Volume 3 Chapter 20 Doing Something Adventurer-like
When Chris was spreading information in the dark guild...
Randy and the other two, after a peaceful journey with nothing in particular happening, had finally reached the area just before their destination. The large forest upstream of the Rail River, in addition to its many beasts, also contains dungeons, making it a popular hunting ground for adventurers.
Thus, the town near the forest was bustling with adventurers.
Eldenberg. Commonly known as the adventurer's town, it is also one of the kingdom's major cities. Despite being such a large metropolis, there were currently no signs of any attackers.
Although Ellie had been told that, Randy had still been considering the possibility of an attack for the sake of his pride. In other words, they had been caught off guard.
(What's this? No guts at all.)
Randy laughed through his nose, but from the dark guild's perspective, they might say, "It can't be helped." After the repulsion at Riverford, Chris had decided to focus on the academy's attack, and they were still chasing Randy's group.
The group was wiped out in the middle of the night, and by morning, Randy and the others had already left Riverford. By the time the guild members noticed, they were already outside the town.
Once they realized, they inquired around and discovered their destination, but they also received a report from headquarters saying the mission had been a failure. While they couldn't understand it, the eerie feeling of their comrades disappearing without a trace was much greater.
Randy, who knew nothing of this, took advantage of the situation and quickly shifted his focus to the original goal.
"Well then, let's head to the forest right away."
"That's right. We only have today afternoon and tomorrow."
Since they could teleport back, not having to worry about the return time was a big plus. However, they still only had a day and a half to hunt. There was no time to waste on distractions.
As they walked through the town/street, they passed many adventurers and shops catering to them. Stalls lined the streets, and the lively atmosphere felt different from the hustle and bustle of the capital city.
"Man, it's so lively. I like it."
"Yes, it's a good town with everyone looking up."
"Victor would love to make this town like this."
Ignoring the presence of any attackers, the two of them enjoyed a late lunch at a stall and chatted about various topics.
After thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere of the town, they arrived at the forest without any issues.
"Whoa. There really are a lot of people here."
Although they had heard that it was a large forest, even within the visible range, there were quite a few adventurers wandering around the perimeter.
"We don't have much time, so let's just go in quickly."
Randy reached out, and though Liz tilted her head in confusion, she took his hand... and before she could react, Randy swept her up into a princess carry. With Liz's surprised "Eek!", Randy kicked off from the trees and disappeared into the forest.
This time, they were traveling without the guild's knowledge. There shouldn't be any problems in the shallow areas of the forest, but they couldn't let anyone see them venturing deeper.
Randy was running full speed to avoid a lecture, but what he didn't realize was that his sudden movements caused the trees to shake violently, creating a small panic.
When they reached the deeper part of the forest, they were greeted by a calmness that contrasted sharply with the earlier hustle and bustle.
"…There's no one here."
"Well, usually, no one goes this deep."
As Randy said, adventurers mostly operate in the shallow layers of the forest. While a small forest might be different, wandering into such a large forest without a plan is the act of a fool.
The forest is a beast's territory.
Of course, beasts can live outside the forest too, but combat in such a forest with poor visibility and bad footing carries significant risks.
If they were to get lost, it would be difficult to find their way out. If they happened to stumble upon one of the Rail River's tributaries, they could follow it downstream, but the water's edge is also an important territory for the beasts.
It's not hard to imagine that the journey could become quite difficult.
That's why most adventurers hunt beasts that come out from the shallow layers of the forest, and the paths to the dungeons have already been cleared.
As a profession that risks their lives, the most important skill for adventurers is caution.
That situation where everyone seems to be fighting over the hunting ground is actually close enough to get help quickly.
So, people train hard and get strong enough to challenge high-level beasts, and that's how they level up. A great example of this is the [Iron Lion].
But of course, not everyone is like that.
Just like the name "adventurer" suggests, some people take risks and dive into the forest to face powerful beasts. They might not get good recognition from the guild, but they chase after adventure and excitement.
If things go wrong, they could die. Even if they succeed, the guild won't think highly of them.
Still, sometimes there are those who prove themselves and silence everyone with their skills.
Even the reliable [Iron Lion] can feel a strong admiration for people like [Sword Saint] and [Black Flash].
But that was a long time ago... Now, in this quiet forest, all you can sense is the creepy presence and breathing of the beasts, not their fame.
"Feels kind of creepy, doesn't it?"
"Of course it does. We're already surrounded."
Randy laughed casually, and Liz instinctively moved closer to him. There were no enemies in sight, but they were still surrounded. That's what it meant.
──Changing colors with light, huh? Right. There's a monster called Valion...
Liz remembered the information about the monster she heard from Cory. Valion, also known as a mimic beast, blends into its surroundings and hides its appearance. It's so good at hiding that it's said to completely disappear.
You can't even tell it's there. It takes the light around it and perfectly copies the scenery.
Right in front of Randy and the others, there were only trees in the forest, but Randy could feel the presence of beasts surrounding them.
"Randy..."
"Just calm down. You can feel the magical power, right?"
Liz slowly nodded at Randy's words. If she focused and looked around, she could sense the small fluctuations of magical power.
"We just need to blast it away."
Randy laughed and reached for a nearby tree, grabbing something. As soon as they heard a weird sound from whatever was making a "gii gii" noise, it suddenly went quiet.
"Is that...?"
"That's probably the Valion."
Even so, they couldn't see it at all.
"Let's try to break out of this surround..."
In this surrounded situation, it wasn't good to check too much, so Randy took a few steps back on the path they came from. They weren't far from where they were before, but hunting Valion usually means waiting.
Even if it got closer, Randy could easily sense its presence, so it didn't matter much to him.
"Still, it really blends in with the surroundings."
"Do you really have something?"
Liz poked at what Randy was holding with a curious look.
"It's strange. I can't see anything, but I know something's there."
"Right?"
Randy also felt it was a pretty weird sensation.
"Oh, but if you look closely, the spot where Randy is holding it looks a bit distorted."
"Oh, you're right."
Just as Liz said, the area where Randy was holding looked a bit blurry, like when you press on a screen.
"If Cory is right, if we just wait here for a bit..."
Saying that, both of them stared at the empty space Randy was holding.
When a breeze blew through the trees, something slowly appeared from Randy's left hand.
It looked like a big white chameleon.
It was about a meter long. Its bulging eyes and long tongue sticking out were all white. But unlike a chameleon, its body was smooth and had no bumps. Its shiny white skin looked almost like a whiteboard.
It felt more like an eel than a chameleon. But now, the slippery surface had changed to a smooth texture, just like its appearance.
It was a strange beast, but calling it a big, white chameleon felt the most accurate.
The shiny white chameleon──Valion──was probably crushed and dead in Randy's grip. Holding the completely still Valion in one hand, Randy turned to Liz.
"Okay, Liz, let's give it a try."
"Got it."
Liz wanted to join the fight this time.
She didn't like always being protected, so Randy and Ellie suggested she learn some magic to attack beasts. Since Liz already knew a lot about magic theory, Ellie believed she could handle some basic attack magic during their boat trip.
With Ellie's advice ringing in her head, Liz focused her magical power. The magic started to gather in her palm and take shape.
(Wow, this is some serious cheat power.)
Her speed wasn't great yet, but the number of ice spears she created was insane. More than ten ice spears appeared around Liz. Once the area around her was filled with cold air, she launched the ice spears.
The ice spears flew through the air and hit the hidden Valions. The blood flowing from them proved it. Soon, the pure white Valions would show up on the ground and in the trees.
"How was that?"
"That was amazing!"
Randy felt proud of himself for answering with a smile. Inside, he couldn't stop chuckling.
The number of spears she made, and even though the target didn't move, her accuracy was impressive.
All of this was not something a beginner should be able to do. Liz showed off her cheat-like ability, and it seemed she was happy to be praised by Randy and Ellie, as she cheerfully started to gather her magical power again, saying, "Next, I'll try a different magic."
Since she took down most of the beasts with that last attack, she might be focusing on power next. Randy felt a bit worried, but Ellie was watching, and unlike Randy, Liz had some common sense.
He decided to let her handle it and took a small step back. Just a little.
"Okay, then. I'll start working on my decomposition."
Recently, Liz had finally caught up and learned decomposition. Now, they were starting to work in the opposite roles from usual.
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