The three rode back to the carriage. They continued to ascend and traverse the steep part of the forest. Since their last encounter with those bears, Vaissien and Ferm learned their lessons well. Moreover, the next monsters they encountered were a group of chimeric rabbits. The result was a complete opposite of what happened before. Ferm obliterated all them using his fast, though not so powerful, sword attacks. And this ended their first day of travel.
They made and tent at the top of the dense trees. They also sheltered the horses out of the cold. In order to stay safe in this pernicious place, they slept by schedule. The first one to guard was Vaissien—during night time. The second would be Cimmerian—during dawn. And lastly, Ferm—early in the morning.
All they've encountered so far were chimeric beasts or monsters. By the way, there had been numerous types of monsters; those called as chimeric were wild animals in a generic sense but, due to the magitons dispersed on the area, they had learned to adapt to it. As a result, their basic characteristics changed into something unknown. There were times when their bestial desires were heightened due to the absorbed energy. Hence, they tend to attack other species, and sexually reproduce faster than their normal capabilities before their absorption to said magitons.
As for the cores, it was believed that monsters did not actually have a core when they were still alive. In so many occasions, the Styllacus Kingdom's astral knights conducted several experiments on captured beasts, and it proved that when a monster was at the brink of death, all energies of its body became crystalized and converged into one now known as magic cores. The smaller the cores, the lesser the energy it had when it was still alive. Another conclusion they arrived was that the bigger the cores, the harder they were to break. In short, most jewel merchants only bought those from weaker monsters because they were easy to mend and shape. Other harder cores were used in some other purposes.
Moving forward on the three's journey...
The 2nd and 3rd days were of similar circumstances. Cimmerian remained to be uninvolved in the fights. First, they encountered a two-meter white spider, and it was Vaissien who defeated it. Second, they encountered a 10-meter long blue centipede, and Ferm killed it. Lastly, a group of ants which the two eliminated completely without a trace.
Vaissien adjusted his breathing, "Ah, I haven't been exhausted like this since I first worked in the farm as a kid."
"Yeah," Ferm was of the same condition. "I never thought I felt like I'd die in exhaustion, this is just way harder than those hunting missions near the village."
"Here, you two." Cimmerian proffered two cups of tea to both them both. "It's gonna be tomorrow, let's rest well tonight."
"Thanks!" Vaissien sipped the tea in relief. "Anyway, can't we just rest here for a day?"
"Yes, we-"
"No. That's not a wise choice." Ferm was about to agree, but Cimmerian stopped him. "Remember, we are in the deeper part of the forest now. We're not sure what's going on in here, so we should finish the job right away and return home. Besides, we're not sure if we'd be forced to travel using a carriage again in going back."
"Isn't that a given? Cimmy, what do you mean by that?"
"Nevermind." Cimmerian shrugged him off.
"All in all, you're right, sorry..." Vaissien apologized.
"It's fine," Cimmerian gave him another cup, "I understand your concern, and I know that you're very exhausted. But just bear with it for now."
"Anyway, we should sleep now, Cimmy."
"Yeah. Vaissien, please take care of everything for us."
"Got it."
Morning came.
They were still tired, but not as harsh as last night. They immediately readied themselves for the chief purpose of going here.
(Fu, you're so brilliant. I think it's unwise to ever go against your intel gathering ability.) Cimmerian thought of the fox. All the intel you've given to me are a hundred percent accurate.
The three reached at the opening of the cave Fu talked about. It was covered in snow that it'd seem to look like an ordinary block of ice. In fact, this was a feint intentionally created to evade being noticed and targeted. However, Fu discovered the secret well.
Cimmerian was certain that no one actually knew of the existence of this creature here, only them. The reason was that this creature was so cunning and intelligent. If only high-ranked adventurers had known of it, no, they would not still have been here in the first place. Even though it was lucky to take hold of this catch before the others, success still wasn't guaranteed. Why? Because aside from being smart, the creature was also pretty strong.
"Okay, let's follow the plan." Cimmerian signalled the two.
"Wait, what plan are you talking about?" Ferm asked.
"Yeah," Vaissien added, "you didn't discuss any..."
Cimmerian smiled a bit, "the plan is simple, let's go all out by the time the enemy or enemies appear."
"I-Is that so?" Vaissien rubbed his cheek. "Got it, brother."
(Seriously? I thought I forgot the plan.) Vaissien thought.
"Cimmy, you're also fond of joking, huh?" Fern sighed, "going all out isn't a plan at all."
"No," Cimmerian flatly negated, "in every duel or battle, the stronger one often thinks that a weaker enemy would be planning some tricks to override the disadvantage. This is the reason why having no plan at all could be an advantage sometimes. When the enemy excessively worries about some sneaky attacks, his focus will be divided, and that by itself is what builds an element of uncertainty to the battle. We must remember that most defeats in wars were ascribed to either indiscretion, lack of focus, or being caught by surprise."
"I-Is that so?" Vaissien's anxiety only grew worse, "so you weren't joking, huh? This is gonna be fierce, huh?"
"Anyway, let's have this catch." Ferm didn't care anymore as he thought that they were already in a situation where worrying would not help at all.
The three discreetly approached the opening of the cave. While they were peregrinating on the inner thoroughfare of the cave, they felt something interesting.
"Brother," Vaissien, who was vigilantly watching his steps while carrying a torch, called him, "it's unusually warm here."
"Yeah, it feels like we're still in summer."
"If this creature can emit some kind of flame magic, then it's only natural for this place to be warmer than outside."
"That's right, Ferm." Cimmerian blandly replied.
"But. This is just way warmer than even a day in spring." Vaissien avouched.
"So this huge snake emit some flame magic, Cimmy?" Ferm asked.
"No." Cimmerian abruptly stopped on his tracks. "Actually, our target, no—our targets rather—are not monster creatures, but humans."
""Huhhh???""
"Sorry, guys. I lied."