Chapter 17:
Pax; Unliving
Finally, my first time adventuring with the Golden Wings. Our quest was to hunt an earth bison that had been messing with merchants.
Oliver gave us the rundown as we walked:
Oliver: The earth bison is a 3 ton monster rated C in terms of difficulty but don’t let your guard down. They mostly run straight at you and sometimes throw mud or dirt at you. Don’t carelessly approach them from behind because their kick will kill you instantly.
All of the Golden Wings was here. My mother, Mau, Rock, Oliver, and myself would be more than enough to take on a single earth bison.
Sadly, Alyssa would not be coming along with us. That was because she was a maid and maids usually don’t have much combat ability.
Oliver then continued by going over everyone’s positions.
Oliver: The formation is simple. I’ll take the front with Rock behind me. Adam will protect Martha in the back while Mau scouts and supports where needed. Adam, this is your first hunt so don’t directly fight unless it’s an emergency. I know you’re strong but your job is just to be a healer for now.
Healers were rare amongst adventurers, which was the main reason why the team wasn’t against me joining despite my lack of experience. Though I was better at healing myself, in the past month I’ve gotten to the point where I can close life threatening wounds for others.
After a few hours of walking on the road, we arrived at the place where the earth bison was last spotted. There, we saw the remains of a merchant’s wagon and Mau searched around for some clues on where the bison went.
Apparently, this merchant had barely survived with his life against the earth bison.
Mother: Earth bison don’t normally attack people unprovoked. The bison didn’t even eat anything from the merchant’s wares.
Mau: Look here, it seems like there is more than one earth bison that came around here ~Nya.
After the rest of us circled around Mau, she explained further.
Mau: look here, these prints are much more recent than the ones over here~Nya. A second bison must be following the first one. Perhaps it’s mating season for these guys~Nya? What do you wanna do Oliver?
After thinking for a moment, Oliver made the decision.
Oliver: It’s a bit early for earth bison mating season but let’s still follow them. Something is definitely strange here. Exercise extra caution everyone.
And so, we followed the trail of the earth bison into the woods. I felt that if I had been on my own I would have lost my sense of direction in these woods. Gradually, the slope of the ground got steeper and the thickness of the fog increased as we continued downwards.
Mau: We must have entered the Valley of Fog ~Nya.
The Valley of Fog was a fairly dangerous region to the north of Guileva. This was due to the decreased visibility and the large insect monsters that called this region their home.
It wasn’t much to seasoned adventurers like the members of the Golden Wings, but I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous because this was my first quest.
Oliver, being the leader of the group, noticed this and considered whether or not we should keep going. There was no penalty for returning from a quest without completing it if the difficulty had increased beyond what the guild had rated it for, but a skilled adventurer’s group had an image to uphold else they could end up losing future requests.
Mau: Ten Firejaw ants incoming~Nya!
Before Oliver could make a decision we were ambushed by four-foot long ants with red hot mandibles. They appeared from the fog as if they were ghosts and rushed at us.
Oliver and Rock each took the ones to the left and right respectively while my mother casted a wind blade to kill five of them at once. The last one had tried to sneak around the frontline towards my mother and I so I sniped it with a Piercing Shot. The entire fight ended in about seven seconds but we couldn’t just rest easy now.
Oliver: Martha, clear up the fog for a moment!
Mother: Alright! Clear my vision and wipe my history –Wind Surge
The fog was pushed back all around us for 40 feet, revealing another horde of ants of at least 50 in number.
Adam: Fuck…
Instantly jumping into action, Oliver shouted commands for the group.
Oliver: Adam, this is an emergency! Go all out! We need to take care of all these guys and then retreat back out of the valley!
If we didn’t take care of these guys quickly then more would come and we would eventually be overwhelmed. That’s why–
Adam: Freely and viciously –Rivers of Blood
Rock: Rip the world asunder –Earthquake Step
The ground split and swallowed several ants whole while several more were knocked off balance by the shaking ground beneath their feet. I drew my sword and chopped up some ants while my blood swam around and sliced through some more. Oliver also dove into the horde of ants and cleaved several with one swing of his sword.
Meanwhile, Martha moved up the slope and began chanting a big spell while Mau protected her from the stray ants that had snuck past the front line.
But we were too slow and even more ants came rushing forth.
Oliver: FALL BACK! MARTHA RELEASE IT!
Martha: –Green Tornado
A huge tornado gushed past me as Rock, Oliver and I rushed back to where Mau and Martha were. Ants got sucked in and flung high into the sky.
???: Looks like some ants stumbled upon this place.
A shadow appeared behind Mau, who was the highest up the hill.
???: You won’t be leaving here alive.
The shadow pierced through Mau’s chest from behind using his arm.
Mau: Cheuok-
Her eyes opened wide and her mouth opened as if she were about to say something. But before she could utter a word, she collapsed on the ground.
It was Unceremonious and devoid of meaning. She didn’t even get to say some final words.
I froze for a moment as I watched Oliver shout something and then throw himself at the shadow.
???: ADAM!
Oliver was struck from the side by an arrow before he could reach the shadow. A second shadow appeared and assaulted Oliver with a dagger. While Oliver was busy trying to block the attacks from the second shadow a third shadow appeared and stabbed Oliver in the back.
???: ADAM!
Huh? Pointy ears? Dark skin? When I looked closely and augmented my eyes a little bit, it seemed that the shadows were in fact… elves?
Someone shook my shoulder and pulled me back into reality.
Rock: Adam, brace yourself. You are the only one who can survive this.
Huh? What are you talking about Rock?
I looked back towards where the shadows were and saw that they were chasing my mother now. She used the wind to carry herself into the sky while simultaneously launching wind blasts at the shadows.
Rock: Escape this fate and free yourself from your earthy yoke –Pillar Launch
From beneath my feet the ground the ground shook for a moment. But before I could even react, my legs had completely shattered and I found myself high in the sky.
The world was rapidly spinning so I used some blood to slow myself and looked down at the ground.
Ah…
Everything looks so small when you’re all the way up here.
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