Kazuma has begun evolving.

Lanek froze as the message appeared before his eyes, shocked at the abrupt notification. Shortly afterward, he began to panic at the thought of Kazuma being helpless and unconscious during the evolution process. Why didn’t he come back to me first?!

Before his panic could overtake him too much, a soothing sensation came along the bonds with his companions. Sanguineus was sending him reassuring feelings, almost as if assuring him that Kazuma would be alright. Okay, calm down. That’s right, Sanguineus wouldn’t leave Kazuma alone and exposed.

Despite the reassurances, Lanek was still worried, but there wasn’t really anything he could do about it considering the distances between them. He was tempted to recall the furballs, but that would have left Pharaoh all alone and he wasn’t sure how a recall would affect the evolution. For all he knew, it might cancel it or he might even be unable to recall the cat at all.

Lanek remained still for several minutes, debating on his next course of action. Part of him wanted to rush all the way back to the camp while another part wanted to push on further north. So far, the journey north had not shown much in the way of enemies to deal with, but it also hadn’t provided any decent and defensible places for his company to use after the gaunts were dealt with. Even more worrying was the lack of anything to hunt in these hills.

He had looked for food and water sources while scouting the hills looking for prospective camping spots, but every water source he had found had been devoid of fish and neither he nor Maximilian had seen any wildlife. This is strange, the animals could easily hide from me, but Max? Unlikely. Also, I haven’t run across any signs of animals either. No droppings, trails, or anything else. It’s fucking creepy.

His unease had been growing steadily over the last few hours, especially once he had noticed that the sounds of insects and birds were completely absent. Ever since, he had made a point to look for any birds, but could see none in the air. The last time he had actually seen a bird had been in the forest.

Hey, Isaac? Is there something I should know about this area? Is it cursed or something? Lanek asked, knowing that the spirit had also been a bit disturbed by the lack of fauna. In fact, Isaac had most likely been paying more attention to their surroundings than Lanek due to the latter’s attention being split between training and keeping an eye out for campsites.

No, at least not before I went dormant. This area was home to scattered villages and herds of livestock, sheep mostly. There were also a few mining operations run by dwarves. There were bandits and raiders on occasion, but nothing beyond the ordinary. Could it be this quiet because of the gaunts? Isaac responded.

No, gaunts don’t really hunt animals from what I’ve seen. There were hordes of gaunts in the forests on either side of Caelis, but there were still plenty of animals about.

Maybe a different type of gaunt? Isaac asked. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.

As much as Lanek was tempted to turn back once again, he forced himself to continue north. He needed to find out what was wrong with this place before he marched his people through it. It was all fine and well if it was just some kind of strange anomaly, but it could be a major problem if there was some ancient or powerful evil thing just waiting for unwary travelers.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Hours passed as he scoured the hills for some sign of life or a threat before he decided that it was time to turn back. He was frustrated at his lack of progress, but he couldn’t put off returning to the camp any longer. While Sanguineus hadn’t seen any warnings that the gaunts were closing the distance, he figured that his time would be better spent shoring up the defenses at the camp or participating in the training.

He rode for a few minutes before Isaac’s voice sounded in his mind. Keep riding, don’t react. You’re being watched. I’ve spotted movement behind you, but they have yet to completely show themselves.

Any idea what they might be? Lanek asked.

No, but if you keep riding like nothing is wrong, they might just get careless enough that I’ll be able to get a good look at them.

Lanek forced himself to keep riding as if all was right with the world. However, it was nerve wracking as he kept expecting an arrow or spear between his shoulder blades. It went against every instinct he had developed in this world to not speed off as quickly as possible or to confront whatever was watching him.

It didn’t help his nerves when Isaac had still failed to see their pursuers clearly after more than an hour had passed since spotting movement. Despite this unfortunate situation, Isaac assured him that they were still being followed. Even worse, Isaac spotted signs that they were being flanked as well as followed.

Shit. Lanek, I’m pretty sure they have reinforcements ahead of us. If I had to guess, I would say that they are trying to make sure that you can’t simply ride off when they show themselves. I would bet that whoever they are, they aren’t very fast.

What should we do? Lanek asked.

Get to the top of the next hill and stop. Prepare yourself for a fight. I would imagine that if we are actually surrounded, then they will no longer feel the need for stealth and will just move in for the kill.

How are the bastards staying hidden in the first place? Lanek growled in frustration.

At first, I assumed that they were simply staying off the hilltops while they followed you. However, it’s clear that more is at play than that. They aren’t invisible or spectral, but they have some method of travel that I can’t decipher. Wait…

A moment later, Lanek heard a whistling sound from behind him, causing him to instinctively lean forward. There was a sound of metal striking metal from just behind his head, followed by Isaac swearing and the feeling of a small amount of mana being drained from Lanek’s considerable mana pool.

Swiftly turning around, Lanek watched as Isaac faded from view and a figure ducked into the ground. Not thinking twice, Lanek pulled forth a metal sliver and launched it directly at the spot where the creature had disappeared. As the five metal projectiles struck the target and exploded into pieces of shrapnel, they revealed a gaping hole in the ground with the remnants of was once a carefully concealed trapdoor. While he kept an eye on the hole, several more clashing sounds of metal on metal came from behind him.

What the fuck is going on?! Lanek yelled in his mind.

Ratmen. They must have tunnels all throughout the hills, that’s how they stayed hidden. Brace yourself, they will charge you soon, they’ve already noticed that their surprise attacks from their slingers have failed.

Before Lanek could ask any other questions, a line of creatures came crawling out of the hole he had blasted open. Lanek shuddered as he saw bipedal rats dressed in the barest of scraps with disease-ridden flesh visible where patches of their mangy fur had fallen off. He swore that he could smell their breath even from the top of the hill, which was not outside the realm of possibility considering the cracked and rotting nature of their teeth.

“Nope, fuck that.” Lanek said to himself as he began using his telekinesis to bring metal slivers from their quiver and align them with the enemy that was even now rushing him. With a thought, he unleashed the first volley, not having time to watch as the shrapnel from slivers tore through the flesh of the beasts.

Before the first sliver had struck its targets, Lanek had been forced to turn and fire another sliver at another door opening in the side of a neighboring hill. Even as he did so, he could see more doors opening in the distance, ratmen rushing out like the vermin they almost certainly were.

He could hear more rats rushing towards him from behind, but couldn’t spare the time to focus on them, he would have to trust in Isaac. If Lanek had been able to turn around, he would have seen ratmen being slain with cold and ruthless efficiency. Whenever a rat came within three meters of Lanek’s body, Isaac would manifest for just long enough to put the creature down before fading from view and appearing before his next target. Every manifestation was another creature that would swiftly find itself with a slit throat, severed limb, or staring dumbly as a sword thrust into and retracted smoothly from their heart.

Such was Isaac’s precision and prowess that no rat managed to make it within two meters of Lanek and Maximilian. Sparing a glance at Lanek, Isaac smiled grimly at the sight of the dranrid eviscerating the ratmen with his projectiles.

This will definitely work. Isaac thought while he nodded in satisfaction and returned to his slaughter.