The Chair’s First Trial

The ground was pretty flat, so we walked through the forest at a steady pace. The only thing of note was a slight tremor through the ground, but that was because of Ai’s vines, searching and defeating the surrounding beasts.

The forest itself was beautiful. Sunlight filtered in through the little gaps between the trees, illuminating the budding flowers on the ground. Some of them wouldn’t survive the upcoming rainstorm, but the rest would flourish beautifully. A few could even gain medicinal properties under the right conditions.

Although there were none around, there were still plenty of plants that could be gathered, which Emma was doing admirably. Sometimes she picked plants that were edible or useful for flavoring food. Other times, they would be high-quality herbs that could be sold to the guild. In both cases, she only harvested the parts she needed. Her knowledge greatly eclipsed mine. Was this because of her Supporter skill? If she knew how to process those herbs, she could become a highly skilled alchemist.

As we reached a small meadow in the forest, Ai clicked her tongue. “Beast coming from the north. Big and nimble. Couldn’t stop its advance.” A pretty accurate description from just its vibrations. Rufus moved to the front while Ai surrounded us with vines underground, similar to an invisible barrier. Aster’s features shifted into a more masculine form.

Eventually, the distant shrubbery started to shake, quickly getting louder. All other sounds drowned into the background as everyone focused on the incoming enemy.

Then, the sounds suddenly stopped. Aster and Ai both kept an eye on where the beast was hidden. Aster’s foot moved slightly towards that direction, ready to pounce when necessary.

The beast circled around to the left, observing us. From what I could tell, it was a C-rank threat, a rather strong one at that. It could probably take this party down with enough, but surprisingly, the beast continued to keep its distance.

A minute passed. Then two. It still hadn’t attacked. That was strange. Closing my eyes, I spread my mana into a thin, undetectable string and sent it towards the beast. Wrapping around the outside of the beast’s body until it reached its eyes, my mana shot off in the direction the beast was looking: me.

…

…

…huh.

It probably had a better mana sense than Aster, meaning I had to mask my mana even further. As if to confirm my suspicions, the beast prepared to pounce as soon as my mana disappeared from its detection.

“HHOOOOWWWWLLLL!”

The silence broke as the beast jumped towards us. It looked like a black wolf with overgrown canines, giving it a menacing aura. Its sharp talons were aimed at me, likely because I was the greatest threat, even with my mana masked. However, from the other’s perspective, except maybe Aster, it probably seemed like the beast was aiming for the back line.

It only took a second for the beast to get within reach – too fast for Aster or Rufus to react. With its strength and speed, it could probably kill them instantly. I had no need to step in though, what with Ai smiling like a raging lunatic.

Vines immediately shot out of the dirt, deflecting the beast’s momentum towards Aster and Rufus. The beast tried to use the ground as a springboard, but Rufus had already punched in the direction the beast would land. An explosion of wind knocked the beast away, giving Aster enough time to rush the beast.

“[Slash].”

Aster brought down her sword, aiming for the beast’s neck. However, it was able to land in time, using its claws to block the blow. With her skill only at E-rank, the beast was able to knock the sword to the side, leaving Aster off balance. The beast took the opportunity to go in for a counterattack.

“Yiipp!”

However, the beast suddenly screamed in pain, putting some distance between them instead. It looked like Aster had thrown a needle directly between the eye and its socket. The beast attacked again, but its movements were starting to lag. Her needle was probably covered with some kind of poison. Maybe her previous teacher was an assassin.

Aster continued her assault, slashing her sword as the beast attempted to dodge, block, and counterattack. The beast’s breathing grew ragged the longer the fight dragged on. It was starting to get desperate as well, not understanding why its body felt heavier. It was only a matter of time before Aster won.

The rest of the party, meanwhile, stood around, not bothering to help. The beast would’ve been defeated by now if they all worked together. If the beast wanted to run, there was nothing stopping it. It was night and day between this and their initial, well coordinated response.

Both Aster and the beast were being torn to shreds by each other. Most of Aster’s wounds were superficial and looked to be healing quickly; however, the rags she wore were being ripped apart, showing glimpses of her masculine body underneath. On the other hand, the beast’s wounds were much deeper, each of them poisoned, hampering its abilities further.

The beast began making more reckless attacks, eventually aiming at Aster’s head, exposing its underbelly. Aster took a quick step to the right, using her left arm to block the incoming attack. Not wasting the opportunity, the beast bit into her left arm, ripping it off from the elbow. However, Aster wasn’t the least bit phased. She plunged her sword arm into the beast’s belly, easily slicing it open.

The beast staggered as it landed, baring its teeth at Aster. Its eyes were clouded; its mana almost depleted. A few seconds later, the beast collapsed, dropping Aster’s arm as its heart stopped.