At dawn.
As the morning sun's rays broke through the darkness and enveloped the world in a gentle and inviting warmth, the birds sang melodiously while enjoying the fresh morning air. A party of seven individuals passed through the city gates.
The tranquil morning was revived by the gentle touch of the sun's rays, casting a warm and inviting glow upon the world.
The melodious songs of the birds filled the air as they joyfully welcomed the fresh morning breeze.
A group of seven people made their way through the gates of the city, their presence marking the beginning of a new day.
-Yaaaawn~~
Among the group riding over mutant horses, commonly called demonic horses because of their two pointed black horns and their hard hooves capable of splitting the rock... were some well-known faces.
As a leader, Nicolas Forett Cer Shadow, the sixth elder, led his small squad deeper into the forest by taking the road to the South.
Following him, Ivan, Eleanor, and Mystic Shadow were the three of the six remaining members.
After the death of his bodyguard, another was assigned to her by the patriarch.
No matter the power or reputation of the clan, the youngest descendants are always entitled to escorts who help them daily and defend them at the cost of their lives in case of threat.
Thus, instead of seven members of the clan, it is only four, three of whom are escorted by their guards.
-Yaaawn~~
The person yawning incessantly is none other than Mystic who spent a sleepless night in the company of Devon.
"Milady Mystic, would you like to ride my horse?" A 21 youth politely says upon seeing Mystic yawn for the second time.
Mystic's new personal guard, Noha, is an average-looking young man with brown red hair and gray eyes.
Unlike her previous bodyguard, Noha is not a swordsman, but an assassin wielding two twin black and white daggers.
"No, no need." Mystic answers nonchalantly.
After about thirty minutes, the small group arrived at the end of the path.
Now, a large wild forest with immense black trees opened up to them.
-Hiiiinhhh!!
Nikolas' horse neighs and stops abruptly when the latter pulls its bridle back.
"Hooh hoo!" While quieting his horse through his weak kicking on its belly, his eyes stared at the abyssal forest that yawned before him.
"Now, we are about to enter a dangerous area, so stay on your guard, kids." He ordered without looking behind.
"Roger!" The six yell together.
Although the group only rode for about thirty minutes, the speed of the horses allowed them to cover a distance of about fifty kilometers.
Ah these answers, Nikolas nods and taps his horse's belly to venture deep into the forest.
Now that there was no more trail, Nikolas could only rely on his sense of direction to get out into this forest.
The forest in front of them is one of the most dangerous areas that has not been explored in its entirety due to its size.
It is still under exploration by the clan.
"Sixth elder, why don't we fly above to quickly reach our destination point?"
Ivan asked with a hint of respect in his tone as he looked around.
"You're not alone in thinking that, but the forest is far more complex than it appears. Besides the dangerous predators that roam within and above it, a thick, bloody mist obscures the interior, making it impossible to see inside from the air."
"Bloody mist? I don't see anything like that around." Eleanor said as she showed off her shark teeth through her jerky smirk.
"..." Nikolas did not respond to Eleanor who, despite a great personality difference between 'em, is his daughter.
"Sixth elder." This time, Mystic slid herself into the dialogue by firstly calling Nikolas.
"…Mhm?"
At Nikolas's answer, she goes on. "Sixth elder, what's this forest's name?"
"Blood abyss." He shortly answered.
But remembering Mystic previous tone which held out respect for him, he opens his mouth and brings some additional explanation.
"Bloody: makes references to the bloody mist that will stand and wrap all over the forest once the night falls. As for the 'abyss', it's coz of the forest's larger and unexplored areas."
Mystic innocently and warmly beamed.
"…Oh, thank you for these lessons, Sixth elder."
"Mhm."
Eleanor glares at Mystic for a blink's time but says nothing.
After these words, silence set up between them for a while.
Being the weakest, Mystic was escorted by them while being in the middle of their formation.
On her right, was Ivan while Eleanor led her horse through the forest on her left.
Each guard protected its master's dead point and the patriarch led the way in front of the others.
'This clan's members will never stop surprising me.' Eleanor's guard, a woman dressed like a white knight couldn't keep her composure as he looked at the four figures in front of her.
Her crystal blue but cold eyes were particularly focused on Nikolas' broad and overtrained back.
'At first, I was annoyed by our patriarch's choice to assign me as an attendant to that girl. But now, I understand why my clan is under the orders of these wolves-like humans.'
She mutters in her mind before a warm breath escapes from her mouth once more.
Slowly, as time flowed minute after minute, up to one hour.
The squad, now deeply into Blood Abyss' Forest, meets their first enemies.
However, before any of them except Nikolas remarked on the hostile presence forth of them, the latter stopped the group by lifting his hand.
"Do you know why this forest is so difficult and dangerous to explore?"
For a brief moment, his eyes became cold as he muttered those words.
At that precise moment, the others also noticed movement in the bushes right around them.
And soon, their eyes became fearless and solemn as they understood the situation.
The next second, a black creature-like black snake crawled down on the branches of one of the gigantic trees surrounding them.
-Hiss!!
This snake which seems straight out of a fairy tale, stares at Nikolas and his team with reptilian eyes as its long tongue slides out of its mouth while it hisses.
Its eyes were like crystalline rubies, and the black scales along its body seemed so hard that they resembled metal plates due to their hardness.
On its venom flow channel, a purple liquid, most likely venom, flowed down its saber-like canines.
Its size was uncertain, the reason being that only about half of its body was exposed.
Most impressive, was the haste-shaped blade that took root on his head.
"M-Mutant axe snake!?" Noha stammered, his eyes wide.
In contrast to him, the others were either nonchalant or silent.
Nikolas looked at the snake above them and sighed. "It's just a crawling reptile."
The others could sense the disappointment in his tone as he spoke those words.
'A reptile? That snake is a C-rank mutant beast in the seekers' records.' Noha's mind was upside down as he watched everyone's expressions in bliss.
At the same time, Eleanor gave her horse a few small kicks to get it moving.
"Sixth elder, I have a proposition to submit."
"Speak."
At Nikolas's response, she looked behind her at Mystic who frowned at the meeting of their eyes.
"Why don't we let our little sister show what she can do?" She suggests with a vicious smile.
"What!?" The person who exclaimed is not Mystic, but her escort, Noha.
"M-Milady Eleanor, be reasonable, the young lady is only a copper tamer, how do you expect her to..."
Eleanor cuts him off with a growl. "Stay in your place, scum!"
Noha's frontal nerves swelled when he saw Eleanor call him that way.
Still, he didn't retreat. "You want her to die!?"
"Pftthahaha, you're indeed a fool. If she can't even deal with such a weak one, she doesn't deserve to belong to our clan."
Noha's eyes grew crazier as he listened to Eleanor's nonsense.
'That bitch! She wants to send her sister six feet underground, moreover, in front of the elder!"
In his mind, Eleanor's intentions couldn't be pure.
Facing such a mutant beast that even he, an iron rank grimoire holder, would have too much trouble handling, how could Mystic who had just contracted with a grimoire defeat him?
To dissuade Eleanor, he looked at Nikolas with helpless eyes. "Esteemed sixth elder..."
Nikolas who seemed to conflict with his thoughts looks at the snake perched on the branch once more and sighs.
"Mystic will gain nothing in a fight against this snake." He then pronounces.
At these words, Noha releases the hot breath in his lungs while exhaling in relief.
"However,
-!
Seeing that Nikolas intended to continue, his face paled to his ears.
Nikolas looks Mystic in the eyes. "However, your guardian beast needs to familiarize itself with its skills. Even if you can easily kill this Mutant Axe-Snake without too much trouble, it is not certain for your guardian beast."
Nikolas pronounced.
At those words, everyone could understand what he meant by that, even Noha.
Even if Mystic wasn't going to confront that snake that lurks in the shadows of the leaves and unaware that it had been spotted, it was still too much to ask.
'...This old geezer took her children's part.' Noha grimaced but didn't dare question the sixth elder's decision.
"I understand, Sixth Elder," Mystic replied with the same respectful tone.
She then gets off her horse and walks to the front of the stage.
Once she has put five meters between her and Nikolas who is in front of all the others, she takes her grimoire on her waist and opens it on the first page.
This time, to summon Devon, she has, for some reason, let a drop of her blood fall on the reddish page.
By doing so, the black portal manifested itself faster followed by the appearance of Devon in front of her.
'...'
Except for the elder, everyone frowned at the appearance of Devon before them.
Devon hasn't attacked yet.
Since he didn't know what happened before his release, he first went on the lookout for information while scanning around him with the red light points that served as his eyes.
"As agreed, I summoned you. Now, it's up to you to fulfill your part of the deal."
Mystic's voice echoes behind him, forcing him to look at her.
'It's not too early, we're probably on our way to the Jolon front.'
Thanks to their nightly conversations, Devon understood the situation after these words from his master.
However,
-Hisss!!
His senses were quick to warn him of the danger when he heard this sound above him.
About twenty meters away from him, he saw the monster deformed by the laws of this world watching him too.
Also, crazy as it was, the reality seemed obvious to him.
But instead of fear, it was excitement that made his eyes shine.
[Mutant Axe-Snake (Lvl03)]
[lifespan: 03/30 years.]
[Combat power: 56]
[Innate Talent: Venom, speed, snakebite.]
-Its venom can melt iron, pulpits, and bones,
-Its speed increases by 70% in the forest.
-Thanks to its half-meter sharp defenses-like fangs, it can crush up its prey's bones, paralyzing them with venom before swallowing.
Challenge: average. (+30 XPs) - (+10EP)
--
Devon's eyes sparkled with greed when he saw the winnings before him.