Chapter 23: Into the Forest, Into Danger

Tracking the Beast

The deeper we went, the darker it got.

Dense foliage blocked out what little sunlight trickled in.

No one else seemed scared, so I kept my mouth shut and followed quietly, not wanting to stand out.

“Stop.”

Orphe’s command halted everyone.

He knelt, examining the ground closely.

“…Droppings. Fresh ones.”

Did you touch it?

Stay away from me.

I might swing my 7-iron at your face.

Orphe crouched longer, then stood, pointing in a direction.

“That way. The tracks are faint but continuous.”

“Impressive. Better than most elf trackers.”

“…You pick up skills when you do all sorts of jobs.”

Liar, that guy.

Without regression, how’s a twenty-year-old doing that?

I’m a Cub Scout and squad leader training grad, but I’d never pull that off.

Orphe took the lead in the direction he pointed.

The rest of us followed.

We navigated the maze of dark brown and green for ten minutes or so.

Orphe stopped again.

“…I hear something.”

Hear what?

Fifirel nodded, her long ears twitching, so something was audible.

Orphe pointed ahead.

“Not sure, but about 200 paces away. Let’s take it down and head back.”

“Great! I want out of this place ASAP!”

Patricia’s steel armor clanked as she rushed forward.

We told her to wear leather, but knights and their steel, right?

She brought it on herself, but she moves fine, so no complaints.

The rest of us hurried deeper into the forest.

“…There it is.”

“Yup. Looks like a sub-adult based on size.”

We hid behind trees, watching a beast roam a clearing.

Unlike the wolf-like beasts in the training ground, this one looked like a boar.

But the four or five horns on its face screamed it wasn’t just a boar.

‘Damn, it’s ugly.’

Army boars rummaging through trash were cute compared to this.

What does magic do to make it look like that?

Killing it quick seemed best for everyone.

“Fifirel.”

“Yup.”

Fifirel climbed a tree at Orphe’s signal.

“Arkis starts with a taunt. Everyone else, as we planned. Got it?”

We nodded.

Orphe nodded back and nudged Patricia’s shoulder forward.

“Without Saintess Isidora, you’d never be on my team. Lucky you.”

“Just go