I Need Wives For My Gacha System
Chapter 77: Inside The Gate And Reaching The Border( - -77)

Chapter 77: Inside The Gate And Reaching The Border(Chapter-77)

The eerie silence of the dense forest was shattered by a guttural, bone-chilling roar. The creature standing before them was an abomination a grotesque fusion of reptilian and insectoid features. The beast’s red eyes glowed with a malevolent intensity, fixating on Rex and Zoe with a terrifying hunger. Its mandibles dripped with viscous saliva, and jagged limbs twitched as if eager to strike.

Zoe, still stunned from the sudden appearance of the monster, sat frozen on the ground. She had never encountered a real monster before, and the sheer pressure emanating from it was suffocating. Her limbs refused to move as fear anchored her in place.

"A Vorgric Leaper"

Rex muttered under his breath, recognizing the creature. Known for its agility and razor-sharp claws, the beast was notorious for hunting its prey with explosive speed.

The monster wasted no time. It pounced, its bladed limbs slicing through the air with terrifying precision. But before the monstrous blow could land, Rex’s spear flickered into action. With a swift movement, he deflected the incoming strike, redirecting the force away.

The impact sent waves of air brushing towards the nearby fauna. He immediately followed up with a counterstrike, but the beast skittered back, letting out another deafening screech as if angered by the resistance.

"Tch, fast little thing"

He had fought stronger monsters before, but this would be his first time using his newly obtained technique.

"Skyward Tyrant"

The Vorgric Leaper snarled, its legs scraping against the ground as it prepared for another attack.

"First Form – Rising Fang"

The moment the creature lunged, Rex moved. He drove his spear forward and then up in a single fluid motion, the force behind the attack creating a sudden updraft. The tip of his spear struck the monster’s underbelly, piercing through its exoskeleton. A shockwave of force rippled through its body, launching it into the air.

The creature shrieked in agony, writhing as black ichor sprayed from the deep wound. It thrashed violently midair before crashing back down with a sickening crunch. It twitched once. Then, silence.

Rex exhaled, lowering his spear.

"Not bad" he mused, inspecting the creature’s corpse.

"Could use refinement, but the sheer force behind it is impressive"

It was just a second grade beast despite it’s appearance and Rex didn’t even want to use his elemental arts to defeat it, just testing out his newly accquired skills.

A movement in his peripheral vision drew his attention. Zoe was still on the ground, staring at him. Her body was tense, her breathing uneven.

"You alright?" Rex asked, offering a hand.

She hesitated before taking it, allowing him to pull her up. Her fingers were trembling.

"How come you are this shaken?"

"I... I’ve never fought monsters before" she admitted, her voice smaller than before.

Rex blinked in surprise.

"Never? Didn’t they make you fight some at the academy?"

Zoe shook her head, looking away.

"I... I didn’t go to the academy"

That caught Rex off guard.

"You didn’t? Why not?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line before she spoke with a small pout.

"Because of you, Brother Rex"

"What?"

Rex didn’t understand why the girly was blaming him all of a sudden.

Zoe took a deep breath.

"My mother forbade me from attending after the military forcibly took a noble talent from the academy"

"That person... was you"

Zoe crossed her arms and continued to explain, chattering away, trying to relax herself from the encounter with the monster.

"When the news spread, all noble families feared their children would be taken too"

"My mother refused to let me go, afraid I’d be targeted next if I go to the academy"

"I had to learn everything through private tutors and training in isolation"

Rex now understood what effects him being forcibly taken into he military ensued. He could only mourn silently for the amount of talents that the academy lost due to it. Though the military left a small bad taste on him not all of it was bad but compared to his academy life, he liked the academy more so.

"I... didn’t know"

"I never really thought about it"

Zoe let out a breath, her expression softening slightly.

"I figured, not like you had a choice"

Zoe had a small smile on her face, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Well, it’s not like it was all bad"

"I got to train freely, and I had more time to play games and I even made some good friends"

"Like Sarah" Rex said to which, Zoe’s grin widened.

"Exactly!"

Then, as if recalling something, she suddenly perked up.

"Oh! Speaking of Sarah, I need to tell you about..."

Before she could finish, another rustling sound came from deeper within the forest,

"What’s that"

"Nothing bad"

Unlike her who was shook by that noise, Rex was calm knowing that it was just the rustling of trees. Despite having a talk with Zoe, his focus on his surroundings was not disturbed. She released a sigh of relief upon seeing his calmness seeing that she at least have someone to depend on in this place where somehow all of her personals somehow didn’t appear, despite going earlier than them. She gave him a sideways glance.

"But I never expected you to be this strong"

"Didn’t you lose your cultivation"

"Wait a minute, did you start doing body refining"

She found out exactly what Rex had started to do and Rex had to give it to her for being knowledgeable and nodded his head in affirmation. He didn’t think she would betray him based on the trust value which was similar to loyalty of his subordinates but she was not his subordinate. The affection though lower than he expected despite her being very friendly and talkative towards him which made Rex think whether it was just how she normally acts.

[Trust: 78]

[Affection: 52]

0-10 was indifferent and 11 to 30 was acquittances whereas 31 to 50 was friends, 51-70 was close friends. Before she only thought of him as an acquittance but after finding out that he was Sarah’s brother it ramped up to friends and now after saving her she thought of him as a close friend.

"Why would you do body refining though isn’t your cultivation talent better"

Despite knowing that he had lost his cultivation, she didn’t know about the specifics of his situation which Rex didn’t expect many people to know excluding his closed ones and well enemies.

"I have reasons"

"You shouldn’t have started long ago yet you can already defeat a second grade monster"

He could defeat even stronger beasts than second grade monsters right now but he couldn’t say that he was able to get this strong because of the gacha.

"I train a lot"

She snorted. "Clearly"

__ __ __

The dense foliage of the forest rustled as Rex and Zoe moved through it, their footsteps muffled by the damp earth. Sunlight barely trickled through the thick canopy, casting eerie shadows across the path. The air was thick with the scent of moss and the distant chirps of unseen creatures. They had been traveling for a while now, navigating the wilderness with ease due to Rex, though Zoe’s excitement made her less cautious than she should be.

Just as she was about to take another step forward, Rex suddenly halted Caught off guard, Zoe, who had been walking closely behind him, failed to stop in time. Her entire body collided into his broad back, the impact causing her to stumble slightly before she steadied herself.

"Brother Rex! Why did you stop?" she asked, reaching out to grab his arm for balance as well as see what was beyond it as she couldn’t see due to the height difference.

Her violet eyes followed his gaze into the seemingly empty space ahead. She frowned when she saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What is it? I don’t see anything."

Rex didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his fingers lightly traced the air in front of them.

"We’re at the barrier of the gate" he said calmly.

Zoe blinked, momentarily.

"Really?" she asked, before stretching her hand forward.

The moment her fingers reached the invisible boundary, she felt resistance like touching an invisible wall. The sensation was strange, almost like glass but with an underlying energy humming beneath it.

Her fingers traced along the barrier, and she pressed against it harder, but it refused to yield.

"We really can’t pass through," she murmured, intrigued.

Before she could investigate further, a rustling in the nearby bushes caught their attention. Their eyes snapped toward the movement as a small creature emerged from the undergrowth beyond the barrier and it passed through it without much resistance. Zoe’s eyes widened in delight.

"Aww, look at that! It’s so cute!" she exclaimed.

The creature was indeed adorable at first glance a small, furry thing with large, round eyes and a fluffy tail. Its body was deep brown, resembling both a squirrel and a fox. However, the moment it turned towards them, its mouth parted, revealing a row of unnaturally sharp, jagged teeth, glistening with saliva.

Rex narrowed his eyes as his body readied himself.

"Be careful, Zoe, that thing isn’t what it looks like"

Zoe’s amusement quickly turned into shock as the creature revealed it’s sharp teeth and lunged at her. Its once innocent expression twisted into something predatory, its jaws aiming for her arm.