“W-Who are you?!” The Adventurer asked me with an expression of both awe and fear.

I smiled as I locked eyes with him. Just like a hero who saves one in need, like a miracle awaited by those who are desperate, I made my introduction.

“My name… Is Rio”

[Moments Before]

We rode on the carriage as usual, moving steadily along the clear path since we left Artia two days ago.

The time it takes to travel between Artia and Lamar is approximately 5 days, 3 days if we cut off certain rest periods. With less than one day to go, it’s safe to assume that we are very close to our destination.

For some time now Talia and Ana have stopped arguing. I suppose traveling together for such a lenght of time is enough to tire anyone out. Shamac is currently asleep, the day is not the best atmosphere for a Shadowshifter. 

I don’t feel exhaustion, so the journey isn’t too ardous for me. But for the rest of them, since we’ve been traveling for two days straight, require rest… Especially the coachman. He’s the only regular human among us after all.

Other than the little meal breaks we took on the road, and the horses resting up, we’ve been going straight for Lamar.

It looks like he has reached his limits. Even for one well known to be the best coachman in Artia, he isn’t immune to exhaustion. He is only human after all.

“Why don’t we take a short break” I said to them.

Their face brightened up when I said this. We quickly set up camp, however since we weren’t going to take very long, we didn’t set up much. The horses were left to eat from the shrubs in the forest, while we sat on the makeshifts seats that were prepared.

“We’ll soon arrive at the city within… Five hours… No, maybe four.” The coachman told me.

I smiled. Even from where I sat I could feel the distance from where we stayed and the city.

“Just a little while longer…” I muttered to myself.

Suddenly my heightened perception picked up something in the forest. It was a deeper region, further down in the thick woods. I concentrated my sight and fixated my senses on the inner recesses of the massive forest deep within where I picked up the strange signal.

I smiled as I saw the cause of the sensation triggered by my senses. It looks like things are going to start getting interesting from even before we enter the city. Because the the ones in my sights now are… Adventurers. And from the looks of it, they seem to be in quite the predicament.

“That is…” I muttered to myself, noticing the beast that gave them such trouble.

A Minataur?

It looks slightly different from how I remember them to be, it must be due to evolution during the 3,000 years I’ve been away. The monster is also welding a weapon, that’s new.

I’m surprised though. To think that a Minataur is giving five adventurers a hard time… How disappointing. If this drags on, perhaps only one or two will survive before that Minataur finally dies.

“But even then…” I smiled to myself.

These adventurers don’t seem to know, but even further down the forest are five more Minataurs. They are currently asleep, but should the commotion continue and they generate enough noise, the others will awaken. If that happens, then they stand no chance at all.

This is perfect. I Initially wanted to start my plans from within the city, but this works fine too. Let’s observe them more closely.

“Mr Coachman, I’ll be taking a little walk while the rest of you rest. It’ll be nice to take a look around.” I said, rising from my seat.

“O-Oh? But but where do you intend to go? We’re surrounded by forests and there are only side areas like these used for camping, but there’s nothing spectacular about them.” The coachman responded quickly, surprised by my sudden decision.

“It’s none of your concern. I’ll be back soon. I’d focus more on resting up if I were you” I replied.

“B-But sir… That place you’re heading… It’s called the Monster Forest. It’s notorious for breeding a wide variety of monsters. No one dares to venture anywhere deep into the wild.” The coachman protested.

I turned back and glared at him. Immediately, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine as beads of sweat formed on his face. He gulped and kept his mouth shut instantly.

Looks like gets the message. I glanced over to Talia, Ana and Shamac. They all looked at me expectantly, but didn’t utter a single word.

“You should also remain here. I won’t be long” I said to them.

“O-Okay…” Talia’s voice trailed.

I walked to the direction of the mayhem and left my companions behind. After I had gotten deep enough deep forest, I used Hex to Warp to a closer distance, viewing the scene with a much clearer view.

The Adventurers look frantic, I can tell. Their breathing pattern and expressions show that they aren’t prepared for this sort of opponent.

“Tch, the quest didn’t mention anything about an adult Minataur. Those bastards!” One of them said with clenched teeth.

“There’s no use complaining about it now. We have to beat this thing in order to survive. Or else…” Another one replied.

A party of 5 adventurers, yet they can’t beat a single Minataur. I don’t know what to say. It’s either they are low class adventurers or my standards are just too high for this current world.

“Let’s do this everyone!” The man who appears to be their leader spoke up.

He drew his greatsword and pointed it at the Minataur.

He has a fierce and strangely desperate look in his eyes, something you don’t see very often. Most likely, he has a personal reason for fighting… Perhaps someone to protect? How absurd.

“Oraaaaa!!!!” He cried.

The entire team scattered, each taking their positions around the enemy. They all readied themselves to strike.

The leader charged at the forefront, drawing the monster’s attention to himself. The remaining four, stayed outside the monster’s line of direct sight and prepared to support their leader.

I smiled as I watched from my distance.

“Let’s see how this goes.”