CHAPTER 39…………………………..
Yan-Meat literally vanished like a lightning bolt.
In the spot where it had been, only a long, thick tail wriggling like a tentacle remained.
“Captain, didn’t you say that dragons fight until they die?”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a dragon run away. It’s smarter than I expected. Knows when to avoid a disadvantageous fight.”
The man with the greatsword spoke with a hint of disappointment.
“Shouldn’t we chase it?”
The woman with a bow spoke beside him in a worried tone.
The greatsword man gently shook his head.
“No. Evening comes early in this forest. It was able to fight because it couldn’t see well in daylight. At night, it will be us who get hunted.”
The greatsword man—apparently the leader of the group—placed his hand on his sword hilt and approached the wriggling tail.
“Staying in the forest any longer is dangerous. With all the commotion, the other creatures have likely realized humans have entered.”
“Captain, what about the contract?”
“It’s fine. It would have been best to kill the forest’s owner, but we’ll settle for wounding it. Even that alone will drastically change the forest’s ecosystem.”
“Alright, then let’s head back, Captain. I want out of this bug-infested place. I just want to go home and take a proper shower.”
“What about the tail, then?”
At the bowwoman’s question, the man called the Captain answered briefly and decisively:
“We’ll take it. It will serve as proof for the count who commissioned us.”
“I hear dragon tails fetch a high price. The scales, the bones—nothing is wasted, right?”
The man wielding twin daggers, probably named Eric, rubbed his hands together, grinning.
He lifted the thick tail, as thick as the creature’s torso, and passed it over to the bowwoman’s shoulder.
“W-What are you doing? Why are you giving this to me?”
“I carried all the supplies on the way here. On the way back, you’ll carry something.”
“No, Eric, we were supposed to do rock-paper-scissors…”
“Shh.”
The Captain quieted them before they could protest.
He lowered his stance, hand on the hilt of the sword on his back.
“Something’s nearby.”
“Did it come back?”
“No, it’s smaller.”
The relaxed expressions of the group immediately tensed like bowstrings pulled taut.
They quickly formed a protective formation, backs touching, like an impenetrable circle.
“Could it have noticed me?”
I swallowed hard, not daring to blink.
If I were discovered and captured by them, I’d lose my life out of curiosity—an utterly foolish end.
“I told Leaf to be careful; I can’t die here.”
I hid as much as I could among the branches.
“Is that it?”
A sharp dagger flew from Eric’s hands.
The thrown dagger, spinning like a shuriken, whistled past the side of my fur.
It seemed aimed at me, but the scream that followed made me jump.
—Kieek!
With a crack, a large object fell behind me, breaking a tree as it landed.
“Th-That’s a spider! Ugh, wasted a dagger. I hate bugs.”
“Don’t complain over a bug, Eric.”
The spider on the ground looked about a meter long—roughly my size.
Thinking something like that had been nearby made my whole body shiver.
“No big deal, then.”
The Captain twisted the dagger stuck in the spider’s abdomen, ending its life.
The wriggling spider let out weak, rattling breaths before dying.
“Take this too. Eric, you carry it.”
“Seriously? Captain, you want me to carry that?”
The Captain pointed at the spider’s body.
“Look at its yellow-and-black patterned body. That’s a hornet spider. Even its shell alone could fetch a gold coin. Nothing about it goes to waste.”
“Wow… incredible, but why a bug… Hey, Aile, I’ll carry the tail, you take the spider.”
“No way.”
“Eric, I said you carry it.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll take it, Captain.”
Reluctantly, Eric slung the spider over his back.
“Ugh, gross. It won’t start moving, right?”
“Hunter, don’t fuss over a spider. We’re leaving the forest now.”
Eric went silent at the Captain’s scolding.
“Leaving the forest?”
I perked up my ears.
Leaving the forest.
That phrase sounded sweet and intriguing to me.
They were clearly heading from this wild place to human civilization.
“So there’s a way out of the forest… maybe I should remember it. Could be useful later.”
I didn’t move down from the tree until they were out of sight.
“Can I follow unnoticed using my Stealth Movement skill?”
I tiptoed carefully, considering.
They were so perceptive they could detect the spider behind me I hadn’t even noticed.
Perhaps they were using a radar, magic, or some talent to sense movements.
“Yet they didn’t notice me.”
Their failure to detect my presence, despite noticing the spider, suggested limits to their sensing abilities.
“If I stay far enough back, I can follow them.”
Determined to escape this godforsaken forest someday, I began trailing the hunters’ footsteps.
“Though that tail looked delicious…”
I recalled Yan-Meat’s tail.
Its thick, meaty flesh looked incredibly appetizing.
Lizards store nutrients in their tails, I’d heard.
This was the tail of a dinosaur that had ruled the forest for ages.
It must taste amazing and yield huge experience points.
“Not sure if a severed tail gives XP though.”
My mouth watered.
More than the excuse to scout a way out, the thought of getting the tail consumed me.
I crouched lower, moving along the ground.
The distance between us shrank, and the small specks that were their backs now looked like tiny dolls.
“Payment—”
“—highest rank.”
“—a bit lacking—”
Because we were still some distance away, I could hear their voices clearly.
Though I couldn’t understand their words, their constant chatter didn’t seem like heightened alertness.
“I want that tail from them… how?”
I racked my brain.
These were humans strong and skilled enough to challenge Yan-Meat.
Their words and actions suggested extensive experience hunting animals.
All the traps must have been meticulously prepared to target Yan-Meat.
“Maybe I can take the tail if I separate them individually.”
I followed them, deep in thought.
Unlike the previous day, when I had fled from them, I now had a plan forming.
Aile, the bowwoman with the strong bow, hugged the twitching tail tightly.
She had seen freshly butchered meat wriggle, but a tail moving ten minutes after being severed felt eerie and unsettling.
“It’s almost like it’s alive.”
Powerful wild energy—or magic—emanated from the tail.
Honestly, she wanted to toss it away immediately, but considering its value, she couldn’t.
This tail was proof for a contract worth two platinum coins.
“Better than carrying the spider, anyway.”
She glanced at Eric, grumbling while carrying the spider like a backpack.
His protruding lips showed his strong dissatisfaction.
“Truly, a demonic forest. All the creatures are bizarre. Rivaling the northern snowfields. Honestly, I never want to return. Ugh.”
Eric spat on the ground.
“Leave no traces. Some beast might follow your scent.”
“Come on, that’s overreacting.”
“This is no joke.”
Batus, Captain of the demonic forest expedition, warned Eric sternly.
As a platinum-ranked hunter, Batus always maintained this rigid, austere demeanor.
Decades of hunting had hardened him like stone.
Batus rubbed Eric’s spit away with the steel heel of his greaves.
“Because of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, animals here evolve and adapt in unimaginable ways. Some even resemble humans.”
“Resemble humans?”
Aile shuddered.
“Yes. The longer-lived animals adapt increasingly human-like forms and intelligence.”
“What animals? That’s disturbing. Even spiders turn human if they live long?”
Batus continued in a low, solemn voice.
“Araneae from mythology are precisely such creatures. Previous expeditions in the north reported humanoid spiders, though capture failed.”
“Araneae? I thought that was just a myth.”
“This primeval forest turns myth into reality. So don’t joke carelessly. Your joke could wrap a snare around your legs.”
“Understood.”
Aile recalled the strange animals they had encountered while camping in this forest.
Indeed, Batus was right: there were grotesque, terrifying creatures.
The red-eyed monkeys seen while setting traps nearly made her faint.
Their lecherous, persistent gaze still sent chills down her spine.
These were more like demonic beasts than ordinary animals.
Even the tail she carried belonged to a dinosaur, exuding its sheer dragon-like majesty.
According to Batus, even that ferocity was tempered by daylight.
“I’ve never seen the Captain fail at a hunt.”
Aile remembered the terrifying battle with the dinosaur.
Honestly, without Batus, a platinum-grade hunter, she couldn’t have faced such a creature.
The Captain remained unscathed, inspiring awe and respect.
Sometimes it was hard to believe the Captain was even human.
“Come to think of it, has the Captain ever been injured by a beast?”
She remembered the odd white animal they had encountered the previous day.
It had stood on two legs, reaching Aile’s waist—like a small child.
Its face was round, a blend of canine and feline features, adorably cute.
Its temperament, however, drew blood when it scratched the Captain.
“The Captain said it was an unknown creature. Must have been an undiscovered specimen. Ugh, if I’d caught it, I could’ve made a fortune!”
Perhaps a rare find.
Undiscovered, white-furred species are highly sought after by nobles.
The soft white fur lingered in her memory, frustrating her.
The animal had behaved calmly while she stroked its belly.
Perhaps it could have been tamed.
Aile had a knack for bonding with animals since childhood.
That was why she became a hunter, though reality clashed with her ideals, leading to a slump.
She was more skilled in animal research and training than in combat.
Her days rescuing marine creatures left her tired and demotivated.
That was why she joined the hazardous demonic forest expedition.
If this mission succeeded, she planned to quit and return home.
“So, Aile, what do you think?”
“Huh?”
Eric’s question snapped her out of her thoughts.
“What did you say?”
“How about we split the reward as follows: Captain 5, I get 3, and you get 2?”
“Excuse me? Captain gets 5, sure—he prepared traps and led the battle. But why does Eric get 3 and I get 2?”
“I struck the dragon’s eye with my dagger. You did nothing.”
“I tracked the dragon’s trail using my skills.”
“But can that compare to me fighting and shedding blood?”
“Talk about money later.”
Batus’ mediation silenced the two, who glared at each other.
It was always like this with Eric.
“He scared off the white beast by trying to touch it. He hates animals.”
Eric became a hunter to kill animals, unlike Aile, who became one out of love.
Though skilled, there was something off about him—an unsettling aura.
As old sages would say, their souls or mana flows were incompatible.
Rustle.
—Clatter.
“Hm?”
Everyone stopped.
The bushes moved, and the sound of a strange beast came from within.
