"Captain, is it done already?" a man appeared beside him.
"You idiot, did you even lock the door? Why wasn't it secure?" the captain shouted angrily.
"Luckily this happened near the mountain. If it had been in the city or a village, it would've been a disaster!"
The man who was being shouted at straightened his back.
"Sorry, Captain. I really checked it and made sure it was secured. But it's already taken care of, right?" he asked.
"Yes, only one remains. But it escaped, and I'm going after it now," the captain replied.
The man who had been shouted at earlier was deep in thought.
"Umm, Captain... I think I just remembered something," he said, his face starting to sweat.
"What is it?" the captain asked, noticing his worried expression.
"If I remember correctly, there's an orphanage not far from this mountain. What if the Dire Wolf accidentally…"
He trailed off, and the captain stood there, stunned, his face going pale.
"Fuck," he vanished in a gust of wind, disappearing on the spot.
In the next moment, he retrieved the sword still embedded in the beast's body, then dashed toward the direction where the last Dire Wolf had disappeared, his expression filled with urgency.
…
When James woke up, all of them began their journey to find herbs and other plants so they could sell.
Behind a house where the food supplies were stored, in a hidden spot, the diamond mesh fence had been broken.
They can simply lifted it off the ground, crawling through the gap one by one until they were outside. Without wasting time, they ran toward the trees.
"Now that we're out, let me make it clear again, do not wander around, especially you two, since you're both new," James said to Damien and Ariana.
The two nodded seriously. They knew they had to be careful, even if this place was considered safe and secure.
In a world filled with danger, staying alert was still a necessity.
"Alright then, let's go," James said as he led the way, guiding them farther from the shelter.
The area was filled with tall trees, thick grass, and the sound of birds singing through the forest.
"Wow, this is so beautiful, especially when you look down at the horizon," Damien said in awe as he took in the vast landscape.
"Hmph, but it's not as beautiful as me," Ariana snorted, pointing at herself with pride.
Arven spat to the side with a disgusted look, "Narcissist."
Black lines formed on Ariana's forehead as the two looked at each other ready to start fighting again.
"You two troublemakers, lower your voices and stop that right now. Remember, we're outside," James reminded them firmly.
The two finally backed down, crossing their arms and turning away from each other with a synchronized.
"Hmph."
"Damien lets go and… huh? Damien where are you," Ariana eyes wandered around the place and saw Damien near the bushes sitting down.
"Hey Damien, what are you doing there?" Ariana called out.
"Look, guys, I found something," Damien replied, waving them over.
Hearing this, James, Ariana, and Arven rushed to him, followed by the other three, Andrew, Garfield, and Toby.
When they arrived, they saw what was in front of Damien. James's eyes lit up with excitement as he stared at it.
It was silver in color, and its shape resembled that of a leaf. A pleasant fragrance filled the air as they circled around it.
"This is a Silver Leaf! Damien, we're really in luck. Just one of these can sell for a lot. If I'm right, in the market this could easily get us at least 10,000 Solaris," James said in an excited voice.
Hearing this, all of their mouths dropped in awe and even Damien was shocked by the discovery.
That amount wasn't small. 10,000 Solaris could feed a hundred people for days. Just imagine having two, three, or even more.
"Should we just pull it out?" Damien asked James, trusting him as the expert
"Yes, there's no problem if we just pull it out. Its effects won't wither away even after being plucked, unlike other herbs," James responded.
With that, he gently pulled it out and placed it carefully into the basket he had brought.
"Let's look for more," James said to the group.
They all wandered around the mountain, searching for more herbs.
There were others like Feathercap and Glowfern, while it's not as valuable as the Silver Leaf, they still held decent worth.
After about an hour, Damien, Ariana, and James sat in a circle on the grass. The spot they found was a flat terrain, perfect for resting or even setting up camp.
"Let's count our harvest for today," James said as he opened the lid of the basket.
"Where are Arven and the rest?" Damien asked.
"Oh, they just wandered around to look for more. Don't worry, they'll be back later," James replied.
With that, they began counting their harvest:
3x Feathercap, 4x Whisperment, x1 Silverleaf and 2x Glowfern.
"Wow, this harvest is the best I've had in my three years of doing this," James said happily.
"How much would it be worth?" Ariana asked, her eyes full of curiosity.
James laughed as he counted and replied.
"Well, Feathercap sells for about 1,000 to 2,000, depending on the quality. Whispermint goes for 500 to 700. Silverleaf is the most valuable, selling for 10,000 to even 15,000. And Glowfern is around to 1,000 to 1,500."
"If we count that, we can make around 17,000 is the minimum and the maximum is 26,800 depending on how fresh the batch is." James responded after calculating.
Hearing those large numbers, they were both shocked and overjoyed.
They couldn't help but imagine how much they could buy with that amount.
"Well then, now that we've made a big harvest, let's head back and..." James stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes widened as he saw the four boys returning, with Toby bleeding from his leg. Arven was carrying him on his back, and all of them had pale faces as they ran toward the group.
"James" Andrew and Garfield called out.
"Big brother" Arven shouted loudly.
"There's a beast! We need to run! We need to get away now!" Arven shouted at the top of his lungs.
Just then, a beast leapt out from the bushes, blood dripping from its mouth.
James froze for a moment in fear where he sat, but quickly snapped out of it. He jumped to his feet and hurriedly stuffed all the herbs back into the basket.
Ariana and Damien also stood up, "Bring this with you and run, call for help while I buy time," James said to Damien as he passes the basket to him.
Damien was stunned as he saw James standing tall in front of him. In that moment, it was as if an indomitable spirit had taken form.
Without a second thought, James rushed toward the four, where the crazed Dire Wolf which is the same one that had escaped from the truck earlier was charging at them, saliva dripping from its jaws as it pounced.
The beast opened its massive jaws, aiming to bite off Arven's head.
When Arven looked back and saw it, a cold wave of fear washed over him, it felt like death was moments away.
But before the jaws could close, a fist made of solid stone smashed into the beast's snout, sending it flying backward.
James had thrown the punch, and the force of the impact also knocked him off balance, causing him to roll across the ground. His arms trembled as he struggled to push himself up.
"Big brother, you actually awakened a Supernatural Ability!" Arven shouted in shock.
James quickly stood up and yelled, "What are you waiting for? Run and escape now! I can't hold this beast back for long. It's better for one person to die than for all of us."
He turned to face the beast, which had already regained its balance, its red eyes burning with hatred.
"Big… big brother," Arven said in a shaky voice.
"GO!" James roared, his left hand now also covered in stone.
"Arven, let's go. Don't let James's sacrifice be in vain," Andrew said as he firmly tapped his shoulder.
Arven was unwilling, but he had no choice. The three of them ran and soon saw Damien and Ariana waiting ahead.
Without looking back, all five of them took off together.
Growl!
The beast snarled furiously, its eyes locked onto its target. James stood firm, his own eyes burning with fighting spirit. Even if he died here, he had no regrets.
"Come!" he roared, as man and beast clashed in a fierce one-on-one battle.