To Spread Panic?

After setting up the tents and having soup as dinner, everyone went to their own spots to rest for the night. Although Akt did not do much for the day except run and carry around the others' luggage, the overuse of his Ability when he dodged the Green Bull did take a lot out of his stamina. Fortunately, Dalt volunteered to take the night's watch for half of the night.

Inside the tent, Akt lay motionlessly as he thought about all sorts of things. Like how this world had so much to offer. In this place, things that he deemed impossible and things that could only be found in fictional novels existed. It was like a treasure trove for people who wanted nothing more than to escape reality. However, this world was much more dangerous compared to the relatively peaceful Earth who only had to deal with the existence of superhumans.

While he assumed that he would not encounter anything related to demons and stuff far away from his power level after this mission, this incident just went to show how dangerous things could come so easily in this world. He just went for a mission and already encountered something like this.

Akt thought that he needed to get stronger faster. Who knows how he might die without knowing what killed him if he did not seek to be strong enough to, at least, hold his own against adversity. He would have been dead or covered in injuries if he had not noticed the Green Bull earlier. Hearing about the story Kark told him this dinner, he realized that there were far too many entities in this world that were so much stronger than him compared back on Earth, and he did not feel comfortable with that fact. He could not put himself in danger and die a dog's death without ever meeting Vera once again.

On that point, Akt was confident that he could rely on his swordsmanship. When he observed the others in their battle earlier, he noticed that while their strikes seemed more powerful than his, his techniques and mastery of the weapon were significantly better in comparison. Although he did not expect much from them, he was relieved to see that his swordsmanship was leagues above them assuming that they were on average level. However, he still had to learn how to incorporate the usage of mana in his swordplay if he want his techniques to shine through.

"Are you not asleep yet?" Said a voice beside Akt.

It was Shadow.

"Not yet. Although I'm tired, I still can't fall asleep."

"You better get into it then. I expect tomorrow to be quite dangerous." Shadow reminded.

Akt turned around and faced the black-clothed man. He asked curiously, "Senior, why did you all take this mission when you realized that the reward was kind of sketchy?"

"To be honest, we're all quite confident about it, so we took it. But it is also true that we need the reward money."

"Why?"

Shadow paused for a moment, staring at the tent's ceiling. "Well, the truth is we actually have a fifth member staying back in the city. She was injured quite badly on our last mission, and we need a lot of money if we wanted to heal her without leaving any side effects on her cultivation."

Akt raised his eyebrows imperceptibly. He did not expect Shadow to tell him so much since he assumed that the black-clothed man did not like to talk. Still, it was better than awkward silence.

"So, kid. A note from your senior is don't ever get injured as an adventurer. Compared to those cultivators raised in martial sects or organizations, adventurers don't have anyone but themselves to rely on. You're definitely screwed if you got seriously injured with no money at hand."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Akt nodded in appreciation.

What Shadow spoke of was the truth. Whether it was in this world or back on Earth, one would not survive alone without money. More so in a world where the power dynamics revolved around cultivation. Those blessed with resources could cultivate without any worries while those without could only suffer and scrape through.

Both did not speak as they basked in silence. Soon, Akt finally fell asleep.

--

It was late at night when the flaps of the tent spread open. The light from the campfire seeped through the gaps and lit the inside. Accompanying the illumination brought by the flames was the sound of a battle echoing in the surroundings.

Akt was a light sleeper, and it did not take much to wake him up.

"What's going on..." He muttered as he scratched his eyes.

"Hurry and wake up, kid. We're under attack!" Shadow urged him as he tied the straps of his dagger's scabbards on his waist.

"Who's attacking us?"

"Beasts. Dalt and the others are currently holding them back."

Akt hurriedly took his sword and stood up. He followed Shadow outside the tent and asked, "What about the tents and the other stuff?"

"Leave them behind," Shadow said and handed him a sack the next second. "Carry this for us instead. It's the loot from the Green Bulls. We can just replace the tents and the other necessities when we sell these. I think we'll need to run any second now. This much noise would definitely attract the other beasts."

Akt nodded and looked at the battle ensuing in the camp. Dalt and the others were dealing with five to six quick-footed beasts. He recognized that these beasts looked just like the Low Knight-class wolf beasts he had hunted for cores. It was quite strange seeing these now considering that they had to face Baron-classes on the way here.

'Why are they struggling with Knight-classes so much?'

He thought that Dalt and the others were acting silly. However, upon closer look, Akt was able to spot madness in the wolves' eyes as they attacked relentlessly. A black fog-like substance came out of their bodies and drifted as they moved around.

"Although this is the first time we encountered something like these, I think these wolves are demonized," Shadow said as if knowing what Akt was thinking about. "Or else, how could mere Knight-class beasts give Dalt and the others a hard time."

That was certainly true. In their normal state, even Akt could handle them with ease. Although they always came in groups, Akt would be able to do something and separate them from each other by using [Analyze] beforehand. Then, he could pick them off one by one until none of them remained. However, with these wolves strengthened with demonic energy, that would no longer be possible. He could only run if he was alone.

'To think that demonization could strengthen one so much...'

"Fuck!" Kark voice sounded. "There are more coming!"

"There too!" Alia yelled as she pointed somewhere in the forest.

Dalt's face darkened significantly after hearing that. He slammed his shield on a wolf beast he had been dealing with and stabbed it with his sword before turning around,

"We can't handle anymore. Run! Fucking run!"

--

A hooded figure stood on a tree a few meters away from the camp, just far enough for the group to not notice his presence. Seeing the battle unfolding below, his expression contorted into a slight frown; disdain was clear in his eyes.

He clicked his tongue and murmured, "Should I just kill them? There are just too many of these adventurers these past few days."

It was like this because the Adventurer's Guild had been distributing missions to investigate the forest with enticing rewards. It would have been weird if no party bit and took the job considering the pay the Guild was giving,

Moments later, another figure garbed in a black robe appeared.

"You can't do that. At least, not all of them. You remember our purpose, right?."

"Of course. To spread panic, isn't it? But will this really work?"

"I'm sure it will," The man in a black robe giggled as he answered. "The Guild already made a mistake by sending numerous low-ranking adventurers instead of sending higher-ranking ones for a more covert operation. With so many people that came here, it would be hard for them to contain information especially if it's about the 'demons'.

The hooded man could only nod. He still did not understand why they should do it this way. It would have been more impactful if they had done something like this inside the city instead.

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking something along the lines of 'why not do in the city?', aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. Isn't it more effective that way?"

"This is why I was put in charge here instead of you," The man in the black robe sighed. He saw his companion glare at him, but he did not care.

Unperturbed, he continued his explanation, "It's not like we can't do it in the city. But with so many experts stationed inside, do you really think we'll be able to do something without alerting anyone? They would get to us before we even get to light something on fire. A city as prosperous as this one would definitely have countermeasures with terrorism and cultivators going on a rampage. We would have to spend a lot more resources to do something meaningful in that kind of situation. And as you already know, we are quite short on that."

The hooded man fell silent. He realized that what the man in the black robe said truly made sense no matter how much he did not like him. He fell into deep thought before responding.

"Alright, I'll let you take the lead this time. I'll prepare our things so we can move anytime. Once the news spreads, I'm sure the stronger cultivators would be coming for us."

"So, you guessed that, huh. You're not so stupid after all. Then, I'll be going."

After saying that, the man in the black robe disappeared. The hooded figure could only stare at where his companion disappeared before sighing.

"Hah. I don't really understand what the higher-ups are up to..."