Who laugh last laugh best

Dragon's Teeth Mountains

Eliz averted her gaze from Broccoli and looked at Draikini again. "So... finding the Forest Protector, huh?" she repeated, suppressing a smirk. If she hadn't had Bonus Potential, she probably would never have thought of this little cutie being the Forest Protector. Who would have even thought of that? Isn't that a little ridiculous?

"Tell me more about it. How did that trial work? Where to go? What to do and stuff." Eliz prompted the elf to explain more.

Draikini nodded. "You had to go through the forest path and deal with whatever the Forest Protector placed before you. It could be a trial of wits, a trial of strength, a trial of courage... anything. You needed to make it to the end of the trail where the Forest Protector would be waiting for you."

Eliz tilted her head to the side. Why was that so cliché? It sounded like something the annoying author made up. Did that mean that at some point in the story, Selene and company were supposed to make it to the World Tree? Probably much later in the story. Eliz wasn't sure, but she blamed everything that sounded too awkward and pathetic on the author.

"And you're saying there's no way around this, right?" Eliz assured herself, not really wanting to get into it. Was she some kind of forest fairy to fool around in the woods?

The elf nodded. "Yes. There was no other option." Draikini confirmed, and Eliz sighed in annoyance. Should she reveal right away that she knew where the Forest Protector was? Would that be valid? She also had to consider if Draikini knew that Broccoli was the Forest Protector. He should know, shouldn't he? But she still had to think about that trait Broccoli had. Stalker.

Eliz blinked and tried to ask again. "Okay. And what did the Forest Protector look like? Would I recognize him when I found him?" she questioned.

Draikini nodded. "If you completed the trial, she would reveal herself at the end."

Eliz's eyebrows twitched. "She? So she's a woman?"

The elf nodded again. "Yes."

Eliz couldn't help but glance briefly in Broccoli's direction. She thought it was a boy! So she's a girl? Oh, or maybe she's both? After all, Broccoli is a Dragon; she could be androgynous. Eliz didn't know how to refer to Broccoli right now, but since Draikini referred to Broccoli as a boy, she'll stick with that.

At least now it made her feel more like Draikini didn't know that Broccoli was actually a Forest Protector. Ah... how would she benefit from that? Eliz bent down and picked up Broccoli in her arms, holding him quite lovingly against her. "Alright then. We'll be on our way in half an hour. But I'm taking Broccoli with me." She gave the Forest Protector a small kiss on the top of his head.

"Yuuu..." Broccoli shivered cutely.

Draikini shook his head. "If he wants to? Broccoli knows his way around the forest, so I don't see the problem." He looked at a pleased Broccoli and mentally rolled his eyes.

Eliz nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Let's get ready then." She handed Broccoli to Draikini. "I'll come for him later," she said cheerfully and made her way to her group.

Draikini took Broccoli and looked after Eliz thoughtfully. "What is she so excited about? She was so unwilling just a moment ago. Is she... um... what's it called... ah... is she eccentric?"

*****

Half an hour later, everyone was ready, except Fraril, who was still pretending to Draikini that he was just an old man and wanted to stay. He tapped his hand over-dramatically on his supposedly sore back, sighing at the plight of the old man.

Eliz had no idea what he was up to or why he wanted to stay at the cabin, but she wasn't going to spoil it for him, so she played along, telling him to get some rest. As if his back really hurt, the man was perhaps as flexible as Grash. Eliz wanted to leave Alobela behind as well, but she refused; she wasn't going to leave Eliz, and Eliz didn't want to argue with her about it.

So their little group formed a formation again, with Eliz and Alobela in the middle, and Eliz contentedly holding Broccoli in her arms. "So we're going. Just follow the trail, right?" Eliz turned one last time to Draikini, who was standing by Fraril's side. Fraril had a benign smile on his face, which Eliz found most disturbing. She shook her head and looked at the forest in front of them; once they left the vicinity of the cabin, they would once again find themselves in a dense forest full of hundred-year-old trees.

"Yes. Keep moving forward. Don't stray from the trail. Good luck." Draikini nodded his head.

"Thank you. See you later," Eliz said her goodbyes, and they walked forward on the path.

As the group disappeared from their sight, Fraril glanced at the elf beside them. "How about we get a little drink while we wait? I have some great archival wine with me. Would you tell me about the elves and yourself, young man? It is very fascinating to see someone like you."

While Fraril followed his own agenda, Eliz and the group were surrounded by the forest.

Eliz looked around for a moment before petting Broccoli. "I wonder what the Forest Protector has in store for us," she uttered casually.

"Yuuu..." Broccoli replied, narrowing his eyes as she petted him.

"Are you curious too? Don't worry, nothing will happen to you," Eliz assured him, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. As if she'd let go of the fact that the little cutie was tricking her. Eliz was going to repay her handsomely.

They walked for a while, and everything seemed fine. The cheerful sounds of the living forest rang out around them; no monsters or danger appeared. Team Boulder was alert and knew it was a Trial, so they didn't let their guard down, but it was a bit draining to be on constant alert, especially when nothing happened for a long time.

Eliz was just yawning a bit boredly when suddenly there was a loud snapping of wood from somewhere above their heads. They all looked up only to see a monster staring at them from the tree branches. It had a gorilla-like form, a bit like a cross between a gorilla, an ape, and a human. The monster was about two meters tall, incredibly muscular with deep green skin and black fur. It had black, sharp curved claws on its hands and feet and bright yellow eyes that reflected its violent nature.

"Arachape!" Raiana said, suppressing a cry of surprise. The monster hadn't attacked them yet, but the loud sound would do that. Eliz felt an arm around her and glanced at Holm, who had moved closer to get out of the way when the fight started.

"What's its Rank?" Eliz asked.

Alarr was already frowning in typical fashion, annoyed that they hadn't sensed the monster's presence despite being alert. "Rank 2. Probably the peak of Rank 2," he replied.

Eliz let out a sigh. Rank 2 wasn't bad. Even though it was likely her illusion, after all, they had recently faced a Rank 5 monster, so she had a feeling Rank 2 wouldn't be a problem. Her inexperience was showing here. However, Team Boulder was wary. Just because the monster was of a lower Rank or the same didn't mean it wasn't capable of killing them. Eliz thought it would be fine, but then she noticed how tense and ready for battle everyone was. She hesitated and reconsidered their situation.

Arachape had the advantage of environment and terrain; if it had and certainly had the basic traits of a primate, the monster was fast, strong, and flexible. Alarr was the strongest and best able to hold his own against Arachape, but he also had to consider the fact that the monster was a danger to Raiana and Holm and certainly a deadly danger to Eliz and Alobel.

Eliz wanted to slap herself for her first instinct was to judge things so superficially. Isn't this what Fraril had been warning her about? "What do we do?" she asked quietly, already on guard as much as the others. She knew nothing about this monster, and the fact that it was high in the branches of the trees was problematic too.

"Arachape is acting a little unusual. Normally, their strategy is guerrilla style. A quick, surprise attack and then a quick retreat. They also usually work in groups of three to five," Holm replied, not taking his eyes off the monster. When Eliz heard that there were normally more of them, she bit her lip. Again, she had to be thankful that she had hired such a capable team; otherwise, she would have been really screwed!

"So... the fact that he revealed himself without attacking is strange?" Eliz asked, still quietly.

Holm moved his eyes quickly, looking around the surrounding trees. "Yes."

Eliz got nervous and looked around as well. Maybe Arachape was just attracting their attention so his other buddies could surprise them?

"HoHoHo!" Arachape suddenly let out a guffaw that sounded a lot like a monkey while grasping the thick branch on his head with both hands and bouncing.

Everyone tensed up and readied their weapons; even Eliz took out her dagger. She was still learning with it, but she was already able to do more than just chop vegetables. Eliz glanced briefly at Broccoli, whom she placed in the crook of her other arm, and gave him a brief look. She was sure this was one of those trials, but she didn't think she'd put up a fight right away. Weren't fights supposed to be at the end?

"HoHo!" Arachape stopped swaying and then jumped... away. It just suddenly disappeared. The green color of its skin caused it to quickly disappear into the dense tree crown.

Everyone followed the monster's movement, but they were confused. Why did it disappear? "Move," Alarr said sternly, and everyone quickly moved down the path, but everyone's vigilance was at its peak. Even Eliz was now wary of their surroundings.

Grash suggested that he could climb a tree and guard things from above, but Alarr dismissed it because even though Grash might be good at climbing, it's still nothing compared to a primate.

Several minutes passed, but Arachape did not reappear. Yet Alarr remained vigilant. He knew these monsters were cunning, and more than one group of adventurers had fallen prey to their ambush.

Alarr occasionally glanced towards Eliz and Alobela to check on them. Alobela might have been an Enhanced Runner of Rank 3, but from what he could see of their abilities, she had invested everything into her speed, so her defenses were much lower than, say, Raiana's, making her the next most fragile after Eliz.

Alarr didn't like that kind of tension. He preferred to face his enemy and not worry about where and how the enemy would attack from. What worried him even more, however, was the fact that the Arachnids were able to completely hide their presence. He had never heard of this ability in this species of monster.

"Watch out!" Holm suddenly called out. Alarr raised his sword and looked back, only to see Holm hug Eliz, turning with her to protect her with his own body, and at that moment, something hit his back, and a surprised Holm took a hesitant step forward as he felt a blow to his back. Alarr's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Holm!" he called out worriedly but didn't rush towards him; instead, his eyes searched the area warily.

He saw movement behind the tree but only caught a glimpse of a piece of black fur disappearing behind the tree trunk. "Holm, are you all right?" he heard Raiana ask with concern.

"Yes... I think..." Holm started to answer but was interrupted by Grashu's scream. "'Damn it! What is that stink?!'"

Alarr looked up again to see Grash holding his nose and looking disgusted. Alarr saw something else flying towards them. "Raiana!" Raianna moved quickly to dodge the flying object, and it splattered against the trunk of a tree, but it was as if by doing so, they had pressed an invisible switch. Immediately projectiles began flying towards them from several directions. They all flared with blue light as they surrounded themselves with their mana. Now, every time a projectile touched them, they disintegrated and evaporated as if they didn't exist.

Alarr sighed inwardly, looked at Eliz and froze. Eliz's face was covered in brown goo, and her eyes blazed with a murderous light. It was only then that Alarr noticed the smell and realized it wasn't mud flying at them.

"Shit," he swore fittingly.

*****

Eliz was startled when suddenly Holm grabbed her and turned with her. Something hit him, and she rolled her eyes, fearing that Holm was hurt. But when she looked at his face, he didn't look like he was in pain; rather, he looked funny.

What was going on? Grash cried out, holding his nose. Eliz sniffed and smelled a faint odor that was familiar. Then all hell broke loose. Lumps of brown matter began to fly from several directions. Everyone used their mana to shield themselves, but Eliz hadn't managed this yet. Despite the fact that Holm was covering her, so she felt them hit her in the side once, and a smell hit her nose that told her clearly what it was.

Damn, those damn monkeys were throwing poop at them!

Eliz opened her mouth to tell Alarr to move quickly and at least get to someplace sheltered. At that moment, the thrown poop hit her in the side of the face. Eliz not only smelled the exquisite odor in her nose, but she also tasted it in her mouth. "Pui!" She began to spit to the side, anger and disgust taking over her. Her gaze then landed on Broccoli, knowing that this was a trial created by the Forest Protector, so this was intentional.

Eliz had agreed to the trial because she wanted to know what Broccoli was really after by staying hidden. Why does he have the Stalking trait? And if it was a real trial, like a fight like she first thought, it would be fine. But now he's throwing shit at them? Eliz took it seriously, and instead, she's here for a laugh? She gritted her teeth, but immediately afterward, her face twisted. "Pui!" She spat again.

Then she grabbed Broccoli under the neck and lifted him up to her face. Broccoli looked at her with one eye and shivered a little when he saw her expression. "Guys. How do you like Broccoli? Roasted or boiled?" Eliz asked in a scary voice.