We came at a junction where two routes were divided and went deeper into the forest. This junction was about 10 minutes away from the entry of the Poison Ground. There were no signs of anything which I expected. According to Javel, these routes ultimately lead to the same destination. He also ordered them to check both routes. The immediate question in front of me was...

Me: “Which one should we take first?”

“A-are you asking me, Sir?”

Me: “Hmm...”

I looked back towards my right over my shoulder. A short beastman with a narrow face, silver hair and dark green eyes stood with a confused look. His long whiskers swayed with the flow of the breeze. It looked funny, but on the other hand the swaying whiskers told us that there at the moment a soft breeze was blowing from the east.

His name was Elel Revi, a newly registered adventure of the General Body. He was assigned to me as an field messenger by Javel. He was wearing brown leather armour and I could tell that it was of the lowest quality. He also carried a dagger on his waist along with a small green crystal. I believe that to be the portable messaging crystal.

I sarcastically looked around for a moment and replied.

Me: “Is there anyone else with me?”

Elel: “N-no Sir.”

I looked forward and asked him one more time.

Me: “Which of these two should we traverse first?”

After a few seconds of silence, Elel answered.

Elel: “I think... I think the route to our right should an excellent choice.”

Me: “And why is that?” I retorted.

Elel: “I-I-I just took a guess, Sir.”

Me: “Then, why do you think it would be an excellent choice?”

Another round of silence followed, after which he replied.

Elel: “I-I think it would be safe if we took the route on the right.”

Me: “Do you know why we are here, Elel?”

Elel: “No Sir. I was just told to be ready and also take a portable messenger crystal and report at the entry of the camp.”

Me: “We are here to find out why the scout team hasn't reported yet, Elel. Which means, there is a possibility that none of these routes are safe. I will take your pick, but prepare yourself Elel. I just might find something nasty.”

Elel: “Ye-yes, Sir.”

Me: “And one more thing, stop being so anxious around me.”

I didn’t wait for his reply and started to walk. The forest had tall, dense trees everywhere and it would have been beneficial for me if I moved upon the branches of these trees. I could do it, but I didn’t know whether if Elel could.

Me: “Elel, would you be comfortable into climbing up on one of these trees and move from one tree to another?”

Elel: “No...”

Me: “Very well, then stay close to me and keep your eyes open for anything.”

I walked on the road, but my eyes were scanning every inch of this forest. The road was a narrow one with parts of heavy bushes here and there. It was quite where we were moving. There were no footprints on the ground either, which led me to believe in two possibilities. One, the scout team never took this route and Two, if they took this, then they might have traveled either upon the trees or in the shadows of these bushes.

Usually, my swords would have been attached to my back. Now, it hangs around my waist on the sides. The new arrangement is awkward and uncomfortable for me. As we were moving deeper into the forest, I placed my right hand upon the hilt of my sword. The less time it takes me to draw my sword out, the faster I can attack or defend. Well, that was my theory anyway.

The rays of the lightstar seemed to be ineffective to reach the forest the more deep we move. We have already walked for close to 30 minutes and I have yet to find anything of importance. Maybe... just maybe the scout team was returning late and our worries were nothing.

Elel: “Sir... the place is getting darker and darker, don’t you think.”

Without looking back, I answered his query.

Me: “Yes, Elel and I suspect the visibility would get even worse than it is now as we move further inward.”

Elel: “The air is also getting thick.”

Me: “You will get used to it, Elel.

How long has it been since we took this route?”

Elel: “30 minutes, Sir.”

I turned around and faced him.

Me: “Then, it is time. Report back to the Command Center. Tell them that after taking route number 2, we have yet to come in contact with the scout team.”

Elel: “Yes, Sir.”

He unhooked the green little crystal from his waist and put his palm on the flat surface of the crystal. The crystal gave out a slight glow and projected a screen towards Elel. The contents were hazy for me to read. Elel typed fast into the screen and closed the screen when he finished. He looked towards me.

Elel: “It’s done.”

We continued to walk even further. I was yet to find any trace of them and all the walking was making me bored. To liven things up, I decided to start a conversation with Elel.

Me: “Elel, you haven’t old me about your clan.”

Elel: “So-sorry Sir. I belong to... to no clan in particular.”

I stopped and turned around.

Me: “How can that be?”

He lowered his eyes and replied.

Elel: “Well, formally I belong to the Revi Clan. The truth is... truth is I-I am adopted.

Some Revi merchants found in the plains near the Revi land. They took me to the Revi land and handed me over to the Council of Revi. A clerk was appointed by them to take care of me until they find my parents or from which clan I belonged to. To this day, they still haven’t found and they allowed me to use their Clan name.

The clerk who was appointed to take care of me came close to something of a mother figure in my life. She took care of me so... I won’t say anything hurtful, although she was getting paid for taking care of me. Her children never liked me as well as her husband.

When the time came, I walked out and joined the General Body in hopes to find something meaningful while being in adventures.”

Me: “In which quadrant the Revi land falls?”

Elel: “It is close to the Feli land, east of it to be accurate.”

Suddenly, something dropped in between us on the ground. I immediately looked up and found something falling towards us at a high speed. Kicking Elel on his chest, I pushed him back and within few seconds of backing up that thing fell on the ground with a large thud.

Elel had fallen on the ground facing me. I believe the kick he received on his chest from me, dazed him a little. Another thing dropped in between us. This time I got a good look at the object that stood in between us, facing me. It was a monster, surely one of Poison Ground’s creations.

This thing had a grayish body; it was as tall as me. Glaring with both of its bluish eyes, it opened its mouth revealing red stained razor sharp teeth and a slimy tongue rolled out and hung towards the side. This thing had a well formed upper body and from the looks of it, this thing should have great strength. The monster’s lower body was different. It was slim, but greatly proportioned. I think it makes the monster nimble enough to land the way it did. Its hand... well more like it wields blades as hands. Sharp outer side with a jagged inner side edge. Both of its arms were stained with red blood.

For a moment, it felt like we were standing in the middle of a standoff. The one who strikes first would win. Thankfully, I had already placed my palm around the hilt of my sword, ready to pull it at any given moment. Sadly, that monster won the standoff as it attacked first. It swung its left hand towards me, aiming for my waist. I quickly pulled out my left sword and stopped myself from getting chopped in half... just barely. I intercepted its attack few inches away from my waist.

The monster didn’t waste any chance and swung its other hand towards me, this time aiming for my head... typical. I waited for the right moment and ducked underneath the swing. It missed and I quickly got up and took out my right sword and swung towards its neck. With one arm locked with my sword and other still in the middle of motion, the monster was unable to defend my attack. My right hand sword struck the monster’s neck and cut into, but unfortunately... it only went the half the way.

Green blood gushed out of its mouth, but that didn’t stop him from using his right leg. I had to jump backwards to dodge it resulting in both of my swords getting free. His left hand was now operational and the cut on his neck seemed insignificant.

Although it was coughing out blood, the monster still glared at me. I heard a loud scream and saw the monster turning back. There was a dagger lodged in the back of its head. The monster faced Elel who was the likely one to have attacked it with the dagger. Stowing aside the thought of how the monster was still alive, I quickly reacted. I swung my left hand sword in a horizontal arc aiming its neck.

The attack sailed on smoothly and cut through the rest of his still attached neck. The monster's head fell off while its green blood sprayed upwards like a fountain. I kicked the monster’s body which then fell on the ground, soaking it with its blood.

Elel looked at the monster’s dead body in bewilderment. Some of the monster’s blood also got sprayed on him. I crouched and freed his dagger from the severed head of the monster. He took the dagger from my hand when I extended it towards him. He was shaking a little bit, which was normal. Now, it was time to check on the first thing that fell from the trees.

Elel: “What was it, Sir?”

Me: “I don’t know...”

The thing which fell first was just a large piece of the torso. Judging from some piece of leather armour wrapped around the torso, it has to be of an adventurer... a member of the scout team definitely.

Me: “It seems like we found a member of the scout team. Too bad he is dead.”

Elel: “The he-head is gone. It-it’s...”

I look towards him, he was shaken... understandably so. I picked up the remains and moved it into a nearby bush.

Elel: “What are you doing, Sir?”

Me: “I am making sure that no other monsters finishes whatever remained of that beastman. We need to keep him hidden so that we could take his remains back. Or at least I hope that it will stay hidden, given that this place is filled with monsters... well lets hope for the best.

For now Elel, be on your guard. It could get nasty very soon.”

Elel: “Ye-yes, Sir.”

I sheathed my swords and start walking forward. Now, I kept glancing upwards towards tree tops as well. I don’t want to be surprised like that again. I could hear Elel breathing heavily.

Me: “Was that your first encounter with a monster?”

Elel: “Huh!... I-I mean ye-yes, Sir.”

Me: “Would be any help to you if I told you that it gets easy with time?”

Elel: “I-I-I guess so.”

Me: “You do realize that the business you are in... this kind of encounters are considered normal.”

Elel: “Ye-yes... I know... I know, but still It-it is so unreal.”

Me: “It is very real Elel; just don’t forget to use your weapon when the time comes.”

Elel: “I... I won’t Sir.”

Me: “Although... I would like to say that the courage you showed back there... you are going to be a fine adventurer, Elel.”

We heard rustling sounds coming above us. Upon looking up, I saw the branches of the tree were dancing.

Me: “Elel... hide within that bush over by that tree.”

I pointed to my left, towards a tree nearby. Not waiting for his reply, I used my jumping skill and launched myself upwards, close to the place the noise was coming. The moment I landed on a branch of a tree, I saw the same kind of monster as before feasting on a body of an adventurer.

The branch was a sturdy one and that’s why it was holding all of our weights. The monster was eating out from the stomach of a beastman. I hope he had a quick death. That monster stopped chewing and looked towards me. Not wanting for it to attack me first, I unsheathed the sword on my right and plunged it straight through the monster's throat. The monster was standing still while chewing portions of the remains of the beastman fell from its mouth. I pulled the sword out and plunged it again, this time right through its head. After pulling my sword out again, the limp body of the monster fell down on the ground producing a large *THUD* like noise.

With slow steps I walk closer to the body of the deceased adventurer, surely a part of the scout team. I could not find any recent scars or wounds which would indicate the cause of his death other than the big gaping hole in the middle of his body. I sighed and pushed the body, it fell on the ground beside the body of the dead monster with a loud thud. I came down from the tree, disappointed.

Already we found two dead adventurers. Ohh... The picture I thought of wasn’t pretty.

Elel: “Sir!” He rushed out of his hiding place after seeing me. He looked worried.

Me: “I found another one... dead.”

Elel: “I-I was stunned when that monster fell on the ground. I thought...”

I looked at him with a small amount of amusement.

Me: “Thought what, Elel?” I asked.

Elel: “That... that it was my end, but I quickly realized that it was dead, so I regained my composure again to be startled by another body dropping on the ground.”

I snickered a little.

Me: “Put this adventurer where you were hiding before and remember the place too. I don’t want us misplacing a body of an adventurer when the time came for retrieving it.”

Elel: “Ye-yes, Sir.”

He was hesitant at first, but pushed forward his fear and got the job done without any incident. I think that’s all he needs... a push within himself to walk through the fear. It will help him grow as an adventurer and also as a beastman in the Zoit continent.

We moved onward, deep in the forest. The air got thicker by the minute and less and less rays of the lightstar seemed to protrude inside the forest. Unlike before, I already have unsheathed the sword on my right while clutching hard at the hilt of the left one. So far the swords as doing their job well, not as sharp and powerful as the Blood swords, but still sharp enough. The weight distribution is quite good too. It does not feel heavy more than it should while swinging or slashing.

A nice clearing was found some distance away. The trees surrounding the clearance were standing close to each other which in turn could provide as excellent covers for us to approach the clearing without being detected by sight alone.

We managed to do the other part right... which was approaching the trees without making any loud noise. Once we reached the tree line, we crouched behind the trees and looked at the sight. Elel would remember the sight for as long as he lives.

The same type of monsters, 7 as per my count were strolling without any urgency. Feeding off from the bodies that were littered around the ground. Some of those monsters were partially covered in blood. Just by the looks of it, many beasatmen lay there... cold and motionless. I heard a sound coming from my left. Elel was vomiting and he was producing sounds which were just enough to peak interest in those monsters.

All of them stopped feeding and looked towards our way. I don’t think they pinpointed our location yet, but they seemed to have grasped the general area from which the sound came. The monsters slowly started walking towards our direction. I looked towards Elel who was not in shape of fighting at that moment.

I drew out my other sword and issued an order for Elel.

Me: “Elel, stay here and don’t come out of the cover of the trees. If you see any of the monsters coming closer towards you... you run. You run like there is no tomorrow. Or you could step up and fight... your choice.”

I breathed in a few deep breaths and charged those monsters head on. Noticing me coming out in the clear, those monsters seemed animated and started running towards me on all fours. They were very fast and looked menacing. If I had faced them before I became a Blood... I would have feared them. All 7 of them charged while spreading out.

So... they know how to hunt too. I thought while I ran towards them.

When we were just close enough, two of them leaped towards me with great speed. I suddenly came to a halt and took aim. Confirming the power, I shot two rounds of Air Blast at 40% power towards each of them respectively. I concentrated the blast radius converge at a point on their body, which resulted in of them getting blasted into pieces.

Another one leaped onto me whom I dealt it with another round of Air Blast at 20%. The blast pushed the monster backwards while in mid air. I did not waste any time over that one as I still had 4 of them advancing towards me.

I dodged one of them by side stepping on my left and thrust my left hand sword into the chest of the incoming one. At the same time I parried a slash from another one. I quickly pulled back my left hand sword and parried another swipe followed by another swipe. I dodged just in time for the one behind me to miss me and the monster instead collided with one of its own. A large cracking sound came upon collision.

I quickly parried another swipe downwards which made the monster loose its balance. There was a small opening, enough for me to thrust in within its rib cage or where the rib cage should be. Blood gushed out of its mouth; I pulled out my right hand sword from its rib cage and plunged my left hand sword right into its head.

I heard a commotion behind me. I turned and saw two of them starting to get up. They seemed disoriented, which was a splendid chance for me. Freeing my left hand sword, I walked close to them. One of them saw me and showed me its teeth, which I took as a sign for ‘don’t come near me or else!’. I drove my right hand sword straight through the teeth inside its mouth. The monster dropped on the ground while the light within its blue eyes fed away.

I looked for the other one and found it running towards where Elel was hiding. There was no time for me to chase him down save for one method. I pulled out my right hand sword and threw it towards the running one with all my might.

The sword travels fast; cutting threw air with the hope of reaching its target in time. The monster takes a leap towards the tree line once it runs close enough to it. Suddenly, the head of the monster jerks slightly upwards while the rest of its body sails forwards true to the motion. At the same time, my sword plunges into its back and it crashes on the base of a tree with a loud cracking noise.

I ran quickly towards where the monster crashed and upon reaching I saw its head smashed open while its brain matter are splattered on the base of the tree as well as on the ground. I pulled my sword out of its back and sheathed it. I was about to call for Elel when something caught my attention from the corner of my eyes. I knelt down close to the monster’s head and saw a dagger lodged deep within its chin.

“Sir!”

Elel came staggering out of his hiding place in front of me. Sweating heavily and from the look on his face... he was scared.

I dislodged the dagger and extended it towards him. He took it anxiously and stared towards the dagger for sometime.

Me: “It was a good throw Elel.”

He came out of his trance in a flash and looked towards me with big eyes. He now looked confused.

Me: “Elel... it was a good throw. You have a good presence of mind, keep sharpening your skills.”

Elel: “Ye-yes... Sir.”

Me: “Now, stay here while I check on something.” I ordered him while I standing up.

There were a total of 8 bodies or at least part of them. I may be wrong as it was hard to ascertain the exact count. The ground red with blood, innards spilled all over the place along with half eaten body parts. It... It was a sight I found unnerving. How did this happen? It was not as if these monsters were too formidable or even stealthy... then how did so many fall prey to them? And judging from the bodies we found earlier, they lost a member early in the quest. They should have reported immediately and not leave him behind. There were at least two of them back on the route while the majority died here. How?

Were they ambushed?

I looked around, trying to find any clues or any signs of fight anywhere else. Nothing... Then they must have cornered... But... All of them died without killing even one of those monsters. Impossible! All Zoit adventurers are capable of killing just about anything. Then...

While pondering about it, I walked towards Elel. I saw him standing, looking still unsettled.

Another thought came to me... Unless... They were ambushed here and two of the scout team members got away. They were coming to inform us, but were hunted down by those monsters. If that scenario happened, then... why would the monsters hunt those two while there was already this much food for them?

I smell something similar...

Me: “ELEL!!”

I shouted towards him, which shook him out of his disturbed state. He quickly walked towards me.

Elel: “Sir!”

Me: “Send a report back to Command. Tell them to send a medic team equipped with body removal carriers at the start of route 2. Inform them that we found around 10 members of the scout team up until now. They were all killed by a pack of monsters whose origin is unknown to me. I want someone who has a thorough knowledge of this Poison Ground and that someone must be one who had visited this place recently... this is a requirement. We will meet the medic team in front of route 2.”

Elel quickly unstrapped his crystal and got down to work. I kept an eye over the place while he did his work. I am excited and as well as sad at the same time.

Me: “Oh! Elel!

Also tell them to pass this message over to the other Groups too. Who knows, they might have found something else.”

Elel: “Okay, Sir.” He replied without taking his eyes off the screen in front of him.

After a couple of minutes, Elel stood up.

Elel: “Sir, it is done.

What should we do now, Sir?”

Me: “Elel... go back at the start of this route and wait for the medic team to arrive. Once you meet up with them, show them the two bodies we hid and after that bring them here.”

Elel: “But Sir... What will you do?” He looked somewhat worried.

Me: “Do not worry Elel, you are capable adventurer and I am sure you will find a way to deal with any situation that may arise. I will guard this place so that no other monster shows up and takes away the remains of the adventurers.”

Elel: “Alright, Sir.”

He still looked unsure. I patted him on his shoulder before he went back towards the way we came. I breathed a sigh of relief. I waited for some time for him to gain much distance from here.

I breathed in the foul smelling air and shouted as loud as I could.

Me: “I KNOW YOU ARE HERE... WATCHING... CALCULATING OUR EVERY MOVES.

SHOW YOURSELF AND LET ME SEE WHOM I AM FACING?”

I waited and looked around for any signs how insignificant it may be. From the corner of my eyes, something approached me with incredible speed. Although it was approaching me fast, but my reaction time was better. I swiftly dispatched it by deflecting it with my left hand sword. The thing went and got stuck on the ground. It was a spear... with red and black markings.

“Interesting.”

A voice came from behind me.