Chapter 30 -30-Trouble with Gold-rank monster

Chapter 30: Chapter30-Trouble with Gold-rank monster After another 10 minutes passed, I called out loudly, "Ethan, time's up! Get up and find more monsters for me." Ethan woke up with a big yawn. "Why don't you let me slee- I mean rest more, sir?" he groaned. Frustration crept into my voice as I replied, "Ethan, stop calling me sir. I've told you to address me as boss." Ethan quickly corrected himself, "Sorry, Boss." "Secondly," I continued firmly, "you said you needed 30 minutes to rest. That's not my fault." Ethan looked away, muttering, "Yeah, whatever." "What did you say?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Surprised, Ethan immediately looked back at me, his expression changing, "No, no, sir, no boss." Sighing, I decided to let it go. "Just go," I said, waving him off. Without wasting any more time, Ethan dashed off in another direction, ready to lure more monsters for our hunt. After he vanished from my view, I opened my system screen to check my notifications and character profile. (Ding, congratulations host, 2 Monster Cores (Common) has been added to your inventory!) (Ding, congratulations host, 2 Healing portions (Iron) has been added to your inventory!) (Ding, congratulations host, 20 Monster Essences of Flytrap has been added to your Character Profile!) ... Name: Michael Frostburne Race: Human Current rank: Iron. Progression to Gold rank: 26.8% (670/2500 essences). As I closed the system window, I retreated into my thoughts once more. The second quest still puzzled me. I thought about the second quest and its meaning, but I still didn't fully grasp why it was given to me. What I could understand was that these small battles against monsters weren't the main goal of the quest. If they were, I'd easily succeed, suggesting these creatures aren't my true enemies but rather a distraction. I suspected there was someone or something else involved because I knew about chain quests. In these quests, each task gets harder as you go along. Knowing this made me sure these monsters weren't the real threat I needed to worry about. It could be something tougher, something I hadn't thought about, something much more dangerous. Right now, I have no idea what it could be, so overthinking won't help. I need to stay cautious and wait for whatever comes next. Also, if I think about it logically, does the system already know my future or what's going to happen to me? The issue is, it's not giving me all the details. It's like I'm close to understanding, but still so far away. But this System, could it be some kind of divine being or even a god? I don't have much information about it. All I know is, it ended up here right after I transmigrated. Wait! My transmigration—just like in other novels—this System must have something to do with my future and destiny. It already knows about my- no, Michael's future. Now that I think about it more, maybe it acquired my soul and placed it into Michael's body to change his future fate or destiny. Why else would it bring me here in the first place? Why would the System gives quests related to the present or future? This definitely has some connection to everything happening to me. Perhaps in the original timeline, Michael died quickly. How? Maybe the government hanged him after catching him. Or perhaps hunters killed him. Another possibility is that his own butler did him in. There were several reasons, but these were the main possibilities. Now, here I am, shifting my focus from my chain quest to pondering why I ended up in this world. And to be honest, I've begun to overthink it too. What can I do? I can't help but ask these questions repeatedly. Why me? Why was I chosen? What makes me different from others? I kept thinking deeply and questions kept swirling in my mind, each one demanding answers that seemed just out of my grasp. Suddenly, the peace around me was shattered by heavy footsteps approaching. Instantly, my instincts took over, and I jumped to my feet, setting aside my thoughts. I focused on what lay ahead, preparing myself for the new challenge that was about to unfold. Before long, Ethan appeared in the distance, running urgently. Behind him, two familiar creatures emerged—monkey spiders, similar to the ones I had encountered with Lia and Anna before. However, these were noticeably smaller than the ones I had faced earlier. Quickly, I used my appraisal skill on one of the approaching monkey spiders. A digital list appeared before my eyes, showing their characteristics and details: **Monkey spider (Baby Phase)** Height: Varies, typically around 3 feet tall Weight: Lightweight, about 10-12 pounds Strength: None. Weakness: Susceptible to fire attacks and direct blows to critical body parts Critical Body Parts: Head and abdomen are vulnerable spots Rank: Normal-Rank Monster Probability: There's a 100% chance of winning against these monsters. After reviewing the information quietly and processing it all, I closed the window and muttered, "Well, that explains why they're smaller. That's good; their rank and strength aren't much of a threat." This fight should be easy for me. As Ethan dashed towards me with a look of urgency, I positioned myself to confront the approaching monkey spiders. Ethan deftly maneuvered aside to give me space to engage. Without delay, I sprang into action, delivering quick and well-aimed kicks. The first monkey spider staggered back from the force of my strikes. I seized the chance and kept up my attack, landing kicks on their weak spots. Each hit shook the creatures until, with a final powerful kick, they burst apart into fragments. Green blood splattered across the forest floor, marking the abrupt end of the encounter. Gasping from the stench of their blood, I turned to see Ethan watching me with a mix of awe and concern. "Boss," Ethan started cautiously, wiping a green fluid drop from his face, "why do you always explode them like balloons?" I chuckled softly, catching my breath. "I prefer it that way," I said, looking around to check for any remaining dangers. "It ensures they won't be a threat later on. Trust me, it's the safest method to deal with them." As Ethan stared at me suspiciously, he finally spoke up, "Boss, why didn't you just use your dagger instead of all those kicks?" I chuckled, trying to dismiss his concern. "Oh, that? I just... never mind. It's not a big deal. Let's focus on the task. Go and find some more monsters." Before I could finish my sentence, I heard heavy footsteps approaching. Instinctively, I raised my hand to silence Ethan. "Shh, Ethan, quiet," I whispered urgently. Ethan immediately stopped talking, sensing the urgency in my tone. We both listened intently as the footsteps grew louder and faster. I scanned the surroundings, trying to locate the source of the noise. Where's that monster? Why hasn't it come after a minute has passed? Leaves rustled and branches cracked, signaling the movement of something large. Suddenly, I spotted movement high up in a tree about 300 meters away. It was another monkey spider, much larger than the ones I had encountered before. No way, that's a... Without hesitation, I shouted, "Run, Ethan! Run!" Fear gripped us both as we sprinted away in a random direction through the dense forest. The adrenaline surged through my veins as I focused on evading the incoming threat. Branches whipped past us, and the ground blurred beneath our feet. Behind us, the crashing and thudding sounds grew closer, indicating that the monster was in pursuit. I stole a glance back and saw the monkey spider leaping from tree to tree, closing the distance rapidly. That's definitely a Rare-rank monster. It's huge in size... It moves a bit slower than the smaller ones, but its attacks... It keeps spitting black liquid from its mouth, and I'm guessing it's acid. 'Appraise.' I used my appraisal skill to check its information. **Monkey spider** Height: Varies, typically around 8 feet tall Weight: Lightweight, about 400 pounds Strength: Enhanced agility and venomous bite Weakness: Susceptible to fire attacks and direct blows to critical body parts Critical Body Parts: Head and abdomen are vulnerable spots. Rank: Gold-Rank Monster Probability: There's a 15% chance of winning against these monster. 'Gold rank? That's less but looking at the probability meter, it is definitely something I cannot defeat so, killing is out of option.' "We need to find cover!" I yelled to Ethan, scanning the surroundings for any potential refuge. I saw some thick bushes ahead and thought hiding in there might work. Just as I was about to tell Ethan, a stream of black liquid hit the bushes, melting them away in seconds. "Damn it!" I cursed, glancing back to see the spider closing the distance between us. "Ethan, run fast! No, faster!" I shouted. "Boss, I'm not an Iron-Rank like you or a Rare-Rank like that monster! How can I run faster?" Ethan yelled back, struggling to keep up. Ignoring his question, I thought frantically, The spider's speed is increasing. If this keeps up, it'll catch us in no time. I have to do something. My eyes scanned the surroundings until I saw the path ahead split into two. Two paths? Split? "Ethan, we're splitting up!" I called out. "What, boss?" Ethan asked, confused. "Look ahead! There are two paths. You get what I mean by splitting up?" I clarified. "Yes, boss, but which way should I go?" Ethan replied, panic in his voice. "Left!" I shouted, veering to the right myself.