The team members were laughing and joking with one another as we continued through the forest.
While they were busy talking, I quietly approached Noctis.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Noctis glanced at me.
“What is it, Nucky?”
“I can’t fight properly.
And I don’t want anyone to see my eyes.”
He looked at my blindfold for a moment before smiling.
“You don’t need to do anything as long as I’m here.”
I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At least I wouldn’t have to reveal my abilities or expose my eyes to these people.
Without saying anything else, I returned to following the team.
For now, staying hidden was more important than showing off my strength.
After all, I had no idea what these people might do if they discovered the truth about me.
And I had no intention of finding out.
After walking for some time, Alex suddenly raised his hand.
“Everyone, stop here.”
The group immediately came to a halt.
Alex glanced around before pointing toward a relatively open area between the trees.
“We’ll hunt the beasts from here.”
Noctis tilted his head.
“Why are we stopping?
What would happen if we went farther?”
Alex looked at him seriously.
“There are Two-Star Beasts in the area ahead.”
Instead of looking concerned, Noctis smiled.
“Then wouldn’t hunting them be more profitable?”
Alex shook his head.
“We aren’t ready to hunt Two-Star Beasts yet.
Fighting one would already be dangerous enough.
If we encounter several, we might not make it back alive.”
Noctis seemed disappointed.
“Oh.”
Alex ignored his reaction and continued giving instructions.
“Let’s rest here for a while.
Afterward, we’ll start hunting.”
Everyone agreed.
We found a relatively safe place beneath some trees and settled down.
Noctis sat beside Alex and immediately started chatting with him about something ridiculous.
I was about to sit down when Heli approached me.
Without asking permission, she sat beside me.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then she suddenly asked, “Can you see?”
I turned my head slightly toward her.
“What do you mean?”
“Your eyes.” She hesitated.
“Can you actually see through that blindfold?”
I remained silent for a moment.
Then I answered honestly.
“I can see everything.”
Heli blinked in surprise.
“Then why are you wearing a blindfold?”
I leaned back against the tree.
“What Noctis told you is true.”
Her expression changed immediately.
“You mean…
you really saw him naked?”
I didn’t answer.
Heli stared at me for several seconds before muttering, “I thought Noctis was joking, too.”
She paused.
“But Noctis never jokes…”
Her voice became strangely serious.
For some reason, she looked more worried than embarrassed.
I wondered what kind of reputation Noctis had earned among these people.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t interested enough to ask.
Heli eventually fell silent and didn’t question me any further.
That suited me perfectly.
About ten minutes later, Alex stood up.
“All right, everyone.
It’s time to hunt.”
The team members rose to their feet and gathered their equipment.
I stood beside Noctis and followed the others into the forest.
We walked for some time before finally spotting three beasts in a clearing.
They were moving between the trees, apparently searching for food.
Alex immediately raised his hand.
“Stop!”
Everyone halted.
Everyone except Noctis.
The moment he spotted the beasts, his eyes lit up.
Without warning, he sprang forward.
“Noctis, stop!” Alex shouted.
But Noctis didn’t even look back.
He charged straight toward the beasts.
The team members exchanged startled glances before rushing after him.
Unfortunately, they were already too late.
Noctis reached the clearing first.
A moment later—
Slash!
Bang!
Thud!
The three beasts collapsed.
The entire encounter lasted only a few seconds.
Noctis stood among their bodies, looking completely satisfied.
I remained where I was.
There was no reason for me to chase after him.
Those beasts couldn’t possibly threaten Noctis.
I’d seen him charge into a group of twenty-five monsters before, and he had emerged without a scratch.
Compared with that, three ordinary beasts were practically nothing.
The others finally arrived.
Alex looked at the dead beasts, then turned toward Noctis with a displeased expression.
Noctis scratched his cheek.
“Sorry, everyone.
It won’t happen again.”
Alex sighed.
“Make sure it doesn’t.”
“Okay!”
Noctis nodded enthusiastically.
Then he looked down at the dead beasts.
“Now, can I eat the meat?”
I stared at him.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
He hadn’t rushed forward because he wanted to demonstrate his strength.
He hadn’t been trying to protect the team, either.
He had simply wanted to eat the meat.
I slowly shook my head.
What a ridiculous man.
Alex glanced at the sky.
“It’s already afternoon.
We should eat before continuing.”
The team immediately began preparing the meat.
As expected, Noctis was the first to start eating.
He took a bite and smiled happily.
“Delicious!”
The others gradually joined him.
I took a few pieces for myself and ate quietly.
The meat wasn’t particularly special, but it was enough to satisfy my hunger.
After we finished eating, I suddenly remembered something Alex had mentioned earlier.
I turned toward him.
“Who are the strongest people in this kingdom right now?”
Alex answered without hesitation.
“The two strongest are Alice and Arthur.”
I remained silent for a moment.
“How many stars do they have?”
“Two Stars.
That’s the peak.”
I froze.
“Two Stars?”
Alex looked at me strangely.
“Yes.
Why?”
“When you told me about them before, they were already Two-Star Awakened.
They haven’t reached Three Stars yet?”
His expression changed.
“Wait.
Don’t you know?”
I frowned beneath my blindfold.
“Know what?”
Alex stared at me as if I’d asked an absurd question.
“You can’t become a Three-Star Awakened inside the Awakened Gate if you only possess Two-Star power.”
For several seconds, I couldn’t respond.
The words echoed in my mind.
You can’t become a Three-Star Awakened inside the Awakened Gate.
Then how had I managed it?
More importantly, how had I awakened after entering the Two-Star Gate?
My circumstances made no sense.
I had completed Bink’s special quest, killed five hundred One-Star Monsters, and awakened as an Assassin with Shadow Power.
Yet there were apparently rules that should have made my current situation impossible.
I slowly turned away from Alex.
Nobody could see my expression through the blindfold, but I knew my thoughts were becoming increasingly complicated.
I needed answers.
And there was only one person I could ask.
“Noctis.
Come with me.”
He looked up from his food.
“Hmm?
What happened?”
“Just come with me.”
For once, Noctis didn’t ask another question.
He stood up and followed me away from the group.
Before we could go very far, Alex called after us.
“Don’t wander too far from the camp!”
I ignored him.
Once we were far enough away that the others couldn’t hear our conversation, I stopped.
“Is what Alex said true?”
Noctis looked at me.
“Which part?”
“That someone with Two-Star power can’t become a Three-Star Awakened inside the Awakened Gate.”
Noctis fell silent.
I continued before he could respond.
“If that’s true, how did I reach this level of power?
And how was I able to awaken through the Two-Star Gate?”
For the first time in a while, Noctis didn’t immediately answer with a joke.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“I don’t know for sure, either.”
I stared at him.
“You don’t know?”
He shook his head.
“I didn’t understand it myself.
That’s why I never told you about it.”
I remained silent.
Noctis was powerful, mysterious, and seemed to know far more about this world than he was willing to admit.
If even he didn’t understand what had happened to me, then the situation was more complicated than I’d expected.
We stood beneath the trees for a while, each lost in our own thoughts.
Finally, Noctis shrugged.
“There’s no point worrying about something we don’t understand yet.
We’ll see what happens.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Fine.” This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
It wasn’t a satisfying answer.
But it was the only one we had.
We turned around and headed back toward the camp.
When we returned, nobody asked where we’d gone or what we’d discussed.
Perhaps the team members understood that everyone had their own secrets.
Or perhaps they simply didn’t care.
Either way, I was grateful for their silence.
We rested for a little longer before Alex finally stood up.
“All right.
Let’s continue hunting.”
Everyone finished packing their belongings, and we returned to the forest.
Unfortunately, our luck wasn’t particularly good.
We searched for nearly an hour but couldn’t find a single beast.
Alex looked increasingly dissatisfied as he examined the surrounding area.
“Something’s wrong.
We shouldn’t stay here any longer today.”
The team members began preparing to return.
Then—
ROOOOOAAAAARRR!
A deafening roar echoed through the forest.
The sound was so powerful that several birds burst from the treetops and fled into the distance.
Everyone immediately stopped moving.
Alex’s expression changed.
“Nobody do anything reckless!
Everyone, head west!”
The team began moving at once.
Noctis, however, suddenly appeared beside me and started circling me while calling out in a cheerful voice.
“Princess Carrie!
Princess Carrie!
It’s time to run!”
I ignored him.
“Is it a serious problem?”
Noctis stopped beside me and shook his head.
“Not for us.”
He glanced toward the others.
“But it will be a problem for them.”
I turned my attention toward the direction of the roar.
“How many beasts are coming?”
“About twelve.”
My expression remained unchanged.
“How many stars?”
“Two-Star Beasts.”
I fell silent.
Twelve Two-Star Beasts.
Even if I could escape, the others might not be so fortunate.
I wasn’t interested in risking my life for strangers.
However, watching them die when there was a chance to save them could create unnecessary problems later.
Besides, Alex and the others hadn’t treated us badly.
I had no particular reason to abandon them.
“Then maybe I won’t be able to escape, either,” I said.
Noctis smiled.
“We can escape.”
He paused, then added casually, “They can’t.”
I looked toward the team.
Alex was already directing everyone toward the west, but I could tell that the situation was becoming dangerous.
“Then we have to save them.”
Noctis’s smile faded slightly.
“I know.
But they probably won’t agree.”
“I’ll try anyway.”
I turned toward the others.
“If we leave them behind, they’ll die.”
Noctis sighed as though I’d given him an annoying assignment.
“Fine.
Try it.”
He walked ahead of me toward the group.
When we reached the others, Alex immediately turned toward us.
“What are you two doing?
We need to leave!”
Noctis smiled at him.
“If you want to live, leave first.”
Alex frowned.
“What are you planning to do?”
“Save you.”
For a moment, Alex simply stared at him.
Then he shook his head firmly.
“No.
I’m staying with you.”
I stepped forward before Noctis could respond.
“Alex, if you stay with us, you’ll only make things more difficult.”
He turned toward me.
I continued calmly.
“Nothing will happen to us.
Trust me.”
Alex hesitated.
He clearly didn’t believe that two people could safely deal with twelve Two-Star Beasts.
But he also understood something else.
If he refused to leave, the other team members would refuse to abandon him.
They would stay behind, too.
And if that happened, everyone might die together.
Alex clenched his fists.
After a long silence, he finally nodded.
“Fine.
But don’t do anything reckless.”
I said nothing.
Noctis simply smiled.
The distant roars grew louder.
The beasts were approaching.
And soon, the forest would become a battlefield.