Picked up by the Protagonist of a Tormented! MC Novel

Translator: Piper

Editor: Kleep

This person had such skill, whether it was being insulted or cutting open a stomach, he acted as if he was just sitting down and drinking a cup of tea. There was no display of feelings.

Although not displaying feeling seemed a bit inappropriate.

Zeno was shocked by the huge contrast between the two people in front of him. For a moment, he did not know what to do, and could only stand dumbly in place.

'Ugly One' frowned, “Stop standing, and come help.”

His tone was commanding, almost like it could not be refused.

Zeno did not know why, but it seemed that he could not help but obey anything this person said. Come help, so he went to help.

Even though he said he wanted help, in fact, there was nothing to help with. Zeno just watched as 'Ugly One' pulled out two strange creatures from the pregnant woman’s stomach, they looked a bit like a… unicorn?

From the belly of the beautiful woman, two unicorn foals¹ were born. Zeno felt that his three worldly views were toppled.

However, he quickly figured out that this was the Hong Yue continent, and the 'beauty' was probably the human form of the high ranking, mythical creature—a Unicorn.

Zeno watched as the beautiful woman lay dying. Seeing her two children safe and sound, tears streamed down her face, she reached out to grab Zeno's and 'Ugly One's' clothes, “Please…please, send my children back… Return them to the Nightmare Forest. My…the clansmen there will definitely give you…reward.”

After saying this, the woman seemed as if she lost all her strength. Taking one last glance at the two foals, her hands fell weakly.

Once her eyes were closed, her whole body slowly dissolved into powder and scattered with the wind, leaving no traces.

Like the Elves, Unicorns were loved by nature. Once they died, they would return to nature completely, their body will not be left behind to be defiled by the world.

At the scene, only Zeno and 'Ugly One' were left holding the foals, while the other person was reunited with god.

Zeno was in a weird position. He was just passing by accident, but now he did not know if he picked up trouble, or free money. He could only ask for help from the only living person by his side.

Zeno does not know why, but he felt this person was kind. From the bottom of his heart, Zeno did not worry that the other party would kill the two foals.

Despite this, Zeno still cleared his throat and thought about his words carefully, “This….. Brother, I really didn’t pass by, this, the amount, for the foals, if you want, I will give it all to you.”

While speaking, Zeno handed the little foal forward.

Who knew that the other party did not even take a glimpse over, and while holding the one foal in his hand, he turned and walked away. Zeno was stunned, so he quickly followed, but hesitated whether he should continue to talk or not.

Cold, aloof people were really difficult. When he was a child, he had his Xi Wei. Now that he had emerged once again, he came across another one just like him. Fortunately, he had already trained his body in the art of copper skin and steel bones, so this was nothing.

However, this iceberg did not seem to be as concerned with profit as Zeno imagined him to be, so he could be a good person.

Since Zeno could not find the protagonist now, anyway, he might as well help the unicorn mother and fulfill her dying wish. At least there was nothing better to do.

The iceberg was a person of action. He left directly in the direction of the Nightmare Forest. It seemed that there was no intention to delay.

Zeno had not been awake for many years. His awareness of crisis that he cultivated since childhood had slowly been forgotten in an abandoned corner of his mind. He was very leisurely, and was unaware of the danger that was close at hand.

The two of them were each holding an unicorn foal so blatantly, that even if they walked through the most remote areas, they would have been noticed.

When they entered the forest area, there was a second of murderous intent that quietly appeared.

One of them was the mercenary Reynolds, who had been looking for 'Ugly One' to cause trouble. He hated this 'Ugly one'. At first he only wanted to teach him a lesson, but then he accidentally witnessed the birth of the two unicorn foals.

The Mercenary Guild had a task for catching unicorn foals, and there were many people who had accepted it. However, none of them had been able to complete it.

Although Zeno also picked the task up he did not really plan to complete it, so he did not think about exchanging the two foals who just lost their mother.

Even so, just because Zeno did not think it did not mean other people did not think of it. So, Reynold contacted a few famous mercenaries, each of which climbed out of a mountain of bodies to become the masters they were now. It should be more than enough to take care of the solo 'Ugly One'.

As for the young man with fair, tender skin next to him? He was never seen as a threat.

The group of mercenaries who were blinded by interest stared at the two fat sheep² and walked into Nightmare Forest. Reynold used his hand to gesture action to his comrades.

Zeno hesitated for a long time, before building up the courage to ask, “This…big brother, what should I call you?”

The iceberg glanced at him, with a cold look and tone, “Xi Wei.”

Zeno gave a hollow laugh and felt even more embarrassed. Could it be that…, “Oh, what a coincidence, you have the same name as someone I know.”

As the name of the Elves' tree, Xi Wei was originally the name of a rotten³ street. So how would people think of him?

So Zeno had to clear his throat and say his own introduction, “Xi Wei, hello, my name is Zeno, we…must be predestined friends, haha.”

The atmosphere turned awkward again.

But this time, the one called Xi Wei finally looked at Zeno, and it made Zeno feel a little warmer.

He was trying to relax to prepare for continuing his efforts of getting closer to Xi Wei, when suddenly his heart shook, he cast a spell reflexively, and a black fog spread out around Zeno covering them in the mist.

In a hurry, Zeno did not care about them being strangers, and directly grabbed Xi Wei's wrist and ran into the depths of the forest under the cover of the black fog.

This fog was a derivative of Dark element magic, named 'to bury tracks'. As the name suggested, it was used to escape. This was one of the few magic spells that Zeno learned.

He had spent more than three years with Hill. Except for the time he spent asleep during his awakening period, where he had no awareness, the rest of the time was used to practise these few magic spells.

Hill seemed to know him very well, picking all of the life-saving and easy-to-follow techniques. It had been quite rewarding these past few years, and it had come in handy at that moment.

Unfortunately, after all, Zeno was only a magician. He did not run too far before he began to run out of breath. At the beginning, he was able to keep up with Xi Wei, but over time he started to gradually lose his energy.

Zeno's pale face was full of sweat. At that time, it was getting darker as night crept up. It was a perfect time to kill someone. If they could not find a way to get out of trouble, they could only have their corpses forever lie on the ground of this forest.

Zeno could not run anymore. He let go of Xi Wei, and shoved the foal that he was carrying into Xi Wei's hands. He placed his hands on his knees and gasped for air. Stuttering off and on he said, “Xi Wei…Big Brother, I really……can’t run, this foal is now yours, if you can…leave, please send them back…”

Compared with his panting, Xi Wei’s face was not red and tired. He had not even shed a single drop of sweat. His eyes flashed with a glint of cold light and he kneeled down, so that his eyes and Zeno's were at the same level, “Do you want me to be the bait?”

Zeno was so shocked he forgot to breathe for a second. He quickly retorted, "No way! I will distract them!”

Xi wei was unmoved, “Why should I believe you?”

Two people who just meet each other, would one be willing to die for the other person?

Zeno had some helplessness. This buddy not only had the same name as his protagonist, but also had the same suspicious personality trait.

He wiped the sweat off his face, “Don't worry, I will not die. As a magician, you can't underestimate me too much. I naturally have a way to get out. Leave quickly.”

As Zeno was saying that, he was also pushing him to leave. Xi Wei seemed to believe him by a few more notches, and vanished from Zeno's field of vision, leaving without looking back.

Zeno’s hand was still hanging in the air, and could not help but be a little depressed. He had a bit of grievance about being abandoned.

It was indeed him that made Xi Wei leave first, but he left too easily without even a thanks. It was too ruthless and caused people's hearts to feel cold.

Zeno shook his head—originally there was no friendship between them, after all. There were few fools who would act like him. At the same time, he was somewhat disappointed. The deepest part of his heart had that unexplained expectation that just popped like a soap bubble.

Get your stuff together, Zeno! You have to continue trying to find a way to escape.

Zeno was not so selfless normally. The reason why he dared to place himself in the front was mostly because of Hill. As long as he could hold out for a little, Uncle Hill would come to save him.

With such hope, Zeno began to draw defensive magic arrays where he stood, to cover up their trails so, at least temporarily, the pursuers would be unable to catch up.

When he finally drew the final stroke, the magic array emitted a black ray of light. Zeno was depressed, before when he was reading the novel, the magic of the characters would control the wind or raise the undead. His dark magic looked like smeared black paint, not at all cool.

Not waiting for Zeno to finish sighing about the disappointments of reality, the mercenaries that were chasing them finally caught up.

Reynold was furious, “Boy, no matter how much you try to run, you are still a magician. I advise you to hand over the Unicorn foal, or your precious life will end here today.”

—All the villains who say this will never have a good ending—

Reynold was no exception, but he was not killed by the 'enemy' but instead by a 'companion.'

Just after he said this, a spear pierced him through his throat. He covered his neck with his eyes wide, but he could not say anything.

The accomplices he invited laughed at his stupidity while greedily looking at Zeno, who was caught in his own trap. A magician with a first-class intermediate level mercenary badge. Although his body was not necessarily comparable to the unicorn foal, he was also very valuable.

Not far from them, a figure was quietly watching it all. The two foals in his arms could feel his strong murderous intent and uneasily struggled a few times.

Piper: Sorry for missing last week! Took a bit of a break to visit my Grandfather. Also couldn't help myself and binge read all the way to the end….Orz…. Welp lots of stuff I didn't understand, because Google translate sucks. So ya, hope you enjoy the chapter! Time to go study for my Japanese test tomorrow (I've been telling myself this for the past 3 hours now but…. procrastination…) =D

Kleep: I took triple the time to get this posted because I got on a roll watching Dr Pimple Popper youtube videos. I can’t stop. Please send help. Or join meeeee. Also, I’m getting through the next chapter of RAAS.

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1. , fun fact, unicorn foals are called either shimmers or sparkles, but I'm gunna stick with foals =D ↩
2. Easy prey ↩
3. think it's talking about rotten, as in a brothel ↩