a flash of light revealed the magic mirror that was previously hanging in the Magic Space.
He thought for a second then decided on his outfit. Just as he decided, sparkles of light appeared on his body and the imagined outfit slowly replaced the original.
Marie's new outfit was a-
(We'll let our male lead describe it for us later~)
Marie was very satisfied by the quality and silently thanked his lover again for such a convenient gift.
He put on his red cloak and grabbed the basket once more. Earlier, he had to go south to get to the river. When he looked around, he found that the bear actually chased him even more down south.
South. Where most humans didn't dare to go.
Marie disposed of his clothes and just departed east from there.
He was going at a fast pace, already one-third of the way, when he suddenly caught a strange scent in the air. No, not strange. Familiar.
It was the smell of blood.
Werewolf blood.
Marie's steps became even more silent like a ghost. Using assassination techniques he stalked his way closer to the scent. What he saw made his eyes flash with a hint of surprise.
A few ways from his position was a large furry figure on the ground, the stench of blood thick in the area.
He walked closer, the figure raised its head in alertness.
It snarled in warning when it realized he was a human, trying to get up but struggling.
Marie thought it was beautiful. The large wolf would reach his height if on all fours, it had gorgeous dark chocolate colored fur, and intelligent, charming brown eyes.
One human and the other werewolf. They were considered mortal enemies.
Marie looked closer and saw that the wolf's hind leg was caught between a large bear trap.
Today was obviously not a beary good day for the both of them.
• • • • •
Hayoru: I'm so sorry. I couldn't help it.