Chapter 14 - Tasting Own Poison
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"Huft…Huft…
" Theo panted.
nIn front of him stood a black bear, preparing to charge at him.
nEric and Shella were hiding behind the tree, watching Theo's fight that would soon end.
nHowever, there was another person watching their movement. It was the real Theo.
nHis full concentration was taken when his clone began fighting the bear. He thought, 'It's tough to control the clone in a full fight like this, but this battle taught me a lot. The couple is also ready to attack. I should end this battle as soon as possible.'
nThe bear had four finger-size holes in its body—Two on its right arm and two on the stomach. Red blood flowed out continuously from the four holes, weakening the bear.
nThe bear was on four and charged at him. Not scared of the challenge, Clone Theo jumped forward, closing his distance with the bear.
nWhen they were a few feet away, the bear stood up and swiped with its right paw.
nThe strength of that paw would surely break a few ribs, so he had been avoiding it this whole time. And this time was no different. He hit the ground with his spear's butt, stopping his momentum.
nWith that sudden stop, the bear's swipe, which was supposed to hit him, missed the target and threw its balance.
nThe moment he saw that chance, Theo pierced the bear's head like how he did against the lion.
nUnlike the lion, the bear couldn't even look at Theo before collapsing to the ground.
nKilled a Black Bear (Normal)
nEXP 43
nThe spear's butt hit the ground and became his support to stand. He panted a few times before trying to take the water bottle from his bag.
nSuddenly, two figures ran toward him.
nTheo widened his eyes and saw Eric unsheathing his sword. Shella also came closer with her wooden wand.
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"You are dead! No, you should have died last time and we wouldn't need to suffer!
" Eric shouted in anger. He still remembered how Laust beat them up after suffering in Theo's hand.
nAll of it wouldn't happen if Theo died, so he hated Theo to the bone.
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"A trash like you has no right to live!
" Eric pulled his sword. The moment he reached Theo, he would sever that head.
"You—
"
nBefore he said more useless things, Theo had thrown his spear toward Eric, forcing him to stumble. Shella also stopped since Theo had a sword and raised her hand.
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"Fireball.
"
nA round shape blue fire appeared above her head, spreading the heat to its surroundings.
nHowever, she sensed another presence beside them, coming from their back.
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"What?
" Glancing at her back, she found another Theo running toward them with his spear.
"Theo?
"
nEric was shocked by that shout, took a glance behind him, and got the same shock as Shella.
nThis was a perfect chance that Theo could use at this moment.
nClone Theo pulled out the sword from its scabbard and jumped toward Eric. Meanwhile, the real him thrust his spear toward Shella.
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"Dodge!
" Eric shouted while dodging the sword.
nShella's magic disappeared so that she could dodge to the side, albeit this was Theo's true goal.
nHe positioned himself perfectly so when Shella avoided him, he would be able to reach Eric in one go.
nWith Eric losing his balance, Theo struck with his spear.
nTo his surprise, Eric managed to move his body even a bit as soon as he reached the ground, forcing Theo to miss his original's aim, the heart.
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"Argh!
" A scream echoed. Although the spear didn't pierce his heart, it still hit the left side of his heart, which was too painful to bear for an ordinary high school boy.
nHis clone quickly waved the sword down to kill Eric, but he felt the heat from the side.
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"Fireball!
"
nThey glanced at Shella and jumped backward as the fireball passed them, hitting the tree not far from them and causing a small explosion.
nHad it hit him, It might not kill him, but he would have been severely injured.
nTheo sent his clone to distract Shella while he dealt with Eric. Obviously, Shella decided to send her magic to Theo's clone instead of Eric, even though she could save Eric and fought together against these two Theos. Back then, sacrificing Theo wasn't planned, but it could describe Shella's true nature. Yes, she was that selfish.
nMeanwhile, Eric grabbed his sword and swung it. Theo kicked his hand and pinned it on the ground with his foot.
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"I am sorry, but your strength is not higher than me anymore. I leveled up a few times thanks to the turtle after all.
" He smiled. Without wasting his breath, he stabbed Eric's heart and killed him in one single blow.
nWithout Eric, Shella shouldn't be able to do anything. Theo and his clone came from two opposite directions to confuse her.
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"Fireball.
" She sent another fireball to the real Theo, but he managed to avoid it.
nHis clone swiped his sword.
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"!!!
" She instinctively leaped back when she ascertained that the sword was aiming at her neck, albeit they were in the forest. Surrounded by trees, she found her back touching one.
nTheo maintained his aim and swung his sword, but Shella managed to escape to the side, resulting in his sword hitting the tree behind her instead. The splinters flew to her, but it was better than having her head fly.
nUnfortunately, the real Theo was coming from that direction and punched her on the cheek, sending her back to his clone.
nShella had no escape route anymore as she moved back, only to find her back hitting the tree.
nThe real Theo pointed his spear at her neck while his clone placed his hand on the tree and ready to slash her at any moment.
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"Wait, wait, wait! Please don't kill me. I was forced by Laust and Eric here. If not, they would **** me.
" Shella panicked and began begging for her life.
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"And?
" Theo's eyes remained cold.
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"It's true. I didn't lie to you this time. They would have raped me had I not joined hands with them. I can do anything you want as long as you spare my life. I can be your girlfriend…
"
nWith this explanation, Theo's eyes gradually became warmer as everything went according to his plan.
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"You…Were really going through all those?
" Theo asked as he became hesitant.
nShella's eyes brightened when she heard those words as if a ray of hope just fell upon her. She repeatedly nodded and explained.
"I never wanted to hurt you. In fact, I have liked you for a long time, but Laust and Eric found out and forced me with Eric.
"
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"You…
" Theo's face was filled with doubts.
nShella thought she would be able to escape this situation with one more push. She placed her hands on Theo's hands and smiled seductively.
"Yes. How about I prove it to you right now?
"
nTheo closed his eyes for a second and retracted his clone.
"Whatever…
"
nHe looked away with a tinge red on his face. He took a few steps back and walked away while saying,
"I don't care anymore.
"
nShella made a sinister smile. As soon as Theo showed her back to her, she created another fireball. With this distance and timing, Theo shouldn't be able to dodge this attack. And since Eric died in this mission, the money would obviously become her alone.
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"Fireball.
" Shella summoned her fireball again while shouting.
"Haha. All men are foolish. And you? You are a freaking simp. You disgust me! Die!
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nOn the contrary, Theo glanced back with a smile, paying no attention to the fireball above her head.
"Die? I am not the one who is going to die. It's you. After all, I am not a simp.
"
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"What did you say? I will kill—
" When she was about to finish her words, she heard something from her right.
nCreak.
nThe sound became more and more apparent. Bothered with that sound, she glanced over to her right and found out that the sound turned out to be the sound of the wood cracking.
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"Wha—
"
nBam.
nThe tree fell on top of her and pinned her down on the ground. Her fireball disappeared and her head began bleeding. A few ribs were broken with that alone.
nIt turned out that Theo's swing had chopped away a huge portion of the trunk, enough to cause the tree to collapse. The reason it hadn't collapsed until now was due to his clone supporting it.
nHowever, Theo already predicted that Shella would once again betray his trust, so he decided to dismiss his clone and hurriedly went outside the falling tree's direction. And as he said, she would be the one dying.
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"Argh…
" Her shrill echoed in the forest, but no one came to her aid. Although Theo aimlessly wandered around, he knew that this place had little to no visitor, so there was less possibility that someone would come to their aid. This was the accumulation of experience he had every time he went to this Haven.
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"Ah, I indeed won't kill you because the tree will be the one to kill you.
" Theo made a sinister smile.
"You are even more dangerous than Eric since no one knows whether you are spouting a lie or not. If I were forced to spare one life, I would choose Eric since he was easier to manipulate.
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nKnowing that she would die in one or two minutes because of the bleeding if she weren't treated, Shella looked at Theo and raised her hand, trying to reach him.
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"Help me… I was wrong.
"
nHowever, Theo turned blind eyes and checked his surroundings to make sure that no one was watching while saying,
"I wasn't wrong either, but you tried to kill me. If you didn't even want to help me, why should I help you? Having deceived who knows how many people with that poisonous tongue of yours, what it feels like when you are the one dying by the same poison?
"
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