It was cold as Jacky led the Band deep into the forest. Not knowing where he was going, he just wanted to get as far away from the town as possible. But as the heat of the moment passed, the chilling cold of the northern autumn night showed its face, and being inside the dark forest did not help.
Eventually, they had to stop and make camp. Starting a fire might not have been the wisest choice with the dragon potentially searching from above, but they were freezing to death. Jacky put his trust in the dense forest and the distance they had covered. Yet, neither the biting cold nor the warmth of the fire could silence the screams echoing in his head.
The party hadn't talked for a while, save for some whining about the cold. Jacky had only one thing on his mind, and he knew the others were thinking it too. They had caused the destruction of a town, resulting in the deaths of almost all its residents.
The rest of the Band were sons of minor nobles beneath his father. If word got out, their lives would be over. Why didn't they hide their identities in the first place?
At best, his friends would be confined to their homes, never to see the sunlight again. But Jacky's father would never let this go.
Already against his "adventuring" career, he would make Jacky suffer for the rest of his life once he heard about this.
Maybe they could escape. Living inside the forest like the Wildlings in the mountains wouldn't be that bad, and it was certainly better than going back home like this.
As Jacky warmed up, those thoughts gradually suppressed the screams in his head until he fell asleep alongside the rest of the band.
***
"So, I take it was your first dragon encounter."
Elise was following the Traveler deep into the Malargo Forest. Walking into a forest with a stranger was not the smartest move, but if he wanted to do anything, he was strong enough to do it at any time. There was no point in worrying about it; it had been a long night, and she needed to stay sharp.
They had been walking for a while. Though it was still early morning, the dense forest blocked most of the sunlight as the morning chill began to fade.
Her hood was now off, her long, straight black hair pouring over her shoulders. She kept one hand resting on her sword, ready to draw it at the first sign of trouble. Ashes and dust from the town's remains still coated her, and she could still smell the blood—not hers, but that of the people she had tried to save.
To take her mind off last night, she focused on her former sword instructor's lessons as she walked. Standing straight with a strong posture, she moved as elegantly as possible. Though hard to maintain in a dense forest, a warrior should always project an aura of confidence to make foes think twice and inspire allies. At least, this was what she thought being strong was about, until she met this man.
He was not standing straight, his posture weak and full of openings. He walked far too relaxed and carelessly. His messy hair and loose clothes looked like layered rags, making him seem more like a beggar—he wasn't even wearing shoes.
He was quite the opposite of what Elise would call elegant. But here he was, the strongest man she had ever seen. He had scared a Silver Dragon without a fight. If this was not real strength, what was?
"You are not a chatty one, are you?" the Traveler said, waking her from her thoughts.
"Ah, sorry. Yes, it was a first, and hopefully my last." Though she possessed a talent for sword fighting and was Blessed with fast learning, such a creature was not something she ever wanted to encounter again.
"Don't say that. Dragons are noble and smart creatures; you will like them once you get to know them. They also hold great conversations—very entertaining, and surprisingly intellectual."
Elise stared at him for a moment, trying to determine if he was joking. "Did you hold a conversation with a dragon? How?" Weren't they just like animals, unable to talk?
"They don't possess the same speaking instruments humans use, but thoughts don't need instruments. As long as they think, you can hold a conversation. Of course, you need them to respect you first—that's the hard part. They truly appreciate power." He spoke as if this were common knowledge, but Elise had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
"Are you perhaps a magician?" His knowledge of unknown powers had only led her mind to this. "Talking with dragons and such."
"Yeah, you could say that." His cursory answer didn't satisfy Elise one bit.
"But I also saw you hold that giant egg in one hand and break a sword with only two fingers. Was that all magic, too?"
"Why? Can't I be both physically strong and knowledgeable about magic?" He turned his head slightly to look back, a faint grin on his face. "You can offend some people with those words, you know."
"Sorry if I offended you. I have never seen anything like what you did back there; it got me curious." She then followed up with the question she was most curious about. "You said before that you are not from here. Are you perhaps from across the ocean?"
She had read a lot of books about another continent across the surrounding seas—creatures they had never heard of, and people who looked human but actually were not. Was he one of them?
"Hm? No, I am not. I have been there, though."
"Where are you from, then?"
"Wow, I take what I said back—you are extremely chatty. Let's just focus, okay? We are getting close."
Elise felt her face redden from embarrassment. She had done it again. Once excited about a topic, she had a hard time stopping herself—something she always thought was a side effect of her Blessing, making her brain want to learn more and more.
"Get yourself together," the Traveler warned without looking back. "Looks like something got to our prey before us. Follow me, and keep quiet."
He picked up his pace, making Elise realize something. As he rushed into the forest, he made no sound at all—he didn't disturb a single branch or step on a dry leaf. His walk still looked as carefree as before, but now she understood the reason behind it—he was trying to hide his strength.
It was beyond her understanding why one would hide such strength, but she followed as she was told. At least, she tried. She was nowhere near as agile as him, snagging on every branch and almost tripping over unseen lumps of wood, leaves, or stones. Eventually, she lost sight of him.
Elise panicked and sped up to catch him, but he was nowhere to be seen. She kept going in the same direction until she finally heard a sound in the distance.
The sound became clearer as she got closer. A fight was going on. Rushing toward it without thinking, she saw an opening in the forest. Just as she was about to call for the Traveler, a hand covered her mouth before she could even react, pulling her behind a tree.
"I told you to follow me quietly," the Traveler whispered. "But instead, you are running around like a wild boar." Releasing Elise, he pressed her head down behind a bush and turned her toward the opening where the sounds came from.
A fight was indeed going on. One side was the Band of Steel, and the other was a monster. It looked like a lizard to Elise at first glance, but it was purple and stretched the length of four to five humans. It crawled like a lizard, yet even then, the tank of the Band of Steel had to look up to make eye contact.
They were in terrible shape. The tank was trying to hold the monster back, but a serious shoulder wound and a shattered shield left him struggling. Their archer kept aiming for the creature's soft spots without success. Their leader lay on the ground with a deep wound on his chest, his armor scattered in pieces all around him, as the fourth member tried to drag him to safety. A strange pink liquid pooled on the ground, smoking intensely.
The monster they fought was a true abomination. It possessed absurdly large claws and a massive mouth. A series of pointy bones jutted from its back all the way to its tail, clumping at the tip into a natural mace. All of this, combined with its large, protruding eyes, made the creature a terrifying sight.
"What even is that?" Elise mumbled to herself.
"Whatever that is, it does not belong to this Realm, that is certain." Hearing his thoughtful voice, Elise looked up at the Traveler leaning against a tree. He had a bothered expression, and she wondered what he meant by 'this Realm'.
"Anyways," he continued quietly, "I brought you to them. What are you going to do now?" He looked down at her expectantly.
Elise looked back at the ongoing fight. She had come here to take revenge for the lives lost because of them, but they were already in bad shape. If she did nothing, they would probably be killed by the monster. Isn't this what she had come here for?
No. She just wanted to beat them up and teach them a lesson before turning them in to the security officers. Not... this.
She had never killed anyone before, but she knew she would have to at some point in her life. No one else deserved to be dead more than them; what they did was horrible and unforgivable. But...
They were just a bunch of idiots who had made a horrible mistake and were fighting for their lives. Leaving them like that would be murder, not justice or revenge.
She had made up her mind. "I'll save them." She looked up to see the Traveler's reaction.
"Why are you looking at me?" He patted her back a couple of times. "You can do it."
"You are not planning to help, right?" It was disheartening, but she already knew the answer.
"Of course not! This is your adventure! I would never take that away from you!" he answered, just as Elise had guessed. "Don't worry, I will support you if you need it," he added, looking at the wounded members of the Band of Steel, "and protect them. Leaving them to die like that would be a bit disappointing, don't you agree?"
At least he was on the same page with her, even though his logic was questionable. She got up and carefully walked to the opening. Once there, she started to run, charging right at the large lizard.
She had already faced a dragon; this one was not even close. With the courage of having faced a far more frightening death, she drew her sword as she ran. She planned to flank the creature and deal a fatal blow to its softer side, but she had underestimated it—the creature had already noticed her.
Elise assumed it would be occupied with the prey in front of it. Surprised by its reaction time, she hesitated for just a moment.
"Watch out!" the tank shouted from the side.
The lizard threw its head back, its throat suddenly inflating. As it slung its head toward her, a ball of pink mucus flew right at her.
She stepped aside, barely dodging as the ball hit the ground and splashed all around. Some of the splatters reached Elise, but thankfully, none hit her skin. Her cloak, however, slowly started to smoke.
With her momentum gone, the monster charged and swung one of its claws. She bent over to dodge, then tried to attack its side. Again, she had underestimated it—the monster was far faster than its size suggested, whirling its nimble body to avoid her blade.
The same thing happened a couple more times. The monster swung its claws to rip her apart—something they were more than capable of doing. She barely avoided them, trying to land a hit wherever she could. Elise was slightly faster than the creature, perfect for her fighting style. With her light half-plate armor and longsword, she was trained to use her speed and reach to wear down opponents, but it was not going as well as she hoped.
Though it was not her first fight against a monster, this one was quite different from the rest. Every move it made was lethal. She was at her wits' end trying to avoid its unusually large and deadly claws. Struggling to focus on her offense against its continuous attacks, she completely forgot about its tail.
The spiky tail came out of nowhere right at her side. With no time to dodge, she tried to block at the last moment with her sword.
She flew and crashed into a tree before falling to the ground. Everything went dark for a moment, and when her vision returned, it was shaky and blurry. Had she struck her head?
She tried to get up, but everything was still shaky, forcing her to lean against the tree for balance. She had to get herself together and get back into the fight with that...
Monster! Where was it? She raised her head, only to find its wide-open mouth coming right at her. Still shaken from the hit, she couldn't even get her head straight. There was no way she could avoid the monster. Unable to think, she just froze against the tree, waiting to be eaten.
The monster's mouth snapped shut with a sharp sound right in front of her. Elise met its giant, red eyes—filled with shock just like hers. It fell on its belly, trying to crawl toward her as it was slowly pulled backward.
It took a moment for her to understand what had just happened. She was about to die for sure, but when the creature fell to the ground, she saw the man in white. The Traveler had caught the monster by its tail with one hand, pulling it back slowly.
He effortlessly threw the giant lizard, slamming it into the dense forest. It broke and knocked down trees in its path before finally crashing into one and falling motionless.
"You good?"
She jumped out of fear. When did he even come this close? She must have hit her head hard enough to affect her senses. Even the strips making up the Traveler's clothing seemed to move on their own for a moment.
Holding her head, she gave it a quick rub. "I think I am, yeah." The world stabilized as her senses slowly returned.
"Look at me." He pulled her chin toward him, inspecting her eyes. "You don't seem to have brain damage, but two of your ribs are cracked from the impact..."
So that was the cause of that stinging feeling. She must have hit harder than she thought. Maybe he could give her a hand after that injury.
"...So, you are fine and ready to go. Come on, get yourself together. You have a monster to slay!" He gently slapped her cheeks with both hands, squeezing her head right after. Surprisingly, that brought her to her senses.
He placed a hand on her back, pushing her toward the monster as it also came to its senses. "You misjudged your opponent. You thought it was a mindless beast and rushed in without a second thought. Always measure your opponent first, figure out its strengths and weaknesses, and act accordingly."
The monster got up as he spoke, looking around to figure out what had just happened. She hoped it would run away, but when it saw Elise, it shifted its posture to charge at her once again. Did that thing have no sense of fear or survival instincts?
"Errm, do you have any suggestions, at least?" she asked, looking back at the Traveler.
He paused for a moment, like he was trying to recall something. "Well, I liked your focus, but you are focusing on the wrong thing. You seem to have some sort of training, and you keep trying to stick to it." He started caressing his beard mid-sentence. "If you are that dedicated to your training, your body must know what to do. Trust your training and focus on the enemy instead. Learn its patterns to find an opening."
Focusing on them and trusting one's body. Well, it seemed to be good advice, but...
"How am I supposed to focus on it when it is trying to kill me!?" she asked, frustrated.
A mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Well, how about starting with keeping your eyes on it?" he said, tilting his head to look over her shoulder.
Realizing the situation, she quickly turned back. Once again, she had drifted off and forgotten about the monster. She lunged aside to avoid the incoming attack just as another ball of acid hit the tree behind her.
She quickly took cover behind a tree. The one that had just taken the hit instead of her started to smoke intensely, its trunk slowly turning an unhealthy color. The Traveler was nowhere to be seen—not surprising at this point. Learn the pattern, huh? He was an 'interesting' man, to put it mildly, but there was no way she could form a better plan at that moment. So why not, she thought, let's give it a try.
She took a deep breath and peered behind the tree to figure out her opponent's whereabouts, but it was not there.
She panicked, trying to find the monster in the trees. How could it even hide a body that big? Luckily, a bunch of rustling bushes saved her. She turned toward them, and as expected, the monster lunged at her from between those bushes.
It must have kept its profile low to blend in better—that acid ball was just a diversion. So clever, unexpectedly fast, and unreasonably strong. Everything about it was so unrealistic and seemed... unnatural.
Elise dodged and began to inspect her opponent. They engaged in a duel that could easily be her last, but there was a chance. This was a battle that could be won by learning. Fortunately, she had been born Blessed with fast learning. If there was a time for it to shine, it was now. She wondered if the Traveler had known about it when he suggested this.
She dodged, observed, and learned. She held herself back, making no offensive moves. Faster than her opponent, she used her speed to barely evade the monster's giant claws, sharp teeth, and spiky tail.
Hopefully, it was not using its acid spit while close in. Clever thing—it knew another acid ball would take longer and create an opening.
As the fight continued, she started to see what she was looking for. Thanks to her training and being a child who never got tired, her conditioning did not waver.
Her opponent was surprisingly able to keep up with her, but it was still a monster. It got angry—angry that it couldn't even scratch its prey till now. This made it more aggressive, but less cautious.
She learned how its body prepared before each attack, and what to expect after a certain muscle group tensed up. The moment Elise was looking for came as the monster readied to lunge forward to bite her.
She barely slid under its head, slitting its soft throat with a fluid move. She gave her all to that attack to ensure it cut deep.
A splash of dark purple, disgusting-smelling fluid spilled all over. Even though she tried to dodge it, some splattered on her armor and clothes. This fluid—hopefully blood—looked a bit different than the previous ones, but it still smoked like them. Trying not to mind the smell, she watched the creature toss itself around while slowly choking on its own blood.
She waited without lowering her guard until it finally collapsed onto the ground, motionless. Was it done? Had she really killed a monster of that size? On her own! While still tense and unsure of herself, she heard clapping behind her.
"Well done!" The Traveler had once again appeared out of nowhere just as he disappeared. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to defeat it, but you proved me wrong. You have my respect!"
"Is it really dead?" she asked, trying to catch her breath.
The Traveler walked toward it, and Elise followed. He put one of his bare feet on the creature and flipped its huge body over. He did not say anything, but Elise saw a thoughtful expression on his face. As he carefully inspected it, the monster's torso started to inflate.
She tried to step back, but the scenery before her suddenly changed. The corpse of the monster, which was inflating at a terrifying rate, was now far away from them. The creature exploded with a huge splash of blood, covering every tree and bush around it, making them smoke and wilt.
Elise and the Traveler were now standing in a different place inside the forest, safe from the explosion. She had no idea how they had suddenly traveled here. She looked at the man next to her. He was still watching the site of the explosion. Just as she was about to ask about it, she heard noises and looked behind her.
The members of the Band of Steel rested there, also shocked by their sudden appearance. They had tended their wounds, but their leader was still unconscious.
There were a lot of things she wanted to ask, but only one word came out.
"H-how?"
Thankfully, that was enough to pull the Traveler from his thoughts. "Oh, I just brought us here next to them. Believe me, you wouldn't want to be near that explosion." He looked at the Band. "I've already taken out the poison and hastened their recovery. No need to worry."
Taking the poison out... Hastening the recovery... Immeasurable strength and speed. Who even was this man? She had read about magic before; though no expert, the things he did so casually were what some masters dedicated their lives to achieve.
She blankly looked at the members of the Band, who shared the same look. Engrossed in these thoughts, she noticed something. A small, shiny pendant stuck out from the bandages and clothing of the unconscious man. Where had she seen that symbol before?
She immediately turned her back to them. There was no way she could show... The world kept turning even though she had stopped. The last thing she remembered was falling as everything went dark.