A snake was weaving its way up the gnarled roots of an ancient tree when a twang and a subsequently whistle could be heard. An arrow pierced the head of the snake, which kept twisting and flailing around for a while.

A little distance away, Liza was drawing another arrow from her quiver, ready to act at any moment. It was something she drilled into her bones: “only relax when the target is dead”.

This was the third day she had entered the forest, so Liza was starting to get used to the routine. She would go in at dawn, explore the shallow areas and collect any herbs she could find. She would then return to the inn before nightfall for a well-deserved rest.

After waiting for a bit, she stored her arrow and approached the tree where the snake was pinned on. On one of the roots there was a clump of fluffy white moss that looked like miniature clouds.

Liza set the short bow to rest against the tree trunk and crouched near the root that had Cloud Moss, sparing only a single glance at the dead snake.

She grabbed one of the pouches that was dangling from her waist and opened it up. She then carefully scrapped the moss from the root, putting it inside the pouch.

[Just a normal snake, it’s basically useless. I guess I will just eat it later. But, lucky! There is a good amount of Cloud Moss here. I think it should be enough for now.]

Even though she was occupied by collecting the herbs, her ears would twitch lightly to any sound, another rule she trained endlessly “always be attentive, always be ready”.

As she was wrapping everything up, a loud commotion started not far away from where she was. It was the mixed sound of monkeys shouting and the low roar of a large feline.

Liza tied the pouch back to her belt, picked up her bow and started running in the opposite direction as fast as she could.

Not long after, she could hear what seemed like the triumphant cries of the monkeys.

[Damn, the monkeys won? They must be of a higher grade… high grade monsters shouldn’t appear so close to the border of the forest. What is going on? Ah~ I should have bought the latest information from the guild.]

Liza sighed while moving away from the noise. She turned her head backwards for a brief moment, thinking about what just occurred, when she heard the wind whistle in front of her.

Instinctively, she raised her short bow for protection when a pair of claws cleaved the air, splitting it in two.

A group of monkeys ninety centimeters tall, with orange-golden fur and a chubby face blocked her way. They would look pretty cute, if not for their unnaturally big hands with sharp claws.

“Saint Mifros! More monkeys? And they are golden razorclaws at that?! What the heck, me and my rotten luck!” said Liza as she tossed her broken bow towards the nearest monkey and drew her two long knives.

The monkey just clawed what was left of the bow away, turning it into pieces. “Eeks” and “ooks” exploded in the surroundings, the monsters jumped up and down, like they were laughing at their prey.

One of the monkeys dived down from a tree, swinging his claws in the air with a ferocious expression, which prompted all the others to attack.

[Shit! Shit! Shit!]

Liza reacted fast; she kicked the monkey that was coming from her front and swung her blades with all her strength to the one dropping down to her left.

A clang of metal hitting metal was heard when the claw and knives collided, forcing the monkey to back away. The one that was kicked traveled a good distance, disappearing into the foliage while screaming.

Liza faltered when she put her foot back on the ground and kneeled. She didn’t notice it at first, but when she tried to redistribute her weight, she felt a burst of pain. That kick was not free, her boot was mangled and her foot badly injured.

The remaining monsters were coming to attack and the two she had blown away would come back in a moment, things weren’t looking good for the fledgling adventurer.

She tried to stand up, but couldn’t do it due to the pain, so she rolled forward, trying to dodge the incoming attacks.

She could hear her gambeson tearing and feel a bit of pain as her view kept on spinning as she rolled. The razorclaw monkeys were growing noisier and noisier; they could feel their prey weakening.

Liza was losing energy fast. All semblance of proper swordsmanship was now gone, she just kept flailing her long knives and rolling occasionally, trying to keep the monsters at bay.

The monkeys were too hard to injure, their claws felt like they were made of metal and they could easily protect their small bodies with it.

[Curses, is this where I die? I haven’t found that bastard yet! Fucking monkeys, what are grade 4 monsters doing so close to the border? DAMN IT!]

Her black eyes got wet and reddened as tears of anger and hatred started to fall. She was too tired. The monkeys kept circling her, poking and prodding with their sharp claws. She could see the derision in their eyes, they were toying with her and they were having fun.

She glared at the one that looked like the leader. He was a bit taller and his fur was shinier than the rest. She quickly picked up a glass vial from her belt and tossed at him.

The monster reflexively protected himself with his claws, breaking the vial and releasing its contents. A smell drifted to his nose, one that he recognized as dangerous, stunning him for a second. He looked at his hands confused, trying to determine the threat of the situation.

He didn’t notice the gleam in the eyes of the prey he was hunting, or her smile as the long knife she threw lodged itself in his chest.

“Eek?”

“Got you fucker, wahahahaha!”

That clear laughter was in stark contrast from her previous murder filled countenance. Liza lay on her back and closed her eyes.

She was breathing roughly and feeling spent. Her weapons were far away, one had missed the mark, but the other one did its job splendidly.

The remaining monkeys were still processing what had just happened, but they would come around soon. She couldn’t run with her foot in that condition anyway.

[Guess that is it, nothing more I can do. Damn it…]

“Eek?”

“Ook!!”

The monsters were angry now and she could hear them jumping towards her. She gnashed her teeth, ready to feel the pain of her body being sliced apart. But it never came.

She could hear the foliage rustling by her side, followed by a big whooshing sound, like the air being split apart by a heavy object, and the subsequently noise of small bodies falling to the ground.

[Am I alive? Was I saved?]

She opened her eyes. She saw a young man looking curiously at her. He was approximately 1,85 meters tall, with a hair so long and wild that it appeared to never have been cut or brushed.

Its color was peculiar too; it was of a dark blue so deep that it looked almost black. His eyes were the same dark blue color, but they were shining with interest and curiosity, almost like they were asking what she was doing lying down on the ground in the middle of the forest.

Liza was overwhelmed. In one moment she was about to die with all her grievances and in the next she is alive and being stared at by a mysterious man.

“Than...”

She was about to thank him when she moved her gaze away from his face and noticed his body. It was a muscular body. It wasn’t big or bulky, but it looked like it didn’t have any fat on it or any unnecessary muscle mass.

It was the body of a warrior, one full of scars from the neck down. There were bite marks, claw marks and others that looked like they were made by fire or acid.

He was holding a broken sword, made of grey colored stone, with runes etched on the side of the blade. Its edges were jagged, giving it an air of savageness.

The weapon had the length of a bastard sword, but looking at the size of the hilt (and the fact that the sword remained this big after being broken) it was probably originally a great sword.

Liza was taken aback by the sheer quantity of scars and the barbaric looking sword. They were the complete opposite of those two innocent eyes, looking at her with curiosity. That was when she finally realized that his thing was also in full view, dangling there.

“WHAT THE HELL, WHY ARE YOU NAKED?” she screamed as she closed her eyes and put her hands in front of her face that was reddening from embarrassment.

[Wah, ugh, what did I just see… was I saved by a pervert? What the hell, this is wrong in so many levels!]

The young man jumped back, surprised at the sudden scream, a wary look in his face. He calmed down after seeing the girl was just squirming around and speaking inaudible things under her breath.

“Can you put your clothes on? Or at least cover your thing with something? I am going to open my eyes in a bit, ok?”

Liza took a deep breath. She removed her hands and opened her eyes slowly, only to find herself a few centimeters away from something staring at her intently.

It looked like a one meter long green serpent as thick as an arm, but it was floating there, in the air, staring at her. It had four short limbs with claws and a dragon-like head.

She gasped, feeling short of breath, as everything started to black out. She could barely see the creature going back to the young man and resting on his shoulders, like a weird looking scarf. Then, everything went dark.