I am Just an Average Tamer

Whoosh!

A shadowy figure rushed past the tall, lush green trees.

"Hmm."

Kai halted atop a branch and sized up his surroundings.

'Where is he?'

He thought and vanished from sight.

And reappeared a few hundred meters ahead.

His gaze finally lingered on a group of five who had set up a small makeshift camp in a clearing near the trees.

Kai descended from the tree and slowly began walking toward them.

All of them shifted their attention toward Kai, cutting off their banter.

That was only possible because Kai hadn't concealed his presence—in fact, he was deliberately releasing his aura so even lackeys like them could sense him.

Seeing him approach, they exchanged glances and nodded.

Each of them had their faces covered with masks.

"Hmm, if I'm not wrong, you might be Spiky, right?"

Kai said, now standing in front of them.

"Yeah? And you are?" said a burly man who seemed to be their leader—

especially since the others were scrawny and lean.

Also, Dante had specifically mentioned his name.

"I'm Ghost," Kai said, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket and holding it out to Spiky.

"Here's what you wanted."

Spiky snatched it from him and unfolded it, examining its contents rather than actually reading.

"Perfect," he nodded, handing it off to one of his men.

"And our parcel?" Kai asked, noticing that Spiky hadn't moved from his seat or ordered anyone to bring it.

At Kai's words, Spiky let out a low chuckle, and all of his lackeys shifted their attention toward him.

Though their faces were hidden, Kai could still sense the sly smirks beneath their masks.

'Tch. Here we go again,' he clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"You made a huge mistake coming here alone," Spiky said, as his companions drew their weapons.

"Kill him."

Sigh!

****

Kai twirled a small, wrapped box between his fingers before slipping it into his storage bracelet.

"H-Hey—"

Slap!

Before Spiky could finish, Kai smacked him on the butt.

He was sitting atop a mountain of bodies—those of the rest of Spiky's group—and Spiky's body lay face-down at the very top, making for a makeshift throne.

"But—"

Slap!

Spiky was cut off again by the spank.

"Say one more word, and I won't show you any mercy," Kai said, his tone cold.

But Spiky wasn't done yet.

"I just want to say, 'Hit harder~.'"

Kai's hand, which was just inches from Spiky's buttocks, froze.

"Huh?"

He blinked, momentarily stunned.

Then, in an instant, he shot up and kicked Spiky in the groin.

"Argh!"

Spiky winced in pain, rolling on the ground while clutching his groin.

"Stop fucking playing with me!"

Kai yelled, losing his usual cold composure—the one he'd perfected for this line of work.

Then quickly composed himself.

"Tch."

He clicked his tongue and vanished, as if not wanting to spend another second there.

The sun had dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of deep orange and violet—casting long shadows across the forest floor.

"I might be getting late," Kai muttered as he quickened his pace.

"Fuck."

He abruptly changed direction, as if sensing the presence of some strong individuals.

'Knights? What are they even doing here?'

[<Stealth Activated!>]

[<Stealth: Masks users' presence and Essence. It blends light around the user, rendering them almost invisible to human eye or even detection artifact>]

'Doesn't matter. I need to get away from them as quickly as possible,' he thought, taking a detour.

'It might take a little longer, but it would be safer than crossing paths with those knights.'

Just as he was passing through the forest.

His expression twisted as he realized something—

Even though the sun was dipping, and it was time for the birds to return to their nests...

There was no chirping.

No growls from hungry beasts.

Silence.

Complete silence.

His instincts kicked in.

His breath hitched as he suddenly ducked and rolled to the side—

Whoosh!

A long, sleek black tail slashed through the air, missing him by a hair.

Screech!

Kai narrowed his eyes as he finally caught sight of the intruder.

'Shardstalker Scorpion.'

It was about the size of a wagon. Its body looked sturdy, covered in jagged, crystalline shards that glowed faintly in the twilight.

Two eerie green orbs burned where its eyes should've been.

'A mutated one?' Kai thought, gripping his dagger tighter.

He looked into its eyes for a second then—

He vanished.

Reappeared above its head and slashed down with his dagger

Clang!

Shardstalker Scorpion's tail shot up, deflecting the strike mid-air.

Kai landed nearby, crouched.

[<It's not a mutated one.>]

'What? Care to explain?'

[<Look closely, mutated ones have obsidian scales, not crystalline. And though this one is quite sturdy, it's still penetrable.>]

Kai quickly backed off, putting some distance between them.

'Then it clearly makes it mutated, not?'

[<No, it's... something else.>]

'What!'

[<I don't know, figure it yourself.>]

'Fuck you!'

The scorpion hissed, its tail twitching like a loaded spring.

Kai didn't wait.

He darted between trees, his steps silent barely brushing the ground.

The beast turned around.

Its crystalline plates scraped against the barks as it lunged.

Whip!

The tail came again.

Fast. Too fast.

Kai dropped flat, slid under a root, and rolled back to his feet.

In one swift motion, he flicked two Senbon needles at its joints.

Ping! Ping!

But—

They bounced off.

The beast gave no reaction.

'Shit. The scales are too thick. Poison won't work unless I hit a weak spot.'

The scorpion charged again.

Trees uprooted—some cracked under its weight.

Kai ducked behind a trunk and pulled out a throwing knife, coated in paralytic.

[<Phantom slash activated!]

Dark energy engulfed his knife, as a familiar blue panel hovered in front of him.

[<Essence coating activated!>]

His hands glowed with white light.

As the beast passed, he slipped around and slashed its hind leg.

The blade cut through, ignoring the defense.

Not deep—but enough.

Screeeech!

It spun, thrashing its tail wildly.

Kai barely jumped out in time—his cloak ripped; shoulder scraped.

"Argh!"

He grunted but kept moving, weaving through trees like a shadow.

'One clean hit and... I would have died.'

He quickly distanced himself, leaning against a giant trunk, he crouched, and held his breath.

'Fuck.'

He cursed, seeing the beast coming towards his direction.

Without waiting a second, he quickly leapt at the branch.

The scorpion prowled below, its tail swaying around.

'Paralysis didn't work. Damn it.'

Kai narrowed his eyes.

Gripping two throwing knives between his fingers.

He leapt—

Flicking both his hand in one fluid motion.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Knives whistled through the air, with deadly precision.

Thunk! Thunk!

One missed.

Bouncing off its hard scales.

But—

The other hit the left eye.

Screeeech!

The beast screeched and thrashed, slamming its tail wildly.

Unluckily, Kai got caught in its outburst and crashed to the ground.

"Urgh!" wind knocked out of him.

He rolled, coughing, and scrambled behind another tree.

The scorpion's movements were slower now.

Sloppy.

'Time to end this.'

He pulled two more senbon—dipped in strong toxin.

Whoosh!

The needles whistled through the air.

And Kai vanished again.

Clang!

But this time, the beast flicked its tail, deflecting the needles.

Meanwhile Kai flickered into view behind the scorpion, striking low with his dagger, glowing with dark energy—aiming for the same injured leg.

Shhk!

The blade dug in—deeper this time.

But the scorpion didn't fall.

Instead, it reared up with a screech.

The shards along its back started glowing, shifting.

Then—

CRACK!

A burst of crystal spikes exploded outward in all directions.

Kai's eyes widened.

'What the—?!'

He twisted, shielded his face, but one shard grazed his side—burning like acid.

He tumbled through the dirt, gritting his teeth as blood soaked into his cloak.

The beast's tail slammed down where he landed—Only to hit empty ground.

Kai reappeared a few meters away, panting, his vision spinning.

'Nope. I'm done.'

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Four more needles shot towards the thrashing beast.

Then, Kai pulled out a small smoke orb and crushed it.

Poof!

Thick, black fog swallowed the clearing.

Clang! Clang!

After deflecting the needles.

The scorpion screeched and stabbed wildly in the thick black smoke, but Kai was already gone—Leaping from branch to branch.

Blood dripping from his wounds, his breath shallow.

quickly.

He vanished into the deeper woods, disappearing in the wind.

Kai finally stopped—Far enough that the screeches had faded into the forest behind him.

He leaned against a tree, panting hard.

"Tch... fucking oversized pincushion."

He cursed under his breath, wiping the blood off his side.

Then, he tapped his storage bracelet, pulling out a small vial, with glowing faint blue liquid.

With one swift motion, he uncorked it and gulped it down.

'Bitter!'

'Damn my luck.'

He pressed a hand against his side as the potion burned through his veins—Knitting flesh just enough to stop the bleeding.

His breath steadied slowly.

Pain dulled. But exhaustion stayed.

With his shoulders still sagging, he turned away and slowly made his way out of the forest—Keeping one hand on his dagger.

Just in case.