"We'll have to head back to the Sanctuary first, and then I'll tell Mickey about the situation, and then he'll come help you gather the monster stones you need." Xavier told Maria after they informed her of the issue. Xavier was in no shape to fight, and neither was Rosie. This meant that Maria would be on her own out here, which is why he proposed to call Mickey to help.
"But, then we'll need even more monster stones to enter the Sanctuary if you call him. We might not be able to collect sixteen more monster stones " Maria said, and Xavier sighed because he knew she was right, but he didn't see a better option.
"I can collect the monster stones on my own." Maria said, and Xavier frowned
"You sure that's a good idea, after how much trouble we had dealing with the Iron Fanged Wolf and then those guys. Do you really think it's a good idea to go hunting on your own?" Xavier asked and Maria nodded her head, making Xavier think she was crazy.
"I'll go over to the east, where the goblins are since they are easier to fight. And I got 510 points from...killing those three guys. So I can increase my attributes." She said and Xavier had to admit, her plan might work. And she was definitely more skilled at fighting than the previous day.
"Fine, but take one of these with you." Xavier said and handed her one of the bronze swords their assailants used, and she nodded her head and replaced her copper sword. Rosie has taken the liberty of collecting all these weapons, as they were stronger than their copper weapons.
"If you guys are done, I would like to get out of this creepy ass forest." Rosie said as she stood up, grabbing the bundle of bronze swords and spear. Maria helped Xavier up, as he held his stomach and they slowly exited the forest. At the entrance, the guard looked at their beat up appearances, and had a look of disgust on his face as Xavier was almost completely covered in blood, and he wreaked of death. Ignoring the guard, they handed the monster stones to him, before Rosie walked in while supporting Xavier on her shoulder. Maria waved goodbye before leaving and heading into the east part of the forest.
Walking through the Sanctuary, they could see many new prisoners, which were easily distinguishable from the first batch as they were cleaner and they had a look of absolute fear on their faces. Even some of the well hardened prisoners had looks of horror on their faces, and based on the blood splatter, and the various injuries on their bodies, Xavier could guess what happened.
"These sociopaths really are going hard." Rosie whispered as she looked at the wounds caused by weapons on some of them. Plus the red blood splatter on their body. They could also spot other wounds, like bite marks, claw marks and wounds that looked like parts of their skin was melted off. Their numbers also seemed lower than it should be. A fair bit of the prisoners looked over at them and licked their lips, but Xavier glared at them. The murderous look plus his bloody look, made them quickly avert their gaze.
"It should be around- ah, here we are." Rosie said as they appeared in front of an unoccupied grey building. Ava was standing outside, and seeing them, she quickly ran over.
"What happened to the two of you?" Ava asked with a look of concern on her face
"Mauled by a Savage Wolf." Rosie answered
"Got attacked by five assholes and stabbed in the stomach." Xavier said
"Okay. But where is Maria? Is she dead?" Ava asked and Xavier shook his head
"No, she's out hunting goblins on her own." He replied
"What?!"
****************************************
"Stigma Window"
Name: Maria
HP: 100/100
Energy: 5/5
Class:[].
Skills:[]
STR: 12
AGI: 14
VIT: 10
FORT: 10
Points: 200
Maria silently moved through the forest with an arrow nocked in her bow. She had spotted many people in the east part of the forest due to the new prisoners, and what happened with the other prisoners, she decided to try her best to avoid other humans as much as possible. Besides, she had somewhere special she was going.
'They upped their security since last time. Can I really do this without Xavier and Mickey? No, don't think like that, I'm strong, I don't need them to protect me all the time.' Maria thought nervously. Despite the strong front she put on infront of Xavier, she knew she might have been overestimating her ability a bit. Looking at the cave entrance infront of her, she could see three Goblin warriors, and she searched the trees, squinting her eyes, she could see vague green shapes among the yellow leaves.
'I can do this. I have extra points just incase something goes wrong.' She thought, and aimed her bow at a Goblin Scout hiding in the trees.