Fritz Forest is considered to be the largest forest in Navea that almost covers the southern border of Telmaris. Due to the untamed wild animals in the area, it is advisable for normal humans to have at least a single hunter with them as a bodyguard. Although, the real threat does not lie with the creatures. Since the forest boasts an abundance of tall trees, it is the perfect spot for ambushes. As such, thieves and unruly hunters sometimes roam, preying on unfortunate merchants. This time, however, a far more formidable foe is on the hunt for some entertainment.
Ajax halted his advance after he sniffed something around his perimeter.
“Haaah, I’ve found one!”
From the trunk of a towering tree, he jumped off and landed a perfect touchdown with his spear resting on his shoulder. As he raised his head, what greeted his eyes was a gigantic figure of man, wearing crimson armor all the while equipped with an enormous two handed battleaxe. The gigantic man sneered at him, although his brows were furrowed. The said titan is none other than the leader of [Crow’s Nest], King Crow!
“HAHA! Oh, what’s this? Why do I feel like you are expecting company? Are troublemakers really that common here?”
Ajax plays around with his weapons, showing off his precision in wielding them.
“Fuhahaha!! Indeed, that’s what the folks at Telmaris said about this forest.”
King Crow then rests his giant axe on the ground which makes a loud clank.
“-but I never expect for some petty troublemaker to be a hunter of such caliber. Falling so low to such an extent, you must be pretty bored out of your mind, bullying weaker hunters.”
“Ah no no, you misunderstood. I don’t really do weak hunters for sport. And to be clear, I don’t have a hand on that incident.” Ajax said with a frisky grin.
“So what, you’re telling me that you are innocent? Not with that face you ain’t.”
“Ahahah, I did not say I was innocent either. Me and my group are here for something, but to be honest, all I care about is to rise to the top. And for that to happen-”
Ajax violently spins his spear which tears the ground surrounding him, showing his opponent that the rubbles and thick trees are not on his way despite wielding a long spear. As he stops, King Crow notices that the spear became double-bladed.
“-I will defeat (kill) all strong hunters that are in my way!”
King Crow narrows his eyes down after observing his spear. Noticing his reaction, Ajax smirked.
“Surprised? That was my attribute (unique) skill,
“Fuhahaha!! Good then, I shall break your beloved weapons in front of you. Then you shall be next.”
With that remark, Ajax did not hesitate and advanced towards King Crow with his spear resting on his side. King Crow, however, did not move an inch, instead, he picked up his battleaxe with a wide grin and raised it.
“Come, you overconfident brat!”
— Telmaris —
“Oh? You think Zep is not going to leverage Alice by using her research? How could you be so sure to say that?”
Inside Meiren’s temporary office, she and Hywel share the same table, seated in front of each other. Tea was also served which can be seen still piping hot on top of the table.
‘H-How can he say something like that with his guild leader..? Is he testing me out?’ Meiren takes a sip of tea from her cup before responding.
“Sir Hywel, even though I only worked with Lord {Fate Threader} for the first time, I can already tell that he would do no such thing like continuing illegal research with help from a wanted hunter.”
Hywel then picks up his cup of tea and sips a large amount despite its hotness which did not affect him at all. He puts down his cup, empty, afterwards and pours himself another one.
“.....”
He raises his second cup of tea and looks at Meiren in her eyes.
“You judge fairly, but still lacking. As a renowned Chief Merchant, shouldn’t you, out of all people, have the best judgement and find everything suspicious.”
“What do you mean by that?” Meiren was slightly startled with his remark.
“You know what I mean. You must have a prejudice in favor of Zep because he is the strongest hunter of today, and an influential one at that. Being on his good side will boost your–”
“Sir Hywel.” Meiren quickly interrupted him.
“You don't strike me as the man who will slander his leader in front of others. So if you're going to test my loyalty…I'm afraid this will not work, as I already know what you're up to.”
“You misunderstand.”
Hywel swiftly gulps down his second serving of hot tea.
“Eh?” Meiren reacted confusedly.
“I know the bounds of your loyalty already, you piqued my interest since despite being a merchant, you do not rely on cunningness. How could I tell? Well, I'll let you in on some free information–”
Hywel’s eyes have firmly set ablaze, his eyes glows as if he's ready for combat, making Meiren sweat in panic.
“You see, I can discern spiritual formation.”
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One can see the confusion going through Meiren’s eyes.
‘Spiritual…formation? How does it connect to everything he said?’
“Having discerned your spiritual form, I could already tell that you're someone who does not use backhanded and tricky tactics. Thus, I don't really question your loyalty. Instead, what I really want to know–”
Hywel then grabs the teapot and pours another hot tea on his cup.
“-is if you are someone who can speak up your mind.”
“What…then…”
“You pass.”
Hywel’s eyes return to normal, closing them afterwards as he takes another quick sip of tea.
“Since Sophia's not here, I need someone who has brains that are somehow close to hers. And of course, someone who can be trusted, speaking one's mind as you were.”
“I see. It's my honor to be compared to the genius, Miss Sophia.” Meiren humbly accepts the compliment for now.
“Ah, anyway, another thing I want to clarify: you said that I don't strike you as someone who will slander my leader in front of anyone, correct?”
“Yes…” Meiren shortly replied.
“I don't know what brought that up though. I mean, if Zep really does plan to leverage Alice and her research, there's only one thing to do-”
“.....” Meiren's eyes widened in shock. It's as if she's seeing someone who has dedicated himself into being the most loyal tool for a certain individual. His eyes burn passionately, and his aura emits dedication.
‘I…underestimated his commitment towards Lord {Fate Threader}. This man, he's–’
“-follow him all throughout the plan and do everything it takes to make his plan come into fruition.” ← Hywel
‘-an ultimate fanatic!’ ← Meiren
–Fritz Forest–
A thundering noise can be heard from afar as King Crow slams the ground in front of him with his gigantic battleaxe.
“Whoa there!”
Ajax was sent flying due to the impact it caused. While mid-air, he slashes through the scattered rubbles that was going to hit him. From the dust of smoke in King Crow’s position, he heard a clanking noise of a chain.
After a while, the gigantic axe appeared from the smoke making its way towards Ajax as it seems that King Crow attached a heavy chain on the axe’s pommel and threw it towards him. With swift reflex, Ajax manages to elude King Crow’s first assault.
King Crow then pulled the chain back as he swung it around, trying to hit Ajax.
“Fuhahaha!! I'm not just someone who tanks hits you know!”
“It does look that way, old man. Hahah!”
Ajax smoothly lands on the chain and uses it as a propeller to get him close towards his target. He then charges his spear with a tight grip and throws it to King Crow as he draws his dual blade afterwards.
In order to repel the incoming spear, King Crow unleashes his defensive skill.
The spear bounces off as if it hits an extremely tough piece of metal. Ajax doesn't let up, however.
“Still paying attention old man?”
He performed an unrelenting combination of slashes using his aluminum swords which all successfully hit King Crow.
“Gah! You don't hit that strong but you're too fast that all the damage feels like it stacked up.”
King Crow then stomps the ground which interrupts the rampaging duelist. As Ajax searches for a foothold to propel and back off, King Crow glared at his position.
“Where do you think you're going?!”
His eyes turn red and his voice becomes more fearsome. Roaring echoes then fills Ajax’s mind, goading him to attack King Crow. It was a skill which allows the crimson giant to taunt a specific target without fail and fill them with unknown malice.
“
As a result, Ajax calls forth his spear back to his hand as he sheathed his swords. With a sneer, he then charges towards King Crow without backing off from his current disadvantageous position.
“You asked for it, old man!”
Without giving much thought, as his judgement was clouded, Ajax violently spins his spear as a way to continuously assault his opponent.
“Fuhahaha!! That's it!”
King Crow, on the other hand, swings his axe sidewards, confident in his strength to send Ajax flying even if he blocks his attack…by which it does.
“Guhk!”
Only then that Ajax fully grasped himself once again. He was thrown quite far due to how hard King Crow swings his axe.
“Hah! Just like swatting a fly.”
After a moment as the smoke that originates from Ajax’s impact dissipates, King Crow notices that there are no broken trees despite sending him towards an area full of them. There he realized:
‘This brat. He still managed to elude the trees while being sent flying.’
Ajax then trudges towards King Crow, holding his now half-broken spear.
“Good, good! If only all my preys would bite back like you are, I could have been far stronger now!”
“Learning through hardship, huh? You don't strike me as someone that honorable.” King Crow remarked.
“Hah! Take it however you like, but so long as it makes me grow stronger, honorable or not, I will take it!”
King Crow frowns.
“Heh. Seems like, there are things which we are somehow alike.”
A guild leader being alone in a dangerous area is unnatural. The recent quest where he had to withdraw while [Grim Fate] takes care of the hard part leaves his warrior’s spirit stained. To reconcile, he had to prove something again. Having been one of the few who heard about the trouble brewing around Fritz Forest, and with a dangerous organization being a driving force behind it, King Crow saw it as an opportunity to regain his spirit.
“That so? I guess it's time I take matters seriously now. I have grasped a portion of your strength already after all.”
Ajax points the tip of one of the halved spear towards King Crow.
“Everything could be a weapon when one has reached mastery like I did. And those weapons will always serve you even if they break apart.”
“.....”
King Crow tightens his grip on his axe as he readies himself for Ajax’s next assault. He then sees him draw his bow without drawing a single arrow.
“Switching into ranged attacks huh? Very well, then I shall march forth and bring you to your knees.”
“Haaaah?”
What happens next, leaves King Crow flabbergasted. With a mischievous grin, Ajax uses one of the halved spear as an arrow which strikes King Crow on his shoulders, piercing the armor he got despite his attribute skill.
“What in the–!?”
As King Crow was distracted by his pierced shoulder, he already noticed too late that Ajax was already close to his position.
“Let's see how many more you can endure! Hahahahah!!”
In a point blank range, Ajax fires a devastating shot again using his spear as an arrow. King Crow, on the other hand, manages to let out his skill
Ajax did not let up and drew two arrows. He then uses it as if those were daggers, holding them in his hands while twirling, striking King Crow from every direction. What was more surprising is that the arrows did not break despite getting used like that.
“Gggh!! You and your unpredictable usage of weapons!”
King Crow forcefully pulls the chains which immediately lets him call back his axe. With a strong grip, he swings his axe to try and hit Ajax but alas, he's too swift to evade his close range attack.
“Hahaha! You need to be faster than that old man!”
Ajax uses King Crow’s broad shoulders to jump back as he kicks him away. He then finally loads his bow using the two arrows in his hands and aims at King Crow which he released with precision.
King Crow parried the two arrows with his axe but then he felt an abnormal amount of force.
‘What’s with those arrows just now!? It feels like it just got released by a great crossbow due to its powerful force!’
He then sharply stares at Ajax.
‘So this is how it feels to fight a Weapon’s Master.’
“Heeh. I like that look. Just like me, you're getting fired up when your target is biting back strongly.”
Ajax draws one arrow which he loads on his bow. He then proudly exclaims:
“Unfortunately for you. I'm more of an expert in taking down hunters rather than monsters.”