The Ancient Genes

"Friends?" The Village Chief muttered as he looked at Max. There was a little interest on his face, but it was obvious that he wasn't going to believe it just because Max said so.

"Yes, we are Beast Hunters. There have been some strange phenomena recently, and our Village Elder foretold that it was a sign of a birth of Evil Creature which is trying to destroy our mother nature. This was the reason that we had left our village to find and slay the beast. And, as you can see, we are not weak.." Max constructed a good story. It was hard to tell whether it was true or false. But, it sure made sense to be honest.

After all, there were not many people with as much strength as Max and Blinken around. So, the two of them roaming together like this in a deserted place sure didn't make sense. And, them coming here to harm the villagers also didn't make much sense. The village had nothing to offer to them which was worth their time.

Secondly, the two of them had been calm the whole time, and didn't hurt any people in the village. It sure left a good impression of them in the Village Chief's mind.

"Well, I am sure you two could have caused trouble if you wanted to. But, since you guys didn't..I will trust you for now. But, you should know that we won't be that helpless even if you wanted to cause trouble.

That indeed sounded like a warning, but Max just smiled understanding the reasoning behind it. The man was the Village Chief. It would be bad if it looked like he allowed it because they went easy on them. After all, this would clearly show that Max and Blinken were the stronger side.

"How much do you guys know about this beast?" The Village Chief suddenly asked as he took seat on the rock behind.

The tension in the air seemed to ease a little as well.

Max lightly waved his hand, and two blocks of earth rose from the ground for him and Blinken too.

"Well, we are not that sure either.. " Max muttered lightly as he took a seat while the Village Chief looked at him with interest. He sure seemed a little fascinated with Max's ability.

"So, you are telling me you came here without any knowledge? Just because someone foretold it?" The Village Chief couldn't help but ask in doubt as he gave Max a look.

"Yes.." Max replied with a laugh. He had already told it in that way in the beginning. Changing the content too much would only make him seem suspicious.

"Sigh..Anyway, it seems the Beast indeed exists. You are not wrong.." The person finally spoke with a sigh as his face turned a little ugly.

Hearing him, both Max and Blinken's expressions changed. They knew that the story was just made up, and even if it wasn't. Let's just assume it was inspired by the Beast at the last stage of the Trial. They sure weren't expecting this guy to give a nod.

"This strange drought, and this rapid change in climate is all due to it..probably.." The guy clenched his fist in anger.

"Can you explain a bit more about it?" Max asked with a little frown on his face.

The Village Chief looked at him and nodded, "A few months back, a strange pillar of light was seen shooting in the distant sky. After it appeared the environment and living conditions changed for the worse here.."

"With the situation getting worse, My father, who was the strongest person in the village, decided to bring a few other Elders to go and search the place of this strange phenomenon. But, we haven't heard anything from them in two months. Even the team which had gone to search for them has disappeared.." The Village Chief spoke with a deep frown on his face.

'This is serious..' Max thought inwardly. He could tell that this guy's father was probably at the level of Grandmaster. And, if a person like them along with a team of Masters disappeared searching for something, then the matter most definitely wasn't an easy one to deal with.

"With my father missing, I had to take up the position of the Village Chief. Honestly, I wanted to go out and search. But, I knew that going alone would only make the chances of survival extremely slim. Not to mention, I couldn't take anyone else from the village as our strength had already significantly declined. If it goes down anymore, we might not survive in case something happens.."

The Village Chief slowly lifted his head up and looked at both Max and Blinken, "If you guys are here to hunt a Beast, then that is very likely the place for you to find it. It is worth a search, and I want to accompany you guys on this hunt…"

"Aren't you trusting us too easily?" Blinken asked as he looked at him. Max had told him to be prepared for everything. Even for Max himself turning on him, hence, Blinken wasn't feeling unrestrained to speak out at all.

He obviously didn't want to rule out the possibility of this being some kind of trap. After all, this guy agreeing so easily to them seemed very suspicious.

"To be honest, I thought of raising the next chief and then go to look for my father's remains. But, looking at the situation now, I think I still might find him alive if I go now. You two are strong, I know it. Besides, you seem knowledgeable. I think we have a chance."

Max looked at Blinken, waiting for his answer.

"It's fine by me then.." Blink nodded and replied.

"Then, I guess that's it…we are all very curious about this beast. Let's go and find out what it is.." Max smiled, feeling that he had found out his quest at this stage of Trial. This had to be related to it. Because, he knew nothing was coincidence here. Even if you felt like your actions were in your control, the world would somehow spin around in a manner to reach the place where it was destined to.

That's how the Trials worked.