Ch:65 – East Forest – Part 4

"Elise, look!" 

I aimed my left index finger at the trio beyond a few trees. They were equipped with armor and leather of a decent quality. Their weapons weren't new but looked sturdy. 

"That metal looks shiny." I compared it to my sword, which looked rubbish in comparison.

"Might be something better than iron, but I'm not sure what."

"Do you know them?"

"I've seen them at the guild before. I think it was a rank C party. Not sure."

"How odd. This area is for newbies like us."

"This area threat level is at max E."

"Wait a moment. Could it be due to the report we made?"

"Ah. Could be. Want to find out?" She winked at me, hinting for us to follow them.

And how could I refuse such an interesting proposal? 

We moved together, keeping a safe distance to not cause them to feel stalked or threatened. 

"If they find us, we greet them normally. If they ask us what we're doing here, we say herb gathering."

I nodded at her words, carrying a bag with a few herbs with me.

In my potions belt, also the poisonous one I produced. We came here today to test its effectiveness on monsters.

After walking for quite a while, we noticed them halting and readying their weapons. In front of them, a group of horned rabbits.

"Seek shelter." I pointed behind her, a few trees away. Then I climbed the one next to me, finding it easier to see what was going on from above.

The mage behind him, a brown-haired girl with hair all the way to her shoulders, raised her staff and started shouting some words.

“Bones of earth, ancient and deep. By mountain’s will, you shall leap. Rise and hold, let movement cease.”

Noticing the mage's powerful presence, one of the horned rabbits channeled a fireball from his horn. It was quickly deflected by a big man in silver armor, who, with a dangerous-looking hammer, smashed the skill to the side.

Stones surrounded the four rabbits, latching onto their bodies, keeping them from escaping.

Notice: You've taken a glimpse of a spell. While using a spell, one cannot move. One must chant words of creation while converting their mana into their element.

"That's hard." I gulped down the feedback. It was already hard for me to convert mana to ice. Using a skill by moving myself against my opponent or aiming it freely wherever I needed. But that... was completely out of my league.

The third one dashed at a speed that surpassed mine and my mother, almost blurring his image, slicing their heads in one clean arc with a glowing, sharp sword.

I gripped the branch close to me. "They're so strong." Jealousy filled my heart. I wanted to be like them. 

Lies.

I wanted to be better than them.

I came down the tree and left them to do their thing.

"They're the real deal." A faint smile passed by my face. To which Elise passed a hand on my back.

"One day, we'll be just like them."

"Yes."

We heard a strange screeching from where the group was.

"What a weird sound."

"True. Let's go." She pushed my back as if to ignore whatever that was. We went in the opposite direction. Surely, they'd clean everything on their path, leaving nothing for us to hoard.

The call was smart. 

Neither of us wanted to engage in the other party's affairs.

Least they'd report us of stalking them or something worse.

I didn't want to lose my adventuring license. 

Last time, I had received a report from another adventurer for stealing a kill.

That had been ridiculous.

"Iris. Is that?"

I halted in shock. The green slime from before was holding a boar with a tentacle through the poor animal's mouth.

"It's paralyzing him."

The boar despite nor monster nor a magically mutated creature like the horned rabbits; thus a normal animal. It was still big enough to ram through the slime and break its core. However, that slime seemed to be stronger than last time. We could see the paralytic poison circulating through the tentacle light green, almost transparent appearance.

I looked around for the red slime, not finding any trace. "I'm going." I gritted my teeth.

"I'll support you." Her hands enchanted my sword, causing it to shine in light tones. On top of that I froze the tip of my sword to make it pointier and sharper. 

I dashed at it from behind, unsure whether slimes had eyes. If they could sense me or see me, independent of my location. From the times I had fought them, it felt like they could after noticing us. Yet, they always stretched their tentacles and only then did they try other attacks, as if ascertaining the range between them, the predators, and us, their prey.

I bet it all on this single strike. The range closed in, and the restrained animal noticed me. Its eyes gained some vividness, and it tried to push forth. The slime threw two more tentacles at it.

That's when I had a strange sensation that this moment was ideal for me. 

My sword pierced its body, causing its fluids to leak from both sides, and then, with all my strength, I slashed the slime twice, the latter going as far as to cut the tentacles, disconnecting them from the animal.

Notice: You've gained 50 experience from defeating a slime.

Ecstatic about my accomplishment, I heard Elise scream.

I turned to where she was meant to be and saw her surrounded by two horned rabbits.

"I'm coming!" I dashed as fast as I could, but the beast next to me—the boar from before, outclassed me, leaving me behind.

"Wait, what?" I didn't halt.

The animal in fury went and trampled over the horned rabbits. They were left there, one bleeding and moaning with its legs open and belly facing the cold blue sky, the other thrown against a nearby tree, now unconscious.

I breathed hard, relieved he hadn't trampled Elise from behind, potentially getting her hurt enough for the magical beasts to kill her.

I arrived by her side, noticing her sleeves with some blackness, the burnt scent pricking my nose.

"Are you alright?"

"No." She pulled her scorched sleeve, and I saw her burnt and bloody arm. 

"Let's fall back and find you a safe place to heal."

"Yes." 

I went and slayed the horned rabbits, collecting their soulstones along with the green slime one.

Notice: You've gained 30 experience from defeating a horned rabbit.

The same message echoed a second time.

Then, we left the forest behind.