Chương 23: Hunted

Joe watched the orange surface of the gate ripple for a few moments before he sat back down next to his egg. He popped one last healing pill into his mouth and waited for the last of his burn scars to disappear. This took only one hour. He was now fully healed and back to normal. He sighed and brought up his new quest. Congratulations Progenitor. You have been given a new quest! Two-part quest: First part: To start this quest, you must ensure all your party members enter a Gate.

Second part: Your actions in Mumbai have not gone unnoticed. Your fight was seen by a Beast known as the Devious Synthetora. This is one of India's Boss Beasts currently inhabiting Odisha's region. It has sent three immortal Toll Hounds to kill you; they will appear at your location in exactly nine minutes and thirty-two seconds. These Hounds cannot be killed or damaged in any way. They will never rest and will hunt you until they kill you.

The only way to escape is to kill the Devious Synthetora before the hounds kill you first. The Devious Synthetoras' location will be added to your mini-map. The Devious Synthetora is badly injured due to backlash from performing the ritual of summoning. Good Luck, Progenitor. Task - Survive Reward - Your Survival Joe adjusted the straps on his bag, ensuring the egg was secure before setting off at a steady jog toward the Devious Synthetora. His breaths were heavy on his chest.

The egg pulsed faintly against his back, its hum a low, unsettling reminder of the countdown ticking away in his mind. Seven minutes. His breathing was even, but his heart pounded louder than his steps. Passing a fruit tree, he grabbed a piece of fruit and bit into it, its sweetness a brief distraction. The egg hummed again, more insistent now, like a heartbeat speeding up. Six minutes. The pulse from the egg surged, this time laced with a sharp, jarring note of fear. Joe clenched his jaw and pushed it aside.

He finished the fruit, wiping the juice from his mouth. Five minutes. His muscles ached for release, for the burst of speed he'd need when the time came. Not yet, he told himself. Conserve your strength. He stayed at his measured pace. Four minutes. The air felt different now, dense, stifling. Sweat dripped steadily down his face, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. The egg pulsed harder this time, and the worry it radiated now was nearly overwhelming. Three minutes.

Joe's eyes burned, unblinking as he stared straight ahead. His focus was absolute, but the world around him seemed sharper, too sharp. A Cocodine darted out from the undergrowth, snarling as it lunged. Without breaking stride, he leapt, his foot connecting with the beast's side, sending it sprawling. His pace remained steady. Two minutes. His clothes clung to him, soaked in sweat. The air around him pressed against his lungs. His heart thundered in his chest, each beat a warning drum.

The egg pulsed again, sharp and unrelenting. One minute. Joe quickened his pace, his steps growing more urgent. His heart pounded violently, threatening to burst free. The egg's pulse changed, steady, insistent, thrumming with something unfamiliar: determination. He clung to that, using it to drown out his growing panic. Thirty seconds. He was sprinting now, the rhythm of his feet kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake. His hands gripped the straps of his bag tightly, his knuckles white with strain. Ten seconds…

The egg's pulse shifted again, vibrating with raw fear, and Joe's own matched it, the two syncing in perfect, terrifying harmony. Five… Four… The air cracked. Three… Two… The egg's hum hit a crescendo, a desperate echoing in his chest. One… __ Three shadows materialized behind the man sprinting desperately across the plains east of Mumbai. In an instant, they morphed into towering forms, three jet-black hounds, each over ten meters long.

Their obsidian teeth gleamed menacingly in the harsh sunlight, and their fur, razor-sharp and shifting like liquid blades, rippled across their powerful frames. Padded paws struck the earth with a thunderous rhythm, their immense weight leaving deep impressions in the soil as they surged forward in pursuit of their prey. On a nearby hilltop, two women froze, their breaths caught in their throats. The beasts' sheer size and unnatural grace were terrifying, almost hypnotic.

They exchanged a single glance, silent and filled with understanding, before turning and running in the opposite direction. Whoever that man was, they could only hope the gods had mercy on him because nothing else would. __ Joe had never run like this before, not at full speed, not with everything he had. There had never been a reason to. He always matched his pace to those he travelled with, content to hold back. Under different circumstances, letting loose might have thrilled him. But not today.

Today, all he could think about was how impossibly slow he felt. The moment the hounds materialized behind him, an icy dread had gripped his chest. For the third time in his life, he truly believed he was going to die. The thought burned in his mind, relentless. He clung to a fragile hope: maybe he was faster. Perhaps he could outpace them, reach the Devious Synthetora, and buy himself enough time to kill it. He wasn't even close. They weren't slower than him.

The hounds easily matched his every stride, their jet-black forms gaining ground with a terrifying inevitability, a creeping shadow of death at his heels. His chest heaved. Panic clawed at him, clouding his thoughts. What could he do? What should he do? His mind offered no answers, only his fate's raw, overwhelming certainty. He wasn't going to make it; He was going to die. __ Jaswinder sat upon a roof in the northern part of Badlapur. The city had been quite lucky when the beasts arrived in India.

Most buildings still stood, and the city now had a significant military presence. Most of the inhabitants were refugees from Mumbai. They had constructed a wall quickly, making defending the city much more manageable. She guessed at least two million people were living inside the walls. She heard a whistle from her left and whistled back. The whistle indicated that something was passing just north of the city. It was weird that she could understand a whistle as well as she could speak.

It was a skill of the person who did the whistling. She heard another, more prolonged whistle, this time. She got up and dashed to the wall north of her position. The whistle told her it was a man creating a huge dust cloud and that she should come and see the sight before it passed by. When Jaswinder arrived at the wall, she looked north at the dust cloud that was now easily seen. What she saw made her gasp. It was a man wearing a cloak which billowed out behind him. He also had a large bag on his back.

This, however, was not the cause of her gasp. It was the three gigantic dogs chasing him. They were pitch black, and her eyes could not focus on them. She was terrified just from looking at them, even though they were hundreds of metres away. She saw one get close enough to leap at the man. Her hands shot to her mouth in horror, but at the last moment, he flipped over the dog's claws and gnashing mouth, twisting his body and delivering a kick to the beast's shoulder, causing it to crash to the ground.

He landed and kept running, not looking back for a second. Then, a second dog came into range and tried to bite the man's leg. It succeeded, latching onto him. She watched as the man twisted in its grasp and placed a hand on its head, which then exploded with mana, and the beast was blown to the side. But before the man could land, the third dog was on him. Its head crashed into his body, and they both tumbled to the ground, rolling. The man kicked out and bounced up off the ground.

The dog doing the same, and they met in the air again; the man delivered a spinning punch to the dog, sending it flying to the side. He twisted, landed on his feet, and continued running. Within seconds, all three dogs gave pursuit. She had to blink. Had all of that just happened? Everything had occurred over the space of about five seconds. The man ran even faster, but the dogs were catching up. The group then disappeared behind some trees and out of sight.

Jaswinder turned to the woman next to her, their eyes meeting.

"Did that just happen?" she asked. The woman next to her nodded.

"We need to inform the general," Jaswinder said, heading towards the city's centre. During that brief moment of chaos she had witnessed, she was able to use Identify on the running man. The only thing she remembered seeing was the word "Progenitor." __ Joe breathed out in relief as he ran. When the hound bit down on his leg, he thought it was over. But a burst of adrenaline had enabled him to move fast enough to mana blast the hound away. Its teeth had not penetrated through his Mana-Coating.

But that came at the cost of a huge chunk of his mana. Which meant he could survive, only as long as his mana held out. He looked at his mana bar at the bottom of his vision. One-quarter of it was missing now. That was the fourth tussle with the hounds he had survived. At this rate, he'd be out of mana by sunset in a couple of hours. That was not good, not good at all. He glanced back; the hounds were about thirty metres behind. He had not gotten much free ground after that brawl. He swore to himself.

But he had a plan now, or rather a hope. There was a river just up ahead. He could see it; it was very wide in front of him, too wide for him to jump, which he hoped meant it was too wide for the hounds to jump. He prayed that they were slow swimmers and that he could put some space between them when he crossed the river. What else could he do? Joe reached the river just as the nearest hound closed in on him, its snarl echoing in his ears. He pushed himself harder. Without hesitation, he leapt.

His legs coiled with every ounce of strength he could muster. The hound mirrored his move, launching itself after him with terrifying precision. The beast's jaws gaped wide mid-air, and Joe twisted to face it, his hand snapping up.

"Mana Blast!" he shouted, his voice breaking with desperation. The mana collided with the hound at point-blank range, enough force to send the beast veering off course. Joe splashed into the river, his arms breaking the surface first. The impact stung, but instinct kicked in, and he was able to pull himself into a half-dive. The cold water enveloped him; it only took a moment for him to orient himself and kick his way to the surface. As he breached, gasping for air, he scanned his surroundings. No hounds.

A quick glance back revealed the other two Beasts standing rigid at the river's edge, their glowing eyes locked on him. They didn't jump. They just watched. Joe took a shaky breath, diving beneath the surface to search for the third hound. The murky water blurred his vision, but he caught sight of a dark, thrashing shape struggling against the current. Relief bloomed in his chest as he swam towards the opposite shore. He reached the edge, dragging himself up, water streaming off him.

As he sat up, catching his breath, he squinted at the remaining two hounds, their massive forms trailing the riverbank south, searching for a crossing. The hounds could not swim. That had been a massive stroke of luck. He had no idea how far they would run to find a crossing point on the river. He didn't care in that moment. He was just happy for the break. As he climbed to his feet and started jogging east, he was pleased to hear a familiar ding in his mind. Ding!

Profession Nature's Custodian has reached level 25 - stat points distributed. He immediately dumped all his free points into Agility. He now had five hundred and four Agility minus the bonus from his gear. He used this chance to recover and catch his breath while still jogging fast enough to keep heading toward the Synthetora at a good pace. He planned to return to a full sprint as soon as his legs felt better. The more time he spent running without those hounds directly behind him, the better.

He was still running as fast as a car could drive on a motorway. It was exhilarating. The egg pulsed a feeling that felt like a pat on the back.

"Thanks," He replied. It pulsed warmth. Joe's good mood at the relief of getting some distance between him and the hounds only lasted a short while. He was nowhere near safe by any means. He glanced at his mini-map and saw the dot of the Synthetora gently flashing. It was marked as one thousand five hundred and thirty-four kilometres from him. That number was enough to remove any smile from his face.

How in the hell was he supposed to run that far, survive running that far, and immediately fight a Boss Beast while three immortal hounds tried to kill him? He had absolutely no idea. __ Drishti sat at a desk with a book in her hands. It was a book on the theory of overwhelming negotiation techniques. When she first entered the profession gate, she had to spend twenty minutes calming an angry Esha, who had cursed Joe's name nonstop.

After that, they walked to a central unoccupied room and were greeted by a new screen showing a list of possible professions, descriptions, and benefits. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She had decided to choose the Negotiator profession. It gave her skills that improved public speaking, business dealings, and negotiation. She had been a business major in university, so this felt like a good choice for her.

It also had a small bonus to experience gain, which would help her level her class. Afterwards, she entered a new room, leaving Esha and Samira behind to go to their respective profession rooms. She had spent most of her time inside reading books or watching holograms depicting the skills she had been given. If her university back home had been this advanced, she would have passed all her classes within a year. Learning here was incredibly easy and intuitive. She smiled until she got a shocking system message.

Party host Joseph Caldwell has moved too far from your location. You have been removed from the party. __ In a small village called Khutal Baragaon, Inderpal sat at a fire just outside the wall around the village. The sun had just set, and it was her job today to light the fires around the village. They had learned a few months ago that night fires generally helped keep the beasts away and discouraged them from attacking.

No one knew exactly why this was the case, as the beasts were not scared of fire at all during the day. She guessed it was just one of those weird things a person learned now. As she got to her feet, she saw movement to the north. It looked like a man out running.

"Wow, he is moving fast," Inderpal muttered. She used Identify, and her jaw dropped.

"Progenitor," she ran back to the wall and messaged one of the other guards. By the time she returned to the fire, the Progenitor was gone. She returned to her patrol route. After about thirty minutes more, an indescribable sense of dread flooded into her. Her eyes darted frantically, but she didn't see anything. She looked north, to the direction the Progenitor had run. She thought she caught signs of movement. Two huge shadows disappearing into the distance. She shook her head. She must be seeing things.

__ Approximately four hours after the sun had set, a lone figure sprinted into the small town of Risod in central India, two huge shadows at its heels. The figure ran into the remains of a small two-story building. The shadows close behind smashed through the walls as they galloped in pursuit. The loud noise of battle rang across the town, waking a few inhabitants hiding in smaller buildings to wait out the night. Then, a massive explosion rocked the entire town. A vast smoke pillar rose into the night sky.

For those who were looking, only one noticed a man emerge from the east side of the town, exiting at a fast run. Ten minutes later, two shadows exited in the same direction and resumed their hunt. Joe blinked as the sun started to emerge on the horizon before him. He had survived the night, somehow. He was shocked, really. But most of all, he was tired. However, he did not stop running because… he glanced back at the two hounds. His friends did not let him. They would never let him stop.

He ran on, noticing a third black dot on his mini-map about ten miles behind him. The third hound was back, and it was coming. Joe popped a mana pill into his mouth, restoring a quarter of his dwindling mana bar, and prepared himself for the next attack and how he would make space this time. He really hoped he would come across another river soon. Please, India, Vishnu. Please let there be a river nearby.

Joe's prayer was answered roughly one hour later when he reached the small town of Mudaza, which was built right next to a river heading north to south, right across his path. He was so excited to see it that he activated Nature's Step. Suddenly, the river appeared before him, and using his momentum, he jumped into the air and dove in head first. A few minutes later, he emerged on the other side as the three hounds skidded to a halt, eyes of darkness locked on him. He collapsed onto his knees, breathing deeply.

"Holy shit," His legs were seconds from giving out. The river had appeared at just the right moment. He pulled himself into a seated position and faced back towards the river. The hounds didn't move; they just watched him. He took that as a sign to rest finally. He'd been running nonstop for a long time. How long? He had no idea. Was it twelve hours? More? It felt like more. He breathed deeply, massaging his legs, never taking his eyes off the hounds.

He sat there for about one hour when one of the hounds started to move. This time, they started heading north. Joe immediately got to his feet and began to jog southeast. The hounds returned to a gallop, and Joe sped up as they disappeared from his sight, time to make as much distance as he could without going too far off target. The Synthetora was directly east of him, seven hundred kilometres away. Ding! Profession Nature's Custodian has reached level 26 - stat points distributed.

Joe's Agility took another leap as he put ten more free points into it. The difference in running speed between him and the hounds had shrunken even smaller now. So much so that it took them nearly six hours to appear on the horizon behind him; Joe increased his speed and was now sprinting across India once again. His mana bar was full once more. His legs rejuvenated. He had a spark of hope. For the first time, he thought he might actually do it; he might survive this hell quest. That was until he saw it.

The dot on his mini-map moved for the first time. The Synthetora was up, and it was moving away from him. __ The Synthetora stretched as it finally healed most of the damage that had been done to its body. Its right arm and leg had grown back, and it could now stand up. It tested the new leg, putting weight on it. It was sore; it could not move as well as when it was in top shape, but it was enough. The Synthetora hopped as it emerged from its cave and jumped to the top of the nearest tree.

It beat its chest and let out a loud, nasal, squealing sound. The Synthetora was a giant monkey-like creature with long, gangly limbs and a terrifying, toothy face. It had huge hands and feet on the ends of its limbs. And a three-metre-long tail. It jumped to a nearby tree and swung to the next tree on a branch. Somehow, none of the branches broke under its colossal frame. It started to head east, away from the annoying flashing dot that was still alive and heading straight for it.

__ Joe had spent so much time looking at the unmoving dot that he had completely forgotten it was a living creature and that, at some point, it was likely to start moving. He cursed at the system for giving him this stupid quest. He cursed at the immortal hounds chasing him. But most of all, he swore at himself for getting too comfortable. He had forgotten how unfair things were. Just because he killed a few beasts higher level than him. He vowed that if he survived this quest.

He would never let his ego get too big ever again. Two hours later, he found himself in the city of Dhamtari. There was another river to the south, but he could clearly see two crossing points this time. He would gain little with his usual swimming strategy across, so instead, he headed to one of the bridges, the hounds close behind. Joe skidded to a stop in the middle of the bridge, turning to face the three hounds. He unleashed Mana Blasts around him, striking the bridge and shaking its foundations.

The structure groaned and swayed. He needed to keep the hounds occupied until the bridge gave way. Amid the chaos, Joe spotted a group of people watching from the far side. In a rare pause, he signalled to them, miming an explosion with his hands. They nodded in understanding. He sent two hounds flying with well-aimed blasts, their massive forms skidding across the unstable bridge. Pivoting sharply, he drove another blast directly into the structure beneath him.

A thunderous crack split the air as the bridge buckled. Joe slammed his feet hard, widening the damage, but the hounds didn't relent. Two leapt toward him, and he met them head-on, his mana draining rapidly. He was running out of time. An explosion came suddenly, a deafening roar from the far side of the river. Joe's head whipped around as he avoided the leaping hounds to see the group detonating the bridge's supports. The collapse rippled toward him like falling dominoes.

Bracing himself, he leapt just as the bridge beneath him crumbled, plunging into the river below. Two hounds fell with it, swallowed by the churning water. The third, however, managed to cling to a precarious piece of rubble, its glowing eyes fixed on him. Joe dove into the river and swam as fast as his exhausted body would allow. Surfacing near the riverbank, he glanced at his map. The remaining hound's dot barely moved, trapped on sinking debris. Relief surged through him as he dragged himself onto land.

The group hurried over, their faces etched with concern and admiration.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much of a help that was," Joe gasped between heavy breaths.

"It was nothing stranger," a tall woman with a ponytail said.

"What are they? I cannot identify them." She looked back at the lone hound, which was now splashing as the rubble it was on sank.

"I have no idea, but don't worry. They only want me. They won't harm anyone else if you stay away from them," Joe said. He caught his breath and then started to head east.

"Are you going?" The woman asked.

"I have to go. The water won't stop them forever. They will come out soon, and I cannot be anywhere near when they do." He approached the woman and shook her hand.

"I'm Joe, by the way. Here." He pulled out some fruit and cooked meat from his storage. The meat was still hot; it stayed in its cooked state when it entered his storage. The woman's eyes lit up as she took the food.

"A small token of my thanks. I really have to go, or I would do more," he ran off as the group shared a look before gazing at the food they had been left with. After five minutes, all the food had mysteriously disappeared into empty bellies. It took Joe around ten hours to enter the Hindol-Badamba Forest Range and the territory of the Synthetora. The Synthetora, however, was no longer in its territory; it was another eighty kilometres away, dead east. It had been moving slowly but had stopped about an hour ago.

Joe guessed it had chosen a defensive area to wait for him.

"Oh, I am going to kill you, Mr Synthetora," Joe mumbled to himself as he ran through the jungle. Looking at his mini-map, he guessed that when he arrived, he'd have about thirty minutes before the hounds caught up to him and made the fight one hundred times harder. His last battle with the snake had lasted a brief time thanks to his new friends, but now he was alone. Frankly, he did not like the odds of finishing it before the hounds arrived. His options were, of course, limited, though.

A huge factor would be where the boss was waiting for him. Was it in a jungle? Like he was running through right now? Was it near water? When Joe arrived at its location just under two hours later, he smiled. It was smack bang in the middle of Cuttack, a city surrounded by water and broken bridges. __ The Synthetora sat atop the tallest building in the city, where it had stopped. It stared west. The human was right there, on the other side of the water surrounding it, looking for a way across.

Not finding a good place, the human dove into the water. The Synthetora saw it emerge a few moments later and enter its city. It smiled. It was time to end this once and for all. __ Joe slammed into the side of a building, the impact rattling his bones. A second later, the Synthetora crashed into him feet-first, driving him hard against the crumbling wall. Joe barely managed to raise his arms to block the blow, but pain shot through him as the bones in his forearms cracked under the force.

"You damn ape!" he roared, activating Aura Shout. The shockwave sent the beast flying backwards. He grimaced, his chest aching, but he couldn't stop now. He knew his insult wasn't the best, but it didn't matter. The Synthetora's fury made it predictable and reckless every time he said it. The beast roared and charged, swinging its massive hands wildly. Joe ducked under the telegraphed strike and retaliated with a Mana-Coated punch to its side.

The punch landed, sending the Synthetora staggering back against a half-destroyed car. Blood streamed from its wound, but Joe didn't let up. He hammered the beast relentlessly, each blow faster and harder than the last. As the Synthetora slumped momentarily to the ground, Joe stepped back, fists glowing menacingly. He activated Mana Blast but held the skill, pouring in more and more mana; the mana in his palm started to crackle and increase in size.

The Synthetora rose shakily, its glowing eyes burning with rage, its body ruined. It tried to move, but Joe was faster; his hand whipped forward.

"Mana Blast!" Joe yelled. He didn't have to yell the skill name to activate it. He just started doing that because it made the attacks feel more satisfying. The blast struck true, slamming into the Synthetora's face with devastating force. The beast flew backwards, crashing through a wall and into the building behind it. Dust and rubble rained down around its limp body.

"Finally," he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow as he approached to deliver the finishing blow. His body ached, his mana bar flashing low. He'd been fighting the beast for nearly an hour. As he closed the distance, a sudden thought gnawed at him. He hesitated, pulling up his mini-map. He had a moment to react as a large black dot soared towards him. He threw himself to the ground just as massive jaws snapped shut where his head had been a split second before. A hound had appeared out of nowhere.

Its sharp teeth gleamed as it snarled, turning to face him. The backup had arrived. And it couldn't have come at a worse moment. __ The Synthetora blinked. It was in terrible pain and blind. Half its head was completely gone. It tried to get up but could barely move. It heard sounds not far away. Why was it still alive? It thought. Why had the human not finished it off?

It could not see that, at that moment, the human was fighting two giant hounds, trying his hardest to evade the attacks and get a clear shot at the Synthetora. __ Joe glanced at the Synthetora. It lay crumpled inside the ruined building, unmoving. He had it if only he could reach it. His mana was nearly gone, his body broken and battered, and the hounds stood between him and his prey, watching his every move. His left foot twitched. That was enough. One hound lunged, jaws snapping.

Joe ducked and kicked upward, barely managing to push it off course. His strength was almost gone. The second hound pounced at him. Joe activated Seeds Will Grow. Vines erupted from the patches of grass around him, two of them smashing into the hounds and knocking them off balance. He turned toward the prone figure of the Synthetora. With one trembling hand raised, he locked his gaze on the beast.

"Goodbye, you fuck," he spat, harnessing the last of his anger. A blast of shiny mana tore through the air, slamming into what remained of the Synthetora's head. The explosion left a crater where the top half of the beast had lain. Joe collapsed to his knees as two massive forms melted away into shadow. Congratulations Progenitor. Quest complete. You have slain Devious Synthetora level 55. Ding! Class Farmer has reached level 32 - stat points distributed.

For what felt like the first time in over twenty-four hours, Joe closed his eyes and was allowed to rest.

"I did it. I fucking did it," He mumbled to himself in relief.

"I am never going to run ever again." __ Pushpa and Ritika stared in shock at their status screens. They had both levelled up six times while doing nothing but look after a giant red egg.

"He killed the Synthetora," Pushpa said in awe. They had been sitting on the coast just outside Cuttack when they had seen the Synthetora enter the city with a limp as if it had just been in a battle. The rest of their group had returned to the camp to inform the elders of this surprising event. They had wondered what could have possibly hurt the beast. Not long after, a foreigner appeared at their side out of nowhere. A Progenitor named Joe, an English man who spoke Hindi weirdly.

He sent them a party invite, and they were told to accept. He left an egg by their side and told them not to move and not to touch the egg, no matter what. They had been so shocked that they agreed with confused nods. He then went into the city to battle with the Synthetora for nearly an hour. Then, even more shockingly, two massive hounds bigger than any Beasts they had ever seen appeared, looking for a way into the city.

Pushpa had been terrified that they would be killed, but the Beasts completely ignored them and dashed into the city after finding a way across the river. Even with all of that happening, they had received the notification that the Progenitor had killed the beast that had terrorised India since it arrived, killing millions. The nightmare of its existence was over. __ Joe exited the city of Cuttack and made his way across the river that surrounded it.

He found a good crossing point to the north, so he didn't have to swim his way out. Following around the water's edge, he made it back to the spot where he had met the two women looking after his egg. When he reached them, they sat looking at him. He first went to the egg and touched it before he turned his attention to them.

"You can take everything there," Joe waved at the loot the women had received from his boss's kill. They both shook their heads empathically.

"We could never presume to take something that belongs to you." They bowed their heads. Joe sighed.

"How about this? I'll take the meat, fur, and tail. But you both take the two items." They were both about to protest again, but Joe did not let them.

"If you do not take the items, I will be very angry." He let out a little of his Aura. They both shuddered in fear. But they did pick up the two items. Joe picked up his egg and turned to leave.

"Progenitor," One of the women said.

"Yes?" Joe replied.

"Did you really kill the Synthetora?" She asked.

"Yep, it's dead. I'm off to kill the last of the bosses now. Bye," Joe waved as he began jogging off into the distance. The two women just watched him leave, not moving. Barely even breathing.

"Well, that was awkward as fuck," Joe said. The egg hummed in agreement. Some people just acted weird and scared as soon as they saw he was a Progenitor. He had not gone far; he was still sore, and he had a few broken bones that still needed mending. So now, sprawled on the ground about a mile from Cuttack, he wanted nothing more than to stay put for a month. Still, he went through his new loot while he rested. The usual meat and crafting materials. Then he paused. Two new pieces of gear.

That was a pleasant surprise. Did the system give him extra rewards because of how utterly insane that quest had been? He still hated every moment of it. Item - Gloves of Punching. These fingerless gloves are designed for one thing and one thing only. Punching things very hard with your fists. Your punches with these can be infused with your mana and Aura to increase your power exponentially. +50 to strength, Punch of the Fighting Mage. Item - Medallion of the Shadow Hound.???

Joe slid the gloves on and stared at the medallion. It had no description, which was a first. It felt oddly heavy in his hands, and he couldn't tell what it was made of. After a moment, he shrugged and stashed it in his storage.

"It's a future me problem. Current me just wants to heal." The egg wobbled beside him.