Chapter 697: First Encounter

A couple of days passed, and the petty second-year guys decided to handle only their share of the corpses, leaving the rest for the girls to take care of.

Things between them had been noticeably strained since that evening, though no one addressed it directly.

It simply showed in the way they spoke and interacted with one another. Still, nothing too serious came of it, and the group continued travelling south, using their own maps to navigate, much like everyone else with half a brain.

One of the guys had a useful appraisal skill, which they used to scout out monsters before engaging any.

They encountered plenty of monsters they couldn’t even consider fighting, fleeing from those without a second thought while engaging the ones they could handle.

There were of course, plenty of times when they were forced to take more than what they could handle, say, a monster attacked them first, in which case, they would fight for a bit, before eventually making a run for it the moment they saw an opening.

A tyrant, they could take, with a bit of difficulty, anything stronger than that, they didn’t even try to fight.

Their greatest problem, however, was that no one in their cohort was a healer.

Though they treated whatever injuries they could to the best of their abilities, the wounds gradually began piling up, mostly on their vanguards, Tessa, Rina, and one of the guys who was actually a part-beastman.

A distant relative of his had been a wolfkin, and he had inherited some of those traits.

His heritage only showed in his rows of sharp teeth and long claws; he had neither furry ears nor a tail, though he did have more body hair than the average person.

Rina was also the daughter of a Baron, which helped explain her good leadership skills.

Mira mostly acted as her second-in-command, much to the displeasure of the other second-years, though that arrangement remained unchanged.

It was on the third day of their third week in this world that they finally encountered another group of people camping out in the merciless desert.

The group found the camp by coincidence really; simply coming across it along their route, so Rina decided to stop by and say hello.

With only an hour or two remaining before the sun dipped below the horizon, they would have to camp close to one another anyway.

"Better to let them know we’re going to be neighbours for the night, and also see if they are willing to share some information," Rina told the others as she took the lead.

The campers had already noticed them approaching from the horizon, and were rising from the shallow depression in which they had set up camp.

Rina raised her arms high, instructing the others to do the same as they approached to show that they meant no harm.

At first glance, there were six people, comprised of two young women and two towering young men, both of whom wore rather pleasant smiles.

Once she was sure their gesture had been understood, Rina lowered her arms and stopped a few feet from the encampment.

"What a pleasant surprise," one of the men said. "You’re the first people we’ve encountered in this place. And judging by those phoenix emblems, you must be from that Grimholt Academy."

Rina smiled. "Glad you caught on so quickly. You’re also the first people we’ve encountered. It’s rather odd how difficult it is to find other groups here."

Her gaze passed over their clothing before returning to him. "And judging by your own attires, you must be from Duskport Military Academy?"

"Hoho... I didn’t think a bunch of pampered kids like you would know about our humble military academy."

"Surely you jest," Rina replied, maintaining her pleasant smile as she ignored the subtle jab. "Everyone knows about the great military academy. You might not be as prestigious as our flying academy, but that’s only because of Grimholt’s long history of distinguished alumni."

"Haha, is that so?" the young man replied. "You’re right."

Their uniforms made their affiliation easy to recognise, but their builds were also a telling sign.

The military academy only trained warriors and knights, and its curriculum involved rigorous physical training, so naturally, its students tended to have powerful, well-defined physiques.

"It’s going to get dark soon," Rina said. "We’ll probably be camping somewhere close by for the night. Would you mind telling us what you know about this region?"

The man grinned, revealing a row of slightly yellowed teeth. "Yeah, sure. You’re also welcome to camp with us. We have more than enough space down here."

Rina shook her head. "We’re happy to find our own place, but thank you."

They didn’t know these people, and although the conversation had been pleasant so far, that wasn’t nearly enough reason for her to trust them.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she studied the four women behind the pair of men. Everything looked fine on the surface, but something felt a little off, though she couldn’t quite place it.

The women seemed a bit too timid for students of the military academy. One of them behaving that way would have been understandable, but all four?

When groups encountered one another in this place, one of three things usually happened.

Some chose to team up, increasing their numbers and, in turn, their chances of survival. Others simply got acquainted, exchanged supplies and information, then went their separate ways.

The last possibility was far less pleasant.

Most people were greedy by nature, so it wasn’t unusual for some to kill or maim those they encountered and take their gains, resources, and equipment.

Everyone knew about this possibility and had been warned well ahead of time, but such things happened regardless.

No group would ever admit to doing it, and only time would tell which people were willing to stoop so low.

So after a brief exchange of information, the group went on their way. The two men waved them off, watching as they walked farther and farther from the camp.

Once they were sufficiently distant, one turned towards the other, licking his lips. "Boss, are you thinking what I’m thinking?"

"Yeah. What a bunch of beauties, don’t you think?"

He glanced back towards the four women behind them, all of whom immediately cowered beneath his gaze. "I’ve grown tired of these ugly ducklings. I haven’t had such a beauty in a while, and we just saw four of them. Can you believe our luck? It must be a gift from the heavens!"

The other man’s eyes sparkled with excitement. "So we’re going to do it?"

"Of course. They said they’d be close by. As soon as the sun sets, we’ll go looking for their camp. Then we just wait for the perfect moment... Hahahahahaha! Tonight is going to be exciting!"