The Great Woods Encampment.

The great woods encampment had almost become a town of its own, with several adventures opening up temporary shops that sold everything from wet stones to pajamas. The newest addition was an ice cream shop… One more thing I couldn't afford…

It may have been in the middle of a monster-infested forest, but it certainly didn't feel like it at times. Everything still held true to the gloomy forest encampment aesthetic of wooden stakes and tents. But with the relative safety and smiling faces, you could almost forget how dreary it was.

A long sigh slowly turned to fog in the air just past my lips. 'I have two jobs, take out 6 Wargs, and bring back 13 Serd lilies. Killing the spiders isn't a quest, but if they have an extermination order out on them I'll get good money from doing that too.'

I pulled out my dagger, inspecting the blade to make sure it was sharp enough to cut through a warg's hide. 'On second thought I should probably avoid the spiders. They have acid spit and a killer sting, not to mention even touching their webs will shoot you up with venom…' I took a deep breath, looking up to the sky with a loud groan. "This whole area is seriously trash..."

One of the nearby adventurers scoffed, overhearing my words and walking past. He was headed outside the camp alone, but I couldn't tell if he was like me, an outcast, or if he was someone who was good enough he didn't need a party and just didn't want to split the reward.

I heard a groan coming from behind me, followed by a deep sigh. "You got that right man." A large man firmly rested his hand on my shoulder. "Complete trash, rubbish. The guilds don't even care enough to keep out the nasty critters." I turned over my shoulder and traced him with my eyes as he staggered to my side in a drunk stupor. 

He wasn't wrong. It may have been called the Great Woods officially, but the lower-ranked adventurers had another name for it… "Cursed Graveyard…" He spat on the ground, "You hear? A few minutes ago the whole area increased in threat level after the giant spider infestation became officially recognized, now they're saying minotaurs are migrating in this direction. Even before that somehow a rank B monster got in the lake and started scaring away the Wargs, ruining any chance of getting the lotuses or fish… Seriously trash…"

I felt my soul slowly start to sink with each word he said. "No one… told me about any of that before I came here…"

He laughed, slapping me on the back. "Chin up, if we don't die out here we'll probably become legends."

'An infestation… And minitours? As in… More than one?' "Are you serious? I know it's always rough after the snow melts and during the winter, but has it ever been this bad?" 'Should I just turn around? But… I can't, the guild only gives free teleportation to those going to a quest area or returning after quest completion… I'm still broke.'

He cackled, "Maybe 8 years ago or so. Not sure because I wasn't there, but that was a bad winter."

"Oh… Yeah…" I knew all too well what he meant. In the woods, the bloodiest and most dangerous year for hunting was 8 years ago. It was just before my 9th birthday. my parents died that winter. It made it easy to forget the tragedy that followed in the spring.

The man's expression changed and he took out a small flask. "You too huh…" He said, taking a swig before offering some to me as well.

By the smell alone I could tell what it was. 'Fermented mistroot… A mana recovery enhancer.' Of course, it was rarely drunk for that purpose. In the end, it was still alcohol. I couldn't honestly say which reason I took him up on it, but regardless having extra mana, no matter how little, was a good thing. 'I mean, if he's offering…' "One for the money…" I muttered, toasting. It tasted like fire and burned the whole way down.

"Two for the sorrow." He said alongside me nudging me to take a second gulp.

"Three to get ready." I coughed before taking a third swig.

He tipped the flask back for me to make sure I finished it. "four for tomorrow."

I coughed again as my throat burned and my eyes watered. I grabbed my knees trying to catch my breath.

"Come on kid. You still got one more."

I let out a long groan. "And five for the nerves." My body almost wouldn't let me take the last swig, but I stomached it, my whole face contorting as I started to gag. 'Good thing I ate something, or that seriously would have killed me… No wonder Mom stayed away from it. I can't imagine anyone doing a full toast with that stuff.'

He just laughed, patting me on the back. "Adda boy. You make it back and we'll have a real toast."

A chill went through my body as I groaned again. A real toast meant ten shots… Even if he was buying, I wouldn't make it past seven. Five was already probably too many, after all, "Four for tomorrow" Meant I would be feeling the potion's effects for over 24 hours… "You're making dying sound tempting." I chuckled, wiping my mouth.

He gave a soft chuckle of his own, downing the rest of the flask. In one breath he took five gulps to finish the toast. "Good luck on the hunt kid." He said, patting me on the shoulder one more time before staggering over to the gate. "UNTO DEATH!" He cheered, raising his fist.

'Is this what adventurers are now?' I rubbed my face with enough pressure to take a layer of skin off as I took another deep breath, feeling the cold air chase the burn in my throat. Opening and closing my hands I started to test how my body was feeling, about to head out myself. 'Unto death…'

A group of men came running up from behind me, yelling as their heavy footsteps pounded into the mud and armor clanked together. "Taggart, wait up!" Ugh… He didn't try to pick a fight with you did he?" A short man said through his plate mask before realizing he was getting left behind by the others and letting out an annoyed groan. "Agh, Sorry for bothering you, sir!" He yelled back, as he continued to chase after his party.

'He was even shorter than I was, was he a dwarf? And… Sir again… I don't mind people thinking I'm a guy, it's kind of a compliment in some ways… But now thanks to Guner I'm feeling self continuous about it…' I let out an annoyed groan of my own. 'That's the last thing I should be worrying about right now.'

Men were more respected by most people anyway. They were stronger, had more stamina, and were more resilient to poison. All that really meant was that they were more useful in a fight. I would be lying if I said I wasn't rejected from being a member of a party more than once because I was a girl. 'Whatever, let's just get this over with.' 

As I walked out the gate and began my hunt, the realist in me couldn't help but think of numbers. If my ear got damaged, or I got hurt and needed treatment, suddenly the effective reward from the quest started to drop pretty fast, and with an infestation the threat level of the area increased, meaning the chance of injury increased too.

Usually, the Beekeepers would warn you about these things, so I was still annoyed no one told me about how much of a dumpster fire the forest had turned into. After that drink, there was no going back though. Not to say I couldn't technically turn around… Still…

I let out another sigh as I stepped outside of the area near the encampment and into the danger zone. "Time to hunt..."