The elven archer hurried off into the nightly woods on a mission. He sat there, snacking on bread, finding Astrid sneaking glances at him every now and then.
"Is there something on your mind?" Noah asked before taking another bite, looking right at her.
Astrid kept her knees tucked close to her chest, seeming a bit surprised that he noticed her glances as her pointy ears reddened, "Well, I just…I was curious about you, a bit—ah, I'm sorry!"
"No need to apologize. What were you curious about?" He laughed.
The elf fiddled with her uniform, twiddling the verdant cape between her pale fingers, "You don't seem much older than us. Still, you're living out in the middle of nowhere, without any family. If you don't mind me asking, do you have any family?"
"I do," Noah answered, looking up at the starry sky with a soft smile. "They're far away from here though."
"In another region?" Astrid asked.
"Something like that," he answered happily. "What about you? It's hard to imagine a couple of kids being sent out into the world—your parents must trust you both a lot."
"It's not that…" Astrid said meekly.
"It's not?"
"It's more like…we were forced out," Astrid explained, twiddling her thumbs. "In elf culture, you're expected to be independent early on."
"That's rough," Noah nodded his head. "You two don't seem to be doing so bad for yourselves. Except for, y'know, wolverine encounters."
Astrid laughed lightly, "You're right."
Amidst their conversation, the bushes rustled before the archer emerged with an air of triumph. Otto's outfit was covered in dirt, with some leaves and branches stuck to his clothes.
In the archer's hand was a rather large, heinous-looking hare that had already passed, "I…hfff…did it!"
"Erm, good job…?" Noah said hesitantly. "Did you have some trouble?"
Otto immediately scoffed as if the idea was completely impossible, though hardly hit it, "With a hare? No, no trouble…none at all! It was as easy as hitting an apple off a tree!"
The successful, albeit feisty catch of the bowman was set upon the campfire, being cooked thoroughly by the flames. A look of satisfaction was on Otto's face with each bite he took of the cooked rabbit.
"Now that's the stuff! Right, Astrid?" Otto asked with a proud smile.
"Mhm," she nodded happily. "It's great after all that fish–I mean, I'm completely grateful for you feeding us, Noah!"
"No need for that," Noah laughed it off before taking a bite of the cooked critter. "It's nice to have a bit of variety."
The first night of the journey closed with a nice meal, though not with a perfect slumber. From the comfort of dreams, a crunch of leaves or perhaps the rustling of a brush woke him up. He lifted his head from the pack being used as a pillow, looking across the put-out campfire.
Both of the twins were fast asleep, with Otto snoring like a bear after a hefty dinner and Astrid quietly asleep, curled up like a cat.
'Was it just a fox I heard? Maybe some critter hoping to find some leftovers,' he thought, looking around.
Another sound in the surrounding foliage raised his suspicions as he silently slid his hand over, grabbing the handle of the axe he slept beside. He stayed crouched, scoping out the tall grass and low branches for any sign.
The air whispering through the trees; each tap of the minuscule legs of insects across the bark; the subtlest breathing. All of it was registered to his elevated senses, all five enhanced.
[Heightened Sense] [C-Rank Hunting Skill]
The intense focus was held as he remained still, not exuding a single breath before—
Rustle.
A footstep in the foliage; he heard it, the press of soil, a quiet crunch of a twig. With a single step, he silently dashed ahead a dozen meters, passing into the density of the mountainside woods.
He arrived in front of the source of the noise: a short, green-skinned creature with a humanoid build.
'A goblin?' The realization surfaced.
[Identification] [C-Rank Close-Quarters Combat Skill]
["Forest Goblin"] [Designated Level: Appx. 2]
The information of the inhuman creature flooded into his mind as he watched the surprised monster stumble backwards in fright of his sudden appearance.
"Graahba…!"
Stammered gibberish escaped the goblin's mouth as it seemed to yelp in shock at the human's quick arrival, waving the makeshift club in its hand in defense.
Noah stood there, scratching his head without any threat felt from the creature, "You were planning on robbing us in our sleep, weren't you? Well, I'll let you off the hook, so scram."
[Intimidation] [ B+ Rank Strength Skill]
It wasn't his words that held no meaning to the monster that was ignorant of human speech, but rather the imposing aura of power that poured off his position that convinced the fiend. The goblin became pale, turning around hurriedly as it tripped over branches, scrambling off into the unseen.
"Well, good to know they have some brains in there," he mumbled with a quiet sigh.
The rise of the next morning set the group through the path between mountains, not wasting the sunlight. He led the way, not slowing down in his rather brisk pace while the twins seemed to somewhat struggle to keep up.
At the summit of a small slope that overlooked a river running through the quiet forest, he glanced back, finding the archer nearly a dozen meters back, and the mage not much further.
["Cardio" Proficiency Up +1] [256/999]
"Hey…" Otto called out, huffing. "Do you, ever, get tired? Even a little bit?"
Astrid leaned against a tree for support while she caught her breath, "I didn't want to say anything, but he has been walking really fast this whole time, without stopppng…"
"I do, after a while," Noah answered without a bead of perspiration on his skin.
While the twins took a breather, he took the opportunity to refill their canisters by the fresh stream. It was pleasantly quiet, with only the chirps of birds up in the trees supplying an ambience.
[Water Purification] [B-Rank Survival Skill]
He didn't worry about any bacteria within the water, securing it in each canister before standing up. As he set the caps back on each of the containers, he leaned back as a projectile passed inches in front of his nose.
An arrow; striking the bark of a tree a dozen strides to his right. It wasn't an accident that he evaded being skewered by the projectile, though it certainly was an unwelcome surprise.
"Well, I know that wasn't Otto, so–what's the big idea here?" Noah remarked, looking around.
Hiding within the foliage around the stream were short, green figures, hardly remaining out of sight. From a quick count, he tallied around a half-dozen of the pint-sized fiends.
An ambush; it didn't take a second thought to find that answer. The moment he took note of their presence, the pointy-eared bandits emerged from their hiding spots.
'Guess this is the price of living in a fantasy world,' he thought, squeezing the handle of his axe.
From both sides, the two quickest of the goblin group lunged at him. One's tongue hung out, jabbing a spear forward while the other laughed, cocking a rusty dagger back.
In a flick of his wrist, he released the axe. As if guided by a mystical wind, the wood-handled weapon curved through the air, slicing through the spear-wielding goblin's neck.
With the same momentum, the axe turned itself around, curving back to slice through the other fiend's neck.
[Axe Throwing+++] [A-Rank Axe-Wielding Skill]
[EXP: +200] [5,450/10,500]
["Monster Hunting" Proficiency Up +2] [4/999]
The first two goblins fell lifelessly into the grass as the axe returned to his grip. As soon as his weapon reunited with him, he looked ahead to find a trio of monsters scampering across the stream.
Each of the rapid footsteps echoed with splashes of water, bringing his axe up again. He held his ground as the numerous monsters leapt at him with their weapons seeking his flesh—
Unleashing his axe in a horizontal swing, the motion unleashed a roaring slash that ripped through the air.
[Mega-Chop] [A-Rank Axe-Wielding Skill]
It was as if the wind itself cut through the goblins, bisecting the fiends as the trees behind were split. Nothing in a ten meter radius directly north of the direction he swung was left intact, with the afflicted oak crumbling over.
[EXP: +300] [5,750/10,500]
"Hope I didn't hit anything else by accident," he muttered with a quick exhale.
A quick look as taken at the scenery around the flowing stream where the now slain goblins laid amongst chopped branches and fallen leaves. There were no monsters left prowling the area, he confirmed, sliding his axe back between his backpack and his back before heading back.
It was a few minutes of walking before reuniting with the twins, who didn't seem to have any fiendish encounters of their own.
"Oh, there you are," Astrid said, standing herself back up, brushing off her knees.
"Thought maybe an orc snatched you up, heh," Otto joked, getting up as well.
"Not quite," Noah said with a smile, returning the now filled canisters to the two travelers.