Chapter 23 - Found

The body looked at Nora.

Her face turned pale as she grabbed Ren and began to escape. Although hurt, he didn't waste any time and finally threw the thing.

It exploded on the ground and a massive lightning field appeared.

Lasting just a few seconds. He didn't wait much more and shrouded himself and Nora with his semblance.

With its target lost.

It shrieked for the final time and froze for a while before running away at a rapid pace.

The skies rumbled and half an hour later; it began to rain.

Ren and Nora sat underneath a tree with a makeshift shelter above their heads, sheltering them from the incoming rain.

"Ren, I don't think we can beat it… At least not yet." Nora said.

Ren looked at her and nodded.

That was just one trick that he prepared. He had multiple tactics to recover and even more powerful bombs.

But when he saw what Nora's full hammer blow did.

He threw his fantasies away.

That damned thing didn't budge. It just turned and attacked Nora as if a fly landed on it. Who cared if she could pull a more powerful blow.

Something like this should have at least made it move.

No wonder no one managed to kill it. It rampaged over the entire central continent for almost a decade and it had no intention of stopping at all.

Ren wanted revenge, but each time he looked at his hands, he saw a weak boy he used to be.

Except for his age, nothing changed.

If he didn't prepare defensive measures, then he might have lacked the aura to keep his camouflage active.

He was as hopeless in slaying that thing as he was when he watched his village get decimated to shreds. But nothing was set in stone.

"Nora, you always wanted to wear a school uniform, right?" Ren asked, her face lit up.

"Yup, they are super cute."

"Wait are we-?"

"What about gathering some funds before attending the most prestigious huntsman academy in the world?"

"Let's go!" Nora said and grabbed Ren by his sleeve.

…

With only one day, thanks to very accelerated travel

Nora dragged Ren back to Higanbana. Their official journey from rags to riches began once again.

Though first they had to restock their energy in an inn.

"Do you think the Nuckelavee will return in time to catch that caravan?"

"Probably not. After all, it's supposed to be dozens of kilometers away. Even that thing couldn't just travel it for no reason, right?"

"True. Ow my bones, it's gonna rain again."

"Heh already old."

Out of nowhere, a man rushed in.

"I need everyone's attention, please! Huf- All combat qualified people, huntsmen and huntresses preferred, a new mission just came out! Search and rescue mission for a very wealthy individual. Anyone interested, announce yourselves with the mayor." He said and rushed out as soon as he could.

Sure enough, the crowd became wild.

A couple of people, Nora and Ren included, rushed out to see what was going on.

In the plaza, near the mayor's house, a crowd had already formed and although it consisted only of no more than ten people, including them, it represented 90% of currently capable firepower in Higanbana.

"With most people present. I'll announce the content of the mission. Please quiet down. Thank you." The mayor said and took a deep breath.

"This time it concerns one of the wealthiest merchants in Mistral. The rewards for finding the merchant in question and safely rescuing him back is 10 000 000 lien! Participating is guaranteed 100 000 for each combat qualified individual. Senior huntsmen and huntresses will get 1 000 000 lien upfront!" He said.

"What? Who would pay so much for a possibly dead man?" Asked one of the younger people present.

"None of your business." The mayor said back and looked at others.

Their eyes basically shone with delight.

No one wasted such opportunity and quickly signed up. And although Ren and Nora didn't have their certificates.

Their years of work paid off.

A tiny bit of reputation that spread throughout the continent was enough.

Everyone gathered a bare minimum of resources and set off. Each second meant losing a huge profit.

With the duo not resting. They eventually fell back and even lost the sight of the fastest members. Thankfully, the fast ones weren't so greedy as to compromise the goal of the mission.

Those who got there first gathered the clues and took the most likely directions.

Taken, Nora and Ren got there somewhere in the middle of the pack. They snagged the North and headed up.

"Don't worry, trust me! This is definitely the way the merchant must have gone!" Nora said while patting her chest.

Ren nodded and took it as a vacation.

Sure enough, the traces of humans dwindled by the kilometer.

However, they couldn't stop now at all and so they continued sweeping the surroundings. Although efficient, they still took a break early to have enough energy the next day.

Ren set up most of the camp while Nora went hunting in her unique ways.

How she managed to catch rabbits intact will be a mystery.

Gradually, they swept a lot of area and even bumped into other participating members, which meant splitting the territory even further.

"I tell you, he must like the scenic views of this beautiful lake. Ah! Look at that cloud so far away!" Nora said, bouncing around.

Maybe not the brightest.

But she long realised that the odds of finding the merchant became zero. After all, they found little to no traces, and the rest remained dubious.

"Maybe we should enroll in like a scouts club to learn to track better! You would join, right?" She asked.

"Nora, the huntsmen academies have this in their curriculum." He said and kept looking around.

"Ah, right!"

"Anyway, oh! Doesn't this look like a human trace!" She said and pointed to the beach.

"Let's hurry." He said, and they took off.

It was already dusk.

They began to run and when the Sun finally went out; they found a bigger trace.

A corpse of a roughly skinned bear alongside a makeshift campfire. Both of them took a quick sweep around but didn't find anything except blood.

Quite a lot of blood all around. Maybe the bear's or the person, they couldn't take the chances.

The lack of visibility became disturbing.

The campsite couldn't be more than a few days old. So they decided to go forth even during the night.

This time, they didn't encounter any obstacles.

Forest surrounding them became exceptionally quiet even though they were aura users.

No one said a word as they listened carefully. Looking around wasn't too much of an option anymore and, at worst, they would scout the area again.

"There!" Nora said and exploded in speed.

Ren followed.

The quiet forest became a scene out of a horror movie.

An entire space carved out of the forest. Broken trees, bushes and deep scar marks all around the place.

Many trees hang onto their dear life and even some vague blood shone amidst the moon's luster. In the middle stood one man.

Nora didn't take any chances and arrived beside him, punching a beowolf away.

Ren took action and wiped everyone in seconds.

"He's barely breathing, without aura. The blood is making hard to see the exact wound spots."

He nodded and took action.

From his back, he fished out a small box filled with first aid essentials.

Nora took the time to make a campfire to warm him up. Ren, meanwhile, had to take care of the unconscious man, making sure he wasn't totally dead.

"That's not the merchant, right?" She said as the fire properly lit up his face.

"We met him once, on the ship."

"Oh, you are right!"

"I'll need to change some things to make sure the bandages are tied properly." He said and used the light to make sure he missed nothing.

Although the scroll provided some light.

It wasn't a proper source of light, making it hard to be sure.

"He should be safe for now. But with his injuries, we can't say for sure. Let's wait a day. If he dies, I'll bury him." Ren said and sat down.

"I'll make sure no Grimm are around." She said and took up her hammer.

Not long after, he felt the ground reverberate slightly.

He sighed and began to prepare food. An hour later, she arrived with a smile and sat down next to him.

He handed her a bowl of steaming soup alongside with some bread.

"He's going to make it right?" She asked, after taking a few bites.

"Yeah."

"Will we end up like this? One day."

"Never."

"Mhmm."

She laid on his shoulder, looking at the crackling fire.

Ren slowly finished his food before tilting his body, letting Nora get more comfortable. The sounds of calm breathing made him wait for an hour before he rolled up the sleeping bags and tucked her in.

Eyes closed, her mouth turned into a sweet arch.