Expedition

After having a nice meal in the inn, I returned to my room to plan for tomorrow. I hadn't seen many monsters and hadn't got much information on what I should expect deeper in the forest, but I think that it won't be too dangerous unless I'm forced into a fight with the manticore or a large group of elemental wolves. 'I really want to investigate Blacksummit mountain as soon as possible' I thought. The sooner I get my hands on a weapon artifact, the better. 'Thinking about the distance from here to the mountain, it will take around a day to reach there, so I need to pack for a few days. Luckily, my spacial bracelet can carry anything I want, so I just need to find what I want to take with me.'

• • •

I left the town at sunrise, walking the same direction I went yesterday. After searching for a bit, I found the stream I killed the rock deer at yesterday. I decided to follow it downstream because was in the same direction as Blacksummit, and I can follow it back to easily find my way back to town. Keeping my wits about me, I journeyed deeper into the forest.

By midday, I had traveled deep enough that the forest changed. The trees grew closer together, their combined canopies covering every inch of the sky. The darkness felt opressive. The trees were also noticeably older, reaching higher into the air. However, the extra space did not make me feel less cautious, instead it gave me the feeling of being trapped in a well-maintained prison; relatively nice to stay in, but impossible to escape. Listening to the quite murmers of the stream to calm me down, I looked for any signs that could lead me to my prey. After a few more minutes of walking, I finally saw something promising. I wasn't particularly adept at recognizing the marks left behind by animals, but even I could recognize the deep groves on the tree in front of me as something left behind by a strong monster. Comparing the marks with the request I got from the adventurer's guild, I identified the mark as something left behind by a manticore. 'Finally, a sign! I was getting worried I had come to the wrong forest!' raising my awareness even more, I continued walking while making sure that I wasn't being hunted by anything too strong for me to defeat.

Dissapointingly, or maybe luckily, I did not find any more traces of a manticore, however I did find a scattering of paw prints by the stream I was following, as well some faeces. 'If I trained as a hunter, I might find this something other than disgusting' I thought, frowning at the smell before moving slightly away. Taking note of the direction of the prints, I found a nicely shaped tree and climbed up. As I had been high-strung and had my awareness raised to the max, I was quite mentally exhausted, and I was hungry. Staying up a tree was safer than being on the ground, and it was easy to do, so it was perfect for my current predicament. Lodging myself firmly in the tough branches of the tree I am in, I retrieve a sandwich from my bracelet. Taking a bite, I was extremely surprised with the flavour. I had gotten these from the inn, apparently made with a family recipe and their 'secret sauce'. I was a bit dubious when I first heard it, but this is really tasty. Distracted as I was by the flavour, I didn't notice the normal ambient noises of the forest fading, or the danger that was rapidly approaching me.