The team of three had become four, a chauffeur, three tamed beasts, and two feathered mounts. They were currently going through the gates that led to the southern Beastclaw Forest. The trip was shorter than the day before, taking only about forty-five minutes to reach their destination.
For Logan, this was a better route as it was regularly used by traveling merchants, making the road well-maintained and safer.
The group seemed ready for today's easier excursion. Morale was high, and with another knight joining, everything seemed to indicate that today would be a walk in the park. Logan seemed a little better off and took the time to get closer to his tames. He was working on building trust and understanding with each of them, ensuring they were prepared for any challenges the day had for them.
As soon as they reached the forest, Logan noticed that this area looked different. The trees were mostly the same—pine trees—but more sparse, and the other difference was that there were other people walking around. Merchants and travelers moved along the paths, some with their own tamed beasts and companions.
Logan felt a sense of relief at the sight of others. It meant that the route was likely safer and more manageable than the dense, isolated parts of the forest they had traversed the previous day.
"Those are adventurers," Rubina explained. "They gain money through hired services. Most were tasked with bringing monsters for the heroes to train, but my father had to go warn the king yesterday. It seems they stopped and instead brought monsters back so as not to anger the guardian any further."
Logan nodded and looked at both knights who were busy tying their mounts near the carriage. Some patrol guards seemed to have noticed them and saluted the two youngsters. Sir Kai and Chloe returned the salutes, acknowledging the respect shown by the guards.
After a few seconds, everyone was together again. Chloe took on the role of leader once more. "Alright, we should start by following the trail. We'll split in the area where there are the least number of people before we enter the depths of the forest."
"Sounds like a plan, boss. Let's get going then," Kai said with a playful salute.
Logan looked down towards his beasts. While his fox and falcon had no problem keeping up, his salamander seemed to be having trouble though. He raised him and placed him on his back. The small salamander held on to his shoulder with no problems.
Seeing that everyone was ready, they began heading off. The trail seemed easy to travel through, and the road was wide enough for them to enter with mounts.
Fifteen minutes later, they entered a part of the forest with Chloe in the lead. Most of the team decided to remain silent, which Logan liked. Kai, on the other hand, seemed to be a chatterbox and would often bring up the weirdest topics, which made Chloe mad and Rubina laugh.
The moment they got serious, they began to see how monsters once again ran around through the wild. Birds would sing, rabbits would scurry; it was a peaceful scene. These monsters were too weak for Logan to gain any experience, so the team headed in deeper. It was at one point that the fox's ears began to twitch.
Logan did not tell the team the actual plan; only Rubina was in on it. It was very simple: they would follow the fox, who would lead them to the targets the Guardian of the Forest wanted Logan to kill. It would be killing two birds with one stone, as he would not only find monsters to gain experience but also complete his first trial.
Luna seemed to have found the first of the strange monsters causing chaos in the forest. It let out a small yip before rushing off. Logan had to make it seem like his tamed fox beast was trying to run off, so he subtly guided the others to follow her.
They ran at full speed, something Logan was not ready for, especially with a twenty-pound Scorchwyrm on his back. Luna would at times be so far away that only the sound of her howls could be heard. They would need to follow her voice for a good twenty minutes, which Logan found challenging.
"If you need help, hero, I can lend you a hand with your pet…" Kai said, clearing the sweat from his brow. In comparison, Logan was out of breath; he was ready to fall but managed to stand to avoid damaging his dignity.
"I… am… huff, fine. We are almost there," he said while panting. Luna had long stopped and returned to the group, growling a little as if angered by what she was seeing.
The small fox conveyed its thoughts telepathically: [Bad monsters, follow, near, disgusting]
Luna's agitation was palpable, and Logan knew they were close to their targets. He steadied himself, taking a deep breath, and prepared to lead the group towards the impending confrontation.
[Zephyr, follow Luna. We are close to our targets. Check on them in the sky] Logan ordered his Everwind Falcon. The bird automatically rose into the air, scanning the area for prey as it soared above the treetops, eyes keen for any signs of the monsters they sought.
"So why did we stop here, Logan? Did your fox find something?" Chloe said, exasperation clear in her voice.
"It seems we are near monsters that are invading the forest. They should be a bit further in; my falcon is already checking," Logan said while taking a sip from a green potion that was supposed to help with stamina depletion.
Zephyr returned within a few minutes with news. [Many, small, green, blue skin] the falcon reported, its keen eyes having spotted the monsters from above.
Logan relayed the information to the team. "It seems we're dealing with a group of small monsters with green and blue skin. Let's prepare ourselves for what's ahead."
Chloe, Kai, and Rubina readied their weapons, their expressions steeled for the upcoming encounter. Logan took a deep breath, feeling the familiar mix of anxiety and excitement before a battle.
The four of them lay low while following the fox who led the group into battle. The falcon was already on the move, routing the enemy. The noise of some trees toppling reached the youngsters, who began getting closer to their own prey.
"There, I see one! It's a… goblin. Wait, why are we hiding? They aren't too strong, let's just go and…" They suddenly saw three pale goblins tearing the limbs off one of the small green ones. The gruesome scene was enough to make Kai, who was an experienced fighter, stop in his tracks.
"Okay, I underestimated what we are dealing with. Let's just kill them. I see four of those weird blue-skinned goblins. The green ones look to be weaker, and I hope they will run once we begin the fight." Kai smiled at Logan. "Let me show you my best skill."
"Earth Drive!" Suddenly, various spikes of earth erupted from the ground, targeting the pale goblins and creating a barrier between them and the green ones. The goblins were caught off guard, their gruesome activity halted by the sudden attack.
Logan and his team took the opportunity to charge in, their weapons ready. The element of surprise was on their side, and they aimed to take down the pale goblins swiftly.
The pale goblins didn't seem scared. Instead of running, they turned to them and rushed with inhuman speed. Chloe, who was in front, held out her hand and created an earth wall. With their speed, the goblins smashed headfirst into the cover.
"Logan, what are these?!" Chloe screamed while using more energy to make spikes of earth surge up, killing any surviving goblins.
"We need to kill them. We will find out what they are later; there are more," Logan responded, pointing in the direction where his falcon was signaling from.
"I'm on it. Lady Rubina, come with me. Chloe should be able to protect hero Logan," Kai said while rushing towards the left area where the fox had run.
Without waiting for Logan's orders, the small beast was using ice shards to pierce the skin of the pale goblins, killing some of them while others turned towards the source of danger and ran towards their new target.
Kai, who had been deciding on his next move, began forming spears of earth and picked them up to throw at incoming enemies. Soon, twelve of the monsters were destroyed. He made sure to cut each enemy's head off to ensure they were truly dead.
Rubina saw Logan's falcon flying at a distance. It would call out at times and topple trees. Within a few minutes, she noticed the Everwind Falcon flying towards them, with four new goblins rushing behind it, trying to catch up.
"Fire arrow!" Rubina charged her mana on three points, concentrating hard while waiting for the falcon to come close enough for her to shoot without hitting the bird.
"Now!" she yelled out. The bird, understanding, flew up while three shots flew forth at a tremendous speed, burning through the bodies of the three goblins.
[Master, no more, blue are dead] the Everwind Falcon reported telepathically, confirming the successful elimination of the immediate threats.
Logan took a moment to catch his breath, grateful for the falcon's update. "Good job, everyone my tame informed me there is no more danger. Let's regroup and make sure there are no more threats in the immediate area."
As the team regrouped, they noticed the forest had fallen eerily silent, the tension in the air easing slightly. Chloe glanced around, her hand poised to summon earth magic if necessary.
"What now?" Kai asked, his eyes scanning the area for any lingering threats.
Logan glanced at Luna, who was still alert, her ears twitching occasionally. "We need to search the area thoroughly."
"Before that, you need to answer my questions, hero! What exactly are these?" Chloe pointed towards the pale corpse of a goblin.
Logan tried not to look at the body, which made his stomach churn, but decided to examine it along with the others. "I don't know much; I just know that this fox is telling me to hunt them," Logan admitted.
"Fine, let me test something," Chloe said, producing an earth spear and stabbing it through the core. The body convulsed violently before disintegrating into dust.
"Weird, it seems the body's mana… it just disappeared, like it was overused. Sort of like when a mana crystal is all dried up," Chloe stated, using her spear again, this time aiming to cut only the mana stone.
The same thing happened; the body convulsed before disintegrating. "It seems this one is also depleted of mana. We need to clean them all up. I don't want these things spreading whatever they have to the environment," Chloe stated.