The group of Herold, Mea, Caserie, Bren, and Lian continued their journey toward Kegali's center. They encountered both aggressive and non-aggressive monsters on their journey. They had taken the quickest route. They had begun to enter a region of the forest that was surrounded by towering Wayiba trees. The only thing that could be seen were walls upon walls of massive trees.
The sounds of nearby giant birds lurking around, watching as the adventurers passed through their territory, could be heard. Occasionally, the entire group gathered and discussed the situation in the surrounding area. They then decided to eat lunch together at the far end of the Wayiba tree region.
"This is the first time I've gotten this far in this forest," Mea said, munching on the boar meat on a stick she held. "The Wayiba trees in this area are enormous."
Bren and Lian sat next to Mea, with Herold and Caserie in front of them. They were all sitting on the grassy floor.
"This isn't my first time here," Bren said as he rested his head on Mea's shoulder. "Herold and I once joined an extermination team to eliminate a certain troublesome monster who had risen to power."
"A level 53 Varraco Rapido, that happened four years ago, a year before you and Lian joined us, and there were only two of us members of this party," Herold smiled. "It was a nightmare dealing with that monster."
"Varraco Rapido?" Lian asked.
"It was an Agility-based Higante Boar. As we all know, the Higante Boar evolution line's racial exclusive skill is already a dangerous skill in the hands of strength-based Higante Boars; imagine what would happen if the terrifying Heavy Hitter was in the hands of an agility-based Higante Boar," Herold answered.
"That thing destroyed everything in its path; I nearly died in fear just seeing it rampage on the entire extermination team," Bren laughed. "That monster was a terror. That monster gave us a very bad scare before finally going down, and all because its racial exclusive skill complemented its main stats," Bren said as he shook his head.
"That must be why, every time a Higante Boar evolved into an agility-based species, the guild always ordered its extinction; they are extremely difficult to stop when they become too strong," Mea commented, resting her cheek on top of Bren's head.
"It's quite terrifying how a single skill can affect a monster's capabilities; a weak monster today can turn into a catastrophic monster tomorrow by simply acquiring a single unique skill," Lian said.
Herold gave Lian a gentle smile. "That's why we're here; it's our job to make sure those strange monsters don't turn into unstoppable catastrophes," Herold said, darting his gaze to Caserie, who was eating quietly and listening to them. "And it appears that we will encounter at least a level 50 monster; once we meet this monster, it must be your first encounter with a level 50 wild monster, right, Caserie?"
Caserie looked up at Herold and nodded slowly. "Yes."
Herold gestured with his thumb. "Dealing with level 50 monsters is very different from dealing with weak level 1 to 20 monsters on our regular quests. But don't worry; I'll protect you all."
"As long as we're behind Herold, you can rest assured that we're in the safest place on the planet," Mea said, smiling.
Herold simply laughed at Mea's compliments.
***
They finished their lunch and began to prepare for the next leg of their journey. As usual, Lian and Bren took separate paths to secure the area, while Herold, Mea, and Caserie traveled together through the deepest part of the Kegali forest, their eyes darting around with vigilance.
This part of the forest was completely different from the others. Monsters were lurking around, observing them from afar, and while they would not attack their party knowing they were fully guarded and equipped, they were still looking for an opportunity. Some of those monsters were Bildabears, which could smell them from a long distance and were waiting for any of the team's non-defensive and non-agile members to be separated.
They couldn't approach because they were aware of Bren, who they thought could kill them in an instant. The opportunity they hoped for, however, did not materialize because the three members of the main force were inseparable and well-versed in navigating a dangerous forest. They were well aware of how dangerous the forest was, so despite the fact that they didn't appear to be, they were cautious in their every move.
After hours and hours and kilometers upon kilometers of travel, the bright sun above the sky slowly descended, signaling the end of the day. Along with it, their party's movement slowed, eventually coming to a halt several kilometers before reaching the nearest part of the Red Island.
And, thanks to Bren and Lian guarding the rear and front areas around them, no monster had gotten close enough to the main formation to slow them down. Bren eliminated all surrounding potential threats, and all dangers far ahead of the path were reported and fully anticipated thanks to Lian.
However... Not all dangerous threats could be predicted. They knew how to recognize threats and could identify them if they saw one... But what if the most dangerous threat in this forest was a seemingly harmless and powerless creature? A threat that none of them would consider a threat and which was also the main reason for their arrival in the forest in the first place.
A monster capable of completely concealing its ability to kill without remorse—a monster capable of acting as a non-aggressive monster until it was too late. A shapeshifter. The aforementioned monster had awoken. A monster with an acute sense of smell. If savage monsters couldn't get past the two patrolling sentries, this one was a different story.
Herold put his hand over his eyes and stared at the flowing river a hundred meters away. It was the river formed by the Kanundra and Metisaya Hell's Gates. The infamous Red Island was just ahead. They were nearly there... The real question, however, was... Would they be able to get there before meeting the monster they were looking for?
"There's a river nearby, and I think it'd be a great place to camp," Herold said. "We can finally reach the center of Kegali tomorrow morning and properly investigate the area; that monster must be difficult to find because it leaves no traces, so it would definitely take us a few days, if not weeks, to finally track it down—"
"Look at this little one, Caserie, isn't it cute?"
Herold furrowed his brows as he looked behind him. What he discovered was Mea staring at something lying on the grassy floor, and Caserie approached her, darting her gaze toward the creature Mea was referring to.
"It's quite adorable looking, with different pigment than the others—you shouldn't poke it with your finger because they have sticky mucus covering their entire body," Caserie explained.
"Look at it, its cute blue eyes staring at us," Mea said. "This is the first time I've seen a white one, and its skin appears to be soft and clean."
Herold approached the two with curiosity in his eyes. "What are you two doing?" he inquired as he approached them. Then his gaze was drawn to a small monster lying on the ground.
As Herold approached, its gooey blue eyes darted at him. A monster the size of a human hand with pure white soft skin. It growled softly as its gaze moved between the three. It was a Slug, a seemingly innocuous white Slug.
Herold stood a meter in front of the strange Slug, with Mea and Caserie behind him. His already furrowed brows stiffened as he engaged in a stare-down with the Slug.
Herold examined the strange monster in front of him using the Appraisal skill from his necklace.
RACE: Slug [Level: 1/10].
HP: 10/10
MP: 10/10
Top Speed: 2 km/h
Defense: 0
It was just a regular Slug... That was what his appraisal said.
"A white Slug with blue eyes, huh?" Herold wondered. "Strange, I've never seen one before; what are you doing in this dangerous open space, little one?"
The Slug raised its head and growled, as if it understood Herold's words.
A monster with a natural ability to conceal its danger and killing intent, which even a seasoned adventurer could not see through. That growl was meant to be a greeting... and a farewell.