Jack was a simple man. He realized the seriousness of the situation from the chief's tense expression. Then he clutched his axe while gazing at the mangrove forest.
Like that, they stood for almost a minute.
Still, they did not detect any other movement. Even the ripples on the water merged with the chaotic ripples the raindrops created, disappearing entirely.
But that was not a good sign.
Zephyr and his group knew the hidden being was observing them from far away. While the fog and rain hampered their vision, that thing could still see them somehow.
Realizing they were on guard, it hid.
'Damn it.'
Zephyr cursed in his mind.
He shouldn't have come on this damned expedition. Or else, he wouldn't have encountered danger.
'I knew it was going to end this way.'
Complaining in his mind, he walked closer to the fishermen.
"Everyone, stand together. If you see something move, speak up. I'm going to cast the search spell once more."
Zephyr had a nagging feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Before that, he wished to confirm something.
Clutching the fishing pole, Zephyr took out another runic paper.
Without wasting a single second, he forced his mana into it.
Fortunately, he thought something like this would happen and was constantly gathering mana. At the same time, he had a clump of mana cloud stored in his mindscape that he gathered before they set off.
Because of his absolute mana control, he could stabilize it while they moved, without storing it in his core.
Thus, he barely had enough mana to cast the search spell once more.
With that thought, Zephyr channeled mana into the runic paper, making it exude a pale glow.
Thereafter, as usual, the spell activated and shot up to the sky.
"Rang…"
The first ringing sound expanded outwards from above their head.
However, contrary to what happened a few minutes ago, the second ringing sound came immediately after the first one, making it almost indistinguishable.
"Rang…"
Hearing it come from the mangrove forest, Zephyr's face darkened.
The search spell was a wind-type spell that used sound to point to the direction of the person the caster was searching for. The closer the person was, the faster they would hear the second ring.
From the looks of it, whoever they were searching for was inside the mangrove forest, just a few dozen meters away from them.
'This…' Zephyr felt a chill travel down his spine.
'Sound travels at 340-ish meters per second. It can vary depending on pressure and temperature. Nonetheless, it would be close.'
'Considering the fact that sound is an integral part of the spell, it must mean that…'
As Zephyr was immersed in his thoughts, he heard the sound of something falling into the water.
"Plop…"
Despite the rain, a sound cut through the downpour, snatching Zephyr from his reverie as his senses caught it.
"Everyone, lift your weapon up." He shouted.
While the fishermen struggled to understand what was happening, Zephyr already realised the problem he was about to face.
"The thing you are about to see is not your friend."
He added, lifting the fishing pole up like a weapon.
As he thought, there was something seriously wrong with the person that went missing.
Hearing his shout, the fishermen panicked. They lifted their weapon and gazed at the mangroves.
A sound reached them, something moving quickly through the mangroves, its footsteps splashing in the water.
Whatever it was…whoever it was picked up speed as they dashed forward.
"BOOOM! Crack!"
Suddenly, lightning sparked above, lighting up the world. Even the fog was lit up.
Through it, they saw the ghastly shadow of a person dashing at them.
"JACK."
The chief screamed.
Hearing it, Jack jumped forward and stood in front of the group.
The panicking Zephyr took a step back.
As the elusive figure closed in, it became apparent that it was human.
Although Jack jumped forward, he was expecting a boar or a beast to rush out.
Seeing that it was a human, Jack hesitated.
Then he saw the pale, expressionless face of the person dashing towards them.
His hesitation immediately turned into shock.
The very person they had been searching for, the missing fisherman, emerged from the fog.
"Will?"
Jack asked in disbelief.
Will looked pale and sick. And yet, he was running quickly towards them.
'Damn it.'
Sensing the hesitation in Jack's eyes, Zephyr cursed.
He didn't have the luxury to warn about anything else. The person would reach them in a second or two.
This was bad.
The moment Zephyr saw the person, he knew what he was dealing with.
He silently cursed in his mind and took a step forward.
Though he initially stepped back, he knew he had no choice but to take action.
Even if it was just a second, he needed to buy time. He decided in a split second and stood next to Jack.
Jack was gazing forward in a daze.
Zephyr wanted to smack some sense into the burly man.
But before that.
Lifting the fishing pole made out of bamboo, he followed the running person with his eyes.
Will, as they called it, was moving fast.
Like an arrow.
Its target was Jack, the largest in the group.
As it got closer, Zephyr could see the bloodshot eyes and long gash across chest. Dark blood clots were covering the cheap clothes, which were torn from the shoulder to the belly.
"Grrrr."
With a low guttural roar of a beast, the man leaped forward.
Zephyr had seen similar enemies a thousand times in the game. He believed in his instinct and stepped forward, predicting what it would do exactly, and swung the fishing pole.
"SWISSHHH"
Making a swooshing noise, the pole split the air, striking right on the person's chin.
"Tak."
The bamboo cracked loudly.
"It's not your friend. It's A DAMNED GHOUL." At the same time, Zephyr shouted, startling the men around him.
His voice, full of force and conviction, startled awake the fishermen who were standing motionless.
At the same time, the ghoul, which was struck right on its chin, staggered.
It stumbled and took a step back.
"IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE, KILL IT BEFORE IT KILLS US," Zephyr shouted again with everything he had.
The strike he performed earlier relied entirely on his instinct and quick reaction time. But it was not enough to injure the ghoul.
After all, he was a weak man, a fake mage, someone who had no idea about real combat.
Though he staggered the ghoul, he had no chance of winning.
He needed help.
And that was exactly why he stepped forward to save Jack.
Jack was his best hope of survival.
Compared to the old chief and scrawny fishermen, he was strong. So, the only one among the group who could kill the ghoul was him.
It was apparent that if Jack dies or gets injured, Zephyr won't be able to survive. He was sure of that.
Hearing Zephyr shout for help, Jack swung his axe forward.
But the ghoul was faster.
It pushed its legs on the ground, bent down, and leaped back, avoiding the sharp blade of the axe.