The Next morning.
I was out questing early in the morning. Avy had stayed at the inn to rest more, so I was by myself for the first time in quite a bit. It felt a bit strange not having Avy with me while doing commissions – I mean, yesterday was one thing, but not having her with me again… It felt a bit strange.
Currently, I was out on a hunt — for something called black horned rabbits, which were apparently exclusive to the Abyssal woods that surrounded Ordial. Carefully, I slithered through the forest, scanning around for my targets.
Yes, slithered.
I decided to do this hunt in my snake form, mainly because it felt like if I relied on my 'human' form too much, it'd eventually lose skill with my snake form. Besides, this was still my natural form, so it felt more 'correct' to fight in it.
Now, usually I wouldn't take on my snake form this close to Ordial, however, as the black horned rabbits apparently were more common in the deeper parts of the Abyssal woods, it worked out nicely for me – as not only would less adventurers or something be moving through the thicker parts of the woods, but also, it'd be really difficult to move around in the human form — so my snake form was way, way more ideal.
Moving through the bushes and the tall grass of the forest, I mostly relied on my… 'sense of smell' – if you could even call it that. Also noise — using my hearing was an easy way to keep track of any rustling or movement that could potentially occur anywhere near me.
Rustle, rustle…
...And it seemed like my hunt was about to end.
Quickly, yet quietly, I slithered towards the source of the sound, carefully pushing my slender body through the bushes. On the other side of the bushes, I was met with a slightly open field, where several black rabbits hopped around, gently munching on the grass in the area.
Looking at their heads, I could see red eyes and a long horn sticking out of their foreheads, while they carefully enjoyed their meals.
"Jackpot." I snickered to myself silently in my mind.
Then, carefully, I slithered into the field and approached the first of the rabbits, carefully sneaking up to it, so it couldn't spot me. Once I was close enough, I quickly lunged at its leg, sinking my fangs into it and injecting a bit of venom, just to quickly kill it.
After a bit of trembling, the rabbit fell to the ground. "It seems the strength of my venom has increased." Before, it'd be a bit of time before the effects of my venom kicked in, however by now, most things – especially weaker 'monsters' such as these rabbits – died in mere moments after being bitten and injected with it.
After the first one fell, the others slowly turned their gazes, before approaching — to investigate, no doubt.
This was the perfect opportunity.
Sinking into the shadow of the dead rabbit, I patiently waited in it for the group of black rabbits to get closer. Once they were close enough to see that their friend was dead, the rabbits flipped around – about to flee. However, before they managed to do so, I quickly used the shadows around to quickly restrain all of them, before leaping out of the shadow of the dead rabbit.
Then, one by one, I bit the restrained rabbits – dashing between each one.
The guild specifically had asked for their horns and pelts, so I wanted to be careful when killing them — which is why I was relying on my venom to kill them. It was quick, easy and more importantly, only left a small bite mark in the pelt of the rabbit, which was easy to miss.
Luckily, the guild didn't care about the specifics of how you killed the creatures you were tasked with gathering resources from, so I didn't need to come up with an excuse on how I managed to kill them without damaging the pelt whatsoever.
Once the last of the rabbits was killed by my venom, I took in a deep breath, before switching to my human form. "Now to carefully skin them and remove the horn…" Forming a small knife from venom, I began working away at skinning each animal.
It took a bit and was rather difficult, since I wasn't the best at precision, but eventually I managed to obtain near perfect pelts of the rabbits. After the pelts, I moved onto the horns, which were the easier ones to remove from the two. Since the horns of the horned rabbits weren't actually part of their skeleton, rather, it was a high density 'crystal' which grows out of their skull, condensing the magical energy they normally would possess into a single point, with just enough pressure, you could just break them off, without damaging them in any significant way, which would make them unusable for… whatever the guild uses them for.
Once the last of the horns was gathered, I stood up – brushing off my clothes. "That's all of them. Now, onto the next target—" Before I could move on, I suddenly heard something to my left. It sounded like metal or something, hitting a rock.
"I haven't seen any adventurers or mercenaries out here, maybe it's some monsters fighting?" I wondered. For a moment, I debated whether to ignore the noise and move onto my next target, before exhaling and simply deciding to head on over and investigate whatever it was. Sure, it could have been something dangerous and what not… But I have to say, my curiosity was getting the better of me this time around.
Carefully, I switched to my snake form, slithering out of the black mist that covered my body and into the bushes. Rapidly, I moved through the thick forest terrain, trailing towards where the sounds of 'battle' were coming from. As they got louder, I began imagining the possible things I'd find at their source. What if it was other monsters simply fighting in this forest? What kind of monster would have some metal as part of their biology?
Maybe it was some mantis monster with sharp cleavers that were similar to metal for arms? That'd be cool to encounter.
Eventually, I found where the sound was coming from. Carefully, I remained in the bushes, observing what was going on in the field in front of me. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything as cool as I had imagined – just a woman, facing off against a massive crab thing, which seemingly had an exterior made up of stone. The woman was dressed… interestingly? I suppose that was the best way to describe it.
A pair of grey 'boots' that reached all the way up to her thighs, light grey shorts, a wide and thick dark grey belt around her waist, which reached up to her stomach, a washed out blue… jacket? Shirt? I don't know what it was, but it only had one sleeve on her left arm, which connected to a black and grey gauntlet thing that covered the rest of her left arm.
The right arm also had a glove covering it, but it was a lot lighter compared to the gauntlet – both in terms of colour and 'weight'. Over her shoulders, was a short dark grey 'cape, which reached down to just below the belt around her waist.
Looking past the clothing, one thing especially stood out about her – a pair of wolf ears on top of her short black hair and a long, rather fluffy and thick, black tail.
In her right hand, she held a longsword, lightly panting as she backed up from the massive creature. The crab thing glared her down, letting out a low growl. "Who is she? Maybe a rookie that got lost or overconfident of her skills?..." I shook my head, about to slither out of the bush.
"Whatever the case, I have to—"
The woman smirked gently.
Then, she dashed towards the large monster, who roared before lifting its giant claws into the air and smashing them down towards the woman – kicking up a large dirt storm.
"She's… fast…" I commented, as I saw her fly out of the dirt cloud in the air, seemingly having leapt up before the crabs attack connected.
Then, she flipped around, somehow accelerating down at the crab, crashing into it with her longsword — which the beast blocked, however, could not hold back for too long, its claws trembling greatly, so it quickly knocked the woman away, before lifting one of its legs, about to stomp onto the woman.
She quickly rolled away, before leaping back onto her feet and dashing to the side, leaping into the trees and then beginning to jump through them – the crab following her movement, knocking down and destroying the trees as she moved through them. The sheer physical strength of this crab — to be able to cause this much 'destruction' so easily… Well, it gave me slight flashbacks to the Southern Beast.
Both are massive beasts with an exterior that seems to be made up of some sort of mineral and possess incredible physical qualities.
If it wasn't for the crabs magical energy, I maybe would have felt intimidated – however, the magical energy exerted by the beast, while not low or unimpressive… It didn't hold a candle to the immense magical energy that was exerted by the Southern Beast.
Not even close.
The woman circled the beast, approaching me – forcing me to quickly sink into the shadows, as the beast wrecked the spot I was hiding moments prior. Carefully, I moved back, exiting the shadows behind the cover of a still standing tree. Throwing a gaze at the battle behind me, I 'shed' a sweat.
"That… was close.."
The woman eventually climbed higher into the trees, before leaping high into the air from them, flinging her sword down at the crab in a spinning motion. The crabs hide easily tanked the strike, the sword bouncing off of it — causing it to look at the woman, who quickly recovered her sword, before falling onto the massive beast and jamming the sword into its body – somehow, easily piercing the hide, which just moments earlier, had easily deflected that same sword…
"Is she just that physically strong…?" The beast roared loudly, knocking her off, before lifting one of its claws into the air, water surrounding it in a thick layer. As soon as that happened, the woman gasped, before scoffing and then sighing. She stood up, before sheathing her sword.
My eyes basically widened.
"Why are you putting your weapon away?! Arm yourself—!"
Then, before I could finish my thoughts, the woman pummeled the crab on the top of its head, causing its claw to drop, and the water gathering around it to disperse. "What did I say about using your magic during physical training?!"
….Huh?
My concern, quickly turned to dead confusion.
The crab shook its body, looking down at the woman with a 'guilty' appearance, lowering itself down like a dog that was just told off. "How many times will you get carried away with this? Remember — just because I can keep up with you, doesn't mean I can defeat you if you go all out. Your strength is too great. You have to learn to control it." As the woman scolded the giant crab, I felt slighty…
Foolish — so to say.
I should have maybe realised this wasn't a normal fight…
I mean, I travelled through the Abyssal woods deepest parts for at least a month or so, and the only monster that was massive which I encountered in that time, was the troll — that was killed by the Sixtails. A monster of this size could never be something you find naturally here.
Besides, the entire town would most likely be in a panic if something so big was to appear in the forest near them.
Once she was done scolding the beast, her gaze shot straight towards the tree which I was hiding behind. "Why don't you come out? I sensed you there already."
"Shit— She sensed me?..." I suppose it made sense.
The crab was clearly very powerful, and she said she was training with it – so that meant she herself was rather powerful. Of course she would be fully capable of sensing me. "Come on," She crossed her arms, her eyes falling to a bored look. "Don't make a lady wait forever."
"I could simply escape into the shadow realm and leave… But I have a feeling she'll be able to sense me anyway…" As I pondered what to do, I could almost feel the woman getting more impatient every moment that passed. After a bit, I exhaled, quickly switching to my human appearance, before carefully stepping out of my hiding spot, my arms in the air.
"I'm not here for trouble, miss… Just passing by."
"Uhuh… This deep in the Abyssal woods? 'Just passing by'?" Yeah, I suppose that was a pretty idiotic explanation to throw out. Exhaling, I reached into my pouch, rummaging around in it for a bit before pulling out my adventurer card. "I'm an adventurer. Just out here gathering some things for the guild."
"An adventurer?" She repeated. Then, in a moment's notice — I blinked just once and she was in my face, took my adventurer card and examined it, turning her back on me. I shed a sweat. "Is she simply that fast or is it some sort of teleportation spell…?"
After she examined the card, she tossed it back to me, snickering lightly. "D-rank adventurer? I mean, I know better than to judge a book by its cover, but I'm surprised the guild is now offering commissions which lead you this deep into the Abyssal woods."
Does that mean that wasn't always the case?
Strange… I've seen so many commissions which are to do with the deeper parts of the forest — though, I suppose I've not seen any that take you to the deepest parts, since as I understand, those are around where Arabor's tomb is located.
"May I ask what are you doing out here, miss?" I asked, placing my card back into my pouch. She walked up to the crab, brushing its 'face' gently. "Training with this guy."
"And he is…?"
I looked at the massive crustacean in front of me.
"My familiar… of sorts. He's a powerful monster from Yiinao, or rather, Yiinao's sea bed." Yiinao? It sounded like another town or something. Examining the massive crab again, it gently moved its left pincer towards me, 'poking' me gently, before seemingly… laughing?
The woman also chuckled.
"He looks intimidating, but he's actually a massive softie at heart." Softie… Yeah, he doesn't look like a softie. But then again, I suppose you can't judge a book by its cover, can you? "So, Riyo was it? I saw that as the name on your card."
I shook my head, snapping back. "Yeah, my name is Riyo Komeno. Why?"
"Nothing. Just a little… Unique name you have. Definitely not one I've heard before." She replied, taking out a small knife, which she then used to scrape off some of the 'stone' around the crab's eyes — the purpose of which, I would never be able to guess.
"I suppose it's a bit rare." I rubbed the back of my neck.
I never really thought about the repercussions of using my previous life's name as my 'name' in this world… It most certainly would be one no one else in this world would possess – or even come close to possessing.
"And you? What's your name miss?"
"You can call me Lyrra. Though, I prefer the nickname which my friends call me by - Lyrrie."
Lyrrie…? Feels a bit weird that she'd prefer a 'nickname' over her actual name to refer to her, however, I suppose I cannot judge her over it. Exhaling, I placed my hands onto my hips and looked at the massive crustacean again. "And him?"
She looked at the crab. "He's called Charybdis. As I said before, he's a powerful monster from the Yiinao sea bed. I called him my 'familiar', but it'd be more accurate to say I'm his assigned… 'overseer' – I suppose." So, she was like a caretaker to the giant crab.
Still, 'Charybdis' huh….
A rather intimidating name. And I suppose that fits a giant crab sea monster that is easily able to level this whole forest with its pincers and sheer physical strength alone. "You said you were 'training' with it? How… How in the world?"
"Hm? Oh, how do I train with him? Well, I always want to improve my physical abilities as a warrior, but the problem is that almost nothing you'll find on this side of the world is able to withstand my blade." She then looked at the crab with a whimsical smirk. "Which is why a massive sea beast, with a shell that is nearly impenetrable, is the perfect training partner. Though, due to his sheer size, I always come out deep into the Abyssal woods to train, just to avoid scaring anyone."
I suppose that made sense.
I can definitely see how the average adventurer, or hell, the average Ordial citizen would be intimidated or even frightened to their core by a giant crustacean monster thing anywhere in Ordial.
"Anyways, you said you were here to gather some stuff for the guild?"
"Yeah."
"What do you need to gather?"
I thought about it for a moment, recalling all I needed.
"The first, which I already got, was black horned rabbit pelts and horns… All I have left to gather is some white direwolf pelts, goblin ears and…" I tried to recall the final thing, forgetting it for a moment. "Ah, and some purple fang venom."
The woman listened to me list off all the things, before shrugging and pointing off to somewhere. "White direwolves are most commonly found towards that location, near the sea." Then she pointed in a different direction. "And purple fangs are most commonly found in a cave located that way. As for goblins…" She sighed, resting her arm onto her hip.
"I think you can figure out where to find a couple green longears." She gave me a friendly, rather playful smile.
She gave me directions…
How… Kind? Of her… I suppose.
Got to say, she was a rather strange individual. "Thanks…?"
"No worries. It's the job of a senior to help out a rookie." Then, she stepped away from Charybdis, clapping her hands together. In an instant, the crab suddenly turned into water, before morphing down — forming into a much, much smaller form. The now small crab waddled over to Lyrra, climbing up her body and onto her head.
I was a bit surprised, my eyes slightly wide.
"Alright, it was nice meeting ya Riyo, but I gotta go now. Gotta see if the guild has anything for me."
"The guild? Are you also an adventurer?"
She nodded. "I thought it was strange." Then she smiled, before laughing and waving me a farewell. "Well, maybe we'll see each other soon. Ciaó." As she stepped away, I flipped around to look at her.
"H-Hold on, but what about—?"
"The forest?" She looked around at the trees and ground that were destroyed by Charybdis. Then, she shrugged, turning away again. "It's the Abyssal woods. The magical energy density here is great enough that those trees and all will be back in a few hours. Buh-bye now." Then, before I could say anything else, she disappeared in the thick forest.
I was left alone in the field, speechless for a moment.
Then, I sighed heavily, before shaking my head. "Guess she matches the… carelessness? Of adventurers." I thought, before scratching the back of my head. Switching back to my snake form — only after confirming that she truly was gone with 'Overworld Detection' — I headed off in the direction she had pointed to, where I'd be able to find the White Direwolves I was looking for.
In the forest, Lyrra, having hidden her presence with the great skill 'Undetected', observed Faofa, narrowing her eyes. "I thought something felt off… The way you were reacting to him said a lot." She looked at Charybdis on top of her head, who simply nodded in response.
After an exhale, she turned around, crossing her arms.
"Should I report what I just saw to the Guildmaster, I wonder…" She gently brushed her chin, before shrugging. "Well, I'll be in trouble if I don't do so. Though…" She threw a gaze back, watching as the snake slithered off into the forest, before moving off into the opposite direction.
"I guess we should see if you're a dangerous monster with the ability to mimic humans or not. As my mother always said – don't judge someone, because they're a little different." Lyrra commented to herself, placing her arms behind her head as she treaded off towards Ordial.
Two days later…
Adventuring guild.
Outside the Adventuring guild building an incredible amount of people gathered. Adventurers of all sorts of appearances, heights and ages all chatting with one another, while waiting. In front of the guild building's doors, the receptionists stood, the females resting their arms in front of them, while the males rested them behind their backs, as if they were in the military.
Me and Avy were off to the side, a bit further than the other adventurers, but still close enough to hear everything, should there be anything spoken. Avy yawned lightly. "When will this all start…? I'm tired…" I sighed, patting her lightly on the back.
Then, a bit later, the Adventuring guild buildings doors opened — the entire crowd falling silent and looking towards them. Me and Avy also turned our gazes towards it.
From the guild came out a man – behind him, surprisingly, was Lyrra — who I had met two days ago in the Abyssal woods. "So she is an adventurer…"
Lyrra stood to the side, her arms resting on her hips, while the man took stand in front of the large crowd. The man wore clothes that were tattered and scuffed, showing clear signs of age. Their colours were mostly washed out, except for a deep red coat that he wore over the tattered clothing underneath it.
His hair was light grey, with some strands of white hair peaking their way through the grey hairs, and across his face, was a short beard that covered his chin and the top portion of his lips.
The man's face also had old scars that went over his left eye and traced themselves down his neck and undoubtedly, further down his body – which showed me that he most definitely wasn't just any old man.
If I had to make a guess, he probably was the Guildmaster.
And if not that, then perhaps a really, really experienced, elder adventurer.
The man cleared his throat, before lifting his arms into the air. "Welcome adventurers from all across the land – My name is Gidou, the Ordial Adventuring guilds guildmaster and I extend my greatest gratitude towards you all for joining the guild today, for the Ordial Adventuring guilds raid of the Fire Princes domain!"
As Gidou's announcement roared, the entire crowd cheered.
It seemed like before getting to the raid itself, we were going to get a run down of things.
And so, me and Avy listened carefully, to what the Guildmaster was going to say — while Lyrra, strangely stared at me, smiling gently and even secretly waving at me, while Charybdis, simply glared at me from her head.
Something sent shivers down my spine.
Charybdis' glare… It felt like he was suspicious of me. But… Why?
I was careful on that day of our encounter, making sure to not do anything that would make me look suspicious and yet… the crustacean seemed distrustful. Whatever the reason for it, something told me, I would need to be extra cautious during this dungeon raid.