Encounter

''Become stronger''.

Those are the words stuck in his mind. Why should he suddenly work out and learn how to handle real combat? Is it because of the danger that lures outside of populated areas? Or is there any other reasoning behind it?

Perhaps it was something this man couldn't think of.

Wandering alongside a river both of them seemed to be in their head.

Verzo's thoughts remained unknown though and Eguru still was trying to figure out the real meaning behind the system announcement. 'I have 120 days to improve upon myself. But how do I know I've reached the ''expectations''? It doesn't show any kind of progress bar nor has it given me any other signs.'

He let out a disappointed sigh. Not finding an answer he just decided to start working out everyday.

The landscape they were passing by was beatiful. A mix and match of long and thick, short and thin, long and thin and short but thick trees was spread all around the grass. On the other side of the river was a field full of flowers. Pink, yellow and red. Those colors filled his view.

A random thought came to his mind. "Does it ever rain here?" Eguru suddenly asked Verzo who probably didn't even pay attention.

"Nah, not really. Rain only falls over Raiherd in winter but that's not a problem at all. Every single living thing here has adjusted to that. We do have a lot of thunderstorms though. Depending on how the weather feels like the next one could be today or in a week. You never know honestly", he explained while still looking at something else.

"Ahh, thanks. What are you thinking about by the way?"

Verzo faced the young man and had a rather serious look on his face. "We'll encounter a ''fanged duodecim'' soon. A twelve fanged. They're from the other side and extremely dangerous. Honestly I'd like to avoid fighting one of them as it is risky as hell but from the looks of it we can't pass by so easily."

Eguru didn't say a word so Verzo continued.

"If we have to fight it - let me handle it. Depending on how tough it is I could take it out easily. But pay attention to what it does."

"What do you mean? Do you think it'll randomly start attacking me?"

"Yes. Its name is twelve fanged. This beast can easily shred apart multiple targets at once and its speed compares to mine. You'll have to be extremely alert all the time."

"I see. If I don't do so I'll die, right?" - "Yes."

The young man thought about it for a moment. How could he help in beating it? Only having 120 days to fulfill the requirements he was given is rough. Defeating a beast that even Verzo would have to fight seriously against? Not an option for him right now. But still - what could he possibly do to help?

"Yo, how did you know there is a twelve fanged near by though? I can't notice anything strange in the distance."

Verzo breathed in deeply. "Through scent. Twelve fanged usually smell like saltwater." Eguru was confused. 'Saltwater has a smell to it?!'

Looking at the other man dumb founded Verzo had to explain it to him. "Just breath in deeply. Focus on your nose and pick up every scent there is. Eventually you'll notice a weird smell being in the air."

He tried it. Multiple times actually, but he still didn't manage to pick up any kind of smell. "I give up. Does everyone in Raiherd have such a good nose?"

"Not really. You actually have to practise it for months or years. Refining your nose isn't that easy. Especially if you're an adult. I only wanted to see if you could actually pull it off magically."

Both of them chuckled. "Fuck off dude."

An hour later they were no longer walking next to a river but instead they came closer to the twelve fanged. Eguru expected to face it earlier but that wasn't the case. It was about 1pm now and they decided to eat something before continuing.

"Wait you've brought food?" It was surprising. "Yeah, Lia gave it to me like yesterday when I met up with her. Didn't she tell you?"

Verzo gave him something wrapped up in foil. "No she didn't, won't complain though."

She made sandwiches for both of them! Afterwards they continued their trip to Akuta.

"Pssht!", Verzo held his hand right in front of Eguru gesturing him to stand still. They were entering a forest. As the trees were thick it gradually got darker the deeper it went. But since they were still at the beginning light wasn't a problem. "Is it her-"

Rumbling. In just a matter of a second something happened neither of them were prepared for. "Shit, I forgot to tell you about this!" Verzo yelled but it was too late.

Both of them went unconscious for a moment when their brain eventually started working again. "Where the fuck are we???" Eguru inspected his surroundings. "The twelve fanged also has its own realm. It's a kind of nightmare - its territory. Also called the ''fanged domain''."

The two of them still were in the forest however! "Being in its domain we aren't able to see color and all our other senses are surpressed too, which is why it seems to be so dark in here. Also, we can't escape."

Concern was written all over Verzo's body. He took out his daggers and went into combat stance. Eguru knew he couldn't fight with him at this point so he made sure to focus his eyes on catching the beast.