《Sagacious Salas》 Salas Even before the world basked in the morning light, Salas had already walked out of her room and came down from the second floor. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a boiled Cinder Chicken egg, then she cheek-kissed her old man who was sitting at the dining table. "Morning, Pa" She greeted. "Morning, Princess. Are you about to go out already?" He asked. "Yea, made a promise with Jake and Nila to show them the rope for hunting, remember?" She replied then drunk a cup of water. "Oh? Is it today? Well, be careful then, I imagine it will be thrice as dangerous when loitering the forest while guiding two novices." He warned. She shook her head, "Nah, pa. They have been to forest for a year now. Ben have been teaching them all sorts of hunter''s trade." He frowned, "Then what''s the deal with today?" Salas grinned, "I''ll just show them the guild and tell them how things work. Then I will accompany them completing their first quest and that''s it." He hummed and stared at her for awhile, sensing his daughter was up to no good. "Just don''t brag to your friends you get two new underlings then. You don''t want people holding you accountable if Jake and Nila make novice mistakes." She pirate-saluted him, "Aye aye captain." She cheek-kissed him one last time then walked around the table to hug her mother who had been silently listening while cooking. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "I love you, Ma" She released her and kissed her on the cheek. Then she stormed out of her house from the backdoor and sprinted through the city, her boots made a distinct sound against the cobblestone. "Ei ! Wait a second you beautiful maiden!" A woman she just passed called her out. "Oh hai Mrs. Leif! Good morning!" She said while jogging in place. Mrs. Leif spread out her arms wide and smiled, "Salas! Going hunting, already? The sun just barely rise." "Yup, Mrs. Leif. Got a work to do." She said, still jogging in place. "Oh my, good girl. If only my son have a fraction of your diligence. He is still sleeping even now. It will be another hour or two before he wakes up, and will be another hour more before I can push him around to work." Mrs. Leif rested her head on one hand and supported the said hand with the other. "That said, it has been what? Six years? Since you joined the guild?" Salas shook her head, "Five years, Mrs. Leif. It will be only my sixth year when next summer come." Mrs. Leif hummed, her head still leaning on her hand, "Is that so? I still can''t believe your mother let you become a hunter. Is she still giving you cold shoulder?" Salas made a troubled smile, she stopped jogging at once. "She still doesn''t want to talk to me. Though, she secretly and silently care for me. Often when I get home late at night, I find her still washing dishes and there is always leftover dinner at the table. Pa said Ma always waiting for me, and only pretend to wash dishes when she hears me opening the door." "Oh my..." Mrs. Leif put her hand on Salas''s shoulder, "Well, hang in there then. I know one day you two can become close again." Salas smiled, "Yup! I always talk to her even though she never answer, Pa said it''s only a matter of time before I can melt her frozen heart!" Mrs. Leif nodded, "Good! Come on then, do your work! Remember to always put your own safety as first priority!" she said and gave her a smack on her back. "Goodbye Mrs. Leif!" Salas waved then sprinted again, this time she put 100% of her focus and energy, determined that she won''t let herself being stopped again by another housewife. She ran through buildings and alleys until she finally arrived at an old mansion. In front of the gate, stood a boy and a girl which seemed already bored to wait. "Jake! Nila!" Salas waved at the two of them. She stopped in front of them and caught her breath. "You late." Jake said and folded his hands. "Sorry, I was intercepted by gossip-loving housewife." Salas reasoned. "Understandable." Nila sagely nodded. "Well come on then, let''s go. You said yourself new guy like us would have to arrive before sun even rise. Well, sun has risen." Jake urged Salas to lead the way. "Okay okay, geez. Chill. I already bribed Fia to save an easy quest for the two of you." Salas said while walking towards the guild. "First lesson from the sagacious Salas: Guild staff can be bribed, noted." Nila, once again, sagely nodded while following the other two. She turned around and looked at them, "Hey! That''s not I mean!" She spent the journey to the guild arguing with them while walking backwards. The Holy Wall "Here we are! Come on you two, take a deep breath and try to smell the scent of the guild''s hall in the morning!" Salas grinned and spread her arms wide, eager to play guide for her new juniors. Jake and Nila looked across the hall and took in the whole structure, along with the busy and noisy crowd within. There were so many hunters already, even though it was still so early. Most of them were crowding one section of the hall, seemingly fighting over something. "You see that bunch over there?" Salas pointed at the crowd that the two were looking. "Do you know why they are bunching and elbowing each other? That''s the most important section in the entire guild''s hall, The Holy Wall, that''s where all quests are posted." "... and?" Jake asked after a short pause, waiting Salas to continue her explanation. As if we will understand after being told just that much. "What do you mean ''... and?'' ?! This is the most important part of being a hunter! Getting ourself the easiest and safest quest! Even a silver tag like myself will still fight for herbs-gathering quest! Do you know why?" She leaned over to them, her quite-tall figure made such thing possible. "Emm... Because you are lazy?" Jake guessed, and at that very moment, the entire guild went silent... only to be exploded with laughters a second later. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Salas? Lazy? Oh sweet summer child, you know nothing." Someone said among the crowd which immediately resuming their bunching and elbowing ritual in the morning. "The correct answer is because no one wants to die, Jake." Salas said, grabbing Jake''s and Nila''s attention back to her. She put her hand on the two''s shoulder, "Most of the people here are a simple person, we work to feed ourself. But our work require us to go into the forest, and while I know Ben have been brought you two to the forest for the last past year, I''ll have you know that is just the outer part." She knelt down and got closer to them to ensure the two could listen what she was about to say next, "The deeper part of the forest where the most monsters are, which automatically make it the workplace for most monster-hunting quest, is a much more dangerous place. We work so we can live, not to die. So remember: Grab the most safest and easiest quest you can get, no matter how high your rank is, no matter how expensive the tag the guild give you." "The second lesson from the Sagacious Salas." Nila nodded sagely, and Salas laughed at that. "Alright then. Let''s get this over with." Jake started to walk to the guild staff counter, but was stopped by Salas. "Where the hell are you going?" She asked him, still grabbing his hand to stop him. "The counter, duh. Get our quest that you have-- Mmfff%#@&??!!!!" His word was cut as Salas covered his mouth. "Do you want to get me killed??!!" Salas whispered in a high pitch and she glared a dagger at him. She released her hands from his mouth when he shook his head. She stood up and folded her arms, "Now go to the holy wall, see for yourself what kind of quest you could get while fighting the crowd." Jake and Nila looked at each other, "Do we have to?" They said in unison. "Aren''t we supposed to register ourself first as new member of the guild?" Nila added. "Yes, you have to, we will..." She looked around warily, "... switch it later on the counter. And No, getting yourself a quest is a top priority, whatever paperwork and administration you plan to do in the guild is secondary, unless you want to get a leftover quest like slaying a dragon or something." Jake and Nila looked at each other again. Then they reluctantly joining the crowd and fighting their way to the holy wall. Breakfast "How was your brawl?" Salas grinned at two weary youngster who had just came back from semi-civilized fight. Their looks were not amused, one of them even got a nosebleed. "I got elbowed. Are hunters always that savage? I am beginning to feel like I am joining robbers guild or something." Nila snorted and nearly spat, but she reconsidered it and decided that expressing her feeling in a more bold way didn''t worth the consequences. Salas took out a handkerchief out of her pocket and cleaned the girl''s bleeding nose, "They are like that only when fighting over the quests. Other than that, you can count on them for advise and help. But don''t rely on them to save your life, you have seen what they are willing to do to preserve theirs. That''s why party members are usually consist of old friends or romantic partners." "Why are you making us join the fight anyway?" Jake looked at her annoyedly, "We could just--" he glanced around and behind his back warily, "-- you know." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Salas shrugged, "I just want you know the importance of choosing quest, and taste how rough the fight for it is. I judge that giving the two of you a mere advise will not suffice." Salas clapped her hands, "Anyway, show me what kind of quest that you got." Jake gave Salas one disapproving look before he handed over a piece of parchment, "Monster-hunting quest for one Ferro Fox. There is no Herbs-gathering quest left. That''s the only quest we have managed to read thoroughly for very short amount of time." He explained. "Now I know why Ben trained us to read fast. Three seconds after we get ourself in front of the quest board and then we were pulled back by the crowd." Nila said while still trying to fix her nose. "This is quiet a fine quest you get. Ferro Fox doesn''t attack unless you left it no room to escape. But it runs fast. Hmm, a joined commission by an alchemist and an enchanter, huh." Salas said, her eyes were still glued to the parchment. "Well, congratulation. Let''s get ourself some breakfast though." She rolled the quest and pocketed it. "We are not immediately doing it?" Nila looked at her while tilting her head. "It will be quiet some time before we can reach the counter." Salas pointed at the long line that had formed in front of the counter. "Come on, I ate a boiled Cinder Chicken egg before leaving, but I doubt you two have ate anything yet. Breakfast in the orphanage start at the second bell right?" She walked to the nearby table and took a chair to sit. Jake and Nila looked at each other, reluctant to join her. Salas waved at the two, "Don''t worry, my treat." For the first time today, they smiled. Then they joined her and sat around the table. Fia "Really, watching the two of you eat so heartily waking up the motherly instinct in me." Salas put both her hands on the table as a headrest and smiled. "Thanks for the treat" "Thanks for the treat" Jake and Nila said in unison. The latter cleaned a small cut of meat that was left at the edge of her mouth with her thumb and ate it again. Salas looked away from the two and saw that the line in front of the guild staff desk had gone, "Talking about perfect timing." She stood up and walked to the counter. The two followed a moment later. "Good morning Fia! Oof, Low battery already? That long line really did a number on you, huh?" She greeted the guild staff that sat behind the table and commented on her weary face. "Low what?" Fia raised a brow, "Whatever, I have no time for your nonsense. Where is the new underling you told me about?" She asked as Jake and Nila caught up with and arrived at the counter. "Talk about the devil''s spawns." Salas put her hands on the two''s back and pushed them so they were as close to the counter as possible. "The lad is Jake, and the lass is Nila." "Nice to meet you!" "Nice to meet you!" Jake and Nila greeted and bowed out of nervousness. "Don''t be so tense. Now if you can fill out these forms for me, I''ll take care of the rest." Fia said while handing them out parchments and feather pens, then the two received it and immediately began writing. "Where is the quest?" She looked at Salas. Salas took the quest parchment out of her pocket and gave it to her. "Ferro Fox, huh? Quite a catch for the first quest." Fia commented, she then caught Jake stealing glances at her. "What is it boy?" The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Uh, hu-uh, n-noth---" Jake''s shy answer was cut by Nila, "What should we do about this part... miss?" "Oh, the blood signature? Bleed your thumb a little and smear it with blood. Then press your bloody finger on that part of the form and you are done. Do you want to bleed it yourself or should I bleed it for you? Don''t worry I''ll just stab your thumb with a needle." Fia answered then rummaged the drawers below the table. "Umm, I''ll take the offer, miss." Nila hesitantly replied. A moment later Fia found the needle she was looking for and hold Nila''s hand. "You ready?" Fia asked, and Nila nodded in response. She then lightly stabbed the girl''s thumb with the needle. A little blood came out of the wound, Fia pressed the thumb a few times so more blood came out. "Done. Smear your thumb''s surface with the blood and press it to the parchment." Nila did as she asked. Satisfied, Fia turned to Jake, "How about you? Think you can bite your own thumb to get some blood on it?" "Uh, umm. Please help me too, miss." Jake answered meekly. Fia nodded. She first opened a mini jar on her desk and dipped the needle into the liquid within. She then took Jake''s hand and hold his thumb with her hand. The boy in question blushed. "Oh boy" Salas grinned seeing the Jake''s reaction. Fia did the same thing to Jake''s thumb and dipped the needle back into the mini jar before she put the needle back in a drawer and closed the jar. "Give me your registration forms ." She said to the two, and they obliged. Jake, Nila and Salas stood silently as they watched Fia working. Few minutes later the office lady gave each of the kids a wooden tag. "Don''t lose it." She warned. "Now listen." Fia said and grabbed the two''s attention, "Your first quest that you difficultly get after brawling with the other hunters is important, you fail this, and we may not let you stay a hunter." She cautioned them sternly, and purposely said a certain part more louder then the others. She handed the two three small parchments, on each was drawn a picture of some kind of plant. "These are the detail of your quest. Fetch and bring me these three things from the forest and you will complete the quest. Take these cards with you so you won''t mistaken a plant for another. Now go. You won''t believe the amount of time it takes to complete a quest." She shooed them. "Uh, thank you miss!" Jake stole a last look at Fia before he ran off and exited the guild. "What, hey, wait!---" Nila shouted and was about to go after him but was stopped by Salas. "Catch him and tell him to go to the Fiery Foundry, you know, the smithy with burning hammer as its logo. Wait for me there." Salas said and released her hold of Nila''s arm. The girl was perplexed for a second before she sprinted and went after her childhood friend. Salas turned to guild hall where the rest of hunters were sitting and standing. Then cleared her throat in the most made up way. "ladies and gentlemen." The hunters that filled half of the hall sighed, some groaned, some cheered and celebrated with their friends. "Fuck me, I betted five silvers on the boy." someone shouted regretfully within the crowd. "You fool, there is no way he can''t resist Fia''s beauty. Now if you''ll excuse, where is my money?!" shouted another hunter. "Hey! someone please get the bet pool out already! I need my winning to pay off a smith!" As the crowd grew noisier, Salas turned to Fia and grinned, "See, I told you an office lady is everyone''s kink. Mature, Independent, neat looking, and rich." Fia sighed, she pinched the bridge of her nose and glanced at her, "Go fuck yourself Salas." "I will. I do it every time I go to bed." Her grin grew wider. Happy Birthday Salas leisurely walked through awoken city, the first bell had just been rung and people started to flood the streets little by little. She stopped at a shop that displayed shields, spears, and swords behind its window. She walked to the door and found a picture of a burning hammer was carved on it. She opened the door then walked into the shop, and was greeted by the chime of the doorbell. "Thank god you two are really here. I don''t want to comb the city just to search for you." She put both her hands on her hip. "Well, Jake has been unreasonable to dart off by his own." Nila squinted her eyes at him and folded her arms. "A bit of advise Jake, to save a quite amount of time of your youth; Let your feelings for Fia go, you are not the first to fall for her and you will not be the last. The woman has so many admirers and still choose to be single." Salas held a finger out. "Wha--! That was not--!" Jake stuttered as he tried to deny her. "Really?! That''s all this is about?! You look me in the eyes you cheating bastard!" Nila forcefully turned Jake''s head to face her. "No! You are wr--%#ghbvmf@*&??!!" Jake tried to make excuses but unable to say more as Nila angrily pinched out both of his cheeks. Salas left the two to their own devices and turned to a man at the counter who had been boredly watching them while resting his head on one hand. "Grayson." She threw the man a greeting nod. "Can you not bring a drama into my shop? It has been noisy and hot enough from all the hammering and forging." He greeted back. "Do you have my order ready?" Salas asked, ignoring the man''s words. Grayson sighed and stood up. He went to the room behind him and came back with a full hand of leatherwork which he immediately put on the counter. Salas turned to the two and loudly clapped her hands once, "Kids, stop playing and try these on." Jake and Nila who were engaged in semi-domestic violence turned to the woman. They gave each other one last angry look before wordlessly put their fight for later and walked to the counter. "What is this?" Jake asked. "Leather armor, duh." Nila sassed. "No shit, you garden-wide forehead. I am asking why she give us expensive-looking stuffs." "If the two of you can''t stop being pain in my ass I''ll throw you out of my shop and burn the armors as fuel for my forge." Grayson shot them down with a warning. The two reluctantly shut their mouth and grabbed the armors. "The brown ones are for Nila. Jake, you get the black ones." Salas supplied. The two silently tried to put on the armors, But they both had a problem with the straps. Salas held out a finger and stopped Grayson who was about came out of the counter to help them. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Hey, help me with this will you?" Jake asked Nila. "You dofus, the straps aren''t meant to be tied. It works like a belt." Nila said as she helped Jake strapping in his body armor which covered his chest and stomach. "Okay city girl, sorry my country ass couldn''t figure it out." Jake replied while he strapped in the arm guards. "Can you cut that off that already? You are the one in the wrong but you always be the one who can''t stop getting angry." Nila said as she moved on into strapping in his shin guards. "... sorry." Jake apologized after went silent for few seconds. "Once yours are done, you better help me back to put mine." Salas and Grayson silently watched the two making up. The scene of them helping each other to put on their armor was quite romantic, really. "It''s always exciting to play cupid." Salas said to herself. "Playing what?" Grayson turned to her. The woman waved her hand to the man, wordlessly telling him to dismiss what she said. "We are done." Jake turned to the two adults in the room. "How do we look?" Nila asked Salas as she twirled to show off every angle of her new armors. The two of them had leather armors which protecting their bodies, forearms, thighs and shins. "You look beautiful, Nila." Salas smiled seeing the girl quite happy. "Still, why though?" Jake meekly looked at Salas. "Don''t get me wrong, I feel indebted to be given... these. But one thing I don''t like is, well, being indebted." He stared at her in the eyes. "As we all know, Nila and I have no money, I don''t want to acquire something we can''t pay. Plus we only know you for what? Three days? Since Ben made us met?" "Don''t worry, these are gifts for you two." Salas replied. "Gifts?" Nila inquired. "Today is your birthday is it not? Well, Happy birthday! I know you two don''t really know when your real birthday is, but birthday is birthday nonetheless, even though it was decided by the date you two entered the orphanage." Salas congratulated them. "That still doesn''t answer the question of ''why?'' ". Jake stubbornly asked the matter. Salas sighed and leaned her back to the counter, "Do you still remember Milda? red hair, green eyes, had a lot of freckles, quick to get into fights, had a naive sense for justice?" "Do you mean sister Milda?" Nila asked. She more than knew the woman Salas mentioned. Milda was her sister in the orphanage, and out of other older children, she was her favorite. Always smiling, always laughing, always had ways to make others feeling joy and happiness-- no matter how little it was. Her bright personality was one of few things that shined the dampened life in the orphanage. "... The late sister Milda." Jake corrected, he threw his gaze to the ground for a moment before looked at Salas again, "What about her?" "She was my mentor. While she certainly never bought me anything, she did took me in to her party and gave me a chance --which, at the time I desperately wanted-- to join the guild. I just want to repay her somehow, but she is dead. So I try to veer my payment to her to the orphanage in the form of weekly donation, and buying the two of you some basic equipment." "Now, I know Ben has gotten you weapons," She glanced at a short sword and a dagger that was hanging on their waist, "So I get you armors instead." Jake and Nila looked at each other for awhile before turning back to her, "Thank you!" They said in unison. Salas dismissively waved her hands to them, "Don''t think too much about it." "Oh, but I think you should think much about it." Grayson disagreed. "You see, those leather armors are made from Beetle Bison''s hide. It''s quite elastic but hard enough to protect you from sharp and blunt attack alike. Even Jade Eyes Jaguar has a hard time biting Beetle Bison with its fangs. Here let me show you." Grayson came out of the counter and nonchalantly pulled a knife that was strapped on the back of his waist, then swiftly stabbed Jake in stomach. The knife failed to penetrated the armor, but the force of the stab sent Jake blown back off a few feet and hit the wall behind him. "Jake!!" Nila looked at what happened in horror, "What the hell are you--!!" As she sharply turned to Grayson to curse him, the man in question already sheathed his knife, then casually punched her in the gut. The same incredible power made Nila bounced a few inches higher than Jake and hit the same wall. "You okay, buddy?" Salas --still relaxedly leaned on the counter-- worryingly asked the man''s well being. "No." Grayson replied as he rubbed his hand. "Should have kicked her instead." She commented. "I''ll do that next time." Jake and Nila who difficultly recovered from the attack and stood up immediately drew their weapons. "What the fuck was that for!!" Jake grimly yelled at the man, plainly showing signs for counter attack should the man''s answer was not satisfying. Grayson shrugged, still rubbing his hand, "Just proving my point about the armor." He then went back to behind the counter. "Chill, kids." Salas --still in the same relaxed position-- tried to calm them down. Jake and Nila disobediently kept their weapons drawn. "As you have seen and felt, the armors decently protect you from sharp and blunt attack alike. The reason why you still feel pain is because you hit the wall with your back, which is not protected by the armor. Now that you know how painful it is to receive damage, be sure to watch for an attack that target your unprotected area. Evade it, or veer it to your armor instead." Grayson unexcitedly advised them. "I''ll have you know too that the armors you wear are quite expensive, only a silver tag hunter like her could afford it. You should thank her more." He boredly pointed a finger at Salas. Salas stopped leaning on the counter and stood up, "Come on kids, you have a quest to complete." She clapped her hands a few times to ensure they took their angry eyes off of Grayson, she then walked out of the shop. The two, still angrily looking at the smith, sheathed their weapons and followed her outside. Planted Vision "You know, you shouldn''t hold a grudge to the man. The relationship between a hunter and his smith are like a patient and his healer; each''s life depends on the other. Without us hunter, their income and livelihood will deteriorate, but we also count on their creations to support and protect ours. Besides, wouldn''t you feel more relieved when you know your armors are up to your expectation?" Salas preached the two as they waited in the line in front of the city gate to get outside. The two gave her a cold shoulder, clearly still sulking from the treatment they got at the smithy. "Next!" The gate guard shouted, and the line move forward a little. Salas folded her arms and sighed. She turned back to face the two behind her, "Look, I don''t care whatever you think about the guy. Hate him, kill him, do whatever you like. But you two better bury deep such emotion and thought when we are in the forest. You will need every focus you have if you want to get out of there alive. I already told Ben that I can not promise your safety, and he agreed that I won''t be held responsible if you two die. So, focus. You don''t want your day to get worse, do you?" The two finally looked at her --even only for a moment-- and gave her a nod, then they threw their glances somewhere else again. Salas sighed, this time more heavily, That''s good enough I guess. She then turned back facing forward. "Next!" The gate guard shouted, and the line yet again moved forward. A few minutes later, it was finally Salas''s turned. "Document, miss." said a different guard from the one who kept shouting and controlling the line. Salas took a small parchment out of her pocket and gave it to him, "Salas, hunter, monster-hunting quest." She said to the guard. "So that''s what the quest we fetched is for." Jake commented behind her. The two noted that Salas was also given the card quest just like them. The guard received the parchment after he wrote down the information she told him and opened it. A drawing of a ferocious-looking fox with black spiky furs was drawn on it, "Ferro Fox." The guard noted. He then glanced to the silver tag necklace that was hung on Salas neck. "Alright, miss. Do enjoy your hunting." He gave the quest card back and let her through. "Next!" The guard beside him shouted again, and the line moved forward. "Document, kids." The same guard with the record in his hand commanded. Jake and Nila did the same thing as Salas did, but instead of one, they gave three quest cards to him. The guard stared at their wooden tag for quite a while. "Listen kids. Be ware of your surroundings at all time when you are in the forest, don''t wander too deep, and come back before sun set regardless of the completion of your quest. You hear me?" He warned them as he gave their quest cards back. Stolen novel; please report. The two nodded, and they were let through. Salas who was already outside waved at them, "Lead the way kids. From now on until we get back I will walk behind." "Why?" Nila asked warily. Salas shrugged, "Because it is your quest." The two looked at each other, "Fair enough I guess." Jake said as he walked in the front. Nila walked not far beside him, and Salas followed them twenty steps behind. "Ten leaves of candle tree, seventeen petals of stone flower, and a handful roots of mirror moss." Nila listed the plants she needed with her finger. "We have dealt with the first two before, but the last one..." She turned to Jake. Jake glanced to his concerned friend, "Don''t worry, we just have to find it.". Nila nodded, reassured by the confidence of her companion. Not long after, they finally entered the Silverein Forest. Their first ninety minutes in the forest was uneventful, the two already knew where to go and where to look for the first two plants. But things got difficult after that. They combed the outskirt of the forest for two hours long and still hadn''t found the mirror moss. They kept holding and looking at the picture of the plant on the quest card while searching, but still couldn''t find it. They began being downhearted when they faintly heard the third bell from the city. Midday had come and they still hadn''t completed the quest. "Salas... Can you help us?" Nila pleaded to the woman twenty steps behind them. "Forget it, Nila. She already said she won''t." Jake shot her down, anger in his voice. "He is right." Salas replied to Nila from afar, "You know, maybe now you feel that the time you have spent to search for plants is too long, but it is nothing compared to the time you have to spend searching for monster. After all, plant doesn''t move, hide or run away. That''s one of many reason why herbs-gathering is preferred over monster-hunting. Now keep searching, open your eyes." Nila was dejected hearing their senior refusal to help them. How strange, we have been herb-gathering for a year with Ben. But why the one we currently do without him felt so hard. Are we actually this incapable without Ben''s help? Nila thought to herself. And so they kept walking through the forest, they even dared entering the slightly deeper part, thinking maybe the plant was there. With every hour they grew impatience and wandered further and deeper, until they found something that they hoped not to find. "Draw your weapons!" Salas shouted as she began sprinting to the two. She Closed the twenty steps distant within two seconds. The two obeyed and firmly held out their dagger and short sword, their eyes locked at the monster before them. Salas caught up with them and immediately assumed the vanguard position, shielding the two novice behind her. "Jade Eyes Jaguar," She said after taking a good look of the monster. "Take ten steps backward, but do it slowly." the two did as they told. Salas took out the spear that was strapped on her back, she made a stance and pointed her weapon at the monsters. The Jade Eyes Jaguar lowered its body, readying itself to jump at its prey. Silence seethed over the tense situation. Both sides waiting the other''s first move. Suddenly, The Jaguar''s jade eyes glinted, and a scream broke out from behind her. "AAAAARGH!!! STAND BACK!! STAND BACK!!! HOW THE HELL IT CAN BE HERE??!! IT MOVE SO FAST??!!" Jake screamed while wildly swinging his sword around empty space. He then oddly jumped and rolled out to random direction. He kept fighting and talking to no one. "J-Ja Jake! What''s wrong!" Nila who didn''t understand his abrupt and strange behavior loudly asked. "Right, I forget I currently have two novice on me." Salas said as she slapped her forehead. "Nila!! Jake!! Close your eyes!!" She commanded, her stance unbroken, her weapon still pointed at the monster before her. "Wh-what?! Why?!" Nila bewildered "The big cat we are currently fighting can use mind magic! it can make you see things that aren''t real! Don''t look it in the eye!" She warned, still waiting the monster in front of her to make a real move. "But we still need to look at it to dodge it!" Nila argued. "Next time I will teach you how to fight the cat without exactly looking at it! But now listen to me and do as I say!!" Salas shouted loudly to override Nila''s doubt and indecision. Nila''s gritted her teeth but finally obeyed her words. "Jake!! Stop swinging your sword!! You''ll hurt someone if not yourself!!" Salas called out her frenzied companion, still facing the real Jade Eyes Jaguar before her. "You are telling me what I see is not real?! You want me to believe you?! After what you''ve done?!" Jake shouted back, still fighting nonexistent foe, randomly slashing his sword and jumping out of imaginary attack. "Dammit Jake! I told you to left behind whatever thoughts and feeling before leaving the city!!" Salas grew impatience with her stubborn companion. "Aargh!!" Nila''s painful scream broke Salas'' stance as she instinctively looked behind. There she saw, somehow, Jake had stabbed Nila in the back. Gita Seeing Jake had gotten out of hand, Salas quickly decided to end his nonsense. She turned her back on the monster and darted off to the frenzied novice. Witnessing its prey left her back exposed and defenseless, the Jade Eyes Jaguar ran towards her to strike her down with critical attack. A race between Salas and the Jaguar ended as abruptly as when it began, Salas won by reaching her two companion first and gave Jake a good punch in the face, sending him flying, away from Nila. Salas didn''t waste time waiting to see Jake safely landing. She swiftly turned back to face the Jaguar, who had already jumped high towards her and was milliseconds away from pinning her down with its weight and biting her neck with its gaping maw. Salas didn''t flinch nor taken by surprise. With few milliseconds she had, she motioned her wrist and moved her arm to position her spear as a beat stick, then she swung it diagonally upwards, intending to give the cat an uppercuts and closed its mouth shut. The Jaguar, unable to dodge in midair, veered its gaping maw from its prey''s neck to the fast approaching metal pole, intending to catch the attack. But when its fangs and the pole met, The Jade Eyes Jaguar was thrown backwards by the attack''s sheer impact. The Jaguar bounced off the ground a few times before stopped by the tree it hit. Salas, yet again, didn''t waste time waiting for the monster to safely land. She immediately giving a chase after the strike and jumped at the staggered cat while pointing the spearhead to its neck. The Jade Eyes Jaguar, understanding its prey executing a critical strike, gave all its strength to evade. Salas''s thrusted spear stabbing an empty ground. She quickly linked her failed attack with her next one; she used the spear as a pole to jump midair, chasing the monster. The Jade Eyes Jaguar, realizing the prey and predator''s role had swapped, fled and ran into the deeper part of the forest. Salas landed as the monster vanished between the bushes and trees. Seeing the threat was gone, she quickly turned around and sprinted towards Nila who helplessly laying in the puddle of her own blood. She strapped her spear back before taking the girl and holding her in her hands, "Don''t die on me, Nila." She said as she rummaged her waist bag and took out a potion. She opened the girls mouth and poured the liquid down her throat. The girl choked as her body faintly glowed. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Salas didn''t waste time waiting to find out if the potion took effect. She princess-carried Nila with one hand, then darted off to pick up the unconscious Jake and trash bag-carried him with the other hand. She sprinted off northwards, her speed grew higher with every second. At some point mid-run, Jake was awoken. "Ugh, my jaw. Why my face is so hurt. Wa-wait! What the?! Hey!! What are you doing carrying me like this!! Wha-what happened to Nila?!" Jake threw a barrage of questions, but his attention and concern was stolen when he saw his childhood friend laying unconscious in Salas''s arm. "Do you remember you stabbed a monster?" Salas asked, still running. She didn''t pay Jake a look let alone a glance. "Huh? Oh... Yeah. Yeah I did defeat the monster!" "Well, no. You didn''t. The one you stabbed is Nila." "What? What kind of nonsense are you spouting about?" "You stabbed Nila, Jake." Salas said, anger in her voice. "No I didn''t !! Now tell me what happened to her!!" Jake tried to wrestled his way out of Salas''s hold. He punched and kicked her in any manner possible to make her stopped running and took his question seriously. After a few second of struggle, Salas did stop. Jake thought he was winning, so he grinned. Only to be roughly thrown by Salas to the ground. As he was about to yell at her, he realized they had stopped in front of another hunters party. "Hi, Gita!" Salas cheerfully greeted a huntress who leisurely sat while leaning to a tree. There is relief in her voice. "Oh, Hi Salas. Throw me the kid, will you?" She greeted back. Salas complied and threw Nila at her, which was skillfully caught by the woman. "Hey!!!" Jake yelled seeing his friend getting treated like a mere bag. "Where is the wound?" Gita asked while flipping Nila around. "In her back, it was a stab wound." Salas informed her. "...There is no wound" Gita tilted her head seeing Nila''s smooth back, her clothes were ripped and colored red, but there is no gaping wound on the girl''s back. "Yeah, I gave her potion as first aid." Salas supplied. "Then why the hell do you bring her here? She is already as good as new." Gita confusedly looked at her. "Really? There is nothing more you can do? Maybe throw the girl a spell or two?" "Well I can if you want to, but it is not necessary, really. I mean, the girl''s HP is already over fifty percent and still improving." "Yes, please. Give her one spell, at least. For the peace of my mind." Salas folded her arms. "Okay then." Gita gave in, she held Nila''s back and chanted, " [HEAL] ". Nila was wrapped in beautiful blue light. The girl opened her eyes a moment later. She looked around, taking in every faces in the place before she looked back at Salas. Nila got herself out of the healer''s embrace and slowly stood up, "Are we safe?" She asked, Salas nodded in turn. "and the monster?" the girl continued. "Gone." Salas answered. "Hey!! What the hell happening here!! You tell me now, witch!!" Jake yelled at Salas. He angrily walked to her and aggressively stomped the ground with every steps. His march was stopped by another hunter that was standing beside the healer. "Hi Brad." Salas threw a nod to the man. "You cool your head first, kid. And don''t yell, we are still in the forest." Brad cautioned Jake, ignoring Salas. "She harmed us! She- She!! I don''t know exactly what she did but she is the one who hurt us!" Jake throwing blames at the woman. Gita, Brad, Nila, and the other two hunter looked at her. She shrugged, and nonchalantly told them what happened. "That''s a lie! There is no way I will stab my own girlfriend in the back!!" Jake refused Salas''s story. The rest of the hunter looked at him in disbelief. Seeing the senior hunters wouldn''t side with him, he looked at Nila and demanded her support, "Nila, you saw it yourself right? I stabbed the monster, not you." But the girl he thought would side with him quickly hid behind the woman he hated instead, and looked at him with fear. "I-I didn''t !..." Jake went silent, realization slowly sunk in to his head, "...Did I?" "Jade Eyes Jaguar can use mind magic, kid. What you saw was illusion, and what you really stabbed was your friend." A hunter who sat on the branch of the tree told him. Jake stopped arguing, his head was hung down, his gaze landed on the sword at his waist, then he fell to his knees. "What have I done." He covered his face with both hands, tears flowing from the gaps of his fingers. Gita stood up and clapped her hands, "Now now, why don''t you three take a break here with us. I doubt you already ate lunch, right? We still have some leftover." She put her hand on Jake''s shoulder and led her to sit above nearby tree. Harlot of Death "You are not gonna eat that?" Gita asked Nila who sat beside her, It had been a few minutes now, but the girl only stared at the ham sandwich she had gave her. Nila turned to her, "I am not hungry." She gave her a weak smile and looked away. Gita followed the trace of her gaze and found it ended at Jake who sat under a tree across them. The boy were hugging both his knees and hung his head low, hiding his depressed face. "You should talk to him." She advised the girl. Nila looked at her, conflicted. Gita assumed the girl probably still felt fear of him, but at the same time she didn''t want him to be broken beyond repair, and he did having melt down right now. "He is your boyfriend, no?" Gita nudged the girl a little, "If a single wound is all it takes to traumatize you, then you are not fit to be a hunter. If a single misunderstanding is all it takes for you to throw away your love for him, than you are not fit to be a lover." Her words visibly bored down into her chest, and she clenched her hand tighter in front of her heart. Nila stood up and walked to Jake. She sat in front of him, "Jake..." She softly called as she put a hand on one of his knees. Jake looked up and their gaze met. His eyes were kind of red, possibly from crying earlier. " I..." Nila lost for words. Honestly she didn''t even know what she wanted to say to him, but seeing him being miserable like this..., "It''s alright, Jake. You didn''t really mean to, and I am alright now. Everything is fine in the end." She tried to console him. "... no it is not." He denied. "Jak--" "I. almost. killed. you." He cut her words before she could finish it. Shaken was his voice, anger and regret in it. "You are being overly dramatic, boy." said a familiar voice from another tree across them. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Jake and Nila looked at Salas who was laying on the ground, both her hands pillowed her head, a handkerchief covering the upper half of her face. "If you are gonna walk down the path of a hunter, you will eventually meet a situation where you are forced to abandon, or possibly kill, your loved ones... as an act of mercy of course. And there will be a time where you watch them die right before your eyes. You will witness so many death of your comrades, and eventually your own." She nonchalantly said. "So get over it." Jake shook his head, "How could you treat life and death so lightly?" "There is another name people use to call us hunter, kid." Brad who was standing besided Salas said. "Do you know what is it?" Jake and Nila gave their silence as answer. "They call us the harlot of death." Brad told them. "Everyday we go to the forest, meeting another death''s bitch and performing a dance of death. Death then will chose one of us to fuck, and send the other home with few coins in hands. That''s why people sometimes call us the harlot of death, because we are, indeed, death''s bitch." Brad explained. "Every hunter will come to terms with their own death eventually, long before they die." Another hunter who sat on a branch of another tree supplied. "So like I said; Get over it." Salas chimed in. The two casted down their gaze to the ground, listening to their seniors'' lecture, digesting what they had just said. "Besides..." Salas added as she woke up and sat herself up, "You were under the monster''s mind magic. Mind is a place where many important things reside, Jake. And yours was being manipulated. When a mind is manipulated, it is not only affecting your vision, Jake. It also affects your thoughts, memories, and by that extension; your emotions." Jake and Nila looked up and turned at her. "What do you mean?" Jake asked. "Do you never think that it''s weird you acted like the way you did? Sure, you hate me and angry at me, but you always can control yourself. Because that''s how most kids from the orphanage grow up; suppressing their own feeling for the greater good. Surely in the normal situation, you will listen to me when I told you to stop swinging your sword around, even though you don''t want to. Because you know I am your best chance to get yourself and your girlfriend out alive." Salas stood up while pocketing the handkerchief and dusting off her pants. Jake frowned, he looked at Nila and the girl nodded; She agreed that was how normally he would act. "There is two factor that cause you acted like you are not you. First, because you hadn''t had snickers. Second, because your negative emotions and feelings were amplified several folds by Jade Eyes Jaguar''s mind magic." She held out two fingers at them. "What is snickers?" Nila confused. "Don''t mind it, kid. She do sometimes talking nonsense. You will get used to it." The hunter who sat on a branch of a tree answered. "Even if that is the truth, I still can''t..." Jake looked at both palm of his hands. They were slightly shaken. "It''s okay." Nila took both his hand with her own and looked him in the eye. "It''s okay" she held his hands tighter. "Of course, getting over traumatic incident and not learning from your mistakes are two different matter entirely. So don''t confuse one for another. Remember that." Salas warned them. The group of hunters were silenced by the faint sound of the fourth bell from the city. The next bell would be rung when the sun set. "Well, you heard the bell. So what will you gonna do? Will you back to city or continue the quest?" "We will continue the quest." Nila said to her confidently. "What? No. We will only have two to three hours, Nila. And we already spent twice the time to look for what we needed, and still we found nothing." Jake was against Nila''s decision. "Help us cheat again, Salas." Nila pleaded at the woman, "Just this once, please. You already help us cheat to get our first quest anyway." Nila said, but suddenly flinched and instinctively took few steps back, the woman before her whose eyes were filled with gentleness a moment ago suddenly looked at her with the eyes of murderer. A dreadful fear governed over Nila''s entire being. Jake suddenly stood before Nila to protect her from the dangerous woman before them. Nila looked around, trying to find help from other seniors. But there she saw, adults with the most evil smiles on their face looking at Salas. Party Shredder Gita happily caught the gold coin Salas had tossed at her, "Thanks for the charity!". She carefully rubbed the coin against her cloth before she put it into her pocket. "There goes all of my money." Salas dejectedly looked at her empty wallet and sighed. "You guys better shut your mouth, you know." Salas pouted as she put her wallet away in her pocket. "Don''t worry about it, unlike two particular pipsqueaks, we know how things work." Brad spoke and leaned his back against the trunk of a tree. Salas looked at him for awhile and turned around facing the two novice hunters who had been apologetically sitting on the ground while hanging their heads down. "... I am sorry," Nila spoke genuinely. Her apology was short because really, there was nothing to add into it. She had unintendedly spoke about the bribe in front of other veteran hunters. Gone were four gold coins from her one-day mentor''s wallet to shut those hunters'' mouths. "You know, you two have done things that I especially asked you not to do. I started to feel you two are screwing with me." Salas spoke annoyedly and crossed her arms. "We are not!" Nila looked up and denied her. "These are just... novice mistakes. Please, we genuinely think we can handle anything that would come up on our first quest as we have been into the forest for the past last year. We are wrong... we are not prepared enough." She clenched her hands and threw her gaze down again. Salas looked at the girl for awhile before she veered her gaze to the boy who sat beside her, "... And you? Do you not have anything to say?" Salas irked, the boy had literally stabbed his companion in the back and even now he hadn''t been apologizing at all, not to her nor to Nila. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "I am terribly ashamed I can''t even bring myself to ask for forgiveness. But, if I still have an ounce of right to explain my doings, I hate you and that smith because he hurt Nila, and you let him do it. Whatever your wise reason behind it, I can''t except it. If you hurt me and only me maybe I can endure it. But you hurt her." Jake hanged his head even lower and clenched his hands tightly. "But my hate for you had made me hurt her too. And now I hate myself as much as I hate the two of you." He looked up to her, pain in his eyes. Anyone who looked at him would know that he had some nasty suicidal thoughts in his head. "Geez. You have too much, Jake. Chill." A hunter from Gita''s party who sat on a branch of a tree commented. "Just help them finish the quest, Salas. Then bring them home. I think it''s not wise to let them in the forest any minute longer than this." Gita advised. Salas looked at her peers who had expressed their concerns, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Let''s get this introduction arc over with." She said and walked away from them, she headed towards the different part of the forest without any more words than what she had already said. "Come on, kids. Follow your mentor, or else you will left behind by her." Another hunter from Gita''s party urged the young hunters to act. The two youngster looked at each other, Nila was the first to stand and she held out a hand to Jake. The two packed their things and bowed to the healer''s party in general then they darted off to catch up with Salas. "Do remember your way to get here! This is the save point as your mentor like to call it! We are always here everyday until sundown! Come here again when you need immediate aid to heal your injury!" Gita shouted at the two who seemed to fail to hear her words as they didn''t glance back at all. "Should have told them earlier before they are gone." Brad commented. Gita shrugged, "They have met us, they will learn about us, then they will come again to us if they have another dire situation." She lied herself down on the ground and stared aimlessly at the sky. "Hey, do any of you can fight Jade Eyes Jaguar one-on-one while some of us get frenzied and injured?" She murmured. "What kind of stupid question was that?" Brad replied. "Yeah, figured. There is no way any of us could go toe-to-toe with the famous party shredder like Salas did." Gita stared at a single grey cloud in the sky which slowly moving southwards.