- SEABED, ABANDONED ORCHARD -
The saber glares at Hielgan with a blistering gaze, its slender and rounded ears pulled back in a furious manner.
After having thrown everything at the mortal, none of its attacks had yielded any fruit. Hielgan was still standing with his greatsword aimed at the large feline and with a crimson glow about his body, the saber could not help but show signs of hesitation.
'I can't take any more chances with this beast.' Hielgan pondered. 'It dodges my attacks like they are nothing and counters faster than I can react... What sort of beast does that?'
Hielgan recalled the scars he had seen in the saber's mouth and across its body, he wondered if it had once been part of an underground beast fighting ring.
The beasts from there were usually trained by hunters to help them take on dangerous monsters in the wild, and if the hunters fell into a bad situation they would usually go to these rings to have their beasts fight for money.
'It's probably how it managed to sneak past [Presence Reminder].'
Hielgan's expression changes and the aura covering his body grows brighter, regardless of how irksome this encounter had become, he could not help but feel slightly excited. This was the type of battle that was meant to mold his character, and he was not going to let his will be overcome by a wild beast.
"It's about time we ended this."
The saber began growling after Hielgan stated this, he noticed that the fur on its back stood on its ends.
"Tch. So you can use skills too?"
Hielgan chuckled at the sight of the beast's glow, its body was emanating a hazy and bluish aura, and its eyes glowed the same.
This reminded Hielgan of the days he trained in the mountains when his father was busy with work, he would occasionally encounter wild beasts that stood up to him as though they were mortals themselves, however, none had ever displayed this saber's strength and tenacity.
Hielgan sighed.
The two then lunged at each other, the saber with its jaw and front claws outstretched. Hielgan had responded with his greatsword leading the charge, the steel blade engulfed in a boiling hot aura was raised to counter the saber.
A ripping sound fills the air briefly, Hielgan lands on his feet but suddenly falls to his knees as the crimson aura around him dissipates. Behind him, the saber falls to the ground and remains motionless.
"The bastard..."
Hielgan examines his jacket, the front of it was ripped apart by the saber's claws. As he pulls the shredded pieces, he notices the gash in his chest and he collapses to the ground.
The saber struggles to stand on its feet, and with a wide cut across its face the beast wobbles as it approaches Hielgan.
'I guess this is it, bested by a-'
Suddenly loud squeals fill the air several suspine appear from between the trees, with a hazy vision Hielgan watches as the suspine surround the saber and begin mauling it.
Roars and growls and the occasional grunt can be heard as the saber tries to fight back, but its battle with Hielgan had left it exhausted and the suspine drag it away deeper into the forest.
Hielgan passes out.
- SEABED, FARM HOUSE -
A warm hand rubs against Hielgan's cheek, he can hear the voice of a young lady in the background as a soothing feeling envelopes his body. Hielgan winces and suddenly jerks awake.
"Where is the saber?"
"Saber...? Is that what left the deep wounds?"
"Yes... Where are we?"
Hielgan asks after noticing the bright sunlight, the maid looks over him with a sweaty brow and her palms stretched at him.
The green glow fades from her hands and she collapses to her knees, Hielgan reaches his hand out to her and she couples it in her hands. Hielgan sees the fresh bruises on her hand, he then understands what had happened after he passed out.
"You dragged me back to the farm alone."
Hielgan deduces and looks at the trail his unconscious body had left as she struggled to pull him away from danger. It was uncanny of her, she risked her safety to protect someone who had promised them theirs.
"You also healed my wounds..." Hielgan saw that this had taken a tow on her, she may have been adept at healing ordinary mortals, however, his constitution was far above normal people. He wanted to chastise her, but that would only be viewed as ungratefulness on his part. "Thank you."
Hielgan looked at the scar left on his chest and he was happy that it was still visible, it will serve as a good reminder of his failure.
Later that day Hielgan returned to the forest and found the saber dead, holes from the tusks of the suspine covered its body. If it was not for the suspine, he may have been killed by the saber.
'The heavens seem to have denied me victory this day, but alas I can not go empty-handed.'
Hielgan retrieved the valuable parts from the saber including the fangs, claws, and its hide, it would serve as good material for a replacement jacket.
After returning to the farm Hielgan meets the mortal who put out the request, the noble that was assigned as lord of Seabed.
Frenial was a slender man with a monocle on his left eye, a mop of grey tinted hair covered his head but his demeanor showed no signs of his progressed age.
"Allow me to first apologize to you and your guild." Stunned by his words Hielgan remained speechless. "The workers never noticed any traces of the beast roaming the forest."
"It's... alright."
Hielgan responded with a dispirited look on his face, the suspine had left the orchard and would not disturb the crop in the farms any longer. The suspine were usually found in the plains between Seabed and Rasoc, but it seemed that they had migrated to the abandoned orchards in Seabed to deter the Saber.
Unfortunately, the Saber had tracked the suspine back to Seabed and continued to hunt them down. Now after killing the saber, the suspine seemed to have no reason to stay in Seabed and had immediately returned to their previous grazing region.
"I didn't kill the beast-" Hielgan tried to admit, but Frenial hushed him.
"Yes the suspine did, but you made that possible." Frenial assured Hielgan. "Regardless of the saber, all I wanted was to rid my lands of the suspine and you did that."
"That is true."
The maid walked into the room, she gestured to her master Frenial who nodded in response.
"I have another task for you if you will have it, I have already drafted and signed the letter of the job, all that is left is to send it to an adventurers guild." Frenial proposed.
"What's the job?"
"Cargo transport, ten carts pulled by buckaril await you outside." Frenial announced delightfully. "You are to escort Molina here to Quaria, the food merchants are expecting this delivery."
Molina was the name of the maid and she was not a maid at all, she was the niece of lord Frenial, she had been adopted as a child after her parents were involved in an accident.
Hielgan looked at her and saw Molina fidgeting with her hair as she waited for Hielgan's response, and when her gaze met his, she quickly flicked her hair away and smiled lightly. Hielgan nodded and accepted the job, the two later met outside and prepared for the journey ahead.