What's that you say? The story is pretty boring recently? Where are the actions? Bring on the actions!
Alright, I understand. A quest was assigned to me recently to hunt a fearsome creature. I will be doing this hunting quest solo, so I decided to have Rose tagged along to show her what it's like to be part of a guild. She will need to be hunting creatures or monsters in a party or sometimes even alone, which is what I am assigned to do now. It is not all fun and games when you join a guild. It is either your source of income or your death. It's a harsh reality, but that is the life of an adventurer.
Rose seemed to be excited to follow me on my quest. I handed her my dagger as a form of protection for her, but I doubt she knows how to wield it properly. She never had any combat experience nor did she even fight with anyone before. She was following me like a little bunny until we reached the city's northern entrance.
"Soo— what are we hunting, onii-chan?" she asked me curiously with a cheerful tone.
"We are hunting daarette," I told her.
"Which way do we go?" she asked.
"In the direction of daarette," I said.
"Huh?" she tilted her head and looked at me, feeling stumped. I snapped back to reality when she tugged at my shirt. Woah, what in the world just happened to me? I suddenly felt like a dad. How weird.
"Err, I meant this way," I smiled awkwardly at her.
According to the quest letter, it is heading north from the city. The area is known to be constantly snowing throughout the entire year. We prepared supplies and winter clothing for the journey. It is currently autumn in the City Of Pines and would eventually be winter soon. The thing is, it does not snow within the City Of Pines. As a matter of fact, most of the places in this continent do not snow. Sure, the temperature will be cold but it is not close to the freezing point. I guess this is going to be the first time we will be heading somewhere that actually snows.
And so, we headed towards the north where the City Of Lilies Dahlee is located. The journey there is going to be far as it is right at the border of this continent. We were provided with a carriage to bring us all the way at the expense of the guild. Nothing too eventful happened throughout the journey so I had a chit-chat with Rose midway.
"Have you ever held a weapon before?" I asked her.
"Hm, I think I sort of remember doing some training with my parents when I was very young," she recalled. Oh, so she does have some form of experience in how to fight.
"May I ask about your parents? What happened to them? You don't have to answer if it's uncomfortable for you, alright?" I told her.
"It's alright, Onii-chan. If we were to bond closer, you will have to know about it eventually. Both of them perished during the war with the Demon King. They did not make it back. I was left all alone and the administration decided to find someone to be my caretaker. I am sure you had met the 'lovely' lady that was supposed to be my caretaker," her face turned sour at the mention of that lady. Not only did her parents die, she was left in the care of such a horrible person. This made me want to protect her even more now.
I unconsciously reached out and petted her head. She seemed to enjoy being petted like some kette. Oh no—no no, don't bring back that horrible memory!
***
The carriage stopped to camp for the night. As we were midway to our destination, the weather was starting to get colder now. We were exhaling cold breaths as night approached. We wore our winter clothing, but Rose cuddled with me for the extra warmth. The coachman was staring at us as he maintained the campfire light with a stick.
"She your daughter?" he asked.
"Oh no, my little sister," I told him.
"Glad to see there is still some love in this world," he said.
Woah, the conversation rolled deeper than Adele could even start singing. I am not used to having such deep conversations with a stranger all of a sudden.
"May I ask what you meant by that?" I asked him politely.
"Where you're heading—the people are mostly reserved. The weather made them unwilling to make contact with anyone else. Populations are dwindling there as youngsters would rather go somewhere else. Now, only senior folks live there," he explained.
"Are you from around there?" I asked.
"Aye, I am. And it calms me seeing the both of you being so close together. Been a while since I felt the warmth of another person," he made a sad smile.
I did not know how to continue with the conversation. Perhaps his lover or child had passed for some time, leaving him all alone in this world. I decided to get some shut-eye to prepare myself for tomorrow. From what Miss Angelica informed me, the creature I am hunting is no slouch. Daarettes are fearsome creatures known for their strength and speed. Oh right, I had not updated my quest log.
Side Objective Unlocked: Hunt the murderous daarette.
What is a daarette, you ask? I remembered it is related to venison in some way. I also remembered a certain Cdawg mentioning that daarettes are known as one of the most dangerous animals in the world. We shall see then. Wait, who the hell is Cdawg? Awfully familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. My brain is just getting weirder day by day.
Dawn approaches, and we continued with our journey. As we proceeded closer to the city, sunlight was no longer visible. Snow was falling, and the skies darkened. It was almost like we had stepped into the lands of Narnia or something.
We arrived at the city in the late morning. Um, city? Should I even call it that? It looked more like a village instead. Unlike the City Of Pines, this "city" had extremely worn-down walls, no tall buildings, or even a proper entrance. You can just hop right in, and no soldiers will be there to stop you.
The coachman also made his stop here. I asked him whether there was any tavern for us to stay in, and thankfully, there was. Only one tavern remained operational in this "city". He guided us to the tavern as he was heading there as well. I checked on Rose to see if she can keep up with this extreme weather. She was so excited to see snow for the first time. With a fur coat and winter hat, there is no way you won't find that adorable when seeing her playing with snow. Even the coachman made a chuckle upon seeing Rose running around all excited.
We made it to the tavern and headed inside. It was empty, with only a couple of people inside. We took off our boots and headed towards the counter.
"Hey Darcy, been a while. How's everything?" asked the coachman.
"Everything's good, Danny. Aside from that damn daarette terrorising everyone, all is fine," she replied.
"Would it be alright if you tell me more about that daarette in question?" I interjected and placed the quest letter on the countertop. Darcy took the letter and read its contents. She made a couple of nods while reading.
"Sounds about right. What else do you wish to know?" she asked.
"The location of the daarette last seen and the area with the most sightings of this creature," I answered. Classic textbook questions.
"Hm, the most recent location is where everyone found the dead bodies. Just out of town heading towards the woods. It seems to be guarding the woods somehow, which is strange since we had been gathering firewoods there for many years now. Either something spooked the daaratte into attacking us or it relocated its way to the forest somehow. Either way, we need those firewoods or we're all dead from the cold," she explained.
Good. Only one location to lure the daaraette out and kill it. Things are looking pretty straightforward so far.
"Any room we can spend the night?" I asked her.
"You're staying with your daughter? I have a room for two upstairs. Well, pretty much all the rooms are vacant right now since barely anyone comes here due to the weather," she said.
"My little sister actually, but yeah, I'll take it," I passed her a couple of copper coins in exchange for the room key. I am so glad that this city uses the same currency as the City Of Pines, otherwise I am screwed. I highly doubt there is even a bank here for me to exchange.
"You're hunting that daarette?" asked a voice behind me. I turned to see who it was, and there stood an old-looking man.
"Yes, sir, I am," I told him.
"Be careful, youngling, what you're hunting is a bloodthirsty alpha daarette. It hungers for human blood after it has claimed its first victim. Don't end up like those poor folks. Keep your daughter safe here," he said.
The room felt colder after his story. All of us stood silent. Darcy was the one who broke the silence.
"Oh, that's just old Dean with his silly story. Try not to let it get to you, alright? Good luck on your hunt, adventurer," said Darcy.
I wish I could just wipe that story out of my brain, but it felt as though it was a premonition waiting to happen. We headed upstairs to store our belongings and tested the bed. Glad to see the room is kept clean despite not having many visitors. Rose was rolling on her bed when I called out to her.
"Rose, maybe—you should stay here while I hunt the daarette," I said to her.
"Are you worried about what that man said? I'll be fine, Onii-chan. You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself," she said.
"Just a gut feeling, y'know? I am worried that I won't be able to protect you," I told her.
"I'll be fine. Thanks for worrying about me. You're really a good brother," she smiled.
Her words were reassuring despite this being her first time on a guild quest. Perhaps things will be fine after all.
Making sure I brought everything I needed, we headed downstairs and proceeded to the location that the daarette was last spotted. It was snowing much lighter than earlier, which is good for me. At least it won't hinder my vision during combat. It was not long until we reached the site. The snow on the ground still had some hint of red on it. I am certain the people in the city tried to scoop away as much blood-covered snow to hide the more gory scene.
I squatted down to look for some evidence or tracks on where the creature went. Strangely, there were none. With such light snowing, it would have taken a couple of hours to completely hide any prints if the creature ventured here. Damn, now I am concerned that the daarette is no longer around here.
Some rustling sounds could be heard from behind. I immediately unsheathed Inazuma while Rose unsheathed the dagger. We were in a clearing before the forest, so there was not much place for the creature to hide aside from some bushes.
I glared at what was making the rustling, and a red foxette poked its head out of the bushes. Rose jumped in excitement upon seeing the animal. She walked slowly closer to the foxette while petting it to come closer. To my surprise, the foxette actually did so. It came close within arm's reach for Rose to pet it. The foxette seemed to be enjoying it, which made Rose giddy in excitement as she turned to smile at me. I smiled at their interactions until the foxette started making some weird noise.
"Ding ding, ahie ahie!"
Why is it making that noise? Is it trying to sing?
I felt an angry presence appear behind me. I immediately leaped forward towards Rose and grabbed her by the arm. She managed to grab the foxette and is now hugging it closely. Even without looking, I knew what the angry presence was. It was definitely the daarette in question. You think the deer in your world are scary? Imagine a buffed-up version with extremely sharp horns and tripled in size. That is what I am staring at right now. How it ambushed me without me noticing is beyond me. Perhaps that was how it ambushed the citizens and killed them.
The horns of this creature were soaked in dark red at the sharp ends. Safe to say that this is definitely my target. No wonder the old man said that this is an alpha daarette. Its size is larger than your standard daarette. Now, how should I play this? Distract it while Rose seeks cover? I need to be sure that she is safe.
"Rose, get away from here. I won't be able to fight properly while needing to protect you," I told her.
"No, I'll fight with you. I can do it, Onii-chan," she said after placing the foxette on the ground, which it scurried away immediately.
"Rose—this daarette is no slouch. Even I can't say for certain that I can defeat it on my own," I told her directly. This is not a good time to be arguing with your brother.
"I've fought monsters before. This one won't be any different," she assured me.
Huh? Did I mishear? When she said monsters, did she mean those imaginary ones that hide under her bed?
No time to argue now; the daarette started charging directly at us with its horns. I instinctively reached out to grab Rose, but—huh? Where did she go? Oh, she had already leapt to the side, dodging the charge.
Not bad, she is nimble and seems to have some combat experience. Maybe she wasn't lying after all. I quickly leaped out of the way of the charge. The daarette made a quick U-turn and resumed its charge. Now it started swinging its horn frantically while charging at me. I stood my ground and used Fear. Damn it, doesn't seem like it is working! I rolled to the side to avoid getting rammed by those extremely sharp horns.
As I was thinking of ways to stop its movement, Rose leaped in and stabbed the daarette on its left hind leg. Nice one, Rose! Now get out of the way. Hang on, what is she doing? Is the dagger stuck?
"Release the dagger and leap away!" I shouted.
The enraged daarette used some sort of spell that summoned spiked horns throughout the ground. I leaped backwards several times to avoid those spikes, all the while making sure that Rose is safe. Her battle instincts are pretty good. I'll admit, she can handle herself pretty well. But sadly now she is unarmed.
"Stand back, Rose! Wait for an opportunity!" I shouted at her, and she nodded.
The spiked horns sunk back into the ground as quickly as they were summoned. The enraged daarette was now glaring at Rose and had begun charging after her. I quickly chased after the daarette to attack it from behind. Rose timed the daarette's charge properly and leaped to safety at the last moment, causing it to crash onto the tree behind her. Seeing the daarette was disoriented, I decided to use my new signature spell.
"Getsuga—!!" Hang on, wrong spell. "Shadow Strike!" I shouted.
Black trails enveloped Inazuma, and I swung it at the daarette's right leg, expecting to take it cleanly right off. I was wrong. It felt like I was hitting a metal bar. I could feel the vibration of the impact on my fingers as it struck the thick bones of the daarette. I regained my bearing and saw that my fully powered Shadow Strike had only caused flesh wounds on it. Not deep enough to affect its movements. Damn it, the daarette had such strong bone density to be capable of deflecting Inazuma? Rose must have gotten really lucky and struck a vulnerable point of the daarette. The dagger was still pierced deeply in the daarette's left hind leg.
"What shall we do, Onii-chan? Seems like we need to pinpoint its weak spot to pierce it," said Rose. Not bad, her instincts are good. To be able to analyse and reach the same conclusion as me.
"I've got a plan. But I need to lure it into the woods," I told her.
"Huh? Are you sure? It's quite dark inside and we will be fighting in its own turf," Rose explained.
"Will it?" I left Rose with a question as I prepared myself.
The daarette came charging at us with a giant log stuck to its horns. Yikes, need to dodge even further now! I quickly grabbed Rose and tossed her towards the woods. She landed on her back, but the snow dampened her fall. She understood why I threw her and rushed into the woods. I followed after her while the daarette charged after me. I managed to dive into the woods just in time for the daarette to be stopped by the other trees in its path due to the log stuck in its horns. Can't come in, can't ya?
It continued to rampage to remove the log from its horns. I took a deep breath and used my second spell that I obtained from the latest rank. I used Conceal and vanished from sight. Rose was surprised by my sudden disappearance and started looking everywhere for me. Conceal can only be used in dark places. Completely useless in bright areas as there are barely any shadows for me to hide in.
The daarette threw the log away from its horns and glared into the forest. Rose was sitting on the ground alone, and it approached slowly towards her. Trying to savour your prey before going in for the kill? Like hell I am going to let you. I appeared unexpectedly on its left and cast Fear. The daarette must have been terrified by my sudden appearance and spell that it stood up on its hind legs. This exposed its underbelly, which I quickly stabbed with Inazuma. I reached out my left hand and pulled the dagger with all my strength and tossed it over to Rose.
"Go for the neck!" I shouted at her.
Rose reacted quickly and leapt in to strike with the dagger. She stabbed the daarette on the neck while gripping the dagger two-handed, causing it to pierce deeply. The daarette was spitting out blood from its mouth now that it was heavily injured. Just need to hang on a little longer, and it will be dead soon. Rose and I held our weapons tightly, trying our best to push it deeper to quicken the process. The daarette let out a loud shriek that made me instinctively leap towards Rose, leaving Inazuma behind. I grabbed her by her clothes and leapt onto the daarette's back. As I suspected, the daarette used all its remaining strength to summon spiked horns once again. Thankfully, my instinct was right that the back of the daarette was the safest spot.
The daarette started losing balance and began dropping to the side. Shit, where can I go? The horns are still on the ground! I jumped into the air holding Rose and thankfully landed directly on the daarette's body. The spiked horns did not pierce through its body. Holy shit, we're alive!
Upon making sure the horns had retreated into the ground and the daarette was dead, we retrieved our weapons and I took a part of the daarette's horn as a trophy. The red, sharp tips of the horn are going to be a clear indication of who it belonged to. Time for us to head back to the village and close the quest. I held Rose's hand as we headed out of the forest. She was hopping on one leg, which I turned to look funnily at her. Why is she doing the bunny hop now?
"Did you hurt your leg?" I asked her.
"I think so. I might have slipped earlier. It just hurts a little bit, you don't need to worry about it," she said. If it hurts a little, you won't be hopping right now.
"Alright, show me your leg," I told her.
"You want to see my maiden's leg, Onii-chan?~" she acted shyly. I knocked her head lightly as now was not the time for jokes.
I inspected her leg. It seemed to be swollen a little on her right ankle. Perhaps she might have sprained it.
"Alright, hop on my back. I'll give you a piggyback ride," I said to her.
"Are you sure? I'm quite heavy," she uttered.
"Geez, Rose, you're just ten. C'mon, hop on so we can get going. Make sure you hold on to your boots," I ushered her.
She leapt on, and we could finally walk back to the city. Thankfully, it is not that far to reach the tavern. Rose hugged me tightly and began rubbing her face on my back. What is she even doing?
After some time, we made it back to the tavern. Danny stood up immediately upon seeing that I'd returned. I sat Rose on one of the tables as I planned to rub her swollen foot. Darcy came over with a towel and a bucket of hot water in her hands. She seemed to be well prepared.
"So— you did it, kid?" asked Danny.
"Sure did. Here is the horn that belonged to that murderous daarette. I believe you can recognise this bloody horn?" I showed him.
"Aye, yes indeed. You really did it, youngster. You really did it," said Danny as he placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Right— who shall I hand this quest letter to? I need it signed," I asked Danny. It is usually the leader or mayor who signs the letter, but is there even a mayor here?
"I'll sign it. I was the one who raised the request in the first place," said Danny as he took the letter. Oh, so he was the one who raised it? Why didn't he say so?
He handed the letter back to me, and everything seems to check out. I thought we could head back home today, but I decided to stay the night due to Rose's swollen foot. Food was on the house, which made me feel bad. It snows all year round, so hunting food in general must rather be difficult here. But Darcy insisted that we eat for free as her way of showing thanks.
After our meal, I carried Rose upstairs to our room. I inspected Rose's feet once more and noticed that they were subsiding now. We should be able to return to the City Of Pines tomorrow, hopefully.
"Onii-chan—can I join a guild?" she asked me once again.
"Any particular reason as to why you want to join one?" I asked her. What made her read that book in the first place?
"I want to help you. If I didn't join a guild, I won't be able to fight by your side," she explained.
"Helping me with house chores and cooking is also a way of supporting me. You don't necessarily need to be on the battlefield with me, Rose," I explained my reasoning.
"But I want to repay you more than that. What if you don't return from a quest one day? I will be left alone again and might be sent to another horrible caretaker. I don't want to experience that again," she started tearing up.
Ah, I finally understood what she meant. She needed to make sure that I am able to come home. She would rather have the both of us return home or die together trying. Death was less important to her than feeling alone again. I won't say that I understand her feelings, but I understood her intention. I gave her a hug and petted her head.
"Alright, you can join a guild. However, before you turn 11, I need to make sure that you are fit enough to join a guild. Otherwise, you'll be staying at home. Deal?" I asked her.
"Deal! I'll show you that I am capable of joining a guild!" She made a bright smile.
"You seemed to have a guild in mind? Which one are you looking at?" I asked her.
"I do. I would like to join the Light guild," she said.
Just as I suspected. The only guild that provides spell buffs to the other guild members. That was probably what she was looking for in the book that she was reading.
We returned to City Of Pines the following day. Danny brought us back to the city, to which we gave our thanks and farewell. Rose gave Danny a hug, which surprised both of us. Danny petted Rose at first, then he started tearing up and hugged her tighter. Way to go, Rose. You somehow melted his frozen heart. I do not know what Danny had experienced in his life, but I am glad that Rose had given him a hug.
We waved Danny farewell as he took his carriage out of the city. We proceeded to walk back to the Dark guild afterward. Rose turned to look at me and gave me a peace sign. This cheeky brat, she must have overheard the conversation between me and Danny.
There will come another day where I will start training Rose for her guild initiation. And the beginning of my nightmare to increase my skill stats.