I Became The Novel's Biggest Antagonist

Chapter 41 The Whispering Woods

"Hey, we're five. How about we combine our parties?"

Reynold turned toward the voice, but his view was blocked by a broad wall of muscle—a brawny, towering figure. Raising his gaze, he found himself looking into the scarred face of a massive man, his features hardened by battle and years of experience. Behind him stood four companions, each marked by a similar array of scars, suggesting they were seasoned warriors.

Despite their strong appearance, they wore green badges pinned to their chests, identifying them as [E]-Rank adventurers.

Lua, a black-haired girl standing at Reynold's side, instinctively clutched his sleeve, her wary eyes fixed on the strangers. "Rey, maybe we should find someone else... These guys seem—"

"Yeah..." Mona, another friend, muttered, her expression equally uneasy as she glanced at the scarred group.

The last of their friends, Saya, was silent but her gaze spoke volumes; she clearly shared their apprehension. From any angle, these men gave off an untrustworthy, dangerous air, something that made every instinct scream caution.

But, to their surprise, King seemed delighted by the offer. He stepped forward, his expression brightening. "What a fantastic idea," he said smoothly, ignoring the three girls' nervous expressions.

Stepping up, King extended a hand with a friendly smile. "I'm King, by the way," he said with warm tone as he offered his hand to the towering man who appeared to lead the group.

The man, who introduced himself as Rex, flashed a wide grin, revealing a row of sharp teeth. "King, huh? Quite a name!" He replied with a laugh that held a dangerous edge.

Rex grasped King's hand, his eyes narrowing devilishly as he tightened his grip. This was his signature 'finger-crushing' introduction, a tactic he loved to use to sow seeds of intimidation and fear in the minds of rookies he ensnared.

"Fitting, wouldn't you say?" King chuckled, matching Rex's energy and returning the grip with an easy smile.

Rex's grin broadened as he pressed harder, fully expecting to hear a grunt of pain soon. He relished the moment a rookie's expression twisted in discomfort, though King's mask deprived him of that visual satisfaction. Still, he pushed on.

But even after a long moment, there was no sound—no grunt, no wince. Instead, King's piercing azure eyes gazed back at him too calm until Rex felt an unsettling chill creep down his spine. Instinctively, he pulled his hand back.

'W-What was that?' Rex frowned as he sized King up again, though everything about him appeared perfectly ordinary. 'Nothing...' Convincing himself, he forced another laugh.

Meanwhile, Reynold and his three friends exchanged uneasy glances, bewildered by King's enthusiasm. Reynold leaned closer to King, lowering his voice. "Are you sure... King?" He asked, doubtfully.

King offered a reassuring nod, his tone radiating confidence. "Of course! Just look at these guys—they're clearly strong and experienced. With them by our side, it'll be a relief, don't you think?"

Reynold studied Rex, noting the older man's grin, which looked more predatory than friendly. But, trusting King's judgment, he forced a smile and nodded. "You're right... It's good to meet you, Mr. Rex!"

"Just call me Rex," the man laughed.

"These are my friends: Lua, Saya, and Mona," Reynold introduced, gesturing to the trio.

Rex and his companions offered gruff nods in acknowledgment, but for an instant, something changed. Rex's expression, along with those of his men, twisted into something almost sinister—a flash of malice that sent a chill through Lua, Saya, and Mona. Just as quickly as it had appeared, however, it vanished, replaced once more by Rex's creepy grin.

"Let's go ahead and register the request first," King said, eagerly nudging Reynold forward.

"Yeah!" Reynold agreed, equally excited.

Meanwhile, Rex flashed a sly grin at his four friends.

'This is almost too easy,' he thought.

There was no way he was going to use his main weapon to fight off weak Demonic Beasts and to kill a bunch of stupid Hunters not even capable of hiding their killing intents.

"Why not?" Mona asked, her brows knitting together in a frown. "You're pretty confident in yourself, huh?"

King looked at her and shrugged. "I am. If you don't believe in yourself, then who will? Confidence is trust in yourself, and if you don't have that, then what else is there?"

The group fell silent, surprised by the uncharacteristically thoughtful response.

"Wow, you're right, man," Reynold said, clenching his fists, determination flickering in his eyes. "I'll become an SSS-Rank Hunter, and I'll save my village!"

King chuckled under his breath. "Damn...You really sound like a protagonist, Reynold," he murmured, almost to himself.

"P-Protagonist?" Reynold stammered.

"Yeah, you know, the hero in the story who fights for justice, the good guy. The hero who's the center of the plot," King explained with a nod but his eyes narrowed slightly thinking about the protagonist who caused his death.

"Right?! That's exactly what Rey is—like one of those heroes!" Lua chimed in enthusiastically, nodding with such energy she nearly stumbled.

Even Mona and Saya nodded in agreement, their opinions of King rising a lot after his remark.

"H–Hero? Come on..." Reynold smiled awkwardly but he seemed truly happy inwardly by King's words.

"The request is to locate some kind of rare mushrooms in the [Whispering Woods]," Rex interjected, his tone clipped as he shifted the conversation back to the task at hand, clearly done with the overly cheerful banter.

"Whispering Woods?" King raised a brow in question.

"You don't even know about it?" Saya looked at him in mild disbelief. "It's one of the most famous forests in Aurion—haunted by Demonic Beasts but full of rare materials. Hunters go there all the time."

'He doesn't even know the Whispering Woods?' Saya thought, wondering if he was taking his job as a Hunter seriously at all.

"Oh, sounds like it could be interesting," King mused, nodding.

Saya grimaced. "Not exactly." She skimmed through the request details and added, "And it looks like these mushrooms grow in the [Shadowed Trees]."

"Shadowed Trees?" King repeated, clearly clueless.

Mona sighed, stepping in. "The [Whispering Woods] is enormous, divided into several layers. The further you go, the more dangerous it becomes. The [Shadowed Trees] make up the second layer. The first is just the outskirts."

"The problem is," Lua added, her voice low, "we've only ever hunted in the outskirts before..." As rookies, the thought of venturing deeper into a new zone was daunting.

"Don't worry, Miss Lua. We seniors are here for exactly that reason," Rex spoke up, quickly dismissing her doubts. "We know the Shadowed Trees well, so you don't have to worry about getting lost. Right, King?" Rex added, using King's presence to reassure the others.

"Damn right, Rex." King gave Reynold a firm pat on the shoulder, then added, "We're still rookies, but it's time to level up. If we don't challenge ourselves and face tougher enemies, we'll never rise above E-Rank."

King's words struck a chord with Reynold, who gulped, feeling his nerves shift to resolve. He needed to become a stronger Hunter, not only for his own pride but so his village could depend on him and not some random Hunters to save their village from Demonic Beasts.

Clenching his fists, he looked at his three friends with a serious gaze. He couldn't abandon out of fear right now. They have trained enough even before coming to Ocryphia and now they had trained a lot in the First Layer of the Whispering Woods for three months.

"Let's do it!"