Chapter 545: Hunting (1/2)

Something big and furry, Ilea thought as they walked through the small patch of forest. She hadn’t scanned the area from above and hadn’t used Monster Hunter to challenge anything inside. It would be more interesting to rely on Sentinel Huntress and her other abilities.

Ilea didn’t exactly expect a four mark creature to be hiding in the area. Not at ground level at least.

If it was that strong, she was sure it would find them quickly enough anyway.

“You don’t look like a tracker,” the woman said.

“Yeah, I’m not really,” Ilea admitted.

The group had accepted her help and even offered their names. The old man was called Horace, the woman really went by Pain. Baleron was the name of the handsome mage.

“Why didn’t you bring one?” she asked, checking the ground with her sphere and enhanced eyes.

I’m like a super fucking computer at this point. Just need some laser guns for the Terminator aesthetic, or a bunch of shotguns.

Getting distracted again. Man I suck at tracking.

“Tracking won’t help you when it comes to a fight,” Pain said.

“And a fight there will be,” Horace confirmed.

“Yeah but tracking would allow you to find its lair, set traps, prepare for what’s inside, maybe get something to counter its strengths, something to use against its weaknesses,” she said.

Horace chuckled.

“What?” Ilea asked.

“Spoken like a noble,” Baleron said with a tinge of disdain in his voice.

“Don’t have to be a noble to get a tracker into your team, or to consult local libraries. She’s right. But this is what we have. We’re not exactly from around here,” Horace said. “Searching the beast is just one part. I don’t want to kill it with poison or smoke it out. I want to face it.”

The man gripped his axe as he stared forward, his jaw clenching slightly.

“I see. Why are you two here then?” Ilea asked.

“Is this an interrogation?” Pain asked, checking a few scratches on a nearby tree before she grabbed a few berries from a nearby shrubbery.

“Cinderberries. They’re poisonous,” Ilea said helpfully.

The woman threw them to the ground after sniffing on them.

“Horace is experienced. We’ve worked together for a while. It’s only natural that I’d support him in this personal quest,” Baleron said, the mage wary of his surroundings, turning at every noise.

“Hmm,” Ilea said as they walked deeper into the forest.

“Talking to a minimum now. We’re getting closer, I can feel it,” Horace said.

Ilea didn’t disagree with the man. She casually summoned Quiet from her necklace and let it rest on her shoulder. She got a few glances but the group refocused on their surroundings again quickly, the matter at hand more pressing.

As they went on, she noticed a few smaller tracks, even a few empty homes of various birds and smaller critters.

Ilea made sure her Veteran extended to her allies, just in case the creature was above two hundred.

They reached a small creek flowing through the forest about twenty minutes later.

“That’s it,” Horace whispered, crouching down where a few sticks had been broken, the moss pushed a tiny bit inward.

Ilea raised her brows. I didn’t even notice that. Guess the Huntress skill isn’t quite that amazing.

Or is it?

The wind had changed and now she smelled something that made bells ring in her mind. Hmm. That should be it.

“The trees are marked,” Pain said, tapping one.

“That’s pretty high up,” Baleron pointed out.

True, Ilea thought, looking at the deep gashes. Not healthy for the trees either, I’d imagine.

She squinted at them but the only thing that appeared was [Tree].

And if I get it to the second tier, it’s going to be Battle Tree? Birch?

Ilea turned her head slightly, hearing a noise coming towards them. Quick steps, something small.

Horace reacted a few seconds later, ice forming on his body as the vegetation around him slowly froze. He made a hand gesture and a clicking noise.

Baleron turned towards the noise as a shield formed on his body, his spear poised and thrumming with power.

Pain remained in a mostly relaxed pose, power emanating from her as she took an obvious central spot between the four.

Ilea stayed behind her, the hammer resting casually on her shoulder.

No shout or cry yet, Ilea thought. The smell isn’t getting stronger either.

Her sphere picked up the critters a moment later, small salamander like beings with forked tongues and three eyes. They moved quick and somewhat quietly too. Not enough for her ears and the senses of the other adventurers.

There were eight of the cat sized beings, circling around to surround the group in a quick fashion.

Pretty impressive, she thought and watched the adventurers.

Ilea assumed the monsters weren’t super dangerous but was ready to intervene a bit more directly if she was wrong.

They emerged nearly as one from the various trees and shrubberies, hissing at the group as they spit a clear substance at them.

[Velean Lizard – lvl 58]

“Hmm,” she exclaimed and held up a hand to catch the liquid. It didn’t even sizzle on her skin.

‘ding’ ‘You were poisoned by Velean venom – You resist its effects’

Ilea licked the substance, finding its taste a little spicy. Not quite as interesting as Helena’s creation.

I wonder what the meat tastes like, she looked at one of the creatures. It stared back before it hissed.

She noted that Baleron had already skewered one of the critters, his arcane shield holding off the substance with ease.

Pain had climbed one of the nearby trees, her armor covered in spit as she rushed after one of them.

Horace avoided them mostly, moving around the trees to stay in cover and using his icy aura to slow down the monsters that got too close. His axe finished them with precise strikes.

Ilea displaced the monster ahead into her hand. A small spike of ash formed and slashed through its brain, killing it instantly. The heat in her body and ash grew, kept in check by her Lava Magic Resistance. She removed the creature’s head when it was about to burst, cooling herself down a little more to cook it more steadily as it was surrounded by ash.

When she thought it done, she skewered it and added a bit of salt.

The three adventurers stared at her with a mix of expressions as she took the first bite.

Not a lot of meat on this thing, she thought but kept eating anyway. Compared to Keyla’s cooking, it wasn’t even worth calling it food but she had to keep her addiction in check.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You cooked it… with ash? What?” Pain asked.

“Yeah. I can generate heat, and regulate it with a third tier Lava Resistance. It’s more difficult than I thought. A little overcooked too,” Ilea said.

“Third tier resistance, that’s a thing?” Baleron asked.

“Oh sure it is. The requirements were pretty steep though. Lots of resistances. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re not a healer or enjoy pain. The latter can be fixed with a second tier Pain Tolerance,” Ilea said.

“What do you mean?” Pain asked.

“You can turn off your pain perception,” Ilea said, taking another bite out of the lizard.

“What??” Pain exclaimed with wide open eyes.

Ilea snickered. “With a name like that. You should really know about that.”

The woman squinted at her. “I inflict pain.”

“More benefits from enduring it,” Ilea said.

The woman nodded with a thoughtful expression.

Horace glanced between them but didn’t comment on it.

“Anybody injured?” he asked.

“My health took a hit but I’ll be fine in a few minutes,” Pain said.

Baleron walked up to her and touched her face, checking her right arm and her back. He used a spell and pat her shoulder. “That should do it.”

“You’re a healer?” Ilea asked the man.

He smiled. “Not exactly. A field healer. Has some offensive and fighting capabilities too. Better at stabilizing than full restoration.”

“More useful in life threatening situations,” Pain said and rolled her shoulder. “Normal healers often get overwhelmed with real injuries, failing to patch up the damage and just letting their spells do what they can. A bit of health doesn’t help much when you’re bleeding out.”

“Hasn’t been my experience. Maybe I only met capable healers,” Ilea mused.

“Lucky you then,” Pain said. It didn’t sound like she was mocking her either.

“Sounds like you’re a medic,” Ilea said to Baleron, throwing away the meatless lizard.

“What’s a medic?” he asked.

“Combat healer,” Ilea said.

Pain chuckled at that.

Ilea didn’t try to convince the woman. She really didn’t mind. The Medic Sentinels would make a name for themselves. She didn’t have to force the idea into people’s minds. Especially not someone who still refused to take it seriously, even though her teammate was one.

“Don’t get me wrong, Lilith. I know it works. I just always picture a bunch of girls in robes, beating the shit out of each other in training,” Pain said with a smirk.

“Pretty much,” Ilea said, happy to have misjudged her.

The group continued onward, the smell getting stronger. More trees were marked too and even Ilea manged to spot the tracks at this point.

She could see the ruin long before the others, stone pillars and decrepit walls overgrown with vegetation. The distance would make it difficult for the others to spot, the natural camouflage similar to the lizards they had encountered.