Chapter 1: I am a Pathfinder.
With a burst of strength, Yusciel propelled herself forward through the dense foliage. Her feet pounded loudly as she landed on the thick, gnarled branch of an old gray tree. Coming to a halt, she caught her breath, feeling the rough bark scrape against her palms as she grasped the limb for balance. The rich, earthly scent of moss and decaying leaves filled her nostrils, grounding her in the tranquility of the forest with each slow breath. The distant calls of unseen creatures echoed through the shadowy veil, adding to the eeriness to the land no man should live.
In the darkness, the only light came from the bulb swaying on Yusciel’s belt. The forest felt eerie, sending a shiver down her spine as she scanned the surroundings. She unconsciously gulped, feeling the dryness in her throat. Yusciel loosened the strings of her water jug, which was attached to her shoulder-strapped bag. With shaky hands, she opened the jug and drank, the liquid soothing her parched throat with each sip.
Yusciel's ears suddenly pricked at a faint screech in the distance. The sound grew, a metallic wail slicing through the air. Her eyes widened as a hook flew inches from her face, silvery strings trailing behind it.
Whoosh!
Something hurtled past, so close it ruffled her hair. Wind rushed in its wake, whipping her clothes. A dark shape loomed, wrapped in flowing robes. Harsh laughter erupted from beneath a shadowy hood. Before Yusciel could react, the figure vanished into the darkness.
Perplexed, she turned her head to follow, but the figure vanished swiftly. Furrowing her brow, she couldn’t help but mutter, ‘Who was that? Why did they take the same route—No, maybe they weren’t part of my group. I should hurry.’
Yusciel swiftly reattached her water jug to her shoulder strap before focusing on the grappling gear device around her right forearm. Upon inspection, she found the steel-alloyed hook to be in perfect condition, shaped like an arrow with sharp spikes protruding just below the head. The hook was securely in place, prompting Yusciel to unlock the front plating and slide it to the side, revealing the several features inside. Focusing on the string display behind a glass panel, bordered by ten marble-size glowing crystals. One of which was already dim.
Yusciel thought, ‘This is much heavier compared to my previous gear, but at least it doesn’t dislocate my shoulder like before.’ She replaced the front plate and stretched her right hand, noticing the metallic gear wrapped around it emitted a faint red glow along the edges of its plates as she moved.
Satisfied with her preparations, Yusciel suddenly heard a zipping sound from her right. A burst of air followed by a pulling string with a swaying motion, a familiar rhythm to her ears made her wonder, ‘Could that be Alvitar?’
She quickly reached for the light bulb hanging from her belt. Fiddling with the protruding part in its center, she rotated it until the light flickered in a specific sequence before raising the bulb. The zipping sounds in the darkness paused briefly, perhaps noticing her light, before resuming and approaching her location. Suddenly a glint passed overhead, and a figure was seen zooming behind the strings, hooked onto the towering trunk above Yusciel.
A cloaked figure soared past, swinging around the tree with strings wrapping around the trunk. Yusciel’s lips parted in a surprise, muttering, “Yikes.”
“Fucking hell. I did it again!” came a familiar voice, confirming Yusciel’s suspicion. It was Alvitar. He came to a halt as his momentum waned, his feet clinging to the trunk. Adjusting his robe to drape over his shoulder blades, Alvitar peered down at Yusciel. “You look fine,” he commented.
“Ah! Wait a bit, let me get the head,” he added, starting his ascent.
Yusciel nodded silently, then shifted her focus to the flickering bulb. She readjusted the protruding piece until the light steadied, then reattached it to her belt. A loud thud made Yusciel swivel her head. She saw Alvitar land on his feet and turn to face her, holding a knife and head hook in his hands.
Yusciel noticed that Alvitar appeared paler than usual, with sweat beading on his forehead. She wondered, ‘Don’t tell me—I used to look like that when I used the previous gear?’ Her eyes twitched as she observed him sheathe his knife and push back his blonde hair.
“I have an extra hook head,” She offered, “But I’m not sure if it's compatible with yours.”
“No need. I brought several extras with me,” Alvitar replied. He reached into his waist bag, attached to his belt, and unzipped it. His hands fumbled inside before pulling out a hook head, examining it closely and nodding after a moment. Still focused on his hands, he asked, “So, what’s with the blinking?”
“Someone passed me just now—I couldn’t see who it was, but it seemed like a child. I don’t recall there being a child on this expedition. Do you know anything about it?” She observed him open his grappling gear on his forearm, revealing the string chamber empty of strings.
Alvitar stopped abruptly upon hearing her words. “Oh, no. It might have been that brat!” He clicked his tongue, his hands clenched.
She glared at his words, stepping closer. “That brat?”
“Gu… Leo—One of the children from the Slum district in Yhelmen. I’m really not sure how the hell he managed to board our ship—for three days without anyone noticing. Can you look for him?”
“I'm a Pathfinder of Dhamos, not a caretaker, Alvitar.” She uttered flatly.
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“Yes, I know,” he replied, biting his lips. “But please… if you can find him, then save him.”
Without a word, Yusciel scanned the horizon. The darkness rendered the tree trunks barely visible. With a sudden burst of strength, she sprinted forward before leaping high into the air, her right hand reaching upward as she made a swift gesture—fingers spreading wide. The grappling hook shot out with a loud, dry spurt, the air ripping as it traveled. She heard a satisfying click as the hook locked into place.
Her body jerked slightly to a stop as the line went taut, her arms straining as she swung forward in a smooth arc. At the peak of her swing, just before losing momentum, Yusciel flexed her right hand. The hook instantly retracted, returning to her gear without delay, the impact shocking through the metal plates. As she fell, she corrected her stance, letting the hook fly again. It latched onto a new target, pulling her entire body forward like a cannonball.
Yusciel swung from tree to tree for what felt like an eternity, each movement causing the cold air to press against her face. Despite the chill, sweat continued to moist her skin, making her clothes cling uncomfortably. After more than ten minutes of constant motion, she finally stopped to catch her breath, leaning against a sturdy trunk for support.
Her right hand was numb and trembling, but she smiled, realizing that her current gear was a major improvement from the previous. At least now, the exertion didn’t cause pain in her hands each time she swung.
Glancing down to her trembling gloved hand, Yusciel suddenly heard a shout from ahead. She snapped her head in the direction of the noise, heart racing. ‘Was that the child?’
She loudly clicked her tongue before leaping forward. In one fluid motion, she released her grappling hook onto an overhead branch and swiftly swung down to the ground. Landing on her feet with a burst of momentum, she seamlessly transitioned into a sprint, feeling the impact reverberate through her body as she raced toward the source of the sound.
Yusciel's tall bag bounced against her back as she sprinted, her right hand flicking high. A hook soared through the air, latching onto a distant trunk with a satisfying thunk. The tether pulled taut, propelling her forward and conserving the energy in her legs.
As her feet reconnected with the earth, Yusciel deftly retracted the hook. She prepared to launch herself again when her keen eyes caught sight of something unusual—a deep groove in the earth, flanked by raised sides. Multiple stab marks scarred the surrounding area; fallen leaves and wood lay broken, riddled with holes. Her gaze darted ahead, where a shadowy figure flickered in and out of the darkness, seeming to slither away.
‘Pilnae beast,’ She deducted, her brow furrowing, ‘This will dent my pockets.’
Launching herself further with the grappling hook to gain distance closer to the running beast. Darting effortlessly from tree to tree, Yusciel finally caught a clear sight of the creature. Its long, sinewy legs moved with fluidity of a snake, propelling its upper body forward. A gaping maw adorned its head, while its 12 elongated limbs aided its large five meter body, chasing a child from behind.
As if alerted by the sound of Yusciel’s grappling hook, the child twisted their neck towards her and cried out, “Help! I can’t keep up anymore!”
Yusciel let out a disapproving click of her tongue, shifting her weight forward as she swung forward, propelling herself past the Pilnae’s head. Joining the running child, she extended her right hand and urged, “Take my hand!”
Without hesitation, Yusciel grabbed the child's outstretched hand as his legs gave out. She quickly pulled him close, embracing him tightly as he nearly slipped to the ground.
"Close your eyes! Hold on tight!" she yelled.
"Okay!" he responded, his arms wrapping around her body and legs hooking around her waist.
Yusciel's hand darted to her belt, fingers closing around a metal cylinder—a stun grenade. With practiced precision, she twisted the top plate, feeling it vibrate in her grip. In one fluid motion, she tossed it behind her without looking back and flicked her right hand outward. A hook shot from her wrist, latching onto an unseen anchor and yanking them in that direction.
A blinding flash erupted behind them, followed by a sharp, dry boom that echoed through the air.
Yusciel didn’t look back, continued to swing from tree to tree, pushing herself to escape the danger, only stopping when she felt her body was on the brink of exhaustion and her hands screaming with ache. Collapsing against the trunk of a tree, she released the child she had saved and sat down heavily.
“Um, thanks,” the child mumbled.
Yusciel responded with a dismissive wave of her hand, audibly catching her breath as she slumped against the tree trunk. However, she couldn't allow herself to rest just yet. With unsteady vision, she slid open the front panel of her grappling gear. She noticed that only three of the ten blue glowing marbles remained, most of them broken into multiple pieces. Letting out a sigh of relief, she unlocked the glass compartment display to the side, carefully removing the broken crystals and stowing them away in her shoulder bag.
"Whoa, are those Gen crystals!?" The child exclaimed, edging closer.
His voice pierced Yusciel's ears, making her shoulders tense as she shot him a glare. Wordlessly, she pulled out her water jug and tossed it to the boy. "Drink," she commanded.
The child nodded, and Yusciel turned her attention to her gear. She reached into her bag and retrieved a long metal cylinder. With a twist of the cap, it unlocked, revealing four extending compartments. Carefully, she slid open one section, exposing individually contained Gen crystals, still glowing and intact.
Yusciel carefully extracted each crystal and placed it into an empty slot on her grappling gear. Once all the crystals were replaced, she closed the drawer, locked the container, and stowed it back in her bag.
As she worked, the child's curiosity got the better of him. "Can I see the empty energy ones?" he asked. "You can't use them anymore, right?"
"I can," Yusciel replied firmly, locking the front metal plate on her grappling gear before reaching into her pocket. She cast a fleeting glance before focusing, musing,‘human kids…’
"Eh? For what, display? Come on, let me see!" the boy urged, gesturing excitedly.
"We sell them for Boflux," she said, her fingers closing around a cold, circular object.
She pulled out a circular device with a crystal display, showing four moving arrows. One glowed green, pointing to her right. Yusciel thought, 'If the Contilepass is green, it must be pointing at Sortegez Contile—our ship must be east.' After double-checking her mental map, she nodded, confirming her direction.
Storing the Contilepass, she approached the boy to retrieve the water bottle. "Let's head back. It's too dangerous to continue. Is your gear working?"
The boy shook his head. "I slipped earlier. It stopped working after that."
Yusciel nodded, scanning him from head to toe before extending her hand. He immediately grasped it, and she pulled him close. The boy hugged her tightly, bracing himself as Yusciel suddenly leapt into the darkness of the forest.