The hunt with the Ironfang Boar changed something.
After that day, the adventurer squad started bringing me along whenever they went hunting.
At first, I thought it meant they accepted me.
But reality was a little different.
"Hey rookie."
Garrick threw a heavy sack of monster parts toward me.
"Carry this."
I caught it awkwardly.
"We already split the load."
Garrick smirked.
"Then carry both."
The other members laughed.
My shoulders already ached from the previous hunt, but arguing would only make things worse.
So I lifted the sack.
"Good."
Garrick grinned.
"At least you're useful."
Before I could respond, Mira stepped between us.
"That's enough."
Her voice was calm, but firm.
"He's helping the party."
Garrick shrugged.
"Relax. I'm just teaching the kid how the world works."
Darius, the party leader, didn't even look back.
"Stop wasting time."
"We hunt again today."
---
The deeper we moved into the southern forest, the heavier the air became.
Robert had warned me about this place.
The southern area of the kingdom had the highest monster activity.
And today… it felt worse than usual.
Mira walked beside me.
"You holding up?"
"Barely."
She smiled slightly.
"You've improved a lot already."
I looked at her.
"You think so?"
"You survived Garrick's attitude."
She laughed quietly.
"That's already impressive."
Before I could reply—
The forest suddenly went silent.
Every bird.
Every insect.
Everything stopped.
Darius raised his hand.
"Stop."
The entire party froze.
Garrick frowned.
"What is it?"
Darius slowly turned his head toward the hill ahead.
Then something massive moved between the trees.
A gigantic shadow stepped out of the forest.
It stood almost three meters tall.
Its body looked like a muscular ape, but its skin was dark red like burning stone.
Long claws scraped the ground.
And its glowing eyes stared directly at us.
My body froze.
"...That's not normal."
Mira's voice was tense.
"...That's an A-rank."
My heart nearly stopped.
"A-rank…?"
Darius slowly smiled.
"Interesting."
I looked at him in disbelief.
"You're not serious."
He stepped forward and drew his sword.
"This is a rare opportunity."
Garrick laughed loudly.
"Hell yeah."
Mira grabbed my arm.
"This is bad."
"Very bad."
I whispered.
"Shouldn't we run?"
Darius glanced back.
"Run?"
He smirked.
"We're adventurers."
The monster suddenly slammed its fists into the ground.
The impact shook the entire forest.
Darius raised his sword.
"Alright."
"Let's hunt a **Crimson Goliath**."
The monster roared.
The sound alone made my chest vibrate.
Garrick charged first.
"Come on you ugly bastard!"
His axe slammed into the monster's leg.
The Crimson Goliath didn't even flinch.
Instead, it swung its arm.
The impact sent Garrick flying across the ground.
"Damn it!"
Darius rushed forward and slashed across the monster's chest.
The blade barely cut the skin.
The monster roared again and grabbed a tree, ripping it out of the ground like a stick.
"Move!" Mira shouted.
The tree slammed down where we had been standing a second earlier.
My mind raced.
This thing was completely different from the monsters we fought before.
Darius attacked again.
But this time the monster grabbed him.
Its massive hand wrapped around his body.
"Darius!"
Garrick tried to rush in again, but the monster kicked him away.
Mira raised her staff.
"Minor Heal!"
A soft green light covered Darius' body as he struggled.
The monster slammed him into the ground.
The earth cracked.
I clenched my fists.
If we kept fighting like this…
Someone was going to die.
Probably me.
The Crimson Goliath turned its glowing eyes toward me.
Then it started walking in my direction.
Slow.
Heavy.
Each step shaking the ground.
Mira stepped in front of me.
"Stay behind me."
Her voice was shaking.
I stared at the monster.
A rank.
A monster that could destroy villages.
And we were standing right in front of it.
The Crimson Goliath roared again.
And charged.