The Traveler - Part 3

Part 3

Occasionally, they would sneak past some troublesome monsters especially those with threats higher than the urzyk. But for those monsters they can’t avoid conflict, the party quickly dealt it without needing Xen’s help.

After a couple of hours, the sun rose to its zenith. They found a clean spot on a nearby stream and rest there for a moment.

“This place will do. Delg, please prepare a campfire, while we prepare the ingredients.” Livia requested Delg to prepare a fire in preparation for their lunch.

“Righto!” Delg gladly comply and scuttered on the surroundings to find some dry branches.Livia grabbed her bag on her belt and fetch a small pouch engrave with runic patterns.

“Release.”

By her words, all contents came rushing out of the pouch. Piles of effects lay on the ground including utility equipment like tables chairs and camping tools, ingredients such as vegetables and wrapped meat, and vials containing condiments.

Xen stared at the mound of jumbled stuff as Alea join Livia in sorting them up.

“Why did unload them all at once?” Xen asked with a baffled tone.

“Well...That’s because we have no control over it.”

“…”

Unmoved, Xen stared at her and Livia stared back as well. His gestures just now hinted to her that Xen was confused so she then explained how the magic bag works.

The magic bag is a magic item that stored a subspace in which things can be kept. It was as if all things stored inside were shrunk down including their weights. If part of an object was put on the entrance, the bag will distort the space and suck the thing inside it no matter its size. Though the downside was that, they have no way of picking the items individually as it was stored in a subspace. Thus, they have to unload everything just to pick up the specific items. Nevertheless, it very convenient tool for transportation and it definitely costs a hefty price in the market.

“Thats… a lot of work huh.”

"Have you never seen a magic bag before?" 

"...I have, but I never knew this has that kind of downside." 

In my case, I have the void-storage magic to store up my stuff and can pull out whatever I desire in an instant. It's a good thing that I learn this magic at an early stage.

If he hadn't done so, he would have probably struggled as well on a mound of things every time he want to get some things inside.

“Yes, but... it a thousands time better than carrying all the heavy stuff in an actual bag.”

“Guys there were fishes here!” Aldo shouted from the embankment of the stream.“Oh! is there?” Delg jolted up excitedly.

“Yeah, I’ll go fishing for a bit. Might you want to try as well Sir Xen.” Aldo offered since He was the only one who doesn’t have anything in his hand.

Xen walked towards the stream and looked down into the waters. Below the clear running water was several fishes swimming around.

“There lots of healthy fishes here. Do you have a fishing rod?”

“you don’t have to use fishing rod with this kind of water. Just a simple spear is enough.” Aldo grinned producing a pair of sticks in his hand.

Livia and Alea were working together as they cooked the dishes they prepared. On the other hand, Xen and Aldo were busy spearfishing. After preparing the campfire, Delg goes around and spread smoke-repellant bags around the vicinity to ward off the monsters. After that, he decided to watch from the large rock sitting on the stream.

“I caught 10 already.” Xen beamed as he raised his wooden spear, with a fish pierced on top, out of the water, satisfied with the amount he had caught.

“You’re really good a this.” Aldo complimented as he stored his latest catch in his basket. So far, he only got five.

“You, know there’s this method of throwing rocks where you can stunned fishes—"““No.”” Both of them shut Delg flatly.

“You kill the rest of the fishes with that.” Xen said.

“Hehehe, I know. I was once used that method after me mom ordered me to exterminate piranhas in our river. It’s super effective.”

“Yeah, I can picture that clearly.” Aldo sighed. then, he noticed Xen gaze was stuck on the trees so called out.

“Is there something in the trees?”

“Nothing, it just that area is so dark don’t you think.”

“Ah… that’s the deep region.”

“The land of darkeness. Trek for two weeks, and your man will reach at the misty region.” Delg said, joining in.

“Woah, that’s still a far cry of a distance huh.”

“That’s just how large this forest was,” Aldo said. “On the deep region, more high ranking monsters prowling day and night. Fight a monster and you will probably attract another. So it’s advice that you have to kill the monsters quickly and silently, failed to do so, you’ll be fighting an endless battle.”

“I see…”

Xen chew over those words as looked back to the forest. Later, they will march over that territory, where only a few can survive. The monsters there would be more aggressive and relentless as the adventurers describe, and things would be much harder than before.But Xen had no hint of worries since this is exactly what he came for. To hone his skills, and to know far he can reach.

Now, this is the next stage for him, after succeeding in the previous battles he had.

I had to get stronger in this journey, otherwise, I would stand no chance against that place. So whatever stands in my way... I will face it all. He thought strongly as he unconsciously balled his hand into a fist.

“Hey, are you really going to do it.” Xen turned around to face Livia, walking towards the stream. “Your not trying to wrap around the misty region but head straight in to it.”“That’s my intention,” Xen replied, looking back at the forest.

“They said that no one has ever come back from the misty forest before. But actually, there were a few people in the past that claimed they came from that area and glimpse the very hidden world. They said that place is where rank S monsters reside. I thought it was all a myth... we don’t have conclusive evidence other than rumors from the past. However, a creature from that place had presented itself in an unexpected way.

“The Red dragon isn’t it.”

“You know about it.” Livia's eyes opened wide. Not only her but Aldo, delg, and Alea, who happened also picked it up for her spot at the campfire were astonished.

“That’s a guild’s secret, no has made that information public not even to the adventurers.” Aldo said in a serious tone. He must be wondering how this young man got access to it. As if he heard his thoughts, Xen kindly provide the answer.

“Really? A man from the bar, told me about it after I buy him a few drinks.”“Is he an adventurer. Do you get his name?” Livia asked.

“Not really, I just bought him drinks to tell me some stories. And thats it. I’m not sure if he was an adventurer since he was in civilian clothes. He also had an unkept hair and he’s like typical drunkard."

But… I sense a strange air about him. 

Recalling his figure and exchanging with him

“…”

Silence lingered around the area as the adventurers mull over his remarks.

“Maybe he’s from the party that discover the dragon, you know, he was so drunk  absently and  disclosed that info to sir, Xen.”

“That’s a posibility, but, the guild should deal with those guys more thoroughly. Red dragons are ranks A monsters with threats on par of national level. If this information, get’s out in public it definitely cause a mass hysteria.”

“Will have to informed the guild about this.” Livia sighed

"If it's very delicate information, why are seem so ready to disclose that report to me?"

"Well, you're already with us on this journey so you ought to know... plus I'm quite concerned actually that you don't know what you're getting yourself into so I have to give a hint of how strong the monsters you should expect there. Perhaps that will knock some of your senses. But… you already knew that."

"Yeah... I told you, I wouldn't be here if I'm not serious about this." Xen declared as matter of fact, boring his eyes on Livia.

“...Right... Anyway, we don’t have a clear picture of why the red dragon moves out from the misty region. But the fact it was killed in the deep region means that there was something else that has much power. And it’s causing the monsters to descend to shallow regions.“Depending on how it will tuned out, there’s a possibility that we would be facing that unknown monsters in our investigation. So uhm… here is the suggestion..."

 Livia exhaled deeply and face Xen, eyes tinged with conviction. 

"Sir, Xen.”

“Hm…”

“Would you like to stick around with us until our investigation is over.”“Livia…” Said Aldo.

“I know what I’m asking is absurd but, if this goes on, there a high chance we are going to fail before we even reach that place.”

“I agree, Aldo, you know that Livia is almost died from that creature, then there’s pack dire wolves. We feign a brave face, but never mind fighting them head on, but we can’t even out run those creatures. It’s pure luck that they didn’t attack us. And just to remind you, those wolves should be on the further side of deep region, but now they set their paws here. This just shows that more high ranking monsters are currently present in deep region. Thing will just get difficult on our end at this point.”

Aldo sighed in defeat. He scratched his cheeks awkwardly and confessed.

“Actually, I was planning to asked Sir, Xen too. I’m having doubts if we can even reach that area safely. This isn’t the forest that we know, so many strange things is happening. So Sir, will lend you help us a hand. We also provide you a compensation for the troubles just until the mission is over.”

“Ok.”

“I guess, you you didn’t want to huh, you also have things to— wait really!”

Aldo beamed in surprise, not expecting him to answer so readily.

“I’m also interested on that unknown monster. If I can defeat it, then I would be more or less capable of traversing the misty region isn’t it?”

“Right, that so… true..” Livia smiled wryly.

“I think I’m starting to understand you betters, fufufu.” Bemused, Alea giggled.

“Hahaha, you’re really are one hell of a traveler, lad.” Deld praised him, nodding.__________________________________After having their lunch, The party resumed their journey, treading through the thick vegetation as they entered the deep region. They use the spreading web of thick roots as a foothold to traverse. Moss crawled on the trunks ivies swayed hanging from the branches. There was a sudden drop in temperature around the area which was noticeably darker due to the clustering of the large trees.

“I’m getting an eerie vibe on this place.” Aldo said.

“I can’t pick up any presence, there’s nothing here.”

Alea was a bit on edge as she heightened her senses to uncomely surroundings. Not a song from the birds echoed above, or any other presence of monsters nearby. Contrary to what they were expecting as the region described. The place was ghost quiet. Their footsteps crackled much louder than it seems. and the lack of presence of any creature, and the tall trees blotting out the light just gave this place an eerie aura.

“Hey, don’t you think this is the place the wolves were warned us about?” Delg said as he looked around the verdant ceiling.

Livia clutch his staff strongly as she followed behind. Looking at her side, she notice Xen wasn't even bothered as he walked light-footed glancing around like one would at a tourist spot. His relaxed demeanor somehow ease her up as she smiled wryly.

But all of a sudden, Xen stopped in his tracks. Surprised, Livia also stop and watched him curiously.

“Sir, Xen?”

Then, Everyone stopped their pace, wondering why Xen was glued on that spot motionless so the party was curious as he was up to.

“Do you sense something lad?” delg asked. But Xen never replied and just raised his hand gesturing for them to stop.

“I’m not picking any up any presence from my familiars.”

“Be prepared guys,” Aldo warned, putting his hand on the hilt.

Alea doesn’t find anything with her familiars, she strained her ears for any sound but it was to no avail. However this is still a place of danger, so they can't afford to lower their guard down.Xen was an enigma to them with an unclear measure of how strong he might be. But the fact he reached this place on his own proved his worth so they can’t dismiss the judgment of his caliber. It is the reason why they decided to ask him for help.

He might be capable of sensing something we cannot. Aldo thought as he looked at Xen. He has masked so they cannot see his face. But the slight gestures of his head told them as he was focusing on something.

______________

It was a prickling sensation that Xen knew pretty well. A feeling that he was familiar with every time he wandered in a place where monsters are frequently searching for prey.There’s is something here watching them from shadows.

He turned to the side.

But there isn’t a shadow of a creature there. But he felt vaguely past behind these thickets.“I’m going to have a look on that place.” He said without removing his gaze before he marched away. The party looked at each other but they obediently followed him after.

His intuition led them to a place where lights shine much brighter without much obstruction from the trees.

Large trees surrounded the place bathed in a warm ambiance. The even grass lawn spread over the wide clearing where a fairly large stream was crossing at the middle. Waters flow calmly through the gaps of the large boulder situated in the middle. Overall, the serene atmosphere which gives off a mystical vibe makes it calming at the same time thrilling to the visitor.

An ordinary citizen may find it hard to believe that this place even existed in the deepest area where it's said to be the most dangerous. But for adventurers, this kind of setting is somewhat common. Just not in the deep region.

“Who would have though there was a place like these withing the darkness.” Alea marveled at the scene.

“More often than not, a place with a mysterious calming vibe tends, sometimes tends to inhabit’s abnormally strong creatures. Lets stay focus.” Aldo advised them to curtly. He looked at Xen who nonchalantly walked in with a clear direction.

They eventually stop at the embankment.

Xen looked around the area until his eyes fell on the stream.Clearwater gently slides through the gaps of rocks situated in the middle. Healthy fishes swam around at the bottom.

Though, there was something else out of place, getting dragged by the water."Huh?" Aldo stared blankly.

“Is… that what it seems to be.” Delg narrowed his eyes, making sure it wasn’t playing tricks on him. And Alea confirmed that it wasn’t.

“Yeah… and don’t look”

It was plain beige clothes attached to small cups. What they were looking at in the water was lingerie being dragged by the flow all the way to them. Before it could get far, Livia reach her staff and fished the bra up.

“Who do you this bra belongs to?”

“Is anyone here!? Hello!” Aldo shouted letting the other person know his presence. But no voice answered him back.

“Uh.. It probabaly fell form that rock.” Xen said, pointing rest of the clothes which were neatly stacked on one of the boulders at the embankment.

“It must have bee fell off, I guess we should return this.”

Looking closely at it, it was plain lingerie with a simple embroidered ivy lining on the cup. based on the size, the owner of this lingerie might still have a developing bosom. There’s no arguing that this definitely belongs to an adventurer since she was the only person that has the ability to reach this place. Perhaps adventurer doesn’t need to have an ostentatious design of lingerie since they didn’t come here to show off. They are here to fight monsters after all, so it might a proper attire on this occasion.

One look is enough to tell that this place is perfect for camping. So perhaps someone is taking a dip here after the long grueling hunt.

“Just who would leave their own clothes like this?” Alea wondered as they walked to the boulder where moss coated all over the sides.

“Whoever that is, that person must be a klutz to leave her clothes behind. Does that person perhaps leave the place alone naked? Delg grunted.

“But that would be impossible. No one in the mind will roam the forest naked. So perhaps she just forgot to picked up these clothes after she change to a new ones.” Livia argued.

A set of underclothes was piled over light armor which seems to be made of high-quality material clearly belong to a female warrior. She gently put the lingerie back at the top and make sure that it was stable not to fall off again.

“Her weapon is here too.”

Xen grabbed one of the swords leaning on the rock. The sheath was fairly decorated by simple engravings and the top part which was reinforced silver metal inscribe an image of seemingly a rock. An edge-free rock actually, like a flattened circle. He hold that part, as he pulled the hilt to have a glimpse of a blade. He stared for a few seconds at the blade which inscribe with geometric patterns before quickly shutting it closed.

“Enchanted sword made of adamantite, To think she will just leave something this powerful sword.” He said handing the sword back in its place.

Delg probed the other sword, with his eyes gleaming in wonder.

“Enchanted swords are very hard to forge. This quality is out of this world— this migt be frge by a world class smith!” Delg exclaimed, his bulging eyes seemingly licking the blade.

“All her gears are made to be the top quality and imbued magical reinforcement. Only a high-rank adventurer can afford something like this.“ Alea said inspecting the clothes from the side.

“indeed, I can’t understand why she just left her high grades items here.” Xen agreed.

For adventurers, their armor and weapons were their lifelines, especially in a monster nest like this. So it's a given that these people would find the action of this adventurer dumbly confusing. Even a rookie adventurer will never get this careless, much less a high-ranking one. It was probably intentional. And if it is, it only got even more confusing to know the reason why.

As he was been caught up in his head thinking about this conundrum, a short rustle resounded from the bushes near the tree beside the stream.

Surprised by the sudden sound, he reflexively jump backward.

The way he landed to a significant distance from his reaction to a low sound was by no means an exaggeration.

He doesn’t know what kind of creature was hidden behind the foliage so it’s best to keep some distance. Despite the beauty of this place, He is still in the deep parts of the Vilpora forest, where strong monsters reside. It wouldn’t be a surprise if a monster decided to settle here since there was a watering hole present.

One thing he was sure of was that this monster isn’t setting ambush since it already gave away its position and he can’t feel any hostile intent either.

“Who’s there?” he asked sharply.

Everyone was late to react probably because they were immersed in the magic items before them, but they brandished their swords and staff and move into position.

However, Xen's words were only carried away by the wind.

There wasn’t a response from the bushes. But Xen never lowered his arm so as the adventurers anticipated every moment. They witnessed how sharp Xen was on sensing things as well as the quickness to react to potential threats. This removed the wonder of how he reached this far and further validated his strength.

Perhaps the creature hiding behind it curl in fear of them.

Or maybe it was preparing to pounce.

Monsters are sometimes unpredictable especially when they are setting an ambush. For that reason, he doesn’t let his guard down nor ever shift his eyes, as if his gaze was peering through the bushes.

For a moment he believes that it might be the owner of those clothes. But he already dismissed the idea after he found the sword. He can still allow it if she forgot her clothes, but to forget a weapon behind, the trusted partner that decides your fate was already way beyond the highest order of stupidity.

She is prowling in the depths of the forest, which only the strong can reach. This isn’t a place for klutzes.

Counting several reasonable assumptions, he arrived at the conclusion that this unknown creature hiding in the bushes is definitely a monster.

Not just any monster. It’s a monster that can skillfully hide its presence from him— which only shows that this monster is not something to be underestimated.

It must be watchful eyes that I was sensing earlier. Xen surmised.

“Uhmm lad… Maybe it’s the owner.” Delg asked in concern, still thinking that this was the owner. So Xen indulged him in his analysis.

“She would have showed herself otherwise or made a sign if she cant do so. This isn’t a human.” he said flatly.

He moves one step then another getting closer to the tree. By doing so, Perhaps he might trigger a reaction if he was so close to its arm's reach.He glances back at the clothes. A premonition dawned on him, as he regarded the worst possible scenario.

Perhaps the monster has already—

The rustlings continued intermittently. He peered at bushes curiously, anticipating the creature to come out. And after a few twitches on the leaves, a ball shape translucent creature jumped out in the open.

“A slime?”