A man wearing armor made of beast pelt ran through a muddy road. The greatsword hanging at his back would surely bring a lot of attention. It was Joshua.
After the incident, he ran non-stop towards the Misty Canyons, hoping to find Aurora as soon as possible. Joshua knew how to hunt and track beasts, so finding a human should not be a problem. But Aurora knew the attackers were after her, so she avoided leaving any marks for them to follow.
'If I can't find any tracks, the pursuers will not also. So it's a good thing, I guess.' Trying to stay optimistic in that situation was the best he could do.
The sun would set in about two hours. Joshua would be able to reach the Misty Canyons way before that. Aurora had a couple of hours of advantage, so he would not catch up with her before the Misty Canyons, even with his speed. Assuming she had gone there in the first place.
It was Joshua's best guess, so he hoped it would turn out in his favor. He was almost sure that her pursuers would go to the nearest town, as they would not know Aurora had the skills to survive in the wilderness.
A strange fog enveloped Joshua as he got closer to his destination. Misty Canyons got their name for a reason.
The once muddy road was long gone, and the only thing Joshua could see was a gigantic hole. It was a creepy sight. It would be hard to see the interiors of the canyon at night, but the fog made it even more difficult.
Joshua had not found any traces of Aurora, or someone, until that moment. Humans created a passageway to reach the deep parts of the canyon. Joshua followed along, getting deeper and deeper. At that moment, a mark in the ground proved that he was indeed going in the right direction. A footprint that could or couldn't belong to Aurora. Joshua hoped it was the first.
As Joshua was getting down, not only did the fog grow denser, but strange sounds echoed through the environment, making it look creepier. Unaware of what was happening, Joshua grabbed his sword, preparing if anything tried to attack him. He decided to go slowly, as everything was still unknown to him.
But, something changed his course of action. It was a scream of someone in danger. Joshua could not help but hasten his steps. He was looking for Aurora after all, and he did not know if it was her or not.
The scream got louder and louder, indicating that Joshua was getting closer. He was already inside the canyon, and his vision was not the same as before. Joshua could only see some meters ahead, and if a fight broke out, that would surely be a disadvantage for him.
When he was almost reaching the source of the scream, it stopped. Joshua's thoughts ran wild. A lot of bad possibilities flashed through his mind. It did not stop him from continuing forward.
Three corpses of beasts lay down on the ground, all dead. It looked like thorns had pierced them. The beasts were unknown to Joshua, but one thing was not.
"Aurora!" Joshua said. A girl was on her knees, covering her face with her hands. It was easy to recognize her due to her unique hair.
Aurora looked up, and when she saw Joshua, she could not hold her tears. "Joshua, my father is, he is..." Joshua hugged her.
"I am here for you," they hugged each other for some time until Joshua realized that someone had killed these beasts near Aurora. He looked up, and a man and a child were looking at them.
The man smiled and said. "Continue, don't bother with us." They were strangers, yet they saved Aurora, and they seemed like good people.
"Thank you for saving her," Joshua got up and bowed towards them.
"Ha, no problem, kid. No way I would let someone die in our home."
"I'm Khali, and I guess you two are Aurora and Joshua," Khali then pointed towards the small man standing next to him, "this one is Hanrog. He's my son."
"Wait, you guys live here?" Joshua was surprised as someone was capable of living in that place.
"Not here, here. But in a small cabin nearby. If you guys need a place for the night," Khali said.
"That would save us," Aurora said.
~~~~
Khali was already a father, but he looked young. Like, scary young. It did not make sense for Joshua. Joshua noticed that even though they shared their story, it was clear that they were hiding something. They did not tell when they moved to that place and why. Living there with a child was something no father would do.
Unfortunately, Joshua and Aurora did not have better options for the night. And in the end, Khali saved her.
'No way this savior is a bad person, right?' Joshua thought.
Things happened so fast that Joshua forgot to use his skill to look up the stats of the two. He only remembered doing so when they were already at the front of their cabin. And for that, he regrets it.
[Class: ???]
[Level: ???]
He could not see their information, which meant that they were way stronger than Joshua. If it was only Khali, that would be okay. But even the kid, who looked like it was only 6 or 7 years old was a mystery.
How could a kid that small be already at least 15 levels higher than Joshua? It did not make sense.
Khali opened up the door of their cabin and said. "Come in, feel at home. I'll prepare a soup to keep you two warm." He smiled.
Aurora had no idea that there two were that strong. She did not have a class after all. The scouting skill would only be unlocked after one had their class.
Joshua and Aurora walked in, and Joshua could only hope that the situation would not turn into another problem for them.