UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 16 : ungrateful

After five long hours of nonstop walking, Marcus finally spotted the dense trees that marked the beginning of the Maamour Forest.

He was clearly out of breath and turned to Tina, who was struggling to keep up with his pace.

Recalling what he knew from his previous timeline about this place, he said,

“We’re close. Once we cross the forest, we’ll reach the old bridge…”

Tina nodded without speaking. Her eyes still held traces of doubt and hesitation, but she followed him silently.

The Maamour Forest they were now entering was one of the largest in the land of Lorana.

It stretched like a band across the eastern border, separating it from the village of Al-Qantara, which was nearly the size of a city.

As the two continued walking cautiously, Marcus suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing toward the sky.

“Hide, now,” he whispered firmly, still staring upward.

Tina followed his gaze and spotted a massive bird soaring slowly above the trees, circling as if searching for something.

“That’s strange… that’s a Shifter Clan member…” Marcus muttered, his voice low and tense.

“Most likely from the Tarun Tribe… Damn it, what is he doing here?” Marcus said as he watched the skies carefully, unable to comprehend how an Ironland soldier dared come this deep into Lorana’s territory without fear.

“Could it be… their goal isn’t just the eastern stronghold?” he wondered, eyes narrowing further as he noticed shapes on the eagle’s back.

“Four people… plus a Shifter Clan member!”

“A Shifter Clan member? From the Tarun Tribe?” Tina echoed hesitantly. “Why would they send someone this deep into our territory? Are they after us?”

Marcus shook his head quickly.

“No, I don’t think so. If they were directly tracking us, they’d have found us long before now. From what I can tell, they’re looking for someone else, or something else.”

“They?” Tina asked with a frown.

Marcus pointed upward. “Try to focus on the eagle’s back…”

Tina’s eyes widened as she stared more intently.

“There are people up there?!”

“Exactly. Four of them, riding the eagle. If I’m not wrong, they’re probably chasing surviving soldiers from the camp…”

Before Marcus could finish his sentence, a massive fireball erupted from the eagle’s back, descending like a meteor.

BOOM!!

The fireball exploded upon impact, shaking the earth beneath their feet and knocking leaves from the trees overhead.

Tina stared at him in shock.

“What’s going on over there? Someone’s in danger! We have to check it out!”

Marcus gave her a dry look.

“Go alone, then. I’m not dying for curiosity’s sake. I’m still recovering from my injuries.”

Tina tried to argue,

“But it might be someone from our side…”

He cut her off sharply.

“Go if you want, but don’t drag me into your suicide mission.”

She clenched her teeth and yelled at him in anger,

“You ungrateful bastard! What if Dr. Hays is among them?!”

“So?” Marcus replied coldly, staring at her with indifferent eyes.

She froze, unable to respond.

Then Marcus spoke again.

“I’m not ungrateful… Quite the opposite, I repay kindness tenfold. But…”

“Going there now would be suicide. Remember, I’m just a damn 14-year-old kid…”

“If I hadn’t awakened my bloodline temporarily at that critical moment, I’d be dead. And I don’t want to sound dramatic, but did you know that my injury worsened because I saved you?”

He pointed at her and continued in a cutting tone,

“And instead of thanking me, all you’ve done since is drag me into more deadly situations! Miss, are you trying to get me killed!?”

“I… I…” she stammered.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ve wasted enough time already. Let’s move before something worse happens.”

She lowered her head in resignation. She was beginning to understand how he thought, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling of responsibility. She glanced once more at the explosion site before following him, visibly disturbed.

---

A short distance away, a group of ten Loranan soldiers was advancing cautiously toward the explosion site.

Leading them was their squad captain, a middle-aged man named Rames, who mumbled with visible frustration:

“They’re late… I just hope it’s not too late.”

Beside him, a young soldier spoke nervously,

“Captain, what if the recon squad has already been wiped out?”

Rames snapped back,

“Let’s hope that’s not the case…”

“If it is, then we protect whoever’s left, at any cost. The information they’re carrying is too important.”

When they reached the impact site, they found seven people, one of them severely wounded, covered in burns and lying in agony.

Rames quickly approached, visibly concerned.

“Only seven?! What happened? Where are the rest?”

A young woman from the recon team answered, her voice trembling from exhaustion and fear.

“They found us out… a Tarun Tribe shifter caught our trail, with three other Ironland soldiers. We got separated after entering the forest…”

Rames cursed under his breath, then barked an order,

“Get the wounded up. We’re moving now!”

Suddenly, one of the soldiers tensed, forming a strange hand seal.

“Captain!! I’m sensing 50 energy signatures, about 1,500 meters from us. They’re headed this way, and…”

“And what? Speak!” Rames demanded.

“One of them… has an aura… it’s terrifying, stronger than yours, sir…”

Rames’s expression changed instantly.

“Damn it… they’ve sent a Scorch Warden…”

He scanned the area and said decisively,

“We’re getting out of here now.”

“West, there’s a path leading to the old bridge. We might find backup there.”

The team moved quickly, helping the injured and trying to avoid detection at all costs.

---

Meanwhile, Marcus, already putting distance between himself and the forest edge, suddenly felt movement behind them. He paused briefly, then increased his pace without looking back.

“There are others here. We need to move faster,” he said quietly to Tina.

“Marcus, maybe they’re ...”

He cut her off sternly, without turning his head.

“I told you, I’m not getting involved any further. If you want to go back, do it. But I’m not stopping again.”

Tina realized arguing was pointless and continued walking behind him, anxious and silent.

---

After everyone had cleared the area, a silent figure emerged at Marcus’s previous location. He stood perfectly still, eyes sharp and alert.

He knelt briefly, examining the ground, then raised his head and muttered softly

“Hmmm…”

It was Seth. His eyes gleamed with intense focus as he stared in the direction Marcus and Tina had taken moments earlier. It looked like he was following a trail he knew all too well.

After a brief pause, he resumed walking calmly, his steps confident, heading in the same direction.

" This boy… he’s strange. For a moment...I actually felt danger coming from him..."