A Story of Evil

Chapter 153: Crystal Hunting VI

The descent came quicker than anticipated. Almost to the point that it almost felt like a crash. That is, until Sol finally applied his powers, significantly speeding down the group which continued in its descent.

Everyone focused on their roles. Keeping a sharp eye in case a group of monsters come out. However, nothing of the sort ever came and soon enough they found themselves finally going down the trees. Passing through the branches and leaves until they finally reached solid ground once again.

"Is everyone safe?" Sol asked.

The whole area was devoid of any light. The shine of moonlight couldn't pass through the thick amount of leaves, making it impossible to see.

"We can't really confirm that until we get some light right?" Cain said, bringing out the two lamps which the group had on them.

These works using fire crystals which are placed inside the item. Allowing a controlled amount of light to come through - depending on what the holder wishes. And at that time, the flames were dim. Enough to see but, not enough to raise any alarm on nearby creatures.

There was just enough light for them to make out the surroundings. The branches of the trees swayed slowly and, strange noises were being made by the inhabitants of the said area. With constant movement on the ground and seeming snickers adding up to the sounds which they heard.

Some shadows were finally provided and, this didn't help in calming down the group at all. There were shapes and forms that these formed, playing with the minds of Nathan, Hendrickson and, Alice. Unlike the boys however, Alice was only in a state near fright because her senses were sharper than any normal human's.

Sol knew this would happen. That is why he stood beside the girl and held her hand. With the dim light unable to reach their hands touching. Sol continued pressing on Alice's palm making the girl calm down just a bit.

"We'll be setting up camp here. Unlike before, I think we'll have an abundance of monsters so we should be more careful with our movements.

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Meaning we won't be cooking dinner. Let's just go with the military crackers and some water. And no, this is not open for negotiation."

Sol has a bad memory with food being used wrongly. After all, this was the reason why Peter died. Because somebody couldn't respect his rules as the leader of the group. But Shard was different. Even Hendrickson who always voiced out complaints knew that Sol would always want the best for them.

"Do we set up camp here or do we go further?"

"I think that's enough for the night. We can continue searching in the morning. Stick close to your direwolves so you could at least sleep soundly. I'm gonna set up the [Shadow Crystal] so nobody could see us."

"Roger that." Was everyone's response as they finally took a well deserved rest.

The one in charge of guard duties that time was Nathan. Admittedly, even he was tired. But this didn't compare to everyone else's especially Alice, Jade, and Solomon. Hence he had no actual reason to complains he wasn't even the one preparing their meals. But this didn't mean that his senses weren't duller. Because they were.

Nathan's drowsiness slowly consumed him. His eyes fighting for dominance over the eyelids that were forcing it shut. While in this struggle, he saw shadows moving around. In a fast pace as small fireflies followed this movement.

Nathan couldn't make out much of it and, his mind believed that the things he saw were images brought by his current state. There was no resistance on his part to slumber as the images also vanished. Leaving Nathan with nothing else to do but to surrender to what his body wished the world blacking out as he finally fell asleep.

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"Are you serious? We're gonna leave the wolves here?"

"Of course I'm serious. With the situation, we can't hope to bring them along. That's why somebody has to remain here and guard them."

The following day, there was already an argument happening. This came right after breakfast, with Sol announcing what they needed to do.

Due to the fact that they were already in the forest, he explained that there was no need for the wolves. And there are various reasons for this.

The first is due to their size and the noise they could make when moving. Direwolves are large creature sand if monsters see this coming, then they could potentially set up both traps and ambush. Not to mention every step these creatures make could create giant tracks footprints which intelligent monsters could follow.

Then there was the fact that, they were already inside their goal. A chaos forest which has an abundant supply of monsters. Thus there was no need for long distance travel anymore which, was the purpose of the wolves.

But that didn't mean they would abandon the creatures. That is what lead to the current moment. Where the group was deciding who to leave behind.

"What we have in abundance is basically spellcasters. There are three fire users with us and, I count as a spellcaster too since I use long range magic."

"So we're trimming out a fire mage?"

"Not necessarily. We also have an abundance of melee fighters because, Jade and I also use short range weapons. Basically we have two fighters who only focus on melee and, two who only focus on long ranged attacks. Meanwhile Jade and I are hybrids while Cain is more of a utility unit."

Sol spoke like they were pieces in a chess game. He thought of the balance that they needed to maintain and, how to avoid a deficit when taking someone out of the line-up.

"What about we just use rock-paper-scissors?" Hendrickson suggested.

"That must be the dumbest suggestion I've heard." Cain voiced out.

"What did you say?"

"Okay that's enough from both of you." Sol said, not wanting any argument so early in the morning.

"Cain's right, we can't just randomize something like this. I don't want us to be placed on a situation where we can't win all because we used lady luck to pick who hunts and who stays. That's why I think it's you who should be left." Sol said pointing his finger to none other than Cinder.

"Her skills focus more on supporting Jade's flames. We have Nathan who could also do that job and, Nathan is also capable of attacking." Sol said these things not to hurt Cinder but to mention them as matters of fact. Things that were undeniably true.

The female flame user didn't take this negatively. She was mature enough to understand the rationale behind this. A convenient perk that came along with the choice.

"Before we actually go. We need to check every side of this area so we'd be splitting up in pairs. Cinder will remain here and prepare the food for us."

With the direwolves protecting her, everyone was sure of Cinder's safety. The [Shadow Core] also gave her an extra layer of defense as, nobody could actually see her when inside its protection. Plus, in the event that an overpowered monster does come, she could just escape with one of the direwolves.

Sol followed this up by providing each group with a tracker. Saying that, in the event that a group gets themselves in a tight spot, the others would know where to find them. The tracker also serves as a marker. With Sol instructing them to leave the device on the location where the monster nest is.

"We'll be equally dividing those that can attack in melee and in long range. Alice will go with Nathan. Jade is with Hendrickson. And then there would be me and Cain."

"How far do we need to go?" Jade asked.

"You need to maximize your time. But make sure to return before sundown." Was Sol's brief response.

With this everything was set. No further questions were asked by any member of the group. They each brought food, water and, healing crystals for good measure. Each member also wore a camouflage cloak to conceal them even more. 

Nathan actually wanted to bring up his dream last night but, he decided to omit mentioning it. Knowing that he may get punishment for sleeping on the job.

"Don't do anything stupid and come back here in one piece. That's an order." Sol said.

"You're making it sound like we'll die on the job." Hendrickson joked.

"You won't. I'm just reminding you to avoid any risk."

"Yes leader!" They all said; glad that they had Sol as their leader as they finally headed out.