As we walked, Duncan filled me in on the quest. It was pretty standard adventurer fare. We had to clear out an infestation of spiders.

Shuddering at the mention of spiders, I also felt mildly indignant that we had to slaughter them for some reason.

Shaking my head at the feeling running through me, I turned my attention back to Duncan, who was describing the parts of a spider that we could harvest, and the areas to watch out for.

Nodding along, I suddenly realized that the scale of parts that he was talking about appeared to be much larger than what I was imagining.

Asking him such, he looked at me, and then brought his hand to my chest level before saying, “That’s the height of the average spider in the forest. Didn’t you know that?”

Gulping, I, in fact, did not know that.

The only bestiary tome that I had read had described the real big scary monstrous beasts. But apparently, even the lesser scary monstrous beasts could be real big.

Smiling with amusement at my expression, Duncan said, “Just stay behind us. By the way, since we haven’t introduced you yet...This is Faustus - a healer and a D rank adventurer,” pitching the last part towards the three people in the back.

Turning back to them, I bowed at Dunkirk, who I knew, and the unfamiliar man and woman.

Smiling, the woman introduced herself as Cathy, while the man grunted in silence before Cathy jabbed him. Then he reluctantly introduced himself as Moreno.

Laughing, Duncan spoke, “Cathy here is called fire eye, because her arrows always fly straight and true. She’s our rearliner. Moreno is our scout, and he’s used to being alone, hence the grumpiness. As for Dunkirk, he’s our frontliner…. He’s bal good with a blade,” he finished his words with a proud look at his son, who grinned at me and patted his sword.

“What about you?” I asked Duncan, who winked at me and pointed to his shield, a tower shield that was strapped over a sword on his back.

Nodding in understanding, I knew now he was in effect the main frontliner. The vanguard.

Duncan then pointed at my set of leather armor, battered as it were by the multiple fights that I had gone through, and I smiled abashedly saying, “I’ve gone through a few fights here and there,”

Behind us, Moreno snorted and muttered something underneath his breath, which earned him a glare from Cathy and a frown from Duncan, whose hearing was apparently better than mine was at any rate.

But then, I was actively using as little warforce as possible since I wanted to extend my operational time as long as possible.

I had been infused with the warforce at six in the morning, and it lasts for twenty-four hours. So, I had till tomorrow to operate freely. Beyond that, though, I would have perhaps another twelve hours with the potions.

Just enough for our mission and back.

That’s what I hoped for, at least.

But just in case, Sir Patrick would come to the forest tomorrow at noon, which would coincide perfectly with my first potion’s end.

Gripping my sword tightly, I smiled tightly as I imagined the consequences of what would happen if things didn’t go according to plan.

Noticing my actions, Duncan clapped his hand on my back, startling me. Then he spoke, “Don’t worry, lad. We’ll take care of you. You just need to sit back, relax, and protect yourself. Do you understand?”

Nodding, I smiled at the bear-like man, who smiled back.

Then whistling a tune, we kept marching, not stopping for provisions until we reached the outskirts of a vibrant forest that was hued in shades of lively green and aged brown.

Puzzled, I looked at Duncan, who looked grimly at the forest and said, “The Forest of Death. It has many areas within, and most of them are dangerous. The others are fatal.”

Gulping, I asked, “But why is it so…” and gesturing to the forest, I let my words trail off.

“So beautiful?” Duncan asked with a smile.

“Aye,” I nodded as I continued, “It’s beautiful. Is it like that for the entire forest?”

Turning serious, Duncan looked at me and said, “The forest of death is one of the largest forests around here. It also has the most number of beasts that we’ve ever seen in the entire empire. They’re also much bigger, faster, and stronger than beasts in other places. We don’t know why that is, but the more we kill, the more beasts appear. They’re endless.”

Understanding the situation, I asked with curiosity, “Then why don’t you share the forest with the mercenaries?”

Spitting, Moreno spoke up from behind, “It’s because fighting the beasts is the duty of us adventurers. We do it for profit, sure. But our code lies in protecting the people. Those Baling mercenaries? They won’t lift a finger unless there’s gold in it for them.”

Surprised, I looked at the man who hadn’t spoken more than a single sentence at a time before.

Meeting my look, he grunted and retreated into his taciturn silence again.

Turning back to look at the forest, I found it to be warm and inviting, as though it couldn’t wait for me to step in.

Then, a roar shook the forest, and the treeline rustled as oversized birds rushed for the sky before they dived inside again.

A cacophony of noises erupted before everything went silent again.

Jerking my head at the inviting forest - whose invitation I wasn’t too keen on accepting now - I asked, “What… was that?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Duncan said, “Lion? Griffon? Dragon? Dragon spider? Who knows? But it stays in the innermost area, and we aren’t going there. Not by a long shot.”

Before I could speak further, Duncan clapped his hands and said, “Quick rest and armaments check. We move in 30 minutes. Who wants to be on food duty?”

Dunkirk took the food duty, but then paused, as I spoke thoughtfully, “How about I handle the food? My day job is a cook after all.”

Choking, the group looked at me while I looked back at them innocently.

Then Duncan laughed and said, “Let the cook make the food then. I haven’t had good food on these excursions in ages.”

Ignoring the dirty look that his son shot at him, Duncan then seated himself on a nearby rock, and pulling out a whetstone; he began sharpening his twin daggers and sword.

Meanwhile, I busied myself lighting a fire with the convenient heatstones, and began taking the pans and utensils that the other adventurers were carrying with them.

I still had my finite ring with everything inside, but it was tucked safely inside my armor, and I didn’t want to expose its presence to the group.

So, I gladly accepted the pots and pans, and soon succulent smells began arising over our temporary camp.

Eating the steaming hot food to the accompaniment of the occasional roar and the dancing trees was an experience indeed.

I felt relaxed at the moment, but at the thought of what lay ahead and the fact that we were wasting precious time, made me anxious.

Noticing my anxiety, Duncan nevertheless kept his silence, though he would occasionally look at me with a thoughtful look.

After a while, it was time, and we quickly packed up our equipment before, with one last check, we went into the forest proper with weapons at the ready.

As we entered, a chill seemed to sweep through me, and my heartbeat accelerated against my will; drawing in more warforce than usual.

“Bal,” I cursed to myself.

But then, I noticed that it seemed like the air with motes of white, bronze, gold, red, and…. Violet? Seemed to be flowing toward us.

Pointing at the phenomenon, I looked inquiringly at Duncan, who quietly whispered, “This is a semi-blessed land. The warforce here is incredibly dense, and we think it’s because of all the people and beasts who have died here.”

Nodding, I vaguely felt that something was off with the explanation, but I couldn’t place my finger on it.

However, it was a fact that we were here, and perhaps this semi-blessed land could increase my operating time.

But I feared it might also be the opposite.

Shrugging my shoulders mentally, I followed along with the rest as Moreno scouted ahead, with Duncan following him. Dunkirk and I followed suit in a horizontal line, with the fire eye, Cathy, bringing up the rearguard.

And we went deeper into the forest of death, where the roars of beasts sounded and our hearts pounded.