The forest stirred under the dawn's gentle glow, its light filtering through the canopy. The air carried the sweet trill of birds.
"This is my third time saying it — I'm not sure!" she snapped, her voice sharp as she checked an artifact's faint shimmer before tossing it into a stash.
Ruri, standing nearby, fidgeted with her wristband, her fingers tapping nervously at the glowing screen. Her meek voice barely carried over the rustle of leaves. "But you were so sure before…"
Aeri's eyes narrowed, her patience fraying. "Are you not going to at least help me sort these artifacts?" she said, her tone biting as she shoved a stash aside.
Ruri flinched, quickly shutting off her wristband's screen, the light fading from her pale face. She hurried over, grabbing a handful of artifacts with hesitant hands.
Aeri muttered under her breath, barely audible, "Seriously… I only took her in because she said she was freinds with Caelumis and went to the same middle school as him."
Ruri held up a faintly glowing artifact. "Where's the B-rank slot?" she asked, her voice soft, almost apologetic.
Aeri pointed without looking up. "The small stash."
Ruri moved to place the artifact, but Aeri's head snapped up, her voice sharp. "Why are you putting it in the B-rank stash?"
Ruri froze mid-motion, her eyes wide. "Because… this artifact is B-rank?"
Aeri stared at her, her expression blank with exasperation. "Forget it," she said, snatching the artifact and tossing it into the larger D-rank stash with a huff. "I'll do it myself."
Ruri's shoulders slumped, and she retreated to sit under a nearby tree, pulling her knees to her chest. The dawn light caught the edges of her dark hair, her fingers still twitching toward her wristband.
Aeri glanced at her and turned away. "Don't worry," she said, softening slightly, her voice gentler now as she sorted artifacts under the soft morning glow. "The chances of Caelumis being in this direction are high."
Ruri lifted her head, her eyes wide with hope. "How…?"
Aeri's hands moved methodically, her voice steady as she explained. "Based on the cart numbers — yours, mine, and the ones we stole these artifacts from — I figured out a pattern. Carts under fifty started in the first coordinate, northeast. If I'm right, this path should lead to the store Caelumis started at. As the quests get more concentrated, our chances of running into him go up."
A rustle broke her focus, and Aeri turned, her hand instinctively reaching for her weapon. But it's just Ruri slipping away from her spot, her figure retreating into the shadows, her wristband glowing faintly as she tapped at it.
Aeri's eyes narrowed, suspicion creeping into her thoughts. "What's with her?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "Every time we talk about Caelumis, she starts typing something on that wristband…"
***
The air was heavy, the birds' earlier chirping now silenced, replaced by the rustle of leaves and the faint, menacing growl of a Vyrathar — a massive tiger-like beast with stripes like liquid shadow, its amber eyes scanning the bushes for prey.
I crouched low, hidden behind a thicket, my steel sword gripped tightly. The Vyrathar prowled, its claws tearing gouges in the earth.
Lirien was a few paces away, her blonde hair tucked under her hood as she pulled a trembling girl to her feet, her voice soft but urgent. "Are you alright?" she asked, her crimson eyes scanning the girl for injuries.
The girl nodded, her body shaking like a leaf in a storm, her wide eyes darting toward the Vyrathar. Lirien tugged her behind a cluster of bushes, keeping her voice low. "How's your party in this state from just one Vyrathar?"
The girl didn't answer, her breath hitching, her hands clutching at her tattered cloak. I glanced at the Vyrathar, its massive form pacing just beyond our cover, its tail flicking with predatory focus. My attention shifted to the unconscious guy I'd dragged from the open, his body limp under a bush. Careful not to rustle the leaves and draw the beast's notice, I checked his wristband's party information tab. The names glowed faintly on the screen, and my stomach twisted. "Familiar names," I muttered under my breath, a cold realization settling in.
I crept toward Lirien and the girl, my boots silent on the mossy ground, and crouched beside them. "This isn't just the Vyrathar's work, is it?" I whispered, my voice barely audible over the beast's distant growl.
The girl's eyes widened, fear flashing across her pale face. Lirien's gaze flicked between us, her expression tightening as she turned back to the girl. "Who did this?" she pressed, her voice low but firm, her hand resting on her sword's hilt.
The girl's voice cracked, trembling with terror. "He—he had a human body and a lion's head. He made my party's combatants unconscious and left with our artifacts."
Lirien's eyes narrowed, her whisper sharp with disbelief. "How could he…?" I caught her glance, a flicker of accusation in her crimson eyes.
You planned to do that to me too, lady.
"Wait," Lirien said, her gaze snapping back to the Vyrathar as it sniffed the air. "Isn't he the one with the attributeless reveal in the first round?"
I frowned, "Attributeless?"
Lirien nodded, her eyes still tracking the beast. "Yeah, after your Light attribute reveal shook the stage, his was the other one that drove the crowd wild. Two anomalies in the same year — that's insane. I think his name was…" She paused, her brow furrowing as she searched her memory. "Narsimha."
My eyes widened, a chill running down my spine. "Narsimha," I murmured, the name heavy on my tongue. "What are the odds?" The coincidence felt too sharp, too deliberate.
"What odds?" Lirien asked, her voice a whisper, her gaze flicking to me with curiosity.
I ignored her for a moment, turning to the girl, whose trembling hadn't stopped. "What did you guys do to make him do that to your party?" I asked, my voice low but pointed.
The names on her wristband weren't ones I'd pity — those were no innocents, not by a long shot.
The girl's voice trembled, her words spilling out in a frozen, terrified whisper. "I didn't do anything… it's them. It's not me."
Lirien's eyes sharpened, her voice cutting through the thick breeze that carried the scent of earth and dread. "Them? The ones in your party? What did they do?"
The girl's gaze darted wildly, her body shaking as she repeated, her voice a broken mantra, "I didn't do anything, no, it's not me."
***
The cave was a cavern of shadows, its air thick with the metallic tang of iron and blood, a grim reminder of the slaughter that had taken place.
The damp stone walls glistened faintly under the flickering light of a fire, kindled by a second-circle Fire mage who coaxed flames from a pile of gathered wood. The bodies of disfigured monsters had been meticulously washed of their gore and dragged to the fire's edge, their meat sizzling over the flames.
Thirty aspirants crowded the cave, their faces illuminated by the fire's glow, their murmurs a low hum of tension and fatigue. At the center, seated on a crude throne of packed earth, was Varnik, a third-circle Earth mage, his broad frame exuding authority, his eyes sharp with dissatisfaction.
"Sir Varnik, Team Berik has returned. They brought three D-rank artifacts, one C-rank, and one B-rank."
Varnik scoffed, his face twisting with disdain as he leaned forward, the earthen throne creaking under his weight. "The progress is slowing," he said, his voice low and biting. "These points won't be enough to satisfy Young Master Eryndor at this rate." His words hung heavy.
One of the thirty aspirants, a wiry girl with soot-streaked hands, approached with a platter of cooked Vyrathar meat, its smoky aroma mingling with the cave's iron stench. She offered it to Varnik and Toman, a third-circle Wind mage.
Varnik tore into the meat, his teeth ripping through the tough flesh. Toman swallowed a bite, wiping grease from his chin before speaking. "Our scout team still hasn't pinpointed Young Master Eryndor's location."
Varnik waved a dismissive hand, his mouth full. "That won't be a problem," he said, his voice muffled but confident. "We'll cross paths with him in the next five days we're stuck in this forest. What we should worry about is saving face when we meet him." His eyes gleamed with a mix of ambition and pressure.
Toman nodded, tearing off another piece of meat, his sharp features softened by the fire's glow. "Of course. We're already working on securing more artifacts under our banner."
A sudden glow from Varnik's wristband interrupted the moment. Varnik glanced at it, his mouth still full, and a slow, predatory smirk spread across his face, his eyes glinting with something dark. Toman leaned forward, curiosity sparking in his gaze. "Did you find something, Sir Varnik?"
Varnik's smirk widened, a sinister edge to it as he swallowed his bite. "I just found the direction we should head," he said, his voice low, dripping with intent.
Toman's brow arched, intrigued. "A treasure?"
Varnik laughed, a rough, guttural sound that echoed off the cave walls. "Yeah, something like that. I half-expected her to be useless, but she found him within a day? Her luck runs deep."
Toman's fingers paused on his wristband, his eyes narrowing as he contacted their party, the device's faint glow illuminating his calculating expression.