In False Horizon, Skeleton Predators were Abyssal Creatures that always operated alone, never together.
Or so it should be.
Unfortunately, the place Ash was reincarnated into was a game with a difficulty level that was worse than hell, a game for those who loved to be mentally tortured.
After killing the first Skeleton Predator without much effort, Ash thought that everything was fine, but he was wrong.
Completely wrong.
Right after the Skeleton Predator was killed, from the nearby bushes, 5 more Skeleton Predators lightly stepped out. But unlike the one just now, this time, their target was none other than Ash and Canis.
Their drool began to flow as their eyes were fixed on them.
Ash didn't even know how those Abyssal Creatures could drool. But now wasn't the time to think about that.
Ash and Canis had just lowered their guard, but had to raise it again because of the appearance of these uninvited guests.
The two of them approached each other gently, neither of them feeling too frightened.
After killing the first Abyssal Creature, the courage and bravery of both of them had been pushed up quite a bit.
However, once again, False Horizon had proven to Ash how difficult it could be.
From the bushes behind, 10 more Skeleton Predators unexpectedly stepped out at the same time, and just like the other 5, their target was the two of them.
"Holy shit..." Ash smiled nervously.
But, in this almost hopeless moment, he suddenly remembered that his current companion was none other than Dragon Slayer.
"Hey Canis, do something! Use your Ability!" Ash shouted.
Canis paused, hesitating for a moment, but in the end, he agreed to use his Ability - Dragon Roar - to stun the 15 Abyssal Creatures present here.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then…
"ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!"
In the middle of this hush forest, a piercing roar belonging to a dragon suddenly rang out, completely breaking the silence.
Creating sound waves powerful enough to shake the leaves and bushes, and most importantly, it had successfully stupefied the Skeleton Predators around.
"Let's go, Canis!" Ash ordered the person who was panting after using his Ability just now.
Like two ghosts, Ash and Dragon Slayer successfully approached the five Skeleton Predators in front of them and killed them quickly before they could move again.
Ash's sword chopped down on the necks of three of them, while Canis's spear successfully pierced through the cores of the remaining two.
They wouldn't bleed when injured, so neither of them needed to wipe away the blood on their weapons.
Just as the last Skeleton Predator fell to the ground and disappeared into thin air, the remaining ten were finally able to move again.
The first thing they did was rush towards Ash and Canis at a dizzying speed, not allowing Dragon Slayer to scream again.
But no matter how fast those Skeleton Predators were, they couldn't be faster than the speed at which Canis activated his Ability.
"ROAR!!!!!!!"
Another dragon roar rang out once again, causing the birds within a 1km radius to fly away in a frenzy.
Meanwhile, those Abyssal Creatures were frozen once again, completely unable to move.
***
"Hey Canis, do you need my help?" Ash asked after killing 6 Abyssal Creatures.
Meanwhile, Dragon Slayer was struggling to deal with the last one.
Well, that was only natural, after all, his weapon was just a cheap spear, while Ash possessed a ridiculously powerful sword.
Yet eventually, after a while of struggling with the Skeleton Predator, Canis's sharp spear finally pierced through the core of it, causing the Abyssal Creature to stop and die instantly.
"Congratulations!" Ash clapped his hands as he approached him.
"Hehe, thank you sir." Canis replied shyly, unable to hide his joy.
Perhaps for him, killing 4 Awakened Fiends was already a huge achievement.
'You don't have to be so happy, Canis. After all, in the future, you might even be able to fight more than 10 Unholy Titans at the same time.' Ash thought to himself.
"It's nothing. Shall we go to sleep now?"
"Yes!" Dragon Slayer ran straight into the cave like a happy child, while Ash had to put out the fire first.
A while later, when he returned to the cave, Canis's smile was still there even though he was already asleep, looking extremely friendly and gentle.
But in the future, it would be that friendly and kind person who would single-handedly destroy the entire dragon race, banishing all of them from this world, not allowing any dragons to exist.
'I'm looking forward to your future, Canis.' Ash smiled and lay down nearby.
***
The next morning, Ash woke up with a sore body, which was only natural. He had slept on the rock last night, so of course he would feel that way when he woke up.
On the other hand, Canis looked completely normal, even more energetic than usual.
When Ash woke up, he was already outside practicing his spear skills.
There, his body was drenched in sweat and suffering from the cold, but Dragon Slayer still had no intention of stopping.
On the contrary, he became even more enthusiastic.
His eyes filled with determination, not showing any signs of fatigue.
Only when Ash called him to go eat breakfast did Canis put down his spear and quickly ran towards him, or rather, the fragrant, juicy meat over there.
"Oh right, we've killed more than one Abyssal Creature, so it's time to go back, right?" Ash said nonchalantly.
After all, his goal was just to not get expelled.
Hearing those words, Canis paused for a moment, his eyes also becoming much sadder and more disappointed.
"I… am not going back, sir. You may feel that this is enough, but… for a scholarship recipient like me, I need to work harder to prove my worth…"
Ash stared at Dragon Slayer without saying anything. Hesitating for a moment.
"If that's the case, then I'll stay too."
"Huh? Wait sir, you don't have to stay because of me!" His face showed disbelief, but there was also a hint of joy in it.
"Why should I listen to you? Do you want me to put you in jail for disrespecting the Prince?" Ash joked.
His purpose in staying here wasn't that complicated. He just wanted to become more attached to Dragon Slayer, to make him trust him more. That was all.