We arrived at a clearing in the middle of the forest to prevent ambush from either the alleged Shrieker wandering around or the horned rabbits.
The atmosphere between the party was absolutely horrendous. Kleir and Toons looked incredibly sour while Kinmed was trying to calm them down, and Sol was sitting looking wary and focused. I was probably the only one who looked fine, mainly because of my acting skills and my mask.
The others only calmed down when Kinmed played some music on some speakers. It is the language of the soul, after all.
" Alright, now that we've somehow calmed down, let me tell you guys the plan I formed to hunt this rogue beast. There are 3 5* hunters between each of us, and a Shriker is just an Elite Monster. We could take it down easily, but we still have to be careful if we want to get out of here unscathed. So the plan is that first we'll try to find the Shriker, then Toons and I will be used as bait and Kleir and... " Kinmed switched his attention towards us.
"Wait, before I continue, are you guys fine with helping us seek revenge for our dead comrade? I'm not here to force you guys to fight a battle you're not involved in. " Kinmed looks troubled as he looks at us, possibly realizing we were just students.
" Yeah, I'll help," Sol says firmly, with his katana on his lap.
With that, I already know where the safest place is. I agreed to help the others, which left Kinmed with a bright smile.
" That's great! We'll make sure you guys get a lot of credit for this. Anyways, as I said, we'll be bait, and when the Shrieker is running after us, Kleir would shoot it on its knees, causing it to fall to the ground. After that, as Sol is the quickest among us, he would deal the killing blow. " The plan was quite simple, mainly due to the overall strength of the party, but it was a great plan considering the tiny goat legs of a shrieker were its weakness...
Wait...
" Anyways, I'll prepare for this hunt, and you guys should take a rest here. We'll move once we're ready. Kleir could you please pull out the water jug? Let's give them some water. "
...
A few minutes passed, and Sol and I were left alone. Kinmed and the others were currently gearing up to wear equipment grander than what they were already wearing. Well, I guess you don't need good equipment for a Normal Lair after all.
" Mon" Sol suddenly called me.
" What do you think of the plan?" You've encountered a Shrieker already, alright? "
" Well... Let's just say I've figured it out already." I whisper as I say the hint to Sol.
As I said so, he suddenly switched his full attention to me.
" What do you mean? You know where the Shrieker is? " Sol looks at me with a serious face. I don't know whether it was of suspicion or if he didn't want to alert the culprit.
" I know who this Shrieker is..." I whisper, sneaking a small hint. I'm 100% sure it was the work of a human as Sol's small gestures were already obvious that there was danger in the midst of the Normal Lair expedition.
" Ho… " Sol looks incredibly flustered. He seems flustered, which is probably how I figured the killer was a human in the first place.
I know Sol is distrustful, but I also know his instincts and reasoning are superior to most.I might look incredibly suspicious, but he should be able to figure out that I'm not a suspect here. I mean, how would I know that he knew that there was a human killer here? Besides, why would I even say that encrypted message if I was the suspected killer?
Anyways, I checked the others first, trying to see if anyone else could hear us. Sure enough, they were still busy packing things, and I still had my mask on, so they shouldn't be able to read my mouth.
"Listen... This will most likely be what's going to happen. " I whisper to Sol a second plan that we're going to need.
…
" Alright, it seems like we're ready." Kinmed and the others were done with their preparations. They were all wearing better equipment and weapons. It's quite overkill for just a single Shrieker, but I guess if they actually do believe it's one, it's still an Elite Monster after all.
We started walking through the wide forest, meeting a few rabbits here and there.
" This Shrieker seems a little timid, huh?" Toons say as we walk through the forest.
"Hmm... Yeah, it's quite silent for a Shrieker to be wandering around. I think it's resting in a cave or something." Kinmed agreed.
" Alright, let's look for a cave nearby. Shrieker typically lives in them, so we should be able to find one, and if we're lucky, it'll be sleeping. "
With Kinmed leading the team, we switched from looking around aimlessly to going to a cave. I follow slowly behind.
...
After a minute or two, we arrived in front of a cave.
" I don't see anything inside." Kleir, with her ability, was currently looking inside the cave.
" Hmm, since it's safe, let's investigate." Everyone follow me. The Shrieker might be out and about, so let's not leave anyone by themselves. "
We entered the cave, and sure enough, there was no Shrieker inside. Just a normal cave, with a little trash littered around, probably from the hunters who entered this Lair before us. There were some empty glass bottles and a few broken gears here and there.
Wait, this is...
" Sir, Kinmed. I think I found something that might be from the Shrieker. " I call myself Kinmed as I search around the rubble for random things.
" What?! Is it another feather? "Everyone stay alert. " Kinmed approaches me, holding the sheath of his blade.
" Here. " I say as I point at a broken piece of shiny and reflective armor sitting on the floor.
"Wh-what? Do you think the Shrieker was responsible for this? " Kinmed asked me confusingly.
" No, you'll see this Shrieker when you look at it."