Rise of the Harem King
Chapter 137: Running from monster

Chapter 137: Running from monster

Finally, by sheer coincidence, two idiots ended up together.

Alden, who couldn’t deal any damage to anyone because of his class. And Adrien, who, despite locking like a bully, didn’t have any real power to harm an opponent.

Truly, an impressive duo. So impressive, that after a few minutes on the test, they were able to walk through the dense florist and get into a cave full of monsters.

"Run!" Adrien shouted, his voice filled with terror.

Alden didn’t need any more encouragement. His feet barely touched the ground as he sprinted behind Adrien, screaming desperately. Their panicked cries echoed through the forest.

In the end, Adrien jumped onto Alden’s back and repeatedly used a stamina recovery ability to keep him running. And suddenly, Alden felt like he was back in that damned Rank S test, following one of Davi’s insane plans.

The two idiots bolted through the forest like a pair of startled deer, Alden’s legs pumping furiously while Adrien clung to his back like a terrified koala, frantically replenishing his stamina with each panicked gasp.

They ran. And by ran, it was more of a chaotic ballet of flailing limbs, desperate wheezing, and Adrien clutching Alden’s shoulders like a very scared, very chatty backpack.

"Faster, Alden! They’re gaining on us!"

"I’m trying, but you’re not exactly light, Adrien!"

Alden zigzagged through trees, jumped over roots, and narrowly avoided tripping on what was either a snake or a very angry vine. Adrien, for his part, was spamming stamina recovery spells so fast he might as well have broken the word record of faster successive casting of an sema ability.

And after all of that running, Alden asked with a low groan if they had escaped. The answer was a big no. Actually, the amount of monsters running for them seemed to have somehow increased.

"Keep your legs moving," Adrian said in desperation.

"Fick!" Alen locked behind for an instant and got back running. "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?!" He shrieked, narrowly dodging a low-hanging branch.

"I DON’T KNOW BUT THEY’RE STILL COMING!" Adrien wailed, glancing back at the horde of screeching, skittering monstrosities gaining on them. Some had too many legs from Adrian’s liking. Some had too many eyes. One looked like it was just a sentient pile of teeth with legs.

For the whole forest, their terrified screams could be heard. It was a perfectly harmonized duet of high-pitched yelps and slightly lower-pitched whimpers that served surprisingly effectively to attract even more monsters.

The talent of Alden to attract more Chaos and destruction to himself was really unique.

It was just after 20 minutes of continuous running, that both of them found something that could become their salvation: another team participating in the tournament.

"FRIENDS!" Alden screamed as soon as he saw other people. And an idea popped in his head. "We news to make friends, Adrian!"

If he could become friends with these people, they could just defeat the monster, and he would be released from the hell of running no stop.

Yes, it was the perfect plan, he just needed to convince them to help, nothing that a good and calm conversation couldn’t solve, right?

Because of it, Alden desperately waved to them, trying to make friends, but it didn’t work.

The competent-looking team looked up. First, they saw Alden and Adrian who were stupid running, and then, their eyes widened as they registered the wave of monsters running just behind the duo.

One of them, a stern-looking woman with a very large axe, pointed. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. It was a silent scream, a universal expression of "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me."

Her companions were quicker on the uptake. One, a lanky fellow with a bow, simply dropped his map and sprinted in the opposite direction, a move of such unadulterated panic it was almost athletic.

The third, a burly man who looked like he wrestled bears for fun, actually whimpered before following suit, his impressive muscles apparently no match for the sheer absurdity of the situation.

"Wait!" Alden cried, genuinely confused. "Where are you going? Don’t you want to team up? Please, don’t leave!"

And then the team started running away from Alden, who, in turn, was running away from the monsters. Unfortunately for the competent-looking team, Alden was quite fast.

In his frantic attempt to form a team, he somehow managed to run into every single member, even though they had scattered in completely different directions.

The end result was always the same: utter destruction. One might even think it was a brilliant strategy to eliminate his opponents.

But Alden wasn’t thinking strategically. He was just running, desperately, screaming like a man being chased by death itself.

And soon the duo was just running alone again. And as the initial surge of adrenaline ran off, Alden started feeling exhausted.

"Are you sure this stamina thing works indefinitely?" He gasped, his lungs feeling like they were trying to escape his ribcage. "Because I think my legs are about to file for divorce from the rest of my body!"

"Just keep running!" Adrien yelled, thumping Alden’s back rhythmically, less like a helpful boost and more like a very panicked, off-beat drummer. "Think of it as... extreme cardio! And just keep running!" Adrian said in desperation as he saw the monsters getting closer.

Their marathon kept going for a while, during which Alden found more potential friends, however none of them wanted to speak with him. Sadly, he couldn’t make a single friend.

And that was the way that the duo ran through everywhere, bringing destruction to many other teams.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, and with night fast approaching, they burst into a clearing and collapsed onto the grass. Adrien rolled off Alden’s back like a sack of potatoes learning how to feel again.

"...Do you think they’re still following us?" Adrien asked between gasps, staring up at the treetops.

Alden sat up slowly, eyes wide, and looked back the way they had come.

There was nothing.

In truth, they had managed to escape from the last group of monsters almost an hour ago, but they had been running so desperately, neither of them had noticed.

But it didn’t matter anymore. Because now, finally, they had escaped from all of it. And Alden couldn’t contain his crooked smile. Once again, he had proven himself very good at running from monsters.

"I think we lost them," he muttered, still in disbelief.

"Thank god!" Adrian screamed happily.

"Yes!" Alden also got up to commemorate.

After they danced and lagged happily, the duo noticed the aborching night and fight about where to sleep;

To begin with, the clearing they had stumbled into wasn’t exactly paradise, but after everything they’d been through, it might as well have been a five-star resort.

The grass was soft, and a small stream trickled nearby, its gentle babble almost mocking the chaos they’d just escaped. Tall trees surrounded the clearing in a protective circle, and the last rays of the sun filtered through the leaves in warm, golden streaks.

"I vote we never move again," Alden mumbled, still lying flat on his back like a man who’d just lost a battle with gravity. As soon as the initial rush of happiness came to an end, he had no energy left in his whole body.

"I vote for the same," Adrian said, equally sprawled and emotionally defeated. "Motion passed."

But unfortunately, as nature tends to be both beautiful and unforgiving, the temperature was already dropping with the fading light, and the distant howls in the forest reminded them that being alive wasn’t a permanent condition unless they did something about it.

With a long, dramatic groan, Alden sat up again. "Alright... shelter. We need shelter. Before something eats us. Again."

Adrien pushed himself up as well, groaning like an old door. "Right. I’ll look for sticks. You look for... something stick-adjacent."

And so began the most pathetic shelter-building attempt the forest had probably ever witnessed.

Adrien returned with what was, generously speaking, a bundle of twigs and one very confused beetle. Alden, on the other hand, had discovered a large leaf he was unreasonably proud of and a half-burnt log that was technically still warm. Probably cursed. But warm.

Together, they managed to construct a very unstable lean-to that leaned so far, it was almost horizontal. They stared at it for a moment in silence.

"It’s perfect," Adrien said, clearly too tired to argue with physics.

"Home sweet home," Alden agreed, crawling underneath it and immediately regretting the dirt, the bugs, and every life decision that led to this moment.

Still, it was a shelter. It was quiet. And for the first time all day, no one was screaming.

Alden closed his eyes.

I swear," he mumbled, "if a squirrel wakes me up again, I’m setting the forest on fire."

Adrien nodded sleepily. "Fair."

And with that, the two of them finally drifted off into an exhausted, leaf-scented sleep.

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