Chapter 3

“Okay, so I know that it’s my fault that the goblin went away, but who would’ve thought that there would be a gust of wind at the time I shot my arrow.”

“Well thanks to you, we earned pretty much nothing today!”

“Now now, please calm down you two. Seriously, you guys really are cat and dog.”

“I’M NOT A DOG!"

Three figures walked through the forest. Each of them looked human enough, except all of them had at least one unique characteristic.

One of them, a female, had cat hears poking on top of her head. She was wearing a green robe and held a wooden staff in her hands. She was the perfect image of a fantasy mage.

Another, a male, had a pair of sharp eyes and fur running down the sides of his chin. Pointed grey ears poked from the top of his head, and a bushy tail could be seen. Wearing leather armor and holding a bow, he looked like a common hunter.

The last was the least human looking out of them, but was the most abnormal. A man with cracks run down his whole body. Leaves growing from his hair, and simple clothes that looked as if they were made out of leaves. A sword was strapped to his waist.

Their names were Kathy, Wolfe, and Trey. Otherwise known as Cat, Wolf, and Tree.

“Seriously though, we need to find a way to make money quick. Our rent is overdue and the landlady is getting cranky.”

“We wouldn’t be in this situation if Wolfe here didn’t spend all of our funds on his nightly outings.”

“I can’t help it! Mating season for me is year round.”

Continuing forward, Wolfe held up a hand.

“Hey, there’s something there.”

“…Wolfe, knock an arrow.”

“Already knocked. Kathy prepare a binding spell.”

“Unum, Ligare, Vincula”

“Alright, move in.”

Their previous frivolous atmosphere disappeared, and what replaced it was the aura of seriousness.

A dark light gathered around Kathy’s staff, an arrow was pulled back on Wolfe’s bow, the sword attached to Trey was held in his hands and the cracks on his body started to grow green.

“Sniff* Sniff* This smell! It’s a human.”

“What! What’s a normal human doing out in the forest!?!”

“Over there!”

Running over to where Gear was, the trio stopped in their tracks. A child around 10 years old lay naked on the ground. The grass around the boy was attempting to envelop the child.

“Shit! It’s Devil’s Snare! Kathy, change to a light spell!”

“G-Got it! Multis, Sanctus, Malum, Delere

A white light enveloped the area around the boy. A sizzling sound could be heard as the grass disintegrated, but not all of it was gone.

“SSSCCCRREEEEEEEEECCCHHHHH!!!"

The ground started to shake. A large plant creature appeared from the ground, grabbing the boy with it’s vines. Looking like an earthen golem with vines running all over it’s body, it towered above the three. Occasionally, several bulbs on the creature would swell up.

“It got the boy! Wolfe, pull it’s attention. Kathy, bind it down. I’m going in.”

“Roger!” “Okay!"

Moving in, all of them worked at their own jobs. Kathy recast the binding spell, and chains of light appeared to wrap around the creature. Wolfe shot arrows at the creature’s weak spots, which were the bulbs growing on some parts of the creature.

Every time an arrow connected, the bulb would explode, and the surrounding vines would wither.

Trey ran towards the Devil’s Snare and jumped up. Jumping high up, he landed on the top of the creature and started cutting apart the vines holding the boy.

“I’ll be taking him.”

Throwing the boy towards Kathy, she fell as the sudden weight pushed her down. It didn’t help that Gear was heavier than expected due to his special body.

“Aw, screw you gravity!”

“Wolfe, take the boy! Kathy, deal the finishing move.”

“I’ll fire once you’re out of range.”

Slicing at any vines coming his way, Trey jumped off the creature.

“Unum, Magna, Ignis, Rosio”

A large fireball flew towards the creature, encasing it quickly.

“SSSCCCRREEEEEEEEEEECCCHHHH!!!!!”

Quickly disappearing, all that was left behind was an abnormally large seed (at least to Earth’s standards).

“Oh my god! A rare alchemy material! It actually dropped a Snare Demon Seed.”

“Well our money problems are solved now.”

“W-Wait a m-moment. If I eat this, I can get a huge boost in power!”

“Who cares Trey! We need the money.”

“N-No, I’ll trade in my emergency funds. Just please don’t take this from me.”

Watching Kathy chase after Trey, Wolfe smiled, then looked at the boy in his arms.

But seriously, what is a human doing all the way out here?