The Brume Hunt

Once the rush of the morning died down, Mel put up a closed sign and stepped away from the counter.

She quickly made her way up the stairs, ignoring her coworkers, and went straight to Beth’s office. A look of annoyance was plastered on her face as she barged into the room.

“Why did you give those quests to my little sister and Gwen?” Mel demanded, crossing her arms.

Beth looked up from the papers on her desk, eyes narrowed. “Is that hostility I sense in your tone?”

“I don’t care for your games, Beth! You have two new adventurers hunting a borderline B-Rank monster they’re not ready to handle!”

“While I do understand your concern, Mel, best watch your tone lest my patience begin to wane.”

Beth paused, taking a breath. “I didn’t give them the job lightly; I believed Gwen was our best shot at confirming if the monsters are getting stronger without losing lives.”

Mel frowned, ignoring the attempt at reassurance.

“Couldn’t you have used any other adventurers?”

Beth shook her head.

“Gwen was able to kill a goblin army along with its leader, a high C-Rank monster on her own.”

“But that doesn’t mean they can take on the Brumes! We have already lost five C-ranks to those monsters trying to complete this job.”

“Look, I know you’re worried about your sister, but everything will be fine,” Beth reassured. “Gwen is smart and can tell when it's time to retreat when facing a monster.”

“I fear Gwen would run headfirst into a battle, even if it's against a boss monster,” Mel muttered, shaking her head.

Beth stood up and walked around the desk.

“Trust in your sister and Gwen!” she said, patting Mel’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t risk the life of any of my adventurers if I didn’t believe they had the capabilities to survive.”

Mel wanted to believe her, but a pit formed in her stomach. She had a bad feeling gnawing away at her that wouldn’t go away.

***

Gwen made her way through the forest of the second floor, with Kira trailing behind her.

Unlike yesterday, today the path changed, now overrun with debris and leaves. The leaves on the trees seemed thinner today, allowing more of the fake sun to beat down on her.

Ugh, why is it always so hot in this kingdom!

Even in the dungeon, she always felt as if she was melting. With a heavy heart, she quietly took off her hoodie and passed it to Kira to put away, leaving her in a white tank top.

Other than that, the duo remained quiet.

Both listened carefully for any signs of monsters. Though compared to the two of them, Kira would hear them way before Gwen would.

Ugh, I’m ready to run into a monster already! Hell, even a wolf would.

Wandering for hours without a distraction was boring.

Moments like this made her apologize for taking music for granted. Just giving her a music player, not even a phone, would be a gift from the gods, and she would do all of their bidding.

Alas, all that awaited them was trees and the sound of their footsteps.

“By now, you’d think you’d have run into some monster by now,” Kira mumbled, kicking a rock with her foot.

Gwen shrugged. “I guess that’s how it goes…with the forest being so large, it’s just harder to find monsters.”

Kira went to open her mouth, but paused. Sniffing the air multiple times, she quickly warned Gwen. I smell blood getting closer.”

At that moment, the bushes to the right shook, and Gwen motioned for Kira to get behind her. She readied her staff, but to her disappointment, two people came stumbling out covered in blood and bits of fur.

One was a male, and the other was a woman, both dressed in light black armor with silver markings. The man had a sword and shield, and the woman carried two daggers strapped to her side.

Why do they seem so familiar?

Gwen racked her brain, trying to figure out where she had seen the two before, when suddenly the man spoke up first.

“Miss, we have to run!” the man shouted, sweat dripping down his face.

The woman didn’t say anything but nodded her agreement, breathing heavily.

Gwen went to open her mouth when the ground started to rumble, causing her to stumble. “What the fuck was that?”

Kira sniffed the air. “Um, I can smell an animal getting closer to us, quickly!”

“Can you tell what it is?” Gwen asked, her staff already glowing with magic.

“No, I haven’t smelled one of these monsters before!”

“It’s a Brume!” the woman interrupted, standing up straight. “We were hunting wolves when one suddenly started attacking us. But it appeared to be different.”

“Claire’s right! Usually they’re black, yet this one was brown and double the size,” the man added.

Finally, it clicked where Gwen had seen the two before.

Claire and Chris were the two siblings she had saved the first day she started adventuring.

They looked so different, with Chris putting on muscle along with growing out his hair, and Claire having her hair up in a bun, her old mage attire completely gone.

The ground shook violently, knocking over a tree close to them.

Bang!

The sounds of something big and heavy officially cut off any chance of Gwen replying, off getting closer to the group.

Gwen tapped the ground with her staff, and her brown magic rippled across the earth, summoning a giant slab in front of the two siblings.

The siblings were already moving when something massive slammed into the rock.

CRASH!

The barrier shattered, sending pieces of stone flying as the Brume's charge finally slowed.

Gwen’s eyes widened, her heart starting to pump with excitement.

“It’s so beautiful… marvellous, even,” she whispered under her breath.

In front of them, a giant black bear stood about twice the size of bears from her world. Its massive paws dug into the dirt as it stared them down. It had spikes on its tail, and its teeth were jagged, with saliva pouring out of its mouth.

“Shit! Miss, take my sister and run!” Chris roared, stepping forward. “I’ll do my best to hold off for as long as I can while you guys go and get help.”

He finished his sentence by clacking his shield together with his sword. A yellow light appeared as a sharp ding echoed around them.

The noise drew the Brume’s attention, and the monster locked eyes with Chris. It stood on its hind legs and let out a mighty roar.

“Kira, go hide,” Gwen ordered.

Kira nodded and took off.

After she left, Gwen started to walk forward, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Looking back, she saw Claire staring at her.

“Let’s go before it takes its attention off Chris!” she urged.

Gwen shrugged off the hand on her shoulder.

“I’m not leaving after I’ve been looking for this monster all day!”

“But!”

The sound of the Brume drowned the rest of Claire’s words out, letting out another roar as it charged straight at Chris.

The dirt exploded behind the giant bear as it moved, its massive frame covering the distance in a split second.

Chris braced his feet and locked his shoulder against his shield, meeting the rush head-on.

BOOM!

The heavy impact shattered his stance, throwing him completely off his feet. He flew backward until his back slammed hard into a tree, shaking it violently. A sharp gasp escaped him as his grip loosened around his sword, the wind knocked out of him.

Gwen moved the instant Chris hit the tree. She spun her staff in a wide arc, channeling her magic into the earth. A rock shot from the side and smashed into the Brume.

The giant bear’s head snapped to the side, sending its massive body rolling across the ground.

“Wow, who the fuck did that?” Chris muttered, glancing over his shoulder.

But Gwen ignored him, running after the bear.

An orange-red glow formed at the tip of the staff. With a flick of her wrist, a giant fireball slammed into the bear monster’s fur.

Boom!

The Brume’s fur burned slightly on its stomach as it got on its feet. It staggered slightly, but ran at Gwen, its mouth open as it snapped its jaws at her.

Chris pushed Gwen out of the way, taking her place. Sword in its sheath, he held the shield with both hands—shoving the metal into the bear's mouth, reflecting the attack upwards.

The monster’s head snapped into the air.

Not one to let an opportunity go to waste, she tapped the ground, launching a rock spear into the bottom of its jaw. The spear drew a little line of blood, but snapped before it could be driven through.

The force of the spear and the shield reflecting the attack made the bear monster stumble backward on its hind legs, putting some distance between it and the two adventurers.

Breathing heavily, Gwen took a glance at Chris. “Are you still good to fight?”

Chris nodded. “Yes, though —”

The rest of his sentence was cut off as the Brume got its bearings and came charging at them.