The few days that followed were a blur of intense, unconventional coaching. Grul didn't just teach them about fighting and surviving; he taught them to how to act with the proper mentality. He had Kael's teachings, which he awkwardly incorporated into his teachings, and his own experience.
Tyler was forced to shed his reliance on his armor and created an entirely new weapon out of nature; a sword with a knife-like hilt (Messer), which he used to create parrying and countering opportunities instead of just trying to block and defend. Melophone had her spell repertoire cut to half, retaining only the most minimal-mana, high-speed and teamfight-equipped spells she could think of, practicing them until her incantations for them were quicker than blinking. Ayleen had her posture corrected until her shots were perfectly precise, and she was drilled to track targets that were important to the team as a whole while maintaining only secondary focus on the threats closest to her.
Even Bundo was taught something: instead of falling into predictable, reckless charges, he could now do unpredictable, reckless charges.
On the sixth evening, after forcing the party to sprint up and down alongside him on a steep ravine to train their stamina—a mild inconvenience for Grul due to his constitution and experience with the Forest, but an agonizing experience for the party themselves—Grul stopped and issued a command.
"Me hunt. You wait."
Before any of them could respond or ask questions—a habit Grul was slowly extinguishing out of them—he vanished.
One moment he was blocking out the setting sun, and the next, he was just gone, swallowed by the green forest.
Tyler wiped the grime from his face with the back of his hand, nodding to his mentor's orders.
"Right. Let's set up camp. Bundo, clear some space for the camp. Mel, start a fire over there. Ayleen, water run, and start gathering tinder."
They had gone through this before—when it was this late and Grul decided to leave, it meant that they were going to camp at this spot.
The team worked like clockwork. Melophone quickly created a field of arcane energy to deflect the night wind as she made a fire appear with her other hand. Ayleen returned with a dozen wineskins full of water and a bagful of tinder. Within the minutes, a small, bright fire was crackling, and the group had settled around it, the scent of woodsmoke wafting through the air.
With their immediate tasks done, the tension of the day bled away, replaced by the persiflage of adventurers who had faced danger and survived together.
"You know, I almost forgot what it's like to relax."
Melophone sighed, leaning back on her pack.
"It's been nothing but 'Work-work, faster!' or 'Use and do this and that, not this or that!'"
Tyler chuckled, tossing a small twig onto the fire.
"It's effective, though. Remember two days ago? I almost got swarmed by those Sharphawks. If this was before, I'd tank all the hits and probably would've broken a few ribs. That time, I actually dodged them…right into a tree. I-I can see some improvements are still needed, haha."
"You also almost broke your wrist, Tyler. Some is an understatement."
Ayleen said gently, checking the new string of her bow, which was made out of plant fibers from the forest.
"But you're right. Even Bundo's learning to pick his targets instead of just charging at the biggest thing he sees."
Bundo, who was scratching his back with his mace, looked back with a proud grin.
"Grul teaches good things! Tyler teaches honor. Mel and Ayl only nag. Grul teaches about winning! Bundo like winning. And now Bundo can taunt better, too! Look! Kuhaha! Bundo better than all of you now! Bundo can take on all enemies without you!"
The party, bar Bundo, had one thought in mind at Bundo's displaying of taunts.
'Maybe not everything we learned was good…'
The conversation then continued into talking about old stories, or rather, their past. Despite everything, the team had only formed days before their journey to the Quietus Forest. To them, this was the perfect time to reveal their pasts and backstories to each other, either to fill up dead time, or get to know each other better.
The first story was Tyler and Ayleen's, where they, for the first time, left their village to go and adventure.
"He wanted to go on an adventure. I was sent along to make sure he wasn't too reckless and die in some ditch."
"Sure, you could argue that. But you can't argue that they sent you with me to find a partner for you; Already turning twenty-five and still no marriage prospects…Uncle Garth was getting desperate. He even wrote me a letter, telling me to play matchmaker for you if I could."
"Dad—ugh. Write back to him that I'm not planning on becoming a nun, I'm just waiting for someone good to come. Okay?"
"You've been saying that for ten years, Ayleen. Even when I was still a kid, the boys in our village determined to be with you, but you kept giving them the cold shoulder."
"Well, Tyler, you were a dumb kid back then—you still are, by the way—and they were also dumb kids, so they didn't know what they were talking about. Besides, I had to help my parents with their farm; how could I pay attention to boys when my parents were sick?"
"Let's continue that talk later. For now, Mel, Bundo, let me tell you about our first mission…"
They also talked about their first disastrous mission, where they had to deliver a package from one town to another within a time limit.
"I was distracted by a magical amphibious creature, which I thought would grant me bountiful rewards in return for rescuing it."
"He kissed frogs because he actually believed Old Pete's tales about frogs being mystical creatures trapped by magic. That's it. We failed the mission because we ran out of time to complete our delivery because this idiot kept kissing frogs until he fell ill."
"H-hey! That's not exactly what transpired—"
"You thought one of the frogs would turn into a fairy, didn't you? Even cried about it to the receptionist, making everyone in the guild laugh at us because of it. Humiliating."
"Kuh…"
After that, Melophone came in with her PTSD-fueled rant about the Mage Tower's treatment of mage apprentices.
"Before I became a mage apprentice at the mage tower, I thought being a mage was sophisticated; glamorous, which is why I applied to the mage tower. Doing all sorts of tasks and tests that were required before being able to join the tower, and I finally did. I thought I was finally going to be in a position that demanded respect from others, but I was wrong. Instead, it was a position of abuse and unpaid labor. I thought it was bearable; I thought I could endure it until I got my certification…until that event."
She began speaking in a dead tone, reciting something that felt like she memorized for years.
"Five days of no sleep, no food, and no sun—just some water and a sense of unending dread as we experimented with the new materials that were called Dakar Root and Sky-Shale Fungi. It was horrible."
She had the look of a war veteran recounting her tales.
"After that ordeal, I decided to leave the tower and find my own path. Maybe find or create something no other mage has done, and create a paper on that and earn my certification that way…and also to find the origin of where that damned Dakar Root and Sky-Shale Fungi were from, and that's why I decided to join you two when you were roaming the guild hall. I heard from some gossip that it came from Quietus Forest, and that you two were going to go there."
The two from Neuling Village looked flabbergasted at Mel. They had open mouths, but no words were coming out. Bundo was distracted and wasn't really paying attention. Eventually, Tyler and Ayleen spoke.
"Does…Does that mean you'll leave us after this?"
"I hope you stay…I don't think I'd be able to survive, having to deal with these two nitwits on my own, Mel."
"Hm, no, I'll stay after this quest. I find you guys' presence to be…pleasing."
"Uhh…thanks for the…compliment?"
"Indeed."
And last, but not least, was Bundo.
"Bundo am from North Loch Tribe! Bundo was strongest, so Tribe shaman and leader called me! Told me 'Bundo strong, must go on trial outside and gather experience and stories and bring back here.' I accepted and left! Bundo then wandered everywhere! Most people did not talk to Bundo, I guess they were too scared of Bundo! Then, Bundo went to a tavern, and was spotted by Tyler and challenged to a bet! I, Bundo, never back down, so I agreed! Now, I am here! Kuhahahaha!"
As Bundo laughed to himself, the rest of the team whispered amongst each other.
"Doesn't it feel like they just told him to go away?"
"It does…"
"Poor Bundo. At least he doesn't realize that."
"Guess so."
The team kept talking about random things, but inevitably, the topic of their strange, new mentor, Grul, came up.
"He's scary. Very. It's like I'm talking to a tenured professor back in the lab."
Melophone admitted, looking around at the dark perimeter.
"I tried to use sight enhancement to watch him when he was up to his usual invisibility trick this morning to see if spells could observe him in that state. He was facing away, but when I tried to look closer than 10 feet, he slowly turned his head to look at me. I practically ran back to my tent after that."
"Yeah…he's quite scary, isn't he?"
Tyler mused, poking the fire with a stick. He had an expression that was pensive.
"Even so…I think he's a very kind and honest person. First, when we went here and fought those monsters, he showed up that time and dealt with them; he never asked for compensation, just…did it because. And when he told me the reason for why he's helping us—to make sure those kids could be taught by us—I thought he was…noble. In a weird way."
"He's not as noble as you think."
Ayleen retorted, her voice firm and cynical.
"He's protective. Like a mother bear. He wants to keep those children and territory safe; I know—I can see it in his eyes and in the way he acted. While we're just the most convenient tool to achieve that. That's why he's training us…"
She paused, her eyes staring at the fire that danced and illuminated the surroundings.
"But I trust him. I trust him more than that suspicious Duke or that idiotic Guildmaster Tyler keeps hanging around with. I trust him because I feel like I can understand him—relate with him, even. Doing everything you can to protect your loved ones when they're not able to themselves…it's a heavy weight."
After her declaration, the rest of the party went silent; quiet as mice.
Of course, Ayleen looked at them strangely, wondering what happened for them to go silent.
"D-Did you just hear that?"
"I did…"
"Bundo, too…"
"What? Why are you guys acting like that?"
"Ayleen, are you perhaps…interested in Gru—"
"NO, YOU IDIOT!"
Tyler's question was shut down with Ayleen's fist going straight into his face.
"I do not like him like that! I'm just saying I can relate to his struggles!"
"Well, I did read on a biology article once that women from all kinds of species are attracted to single fathers…"
"Mel?! Don't join in on the teasing!!!"
"Why are you being so defensive? The only reason you'd be defensive is because it holds some truth to it."
"I'm being defensive because it's not true! I barely know him, and he barely knows me! Didn't you listen to what I said?! I said he sees us as tools! Tools! Not people he's attracted to!"
"Bundo thinks that changes soon!"
"As if you know anything about relationships, you idiotic, suicidal maniac!"
After a round of accusations being thrown at Ayleen, which were mostly just playful teasing, and her fervently denying them, the chattering quickly went on to a different topic, but the lingering sentiment about Grul lingered. Their initial reservations about the strange, viridescent fellow had molded into respect, and even a sense of affection.
The snap of a branch breaking echoed nearby, followed by the sound of something heavy being dragged over leaves and twigs.
"He's back."
Tyler whispered, scrambling to his feet.
Melophone and Ayleen were instantly on alert. Bundo, however, simply grinned, getting up and stretching his massive frame.
Grul stepped out from the darkness, his armor, huge tusks, and sheer size looking especially menacing in the firelight. He held a massive, deer-like carcass over one of his shoulders. A large prey animal common to the border forest. It was big, heavy, and dripping blood onto the earth below.
He dumped the carcass unceremoniously, the heavy thud shaking the ground and causing the campfire to dwindle for a bit.
"Come. Learn how to skin and get best meat."
Grul didn't wait for the others. He retrieved his axe and dragged the animal to the nearest tree.
"All of you. Come now. Process heart, lungs, and liver."
The four adventurers, reminiscing about their conversation from before, exchanged a smile, and followed Grul.
Grul noticed and was confused at their reactions, but moved along.