Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Azrael was stunned when he felt the powerful aura that clearly belonged to a Class level monster.

'Damn, is my luck really this shitty?'

He was ready to run away, thinking that the class level monster of the Moon Forest had found him even before he entered the central area.

However, he soon realized that the powerful aura wasn't locked onto him and was actually emitting from a few kilometers away, from the depth of the central area.

He quickly moved and climbed up a tree, hiding himself behind the lush branches and leaves.

The aura coming from the depths was truly overwhelming, and Azrael had no confidence in taking on such a powerful monster at his current level.

'This monster is definitely not level 15 or 16 like Rudheer said, but is infinitely close to the peak of Class level— almost around level 25,' Azrael thought to himself with a deep frown on his face.

When he had asked Rudheer about the moon forest, Rudheer had told him that the overlord of the forest was a Class level monster, about level 15 or 16.

He had inquired about it from other people in New Moon City as well, and they too had said that the strongest monster in the forest was around level 15 or 16.

Though Azrael hadn't fully believed their words since he hadn't seen the monster with his own eyes, he still felt annoyed that those bastards gave him such half backed information— especially Rudheer who was practically alive because of him.

Azrael stayed hidden in the tree for nearly half an hour before the aura of the class level monster subsided and the forest returned to calm.

During this time, he saw many level 9 and level 10 monsters fleeing from the depths of the central forest and running toward the outer area.

He also heard the roars of monsters fighting deeper inside, and guessed that some monsters were clashing with the Class level monster that had released its aura.

'I didn't even feel the aura of the other monsters who were fighting against the Class level monster, which means they were very weak and their aura didn't spread far,' Azrael thought inwardly, a look of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

'Why would such low level monsters fight against a high level opponent?'

Normally, monsters that hadn't developed their consciousness would act solely based on their instinct.

Low level monsters, especially those without a properly developed consciousness would instinctively avoid high level monsters as their instincts warned them of danger.

So for such monsters not only to not avoid a monster close to the peak of Class level, but also dare to attack it— there had to be something more to it.

Azrael pondered for a few minutes and, after considering everything, climbed down from the tree.

He first made sure of the wind's direction. Once he confirmed that it wasn't blowing toward the monster and wouldn't give his scent away, he cautiously began heading in the direction from which he had felt the Class Monster's aura earlier.

He stuck close to the trees, and the moment he sensed even the slightest movement, he would hide behind a trunk and wait for several minutes before moving again.

Because he was advancing with extreme caution, it took him almost an hour and a half before he neared the location where he had felt the Class Monster's aura.

He stopped about two hundred meters from the site and, after finding a tall tree, climbed up it.

As he reached the middle section of the tree, he finally gained a clear view of the area from which the monster's aura had originated.

Normally, it would have been difficult to see anything due to the density of the trees.

However, the area within about 150 meters of the origin point of the aura was completely devastated.

All the trees in that area had been obliterated, reduced to wooden splinters, and the ground was cracked open in several places.

Amid the devastation lay the bodies of four monsters whose auras had been at the level of ten.

What shocked Azrael even more was the fact that all four of them were Elite monsters.

Even with his current power, if he encountered all four at once, his only option would have been to run for his life.

A short distance from the four corpses sat an tall ape like monster.

It was nearly five meters tall and had a bulky, muscular body.

'Titan Ape…' Azrael muttered inwardly, sweating cold.

'Damn, this monster is already close to the peak of Class rank, and on top of that, it's an Elite Monster.'

Just by looking at it from afar, Azrael knew that if he dared to face this monster head-on, he wouldn't survive even half a minute before being crushed to death.

As he was about to leave, knowing this monster was completely out of his league, he suddenly noticed something behind the Titan Ape's tall frame.

Behind it, a faint glow flickered, subtly illuminating the surroundings.

Because it was still daylight, it wasn't immediately noticeable— but there was definitely something there.

Azrael raised an eyebrow and shifted to a different tree to get a better look.

After repositioning himself, he was finally able to see that it was an orb of light, about five centimeters in diameter, floating in the air behind the Titan Ape.

The orb was light golden in color and emitted a soothing aura that seemed to attract nearby creatures.

The moment Azrael laid eyes on it, his body instinctively felt a deep, almost primal desire for it— as if it needed it.

Azrael frowned at the uncontrollable desire and activated Cold Blooded to completely suppress it.

'That thing is abnormal…' He thought under his breath, narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly, he turned his gaze back to the four dead Elite monsters— and it finally clicked why these monsters fought against the Titan Ape.

'They must have been influenced by that thing and couldn't resist their desire for it… and ended up losing their lives.'