"One has to put in the effort to truly become successful in this world. You can't hope to succeed if you are short sighted.~"
The words of Fernando continued to play out as the man talked our ears off. After our departure from the guild's headquarters in Astakolpis, the handler for our mission has been talking nonstop. He spoke to us as if we were old friends catching up, but I could just taste his perceived superiority over us in the air.
We were traveling via horseback since within Infinity Unleashed, there were only a handful of transcontinental teleportation centers. Unfortunately for us, Astakolpis wasn't that close to one of the centers. It isn't like we needed it anyway since Stormpass is merely a little over a half an hour journey from the city in real time.
Although Harris had left us earlier, Fernando had correctly deduced that the man would be waiting for us at the city gate. His deduction had been proven correct, and for the last several minutes, he had been riding alongside us on his mount. While Fernando led the front on his noble, white steed, Tomika and I followed him up. That left Harris to follow up our rear.
He seemed quite adamant on shedding bloodshed earlier, but I could tell that he was cooling off just a bit. Don't get me wrong, Harris still possessed a murderous intent that was unfitting of a man with "Burger" in his name, but now he seemed more relaxed. Well, as relaxed as he could be.
I don't blame him for it considering Fernando's nature to continue rambling on, but Harris has not been that talkative. In fact, he hadn't said a word since leaving the guild hall.
"Yeay-Yeah. You just like to hear yourself talk, so don't act like you're saying some deep shit. I can't tell the difference between your mouth and ass at the moment."
The only person insane enough to entertain the babbling of our handler was me. I was promised a plan to deal with this situation, but instead, I got nothing, but his delusions of grandeur. My annoyance was clear in my tone, but it appeared that he was impervious to that type of damage.
"If you had the intellect necessary to understand me, then perhaps you wouldn't be so dismissive.~ It is unbecoming of a man of our guild to be indistinguishable than the barbaric tribesman that we come across in the wild.~"
He couldn't look at me when he said that, and I suspected that even he knew that his words were utter nonsense. I turned my head toward Tomika, who had also remained silent throughout this conversation. She simply stared ahead into the distance, her face expressionless as a doll. Tomika had this unreadable aura around her at certain moments, but this wasn't one of those times.
In all these months of knowing her, Tomika has never carried such an intense aura around her. It is stated that certain aspects within the game have allowed players to develop such an element. Since most of our character's skills are linked within our subconsciousness, it is possible for people to develop such an ability.
It was called "menace." Menace allowed a person to invoke their magical presence and wield it as a physiological weapon. In Harris' variant, one could feel a chill in their spine from his pure malice, but Tomika's was different. It was intense that she had spooked my mount earlier.
To be honest, I was also spooked by it as well. Something told me, perhaps my instincts, that Tomika should not be trifled with at the moment. Within her eyes lie a dangerous element, and I actually felt a little sympathy towards the unknown individual that was the center of her ire.
Her horrible mood placed me with the only person left to interact with it. Although both Tomika and Harris were enough to invoke sweat down my temples, Fernando seemed particularly unfazed by it. Perhaps it was due to his higher stats and level or his personality, but Fernando was incredibly cool about the situation.
"You said that you have a plan, right? What is it?", I called out to him, reminding him of his negligence.
He didn't offer me a particular reply just yet, but instead commented on the state of the road just ahead. We had spent another dozen minutes traveling down this road when something unexpectant transpired.
"Is that a forest? Out here? I didn't think there was one on the road to Stormpass."
This sight took me by surprise. The road to Stormpass from Astakolpis is supposed to be one filled with no hassles. To me, knowledge Stormpass is a town built in the dead south of the edge of the Grotto Plains. That meant that there should be no forests nearby. In fact, the nearest forest is further west of the Grotto Plains.
"Oh my! There shouldn't be.~"
Hearing Fernando go silent was actually more surprising. This man has been yammering nonstop for the past few minutes, so it was quite notable when he started humming in amusement. His horse stopped in the middle of the road, and soon, his leather boots thudded onto the ground. Seeing him dismount the other two quickly followed suit, and I was the only one lagging around.
Fernando's mount would soon dissipate into a cloud of smoke, leaving the slender man standing alone. His hand rested underneath his chin as he observed the sight before us.
"Interesting…"
Tomika's voice slipped out as the woman followed the actions of our handler. Those were the first words that she used during this whole trip, but I could tell by her actions that she seemed wary of her surroundings.
"You're right, Lady.~ It appears that this will not be a simple mission after all.~"
Considering that I was the last person to recall my mount, I was late to the gathering of the other three. They had been speaking vaguely with one another as if they had some type of insider information that I wasn't privy to.
"I'm pretty sure I mentioned that would be the case. The people that currently occupy the town are above our paygrade. They managed to defeat Whatchamacall1t and his men, so this isn't going to be a walk in the park.", I remind them.
My words caused Tomika to flinch, and again, her hostility polluted the air. I will make sure not to mention that in front of her again.
"Let's not be shy. We still have a job to complete. If we can't pacify them, then we will investigate. This forest will be a good starting place.~"
"It's just trees.", Harris states.
Without giving anyone the chance to respond to his words, Harris simply marches through the road into the forest. The cloak of the man fluttered near his feet as pushed ahead. His words showcased that he was unbothered by the new development.
"What I want is blood, not leaves."
I watched as the blood-obsessed manic trot ahead and soon after Fernando followed. He pranced with just as little regard as Harris with his hands behind his back.
"Hold on, T. I think-"
She didn't hold on. Tomika didn't offer me a glance before she walked into the forest. As soon as I entered, everything had been altered. While it was some time after noon originally, now everything was similar to nighttime. The sun was replaced with a moon, and the light of day was consumed. Night ruled this forest, and it only helped foster the distrust that I had for this place. On both of our sides, there was a sea of trees, each one blanked it with thick branches and brushes.
It was like looking at a wall of vegetation. A soft whistle picked up when a faint breeze flew through our ranks.
"Shit, this place is shady as hell. Just what is a forest doing here anyway?"
The longer that we traveled into this forest, the more often various sounds occurred. Low growls of watching beasts, and the random twig snap here and there had made my heart skip a beat.
"You recall that I mentioned that other guilds are encircling Stormpass?~", Fernando asks in a jovial tone.
I latched my eyes on the back of the man as he tilted his head backward at an angle. He had this smirk on his face as if he were pleased to be in this disturbing forest. We had been walking for minutes and there had been no change in scenery.
"I do, so what about it?", I reply with a question of my own.
"Well, this forest is proof of that. There should be no forest here. We should be strolling in Stormpass on horseback around now. Unfortunately for us, it'll be a bit longer before we arrive.~"
"I know that, but what I don't know is why it is here. By the way, you're smirking, I'm assuming that you have a clue."
The arrogant man snickered softly as if I said something humorous to him. I don't know how confusion is funny, but to each their own, I digress. The man is a weirdo, after all.
"Well, it's obvious.~", He muses.
"Members of the Midnight Guild are present. This tactic is commonly attributed to them. Those sounds that you hear are not as they seem. They are a deterrence…well more like an annoyance than anything.~"
Not that he has mentioned it, the sounds that were occurring had been happening more often. It coincides with the distance that we have traveled into the forest. The further we go, the more that we hear them. The sounds that we hear now are akin to the ear splitting sounds that cicadas make. That shit is incredibly annoying.
My curiosity had gotten the better of me, and I began to walk towards the treeline. I was just curious about where those sounds were originating from.
"So you're saying that someone made this forest? In order to drive challengers away? I guess that makes sense as a tactic. So does that mean-"
My words were suddenly cut off as Harris made an unexpected move. While Fernando and I talked, Harris seemed more hostile than earlier. I had assumed that the sounds were driving him madder than usual, but I would have not guessed what happened next. An item whiffed right next to my head, and I had narrowly avoided it.
To be honest, I was quite lucky. If it hadn't come from the front when I turned around, then I likely would have been hit. There was an audible thud that transpired once the item stuck itself to a tree that was near me.
"Are you insane, bastard?! You threw a goddamn knife at me?!", I barked. My rage suddenly took over as soon as I saw the blade that madman had thrown at me.
I clenched my fists out of frustration . This whole time, the other three of us had our weapons inside of our inventories, and I expected him to be the same. There was not a single word uttered from his mouth. There was only action.
His arms were robotic as they appeared from underneath his cloak and revealed the thin, black armor that he wore. The left hand of my estranged attacker ticked behind him before it rotated something behind his back. It didn't take long before we learned what it was.
Both Fernando and Tomika leaped backward as Harris quickly drew a thin katana from a hidden sheath on his back. It directed itself from person to person before finally landing on me. His unused hands slowly ticked backward before pulling his hoodie over his head. The other two seemed more calm compared to me, but seeing that he singled me out just pissed me off even more.
"Tch- You bloodthirsty, bastard! I'll kick your tiny ass. I'll run you through despite your cowardly ambush!"
I stepped forward towards the man and soon began channeling the mana required to summon my weapon out of my inventory. I'll bust Harris' ass for challenging me like this. I'll make him pay for what he attempted to do.