Chapter 20: Explorers-Part One

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Hiiisssssssssssssss!”

“Wooooooooooooo!”

Meisatsu avoided a tree as he desperately ran, racking the slide of his Glock—

BANG!—

TING!

The bullet bounced right off a monster slithering behind Umare, leaving no damage.

“We’re totally cooked!” Meisatsu shrieked in terror.

“How so?” Umare asked, smiling through light pants. “It’s just cardio.”

Behind the duo, two towering snake-like creatures hunted them down.

The one trailing Umare had three menacing heads, each bearing eight-foot-long fangs. Its obsidian scales had a brilliant sheen, giving an impression of being impenetrable.

And the monster after Meisatsu was slightly smaller, with a single head and midnight blue scales that glimmered softly in the sunlight.

“Alright!” Umare twisted as he skidded to a stop, fingers curling around his sword’s grip. “That’s enough cardio for today!”

He unsheathed the blade with a quick pull. The edge of his sword shimmered under a stray ray of light. “Let’s have some fun!”

The creature rose up, looming over him. And with a blood curdling hiss, they both lunged at each other.

Three Hours Earlier…

“You came for a high-level quest too?” Meisatsu asked.

“Yeah, they called me outta the blue. Said it’s urgent.” Umare rested both hands on his hips.

“It is, Mr. Umare.” Akane pushed up her glasses, adjusting her posture.

“Two monsters are heading towards the town through the forest.”

Meisatsu’s brows twitched as he listened quietly.

“One mid-level and another high-level.” Akane tapped a finger rhythmically on the desk. “And they are surrounded by a small swarm of other mid-level monsters—ghouls, about fifteen of them.”

“What types are the big ones?” Umare cracked his neck, making little warm-up hops.

“Serpent.” Akane’s responded. “Will you tak—”

“I can take it!” Ayame cut in, hand raised. “I’ll just have Meisatsu tag alon—”

“No.”

“But—”

“No.” Akane then leaned forward in her chair. “I’m assigning you to a small group. Unusual changes have been spotted in some monsters up south. You’ll guard them.”

“But I don’t wanna—!”

Akane’s stern glare met Ayame’s eyes. She was in…

SERIOUS BUSINESS MODE.

“Yes Ma’am…”

With wide-eyes, facing Umare, Meisatsu lifted a trembling finger at Akane—a person with the power to subdue Ayame?!

“That’s why we don’t mess with her,” Umare chuckled, turning to leave. “You comin’?”

“Sure!”

“Wait for me, Satsu…” Ayame whispered dramatically, raising her hand, watching him go out the door.

The party made their way through the Melodious Scales Forest, often stopping to observe the environs. They were on guard—or at least tried to be.

Shizuka closed his eyes and crossed his arms, listening, as Kiku and Kurito bickered amongst themselves.

Tired of his dorky smile, she tugged at his lips, trying to stretch them out.

“Can’t you take anything seriously?!”

“Of course I can—is that a new hat, Kiku?” Kurito asked, words distorted as they left his contorted lips.

Meanwhile, Meisatsu walked beside Akito, who looked like he would collapse any second.

“What in the world did they do to you?”

Akito scratched his maroon colored hair as he replied.

“Kiku there is a mage.” His finger was directed at her. “She’s been blasting me with all sorts of magic…”

“Because…?”

“As a Soldier, naturally I would have some resistance to magical attacks, even without skills. But nowhere near a Knight’s level”

“A Knight, huh?”

A series of dreadful moans suddenly echoed from all around them, causing the party members to ready themselves for battle.

Umare ordered Meisatsu, “Kid, you’re with me.”

In response, Meisatsu hurried to his side, reaching for his Glock, preparing for whatever trouble was about to come.

“You guys handle things here. We’ll go hunt the big ones.” Umare quickly took off, Meisatsu behind him.

Then…

A group of humanoid monsters crept out from the forest trees. Rot plagued their skin, flesh barely covering the tissues beneath it. Some had jaws that dangled, as though they were dislocated.

“It’s the ghouls!” Kurito shouted, dropping his carefree demeanor, adopting a more serious one, fitting for a seasoned fighter.

SHING!

To Meisatsu’s surprise, Kurito now wielded a sword. A sheath had been strapped to his belt the entire time, but it never struck Meisatsu as threatening.

“Back me up Kiku!” He dashed toward the ghouls—

“True Slash!” Kurito in a single powerful swing, severed the heads of six ghouls at once. Their thick murky blood splattered across his brown vest and trousers. “Shizuka, now!”

“Mist… Walk…”

SLASH!

Three ghouls charging at Kurito clumsily collapsed to the floor as wide gashes now went across their chests. “Nice Shizuka!”

Shizuka faded into view beside Kurito. “Mm…”

Kiku whipped out a wand that had green crystal embedded at the bottom from a strap on her waist. Holding it up to her face, her purple skirt fluttered as wind swirled beneath her.

“Rising Gale!” The winds surged forward, picking up both the slain and living ghouls, thrusting them high into the air. “Wind Scythe!”

Leaves from the ground drifted upward, circling the air that condensed into a giant translucent scythe that floated above the suspended bodies.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

With several swift cuts, the bodies were cut into even chunks that dropped from above like a rain of rotten flesh.

GROWL!

One of the ghouls had escaped Kiku’s spell and was heading toward Akito.

“Akito, watch out!” Kiku screamed, preparing a another spell.

Akito with tired eyes reached for one of two silver spears strapped to his back in an X pattern. His grip tightened on the weapon’s handle as he pivoted back—

SHLICK!

The spear now rested between the ghouls eyes. It had pierced cleanly through the monster’s skull, and the body toppled.

“I see your training’s paying off!” Kurito poked Akito’s stomach playfully. “It’s cool that Soldiers have a thing for all sorts of weapons.”

Kurito glanced at Akito’s belt which had been lined with several different knives and a few throwing daggers.

Those with the role—Soldier, naturally have a knack for handling various weaponry even without the aid of unlocked abilities, like an innate talent.

Also, they usually have firm, fit bodies, blessed with above average strength. These are just a handful of the reasons they are sought after by the Royal Army.

“Umare?” Meisatsu was following his lead through the forest.

“Yeah kid?”

“The guy with the sword. Who was he?”

Umare slowed down till he came to a stop. He raised a clenched fist making Meisatsu do likewise.

“Kurito. He’s our Swordsman.” Umare’s head swiveled back and forth in search of something. “And the pretty lady’s Kiku. She’s our Mage.”

“But you use a sword too. So you’re also a swordsma…” Meisatsu’s face drained of color as his mouth hung wide.

“A what?”

“S-s-s-s-sn-s-s-sna-s…”

“Swords Expert?”

“S-s-s-s-sn-s-s-sna-sna…”

“Snacks?” Umare pondered, “Can it wait? Kinda in the middle of…”

He heard the slither of tongues—huge tongues, above him.

“SNAAAAAAAAAAKES!”

Umare’s head tilted up. “Oh…”

“Follow me!” He pulled Meisatsu by the arm as he ran off. “Perfect timing! Now to work on ya breathing!”

“Whaaaaaat???”

“It’s just a Level 50, three headed, Giant Serpent.”

“Just?!” Meisatsu looked over his shoulder to see one chasing him too. The only relief—it had a single head, but still terrifying.

Meisatsu’s eyes flickered with crimson. “S-SCOPE!”

For a brief moment, he saw the monster's name and level—

Giant Serpent: Level 23

—before his glowing eyes dimmed.

I finally saw a monster level! Ah! It’s catching up!!!

Back to the Present…

“ENCHANT: Flame!” Umare slid his hand across the silver blade, flames following the gesture—

SLICE!

A fairly deep cut was made near the monster’s neck. The area was left burnt. It hissed in pain as it whipped its tail forward.

Umare’s entire body briefly pulsed with a faint glow of amber before he disappeared. Then reappearing behind the injured serpent—

“ENCHANT: Empower!”

“Watch closely kid!” His blade sparked as he rubbed his palm along the swords edge, producing grinding sounds.

“ENCHANT: Cutting Edge!” Amber pulsed his body once more as Umare found footing on a tree trunk.

WHOOSH!

Faster than the eye could see Umare had moved to another tree trunk across the snake—a line of silver marking his path.

Blood spurted from the serpent’s abdomen.

HIIIIIISSSSSSS!

Without rest, Umare darted across to yet another tree, then another, and another. The motion gradually speeding up, till he was nothing but a blur of silver, crisscrossing along the body of the monster.

After a few seconds passed, Umare was now up in the air—almost reaching the forest’s canopy.

SQUELCH! SQUELCH!!

Two of the serpent’s three heads on either side fell to the leafy earth, still writhing and hissing—not realizing they had been cut.

As Umare began his free fall, he held the sword’s grip with both hands, and yelled…

“ENCHANT: Growth!”

His sword’s blade extended well over thirty feet, as he swung it.

SLASH!

Umare landed gracefully, his sword retracting to its original length.

The serpent inched forward—

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Its entire upper body had been cleaved off, dividing it into two equal halves, along with several dozen trees at its back.

The lone head hissed violently at Umare, who now leaned against a tree.

“And that’s how it’s done.” Umare motioned his chin to the other Giant Serpent, frozen in place. “That one’s yours.”

Meisatsu’s blood went cold. If he’d fought like that when we sparred, I’d have died in seconds!!!

Receiving a final look of approval from Umare, Meisatsu decided to take a step forward.

Poor guy. He’s scared to death. Meisatsu thought. I'd be too.

The blue serpent finally regained its composure, realizing that its opponent would be Meisatsu.

RUSTLE!

Meisatsu looked up at the trees.

A chiseled face. Deep blue eyes. Multicolored wings.

It’s that weird butterfly! Meisatsu shouted internally.

As if knowing it was spotted, it quickly took cover in the thick forest canopy.

“Hiiiiisssss!” The serpent bowed its head once to Meisatsu who nodded back.

“You too, I guess…” Meisatsu replied in a somewhat mutual understanding.

“Make sure to go at it like ya mean it!” Umare unhooked a waterskin off his belt, opening it. “I’ll step in if I have to!”