Chapter 43: Chapter 43: First Encounter

Sidestepping a tree Reiki was sprinting ahead of the other three who were on his tail, looking behind him he saw not one of them was breathing heavily as they chased him. The leader's expression was still calm as he waited for him to get tired, lowering his upper body by a bit he reached for the ground and grabbed a handful of dirt and two pebbles. One of them started to get closer to him, turning his torso around.

He threw the dirt in his hand at his face and barely avoided a tree. The goon covered his eyes and shouted. "My eyes!" Furiously using his hands to get the dirt off, his eyes had a few lines of red. He shouted. "You little!-. I'm gonna!" He saw he was starting to get left behind and started to run to catch up.

Reiki ran towards the middle of two trees as he used his hand to move the branch as he passed through them, the other goon tried the same thing but was smacked in the face by the branch Reiki pushed out of the way. The goon tore the branch off the tree as he slammed it on the ground and used his foot to grind it into the ground while keeping his cold gaze on him, the other who was left behind passed him as he started to run.

The leader seeing this had a small frown on his face as he narrowed his eyes while running towards Reiki, the first one who got left behind was easily passed by the leader as he ran filled with anger as he slid on the ground kneeling and pulled out a longbow from his pouch. The leader passed him as the goons slide came to a halt, he nodded and shouted. "Aim for his knees!" As he tried to keep up with Reiki, the other goon passed the one with the longbow who was trying to get a good shot on the kid.

Reiki lowered his upper body and started to run even faster, as the one with the longbow pulled back the string with an arrow, he saw the kid jump on top of a branch. As Reiki landed on the branch it started to visibly bend, adding more weight to the branch he jumped towards the nearest branch. All three of them came to a halt as they watched the kid flailing in mid-air as Reiki hugged the tree to stop his momentum, slowly trying to stand up he balanced himself and tried to jump again.

The leader snapped himself back to reality and shouted. "Take the shot!" As he and the other goon started to run towards him, the one with the longbow pulled the string back as he watched Reiki jump from branch to branch, a few adjustments on the bow, a few inches up and half an inch to the right, the goon let go of the string as the arrow was aiming towards him. 

The arrow whistled in the wind as its trajectory was above the branch the kid would land next, Reiki landed on the branch as he squatted, the branch looked like it could break at any moment. The arrow that was aimed for his knee hit his right shoulder as it easily penetrated the brown robe, as it pierced through his skin some blood was coming from the wound with the arrowhead being coated in a thin layer of red.

[System: User has received 474 Damage.]

[System: The user has tier I light bleeding effect. The user will receive 89 damage every 5 seconds.]

Reiki stared at the arrow in his shoulder without an expression, he shouted in pain as he intentionally missed a jump on the branch and fell on the ground with a soft thud, pretending to be flustered as he 'struggled' to get up he started running frantically at full speed without looking back. The leader seeing this shouted. "Use the other one!" As he continued to run after him, the one with the longbow hastily placed it inside the pouch as he ran as fast as he could to catch up. 

The other goon who was behind the leader took his pouch from his waist as he placed both his hands inside and a loud clicking noise made Reiki turn his head around. He thought. That's a heavy fucking crossbow! The crossbow was mostly made out of metal, the goon placed it on the floor facing down and barely managed to pull the bowstring back. 

His eyes widened as he tried to imagine the trajectory of it, he looked at his own body and used his hand to measure. The voice said. [You're here.] Looking in front of him he barely managed to sidestep a tree as he heard the sound of a single heavy click, turning his head around and saw the goon had his back against a tree and was trying to predict his position. 

Reiki gritted his teeth as he pretended to slip as he lost his speed making the goon readjust his aim, the leader shouted. "Take the shot!" Which forced the goon to shoot hastily as the arrow sped across the forest it cleanly pierced his abdomen. The force of the arrow was strong enough to pin his front against a tree as he tried to move he felt a kick behind his head.

[System: User has received 805 Damage.]

[System: The user has tier I light bleeding has changed into tier I bleeding. The user will receive 989 damage every 5 seconds.]

[System: User has bleed 989 Damage.]

His face was bashed against the tree as the leader kept his foot on his head, the leader had a cruel smile and said. "You're a slippery little shit aren't ya?" One of the goons was holding the crossbow with his hand as he laughed and said. "Should've just quietly cooperated, you wouldn't be in this position if you did." 

The last goon who shot the longbow was able to reach them and started laughing along the way. He said. "So, how much are we going to sell him? 1 gold? (¥25,600)" The one holding the crossbow shook his head, the man said. "Are you an idiot? With how long we chased after him, as long as we keep him fed and well trained he'll be worth at least 4 gold. (¥102,400)." 

The leader ignored both of them as he kept his gaze on Reiki, with a growing smile he said. "Not gonna beg for mommy? Looks like I have a tough one on my hands." The man started kicking him in random places.

[System: User has received 685 Damage.]

[System: User has received 986 Damage.]

[System: User has received 842 Damage.]

[System: User has bleed 989 Damage.]

[System: User has received 772 Damage.]

...

Reiki's robe had dozens of footprints on them, he started breathing heavily from the pain he felt every time he was kicked his body moved which made the hole in his abdomen wider, there was already a small puddle underneath his feet, with a small frown the leader said. "I don't know if you're an idiot or brave..." He trailed off seeing his clothes stick to him from the blood, he continued. "But I do know I'll need you to obey." As he kicked him hard at the abdomen next to the arrow.

[System: The user has tier I light bleeding has changed into tier II bleeding. The user will receive 1,435 damage every 5 seconds.]

[System: User has received 1,239 Damage.]

[System: User has bleed 1,435 Damage.]

A large burst of blood came out of his abdomen as he grit his teeth and curled his hands into a fist, his skin slowly started to turn pale as blood started flowing from his abdomen like a faucet. The ground by his feet the puddle was visibly getting larger as the tree he was pinned against had a large amount of blood starting to dry with most of it going down. 

You are reading story Re:World at novel35.com

The leader smiled and said. "That should keep him obedient while he's under our care. Get him off the tree, but keep the arrows in him and don't give him any food and water for the day. It should be enough to make him listen... If not, well, we can always do this again." As the leader moved out of the way with a chuckle, the one who wielded the longbow walked closer to him and pulled out a large iron dagger as he tried to stab the area where the arrowhead was stuck.

The goon was in no hurry to get him off the tree as he carefully stabbed the tree to retrieve the arrow. Reiki heard some faint crackling sound from the distance as a small smirk formed on his face and disappeared the next moment. The goon who leisurely taking his time was struck by an arrow on his left shoulder, his shoulder was decimated by an arrow that left a thin trail of white as it made a clean hole through the tree. 

The goon let out a hysteric scream at the top of his lungs as he used his right hand to stop the bleeding as he watched his left hand drop to the floor, the other two were staring at the hand on the floor in disbelief. Reiki heard a faint crackling sound from the distance and another arrow that left a thin layer of white left a large hole on the goons left abdomen who was holding the crossbow. The leader narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the tops of the trees, he took a few steps forward and raised his hands in surrender.

He said. "Wait! I know this looks bad, but I can easily explain myself. This kid pinned against the tree over there is a thief, he stole something from us and we were just getting what belongs to us." There was only silence other than the sound of the wind blowing. The leader narrowed his eyes as a thin blue ring appeared in them as he looked around, he placed his right hand behind his back as he reached inside his pouch. He said. "So if possible I would just-."

His right hand became a blur as he threw a handful of black round items twice the size of a marble, as the black marble touched something it instantly exploded. The sound of almost deafening to Reiki's ears as he closed his eyes and grit his teeth harder, most of them hit the top of the trees as dozens of burnt leaves and black ash slowly fell to the ground, a few of them landed on the ground making a decent somewhat charred ditch. Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "You missed." The leader walked towards him as he kicked his head again.

[System: User has received 1,259 Damage.]

[System: User received debuff small concussion.]

The kick was hard enough to bury his head into the tree by an inch, the man said. "Do you think I'm dumb enough to be railed up by you?" As he placed his foot back on the ground, Reiki spat out a mouthful of blood as he turned his head sideways and made a big smile, his gums were bleeding covering some of his teeth in red. Reiki said. "Not even as a distraction?"

A hooded figure a few inches shorter than the man appeared out of thin air behind him, the hooded figure was wearing a green robe and was holding an elegant dagger using a somewhat delicate hand. The hooded figure didn't stab the man with brute force, the elegant dagger seemingly slid into his shoulder while completely ignoring the bone's resistance. The man's eyes widened as he turned his head to the left and saw bits of lightning starting to surge and crack, the lightning then grew as it traveled around him.

Screaming in agony as he felt lightning travel through his veins. A few seconds passed that felt like an eternity to the leader as bits of his face were growing fern-like patterns (Lichtenberg Figure) as it slowly grew all over his face, soon it started to show in his forearms reaching into his hands. Soon the fern-like patterns all over his body started turning purple as bits of his body started exploding, part of the man's forearm exploded as his bone was revealed underneath. The hooded figure's hand suddenly made more loud crackling sounds as another wave of lightning entered his body, the man screamed. "Wait!"

As his left side of his chest exploded, a good chunk of his heart fell onto the ground as most bits of it were either charred or scattered on the floor. The man's eyes widen as his body went completely limp and slowly fell face-first onto the ground, the dagger in his shoulder didn't even move, it was still in the same position as it carved off both flash and bone.

The hooded figure let out a sigh of relief as it walked towards Reiki and looked at his injuries, with his vision almost black and blurry he saw that the hooded figure's ears were long and pointy, something he was very familiar with. Closing his eyes as he rested his body on the tree, the figure said. "How pitiable... Being hunted like an animal by your kind." As the figure spoke it sounded sweet and gently, the female elf placed her hand on his head and gently caressed him, she continued. "Humans are forbidden inside our territory, but since you saved me. I'll make sure you'll be okay." 

The end of her green hood was completely charred and had dozens of small holes from the shrapnel. On a closer look you could see she had a small limp on her right leg and some blood flowing down. Slowly turning around her hood came down as her face was revealed, long pointy ears, long light goldish hair that reached to her waist, dark blue eyes, and her skin tone is on the pasty side like Reiki.

She looked cute as she stared at the one who was clutching his left abdomen in pain and the other who was running while leaving a trail of blood behind. With a snap of her fingers a bow that looked like it was hand-carved from a type of white wood, reaching inside her robe she pulled out two arrows, her eyes turned cold. She said. "My mistake, it was the right side." As she pulled the string to her cheek, the soft crackling of lightning started to envelop the arrow, she let go of the string as a trail of white was left behind its trajectory.

The arrow hit the goon who lost his left arm in the right shoulder as he lost his balance and fell to the ground as he let out another yell from the top of his lungs. The arm spun around in the air for a few seconds before landing on the ground making a wet and heavy thud on the ground, pulling the string to her cheek again she aimed for the other goon who had a large hole on his left abdomen.

The goon kept his left hand on his abdomen as he laid on the ground to prevent more blood and his intestines from spilling out. The goon used his right hand to make a stop sign and spoke in a pleading tone, he said. "Please, please let me go. I-I have some money stashed away! I also know where the boss kept his safe. It's filled with-."

The female elf interrupted him with an expressionless face combined with her cold eyes, she said. "12." The goon said. "W-What?" The female elf kept her cold gaze on him and continued. "On average your group kidnaps 12 children a month. If you think something that happens so frequently around 'our' forest doesn't reach our ears... Then you're dumber than I thought."

She lets go of the bowstring as a trail of white passes through the goon's right abdomen, as he let out a scream that almost burst his lungs his face quickly turned pale as he looked at the pool of blood under him that was growing larger.

The female elf slowly limped towards Reiki and took out the elegant dagger she used on the leader, carefully placing her bow on the ground next to him, with a single tap on the arrow using her dagger the part of the arrow that was touched by the dagger was perfectly split in half.

She rummaged through her pouch by her waist and pulled out a wooden vial with a red cap and drank it in one go, her skin started to turn into a healthier white shade as she also pulled out a handful of herbs, two thick white fabrics in a shape of a square, and a small porcelain vial. She said. "Consider yourself lucky, mom always makes me bring this in case I come across a wounded animal. Never thought I'll be using it on a human."

As she placed half of the handful of herbs near her mouth and started chewing, she spat it back on the thick white fabric as she opened the cap of the porcelain vial, dipped her pinky inside, and applied it on the edges of the white fabric. She carefully pulled out the arrow as she immediately applied the fabric making sure that the herbs were touching the wound, the elf started chewing the other half to repeat the process the white fabric stuck to his back, as she slowly laid him on the ground she moved his clothes and applied the other half. 

She let out a sigh of relief as she pulled out a handful of twigs, a silk handkerchief, and started a fire. The smoke was slowly rising as she used her handkerchief to stop it for a few seconds and let out more smoke, she repeated this process a few more times as the fire slowly died the elf easily lifted Reiki as she sat down with her back resting on the tree with some dried blood while completely ignoring her robe that was soaking a puddle of blood.

Soon a dozen shadows were running at full speed towards the smoke as the elf placed Reiki on her lap and used the clean side of her handkerchief to wipe his face clean. She said. "Better, now you look more presentable." As she let out a giggle and waited.

______________________________________________________

Back At Osaka

Arashi was at the roof of the modern multi-complex building and was walking around in circles. She was scratching the back of her head in frustration, she mumbled. "Why can't I calm down?" Her clothes were sticking to her skin from the sweat from her workout as she looked at the simple two-stories high house at her left. She said. "He should have been back by now."

As she walked around in circles a few more times, she pulled out her pouch and took out a phone with a white cover, and on the back was a design of the right side of half a black dragon's face. It had a shadow effect making it look like multiple different shapes from afar but on a closer look, it could easily be distinguished. She pulled out another phone with a black cover, and on the back was half a face of a golden tiger on the left side, on the back was a back similar design to the dragon.

Arashi had a small smile on her face as she carefully placed it back into her pouch and looked at Reiki's house and waited, just when she was about to go back inside she saw a pizza delivery knock on the house. Her eyes brightened as she waited for someone to pick up the pizza, Ketsueki opened the door with an expressionless face and gave the exact amount, and took the pizza from his hands as she immediately closed the door. 

The delivery boy stood in place for a few seconds and made a slight bow towards the door and left, Arashi had a blank look on her face before she snapped back to reality and walked over to the other side of the street and entered without knocking into Kiru's house. Without changing her shoes she went inside the living room and shouted. "Where is he!?" Kanzei suddenly opened a door while holding a tray in one hand. He walked up to the large velvet couch and placed it on the coffee table.

Kiru walked into the room when the tray touched the coffee table, with her arms crossed she walked to the couch and said. "Where's who?" Kiru lazily sat on the large couch as Arashi walked behind the coffee table with her hands placed on her waist, she said. "Reiki! Where is he? He should've been back a few minutes ago! And don't try and bullshit me, I know you know, so talk." Kanzei served two cups of tea, Kiru immediately took one as Kanzei placed the other one near Arashi as he walked to another door and closed it.

You can find story with these keywords: Re:World, Read Re:World, Re:World novel, Re:World book, Re:World story, Re:World full, Re:World Latest Chapter