Encounter with Humans

As Aki began his trek out of the forest, Aki was constantly using his appraisal skill to keep an eye on the forest covering for any surprise monster attack, stopping only a few times to collect a few ores that were growing out of a rock wall: Raw Iron, Copper, Tungsten, and Kalite.

As the sun approached its peak, Aki was finally out of the forest, where an open green meadow field greeted him, followed by the sound of heavy grunting and metal clashing against each other. Aki began to approach the sound and saw a large group of soldiers in navy blue military uniforms fighting against little dark green monsters. 

"HEY, HEY, HEY, I BETTER NOT SEE ANY  OF YOU SLACKING OFF! JUST BECAUSE WE ARE FIGHTING GOBLINS, IT DOESN'T MEAN ANY OF YOU CAN SLACK OFF!" A loud, rugged voice yelled as a large figure stood on top of a small green mound, with his arm crossed and looking down at the soldiers. 

Aki decided to approach him slowly, climbing up the small mound as his foot sank into the soft dirt with each step. "Hey, what's going on here?" he asked. 

Before an answer could be heard, the figure had swung backward with his left arm with immense force. Aki instinctively blocked it by crossing his right arm over his left arm, but the force of the swing was too powerful, sending him flying backward, down the mound, with his iron pan & cup clanking together. 

"H-HEY! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!?!" Aki yelled as he sat up on the grassy field, rolling up his right coat sleeve, and saw that his right arm was fully bruised and swollen. 

The large figure began to walk down the mound with heavy foot steps, as his foot sank into the soft dirt, before finally towering over him. 

"I'M SORRY ABOUT!" The large figure said, as the sun beamed onto his bald head, "YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME WHEN YOU CAME BEHIND ME!" as he offered his left muscular hand to help him up.

Aki tried to grab onto his left hand, but began to wince in pain as his right arm was so heavily bruised, it sent a small wave of pain when he grabbed on. The large figure shifted to his right hand, and Aki grabbed on, standing back up as they walked back up the mound. 

"DAMN, I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT!" the figure apologized, seeing how badly Aki's right arm was bruised & swollen. He waved his left hand and gestured for a medic to come over, and another figure started running towards them, carrying a brown satchel. "I hope it's not broken," he asked. 

"From what I can feel, it's not broken," Aki responded as he lifted his right arm, showing that it was still able to support itself. "So what's this all about? he inquired as a female soldier began to wipe his arm clean with a wet towel. 

"This is my squadron's monthly training exercise," the figure explained. "My name is Captain Brox, I am Captain of the Northeastern Gate," he introduced himself.

Captain Brox was an extremely muscular man whose body looked like a bodybuilder you would see on TV. He wore an extremely stretched-out black button-down shirt as his muscles were bulging out of it, an unbuttoned navy blue military blazer, pressed navy blue slacks, and heavy black leather boots. 

"My name is Aki," he stated, as he watched the female soldier put a small salve on the bruise before wrapping it up in a type of gauze, and then giving him a cloth arm sling before leaving. Aki struggled to put the sling around his neck and took off his leather backpack.

"Do you want me to carry your backpack?" Brox offered.

"Thanks," Aki said as he handed his backpack over to Brox while he put on the arm sling. "It shouldn't be heavy due to its featherweight enchantment." 

"Featheweight? Wait, this design, this type of leather feel, and this insignia on the top part of the bag," Brox mumbled as he inspected the bag before looking at Aki's entire outfit, which bore the same insignia. "Wait, aren't all your clothing from the Hamiel Series?!? Are you a noble?" he exclaimed in fear, as he was concerned he might have attacked a noble. 

"No? I'm not a noble?" Aki answered, "Why would you ask that?" he inquired, before realizing that the brand might be a luxury brand meant only for nobles. "Does he think I stole it from someone?" he thought. 

"Don't worry, quite a few adventurers and merchants own an item or two from Hamiel, but most people could only afford a small bag to store money in." Brox explained, to ease Aki's nerves, "The only people in this world that could afford to wear an entire outfit from Hamiel  are nobles, which is why I asked." 

"I see... that does make sense. I found all this stuff inside an abandoned covered wagon in the forest over there." Aki explained as he pointed towards the forest opening, "The wagon was covered in dense moss, and I thought it was okay for me to take it," he stated, trying to prove his innocence. 

"No worries, it's all within your rights to claim something if it was abandoned, especially in that forest." Brox stated, as it was common for things to be left behind during monster attacks, "So that's where that wagon went, huh?" as he rubbed his sunburned bald head. 

"Huh?" Aki responded in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well.....a few months ago, the Kingdom sent out a warning to all adventurers & merchants who were exiting through the Southeastern Gate to travel without fresh food, as it was spawning season for dragons," Brox began to explain. "Since the baby dragons need a lot of food, mother dragons will come down from the mountain region to hunt the prey in the Forest of Taeria. Dragons tend to avoid human settlements, but when it comes to caring for their younglings, they will find the best for them, so fresh food like bread, milk, and meat are their go-to," as he pointed at a distant mountain region past the forest area where flying figures can be spotted. 

"Naturally, a merchant decided to ignore all of our warnings at the Gate checkpoint when the guards were doing inspections of goods," Brox stated, "He didn't want to listen and took off, running over my foot as my squadron was getting ready to leave for our training exercise. After we got to this area, we saw the merchant and his guards running towards us when a green dragon picked up his wagon and took off. He then demanded we recover his merchandise, but I threw him into jail for endangerment charges & for running over my foot". 

"I see," Aki muttered silently as his luck in finding the wagon abandoned was truly a lucky find. "By the way, how much are these clothes I'm wearing?" he inquired, knowing it would be a ridiculous amount. 

"I'm not too sure how much clothes cost, but this bag alone would be a few hundred gold coins," Brox stated as he remembered passing the main store before, with his Vice Captain, who wanted to buy one. 

"HUNDREDS OF GOLD COINS?!??! Aki exclaimed. "So this means......I'm a walking target??!?!" 

"You will be alright!" Brox laughs, "I'm sure of it," as he looks up towards the sun, knowing that Aki was stronger than he looked, especially when he was conscious after receiving a blow from him to his right arm.

*THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP* The ground began to shake heavily, followed by the sound of the branches being crushed, with a blue hand appearing from the forest. 

"RUN!!! IT'S A BLUE TROLL!!!" multiple soldiers yelled, followed by screams as they began their retreat. 

*Appraisal* 

Blue Troll, Lvl: 27 / D-Rank Monster

Blue Troll is an evolved version of a Green Troll once they reach a certain level requirement.

Blue Trolls are known for their strength and dexterity when it comes to attacking with their clubs, swinging at angles that can decapitate their enemy in a single swing. Blue Trolls are also known to play with prey for a long period before slowly consuming them, limb by limb. 


"WHO SAID YOU CAN FUCKING RUN!!" Brox yelled, "FIGHT IT!"  

The soldiers remained frozen as the thought of defeating a Blue Troll wasn't something that they believed they could do at their level, with the average level being around twenty. 

"ANYONE CAUGHT RUNNING WILL BE SPENDING THE NEXT SPARRING SESSION WITH THE VICE CAPTAIN!" Brox yelled back.

Suddenly, the entire squadron's mood changed, from fearful to desperate as they charged the Blue Troll, with skills ready. 

"What just happened?" Aki inquired. 

"In a life-or-death situation, it is common to flee when you come across an opponent that is too strong to fight, but as soldiers, we mustn't run from these opponents, as we are the first line of defense," Brox explained. "To help conquer that fear, all we have to do is place someone stronger in front of them. Someone who is stronger than a Blue Troll, and has caused emotional damage that surpasses what a Blue Troll can do to you, which is the Vice Captain." 

"Is the Vice Captain that strong?" Aki inquired as he watched a few soldiers go flying from a single club swing. 

"SHE is very strong, but also manipulative when it comes to fighting. When you train with her, she knows how to push your buttons and force you to attack with your emotions heightened, then she will crush you," Brox explained as a shiver went down his spine. "Of course, in terms of strength, I'm still stronger, AHAHA," as he tried to brush it off, with beads of cold sweat dripping from his muscular neck. 


After half an hour had passed, the Blue Troll was finally down, and the soldiers screamed in joy. The soldiers were not screaming in joy at the fact that they defeated the Blue Troll, but at the joy of not having to spar with the Vice Captain. 

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble again; this time, a large Red Troll with two small Green Trolls came out of the forest. The soldiers' cheers stopped, and they all fell to the ground in complete fear as they were all exhausted from fighting one Blue Troll. 

*Appraisal*

Green Troll, Lvl: 10 / E-Rank Monster

Green Trolls are a simple type of monster that spend their time walking around and killing smaller monsters, as they lack intelligence. They tend to stay paired with higher-ranking trolls for protection. 

Red Troll, Lvl: 42 / C-Rank Monster

Red Troll is an evolved version of a Blue Troll once they reach a certain level requirement.

Red Trolls are known for extremely strong and regenerative abilities, as they can regrow limbs in a few minutes and reattach limbs in a matter of seconds. Just like Blue Trolls, they are known to play with prey for a long period before slowly consuming them, limb by limb.

"Alright, that's enough training for them," Brox stated as he unfolded his arms, and a two-handed halberd axe suddenly appeared in front of him, grabbing it with only his left hand. "Stay here," he instructed Aki as he took off.

Brox began running down the mound and headed towards the trolls, ignoring his soldiers who lay there. As he approached them, he swung a few seconds earlier, allowing a foot of distance in between, to avoid stepping into their wooden club range. After a few seconds, the two Green Trolls' heads popped off, with purple blood spluttering out. The force of the swing had sent an invisible blade of wind towards them, which took out the Green Trolls, but with the Red Troll further back, he could have only sliced its right leg off. 

"Damn, it was too shallow," Brox muttered as he continued his charge towards the Red Troll, as it attempted to find its right leg to reattach. 

Suddenly, a damaged spear landed right in front of him, almost skewering him. Brox quickly began to look around to find where it came from and saw that Aki had thrown it with his bruised right arm, as he gestured to retreat now. 

All the other soldiers had recovered from shock and were running back behind the mound with only Aki standing on top, waiting for Brox to return. 

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!?!" Brox yelled, as he held the damaged spear in his right hand, "I almost killed that Red Troll!" as he snapped the wooden spear handle.

"MY PARNTER!!!" Aki exclaimed as he looked down at the pile of broken wood,  "Why did you kill my partner?!?!?!" as he crouched down, trying to pick up the pieces of wood. 

"ANSWER ME!" Brox demanded as he picked up Aki from his shirt, choking him. 

"T-That!" Aki tried to answer, pointing with his bruised right arm in the direction of the Red Troll as it had finally found its right leg and was waiting for it to regenerate. 

Brox saw that the Red Troll was just sitting down, looking happy as steam appeared from its right limb and the muscle began to reattach itself. As he blinked, the Red Troll's upper torso was gone, and the bottom half fell over onto the ground, with purple blood spluttering everywhere. 

"W-What the h-hell was that?" Brox questioned as he dropped Aki and turned around, facing fully toward the direction. "Seriously, what just happened??!?!?" he asked as he would be standing right there if Aki hadn't thrown that spear and forced him to return. 

Suddenly, the trees began to shift side to side, with the sound of branches breaking rapidly, and then the sight of shimmering green scales appeared, followed by a giant pair of yellow eyes. The reason why the Trolls were coming out of the forest was to avoid coming into contact with the Infant Colossal Snake as it was moving around, looking for food. 

The Colossal Snake's head peered out of the forest, looking at the rest of the corpses in front of it before shifting its gaze toward Brox. Its yellow eyes stared directly into Brox's brown eyes, causing his spirit to waver and fall backward onto the ground. The Colossal Snake turned its attention back around, uninterested in Brox, and began to open its wide mouth to swallow the remaining Red Troll's toro and then the Green Trolls. The snake then turned its attention to the dead Blue Troll and began to slither out of the forest, swallowing the troll along with the dead Goblins that were scattered around before turning back around and into the forest. 

"D-D-Did you know that was going to happen?" Brox questioned Aki, looking up towards him, as the timing was too perfect.

Aki stood there, silently, as he was hesitant to reveal that his map skill had placed a warning marker on that monster from the previous encounter. 

"S-Sorry about that," Brox stated as he stood back up with his knees still shaking a bit, "I shouldn't have asked that question. Skills are considered personal information, and nobody in their right mind would be willing to disclose it," as he walked down the otherside of the mound to address the frightened soldiers. 

"ALRIGHT, WITH THE APPEARANCE OF THE FOREST GUARDIAN, WE WILL BE CUTTING THIS MONTH'S TRAINING SESSION EARLY THIS WEEK!" Brox declared, with the soldiers suddenly looking happy. "LET'S PACK IT UP AND HEAD BACK HOME!" 

"Okay then, I think I'll also head out too," Aki stated as he picked up his leather backpack from the ground, putting on the left strap and wearing it on his left shoulder. Aki wanted to put some distance away from Brox, as he looked like he had other questions that he was still hesitant to ask, and further contact with him may cause him to bring it up. 

Suddenly, Aki could feel the little weight from his backpack disappear. "Where are you going?" Brox asked, "We need to get that arm looked at before it falls off," he stated as Aki was then picked up and carried like luggage and thrown on a wagon. 

"LET'S GO BACK HOME NOW!" Brox yelled as the wagon began to move forward with the horse neighing loudly.