Kalaar walked through the forest, trying to calm his pounding heart. It was only because of the fact that he was walking in a foreign territory. He joined the rift with his six friends, but he was sent out to scout and saw what was going on when they made their camp.
This mission was not easy for him or anyone else, so he took it very seriously. So far, he only found a few low-level snakes that he easily killed. No dangerous monsters yet, though.
Suddenly something crashed behind him, and a loud growl came. He froze in place; it was too late to turn back now. Kalaar faced whatever beast was coming closer with a sigh and braced himself for what would come next. When the monster finally reached him, he wasn't exactly prepared.
It was an injured Gargoyle. Its wings and left arm were completely missing. The creature stood above him, ready to attack, and suddenly realized its predicament. The Gargoyles were notorious predators. Not only that, they tended to attack anyone who got near them.
"What is going on?" he thought as he raised his arms and took a defensive position. "Gargoyle in the forest?!"
His mind raced for a way out of this mess. Gargoyles are mid-tier beasts that reside high in the mountains. They always stay in packs. However, they will not give up until the intruder is killed if someone enters their domain.
"Is the map wrong?!"
According to the teacher's map, he was in a low-level territory, and his mission for a test was to find a second portal that would bring him home. As he turned around, he saw a small group of Gargoyles approaching, quickly closing in. He didn't have much time.
In an attempt to save face, he decided to go all in. He charged at the closest Gargoyle. However, they avoided him as if he was non-existent, which startled him even more. Why weren't these beasts attacking him? But after seeing the creatures flying away as fast as possible, he could tell that the creatures were running away from something.
Whatever that something was… It scared them! That scared him as well. He turned around again only to see the last of the Gargoyles fly into a tree.
"They're gone?"
He hid among the trees before the monster showed up. However, it didn't. There was no single creature around except the wind that made a weird zooming sound. It was like someone was running on the top of the trees at extreme speeds. He watched for almost 10 minutes, hoping to see some sign, but there was none. He began to get tired and sat down against a tree. He couldn't take any more of this; he had to return home and explain to the other nobles what had happened. Hopefully, they won't kill him. Kalaar knew that this world had no actual supervision from the authorities, and his noble rank did not matter to his party. If he didn't return by morning, then he'd be executed!
'I need to think of something quick.'
He needed a plan, anything! But there were no good ideas, only horrible ones. What should we do? He looked up at the sky. He wondered how long he had been here.
Kalaar thought about how long has it been since the wind became strange. He could not help but feel as if someone was watching him. At first, he thought nothing of it, and maybe he was just paranoid, so he started walking toward his party.
However, the zooming sound seemed to circle him. He stopped and waited for it to stop, and it did... but he still felt its gaze. Something was following him.
He ran in a different direction without hesitation, which seemed to confuse the figure following him. As he ran farther and farther away, he heard the sounds following him disappear in the distance.
Kalaar kept running. He did not know where he was going or care; he just wanted to get somewhere safe. After some time, he noticed that he was getting closer to the camp. Hildegard waved at him once she spotted him coming.
"Have you found anything edible?" Hildegard asked him excitedly.
"Not much, only snakes." He answered in a deep voice, "Wait, no. I have to tell you something." Kalaar said while sitting beside him
"You mean a pack of Gargoyles has chased you?" He sounded worried and angry all at once.
Kalaar nodded and looked at his feet, avoiding eye contact.
"Are you messing with me?" Hildegard asked him with a chuckle, "You think we'll believe that?"
"You crazy fuck, this is no place for jokes!" Railan walked behind and punched him hard on the shoulder. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners?!"
Kalaar flinched, not used to his friend being so harsh to him.
"I'm sorry, but can you prove it?!" Hildegard tried to make his voice calm. "If you are hiding this, you better start talking."
Kalaar bit his lower lip, knowing how little patience Hildegard had. Finally, he spoke quietly, "I'll show you guys. There was a corpse of a gargoyle."
"Wait! You want to tell us you killed Gargoyle?" Railan laughed. "That's hilarious! What else you killed, tooth fairy?!"
"It's not funny, Railan..." Kalaar sighed, "It wasn't me who killed a Gargoyle." He then pointed to the forest, "Just follow me!"
Kalaar begged, seeing that Hildegard was gripping his dagger. Hildegard reluctantly agreed but still warned Kalaar that if he were lying, they would kill him. Once they entered the woods, Kalaar let out a relieved breath as they followed the scent trail.
After an hour and a half, the group arrived at the site of the Gargoyle massacre. The sight was disgusting, the blood of gargoyles painted the ground, and some of them had been burned alive. The smell of death lingered in the air.
"This isn't regular fire. It's as if these gargoyles were electrocuted," Hildegard commented. He walked closer to one of the burnt bodies, picking it up and examining it.
"Yes, it is as if lightning struck it. Let's find another place to camp."
They decided to pick up their stuff, and Railan noticed that Hildegard was acting strangely.
"What's wrong?"
"My map is gone. I can't find it anywhere."