"It's okay, you can now go out," Mystic called Devon just after leaving the others.
As requested, Devon manifested outside the Grimoire without the help of his host.
Then, he engaged in his muscle stretching exercise for five seconds to enjoy this joy of life.
"Our mission is to...well, I guess you already know everything."
-Nod.
"Well, let's get going, too."
"[Wait.]"
"Huh?"
"[This mission, I feel something wrong with it.]"
"Well, you're not the only one, at least you already know it."
"[I'm not talking about that, but about something else.]"
"Like what?"
"[This guy, William, he's asking us for the almost impossible. Even if this stone allows us to map the area, it's impossible to keep in mind all the information about monsters we'll encounter along the way.]"
"That's not wrong, but we don't have to do that much, we just have to do our best to remember the tough beasts, no more or less."
"[...Why don't you just write them down on a piece of paper?]"
"...You should have said it sooner."
"[I thought you were smarter than that.]"
"Okay, okay, that's not the time for your sarcasm." As she retorted, she took out a notebook that she had with her since the beginning.
Therefore, she started running straight ahead while doing her best to limit the noise of her footsteps.
For his part, even if Devon didn't have her skill acquired over the years through intensive training, he also did his best by avoiding walking on dead leaves and dry branches.
Compared to this place, the dimension they were in seemed like a paradise.
Every two minutes, the duo noticed mutant beats around them.
However, as stingy as he was, Devon didn't dare indulge in his favorite activity of collecting evolution points by slaughtering beasts along the way.
Every time one noticed a presence, he warned the other by physical contact on the shoulder.
It was simpler and less noisy than speaking.
They continued to do this without being noticed by them.
Not to mention that Mystic had a major advantage in identifying the enemy without taking unnecessary risks to approach them.
To identify the rank of a beast, the latter must manifest its aura.
In other words, it is through the color of a beast's aura that the tamers could identify them.
Of course, there were artifacts to fulfill this role, but they were expensive and therefore not within everyone's reach.
However, with Devon's help, Mystic only needed a simple visual contact to gauge the strength of her enemies.
The other advantage is that thanks to the nature of her energy, she was able to hide more effectively.
Devon was an undead, therefore, undetectable by the beasts that are sensitive to vital energy.
After three hours of incessant tracking, Mystic finally took a break in a cave a little higher up.
In her hand, she had her small notebook in which she wrote down information on the mutant beasts they had seen.
"Once again, you make my job easier, Devon."
Without fear of being spotted by the terrifying predators of the forest, she spoke out loud, showing her gratitude to Devon.
"[You don't have to thank me for every service I do for you, it gets boring after a while.]"
"TSS~, that's not wrong. However, the more time I spend with you, the less and less useful I feel. You do almost everything for me, while I have nothing to offer in return."
"[...]"
"Anyway, we've almost done the complete mapping of our area, if all goes well, we'll finish this mission much sooner than expected."
"[You can rest more, there's no rush.]"
"And you? Aren't you going to rest?"
"[...I don't need it.]"
"...Not wrong."
Then, as silence gradually settled in, Devon saw her getting lost in her thoughts.
'Still that feeling, huh? By spending so much time with her, I'm starting to become aware of this gloomy atmosphere that surrounds her like a permanent mantle of darkness. Loneliness perhaps?'
"[I have a question.]"
"...Feel free to ask."
"Why haven't you subdued any more beasts yet? Why don't you even try?]"
Mystic stared at him after hearing his questions. "That's two questions."
"[...]"
"Sigh, I don't need them."
"[...Is that answer supposed to make me swallow the pill?]"
"...You alone are enough for me."
"[What exactly are you afraid of?]"
"Fear, huh? The way you talk, you'd think you knew me."
"[I wouldn't go that far, but I know you're scared, even tormented by something. Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.]"
"...You're right, I don't want to talk about it, or at least, not right now."
--
-KIEEEEUKK!!
"Damn it! I knew this place was dangerous, but not this dangerous."
About ten kilometers from Mystic, a boy was being chased by a herd of iron-tusked boars.
Despite the delicate situation, he doesn't seem to be desperate, just by seeing the confident smile on his lips.
Jumping from tree to tree, he was like a monkey king in his territory.
Although the wild boars could not do as he did by climbing trees, they had an asset that allowed them to continue hunting their prey.
With the help of their two black tusks as resistant as iron, they destroyed all the trees in their paths without too much difficulty.
From time to time, Valtus looked behind him, making sure to see the aura that surrounded each wild boar to take note.
'Half of this horde is composed of advanced-tier iron boars. There are also King-tier who lead the horde.'
While running for his life, he also did his mission without fail.
Once sure of having obtained all the necessary information, he suddenly accelerated, creating a phenomenal distance between him and his pursuers.
As for the wild boars, although they had lost his trail, they did not stop.
They continued to track him in their territories to make sure that the intruder was no more.
However, after several minutes of searching without any response, they began to abandon.
'Sigh, I hope the new girl makes it out. This mission seems easy at first glance, but it is not. To identify these beasts' rank, we are forced to provoke them a little so that they manifest their auras, without which, it is impossible to gauge their level.'
Contrary to what they believed, Valtus was still in their territories, hidden by the leaves of a massive tree.
Just like Mystic, he had the idea to write down the information collected in a notebook he had with him.
'I'm not worried about little Ciel. With her powers, she doesn't need to show herself to guess the level of her enemies. However, this is not the case for our newbie. Is it bad luck that she's on that asshole's team for her first expedition?
Anyway, this is not the time to worry about others, I have a lot of problems to manage too. The area I was assigned is the most dangerous after Captain William's. It's not surprising, since I'm the strongest of the group.' He mumbles with an ironic but proud smile.
After writing down all the information collected, he looked down at one of the wild boars at the foot of the tree he was on.
His eyebrows twitched as he thought about the situation.
'From their numbers, it's impossible for a single mutant beast to command them. If that's the case, that beast must be at least Emperor Rank.' He concluded while putting his pen and notebook back in his pocket.
'An Emperor Rank boar, huh? If such a monster ever chases me, there's no way I'll escape without using my grimoire. Sigh, it's annoying.'
To hear him speak, one would think he was lamenting his fate.
'Well, it's not by sulking that things are going to change, I must hurry up and finish the study of this area before moving on to the next one.'
He then stands up and looks up at his following exploring area. 'I'm on the frontier between the territory of the iron-tusked boars and the marshy wetland. If I'm not mistaken, front, it must be the territory of the reptiles.
So if the wild boars stopped charging headlong, it was not out of discouragement because they lost my tracks, but because of this border. I hate crawling creatures, they make me puke just by--!!
-HISSS~!!
Without warning, a dangerous whistle sounded above him, sending shivers down his body.
Without even bothering to check the source of the whistle, he leaped from one tree to another at a speed faster than anything he had shown so far.
However, despite his speed, a scaly tail hit his back hard downwards!
"Keukh!" He gritted his teeth to keep from succumbing to the pain while adjusting his fall to make it less violent.
-BANG!
Despite all his efforts, he fell heavily on a wild boar accompanied by a deafening noise and a slight earthquake.
'Fuck! What was that!? A mutant snake!?' Despite having other problems, he deemed it necessary to prioritize the most urgent.
The boar that had cushioned his fall was still numb, unable to stand on all fours, a testament to the strength of the creature that had just attacked Valtus.
However, this noise attracted the other wild boars that were roaming around.
Not to mention being exposed now, a wound similar to that of a whiplash was on his back.
'Damn, that hurts like hell!' He groaned inwardly in pain while doing his best not to pass out.
He felt like his entire body was going to collapse despite having only taken one hit from the hidden enemy.
His warrior armor was now half destroyed, clearly exposing the trace of the blow he had just received.
After an inhuman effort, he was able to get up from the ground and climb the tree in front of him in one leap.
Despite the danger still being hidden, he did not hesitate to make this choice to escape the three wild boars that were now rushing at him.
Regardless, he wasn't out of the woods yet.
Unlike last time, the three boars that saw him hiding in the tree were quick to target him once again.
However, these three were the new target of the creature that had whipped Valtus.
Like a flash of lightning, the scaly tail attacked again, whipping the three wild boars at the same time!
Its power was such that the three died instantly, transformed into wild boar meat.
At this sight, Valtus forgot his pain due to his shock.
'A two-headed snake!? I must leave here quickly!'
This time, he could see part of his aggressor's body.
A black reptile covered in hard black scales. Its size alone was enough to instill fear in anyone's heart.
The most frightening thing for him was seeing that this creature did not yet have an aura around its body.
This could only mean one thing in Valtus' eyes.
For it to crush three advanced rank boars with such ease, means he is at least of Emperor rank.
With this realization, Valtus no longer tried to flee. 'I can't run away. And even if I have a chance to kill it in single combat, more beasts will swarm here before our fight is over. Not to mention that I'm currently between two territories. Tsk, I'm really in deep shit!'
Fearing another inevitable surprise attack, he landed on the ground and manifested a silver aura shield around himself.
At the same time, the beast crawled down from the tree to land in front of its prey.
It did not attack Valtus yet but intimidated him with its emerald green eyes similar to crystals.
Seeing its body, Valtus gulped in dread as a sudden fear filled him.
Although he could hear the growls of other boars closing in on his position, he didn't try to flee, knowing that this option was not valid against an enemy of this caliber.
If he had Mystic's speed, things might be a little different, but he was a pure warrior, his advantage lay in his high-damage attacks.