Village head?
Adam peeked at the old man through the corners of his eyes and saw a snobbish smile on his face. A glimpse at the four strangers and he realised that they had already deduced the elder's identity.
Kr...kr...kr...kr...kr...
The mechanism created some noise as it came into action. Slowly yet steadily, the gate was raised and the party entered the village premise.
"Such a big village." Walter muttered to himself as his sight flew over the expanse of land protected by the walls. Adam couldn't help but agree with his statement in his heart.
"Cage the beast." Pointing at a couple of empty cages placed at a corner of the village, the elder ordered and then gestured the guests to follow him. Promptly, the five new faces followed the old man.
Silently walking to a two-storeyed house, the village head pushed open the door and a beautiful living room came into sight. A female quickly poked her head from the kitchen and asked, "What made you return early, village head?"
Noticing a tinge of disdain in her voice, the old man harrumphed, "Lady, don't underestimate the authority of a village head. It is a troublesome job. You are supposed to be supporting me."
It was then he realised the presence of the strangers. "Ahem, by the way, we have guests. Prepare some tea."
Saying so, the elder gestured at them to sit down and be comfortable. At once, the head that poked out of the door of the kitchen emerged with the entire body.
"Hello, I am Rue, this stingy old man's wife." A typical housewife in her late forties entered the room and introduced herself. Though polite, the words felt arrows to the old man. He quickly shooed her away back to the kitchen.
Placing the adventurers comfortably on the couch, the elder spoke without dwelling on the pleasantries.
"We are a humble bunch of Zoomorph folks living by capturing wild beasts and selling them to the cities. What you soiled was one of our attempt to capture some Green Wolves according to the request..."
Durian, the village head cut the chase and spoke solemnly. He gave a detailed account of how they lived and how the merchants arrive twice a month to buy the beasts from them.
"..now that you know what you have soiled, you four can either pay for your deed or help us capture Green Wolves alive." Then Durian turned to Adam. "You aren't related to them or have anything to do with their actions. But I saw your level and found that you could use a bit of experience..."
Durian conveyed his non-hostile intention to nurture Adam in his skills. The low grading of his combat skills and absence of magical skills worried the old man. Unbeknownst to him, Adam already had some overpowered means of decimation.
A few seconds of contemplation and the earthling nodded in acquiescence. The party of four also considered the words of the elder and chose the second choice, to help them capture some Green Wolves.
The tea was served and they chattered for a few minutes.
"Father, a beast wave appeared!!"
The shout almost jolted Durian from his seat as he perceived the roar. Running to the door, he saw his son rushing towards the home.
"Father, a pack of Silverline Panthers have appeared in the vicinity."
There was worry and trouble written on his face as he briefly explained the situation to his father. Durian then turned to Adam and others and extended an offer. "C-grade beast Silverline Panthers are a force to reckon with. They travel in a pack of hundreds. If you can defeat these beasts, I can write off your debt."
Without wasting a moment on thought, Walter, Tara, Gary and Theo nodded in agreement with the condition. Finding their enthusiasm for combat admirable, Adam also gestured his approval.
As expected of adventurers.
Durian had already walked out of the home and the guests followed suit. With brisk strides, they approached the village walls. Watching the elderly walking straight to them, one of the guards descended and neared the village head.
"Elder, the pack was lured by a strong scent of blood in the vicinity. They have halted about three-quarters a mile away from the village. The scout reported that their numbers are almost a hundred." Hearing the report, Tara peeked at Theo and Gary to see them glaring at her. Adam saw these mute exchanges and snickered in his heart.
Durian waved his hand nonchalantly and send the guard away. After the beastfolk went from range, he turned to Gary's party and gave his verdict, "Those beasts are at a distance, so we can't wait and invite trouble. I hope you find my reasoning logical."
The adventurers nodded and took out their weapons from their space rings. They paced at the gate while Durian neared Adam. "They're veterans, I can vouch for them. So try your best and learn from their combat expertise."
The village head walked away with a shoulder pat, but Adam felt something hidden in that casual action. He can feel a unique sense of care in it.
'Perhaps it's because the elder was also an orphan.' The earthling assumed. Without delay, he pulled out his spear and walked to the gate and saw the party waiting for them.
"Nice spear."
Tara commented as her eyes were fixated on the weapon. She felt that something was amiss with the spear but couldn't tell. She extended her hand to get a grip of the weapon but Theo swatted her palm.
"What's wrong with you?" She retorted.
"What's wrong? You were trying to get hold of other's possession." Theo's voice was harsh.
Though she found herself wrong, Tara turned to Walter and Gary for support.
"The weather is nice."
"Yes yes, this land is very fertile for cultivation."
Tara could only grit her teeth when she saw her accomplices avoiding her. Gary stared at the sky evaluating the beauty of nature and Walter was staring at the woods around him.
"Hmph!" Puffing her cheeks like a toddler, Tara walked away from the boys while murmuring something under her breath. The three couldn't contain their laughter and their snickering almost burst into a hilarious bellow.
"Don't mind her. She's still a child at heart. Allow me to apologise in her place." Theo walked to Adam and placed his hammer on the ground before conveying his words.
When Theo conveyed that she was an orphan like him, his eyes twitched and peeked at her for a split second.
"We don't know who raised us or where we were born. But fate brought us together and we grew with time." Theo explained further.
"But Gary is a special case. He was the son of a baron but lost his family in a fire accident. Since then, he is with us, as one among us."
Theo took a pause and Tara's voice interrupted them. "Panthers heading towards us."
At once, the casual demeanour of the party members evaporated and solemnity enveloped them. With steady and silent strides, Adam was left behind as they advanced.
'Detect'.
As soon as he was away from both the guards' and the adventurers' sight, Adam's figure created the detection glyph. Within a second, he was notified about the total number of panthers in the vicinity.
But a frown arose on his face.
"239?"
The guard reported that the pack only consists of almost a hundred. Then how?
The puzzle had only had two possible explanation. Due to the vast area of the forest and the steady arrival of beasts, the scout either retreated early or only counted to a hundred.
Either way, they are in trouble!
The first thought that popped up in Adam's heart was the situation of the party. They've charged ahead bravely into the midst of the overwhelming number.
A beast core went down his throat and the depleted energy was restored.
"Homing, Stone balls." Two glyphs manifested in the air and vanished like it doesn't care. The next second, several dozen pebbles shot upward into the air and disappeared in the direction of the beasts. At once from a distance, the howls of agony rose into the air.
"Oops..." The sluggishness took over his limbs swiftly and he fell on his knees. Adam can tell the weight burdening him but he forcefully restrained the sensation.
Another beast core was sacrificed to refill the depleted mana.
Let's leap ahead!
The spear appeared in his palm and his agility empowered by the permanent 'Nimbleness' glyph etched into his consciousness provided explosive acceleration.
Meanwhile...
Tara showered arrows with her bow and when her quiver was empty, she displayed her Dagger Mastery.
"Theo, don't let them escape!"