In dense forest behind Fruuh village, several figures can be seen.

“Is this really the right way?”

It didn’t take much time before Huke started to complain. It was questioned whatever he really volunteered in this

Yuu who was in front of him answered back.

“According from what Cliff had said. It shouldn’t be that far from here.”

Because it was a second handed information, and he doesn’t really know about the way here. Yuu was also uncertain.

“Don’t worry. We’re going on the right way. If it’s by the direction Cliff told you.”

Hans declared that.

“Are you sure?”

“Yu~p! After all it’s just a straight line from the place we crossed the river. I can guarantee it.”

Hans said that with certainty.

Normal modern people should be unaccustomed to walking in a forest. However to Hans who has plenty of experience it wasn’t the case.

Hans was already mastered the how-to in a forest, and how to survive in it based on his experience.

In the past he once had to stay hidden in a forest to erase his pursuit in an isolated island for a week, run around a forest to pursuit his target, and even escape from an amazon-class forest without compass or other useful gadget.

Whatever the direction they were heading to, their way back, and the best route for emergency. Hans already made that inside of his head. Not that Yuu and the other knew about it.

Hans’ words soon was proven.

“Hey, isn’t this the place?”

Mike said that with uncertainty.

However his word that was said with a uncertainty was unnecessary. Because this place was without a doubt their destination.

It has been two days since it was discovered but, the blood on the ground was still left there.

Hans swiped the ground with his finger and sniffed it.

“This’s human blood alright.”

“How you can be sure?”

“For some reason?”

Hans dodged that question.

Yuu didn’t ask any further and went to investigate the scene. The other also did the same.

“B-blood……”

Mary felt dizzy from seeing the large red color in the ground.

“You don’t need to force yourself. You and Julie can search the surrounding.”

“N- no probl……”

“We will do just that.”

Before Mary can object, Julie already dragged Mary who was forcing herself to look in the other place.

Then Yuu noticed something.

“Hey, this blood seems to be different than the other or is it just me?”

Yuu tried to ask for the other opinion.

“It looks the same to me.”

Hans thought different.

“I guess it was just me.”

Yuu already vaguely noticed that Hans was an expert in this kind of thing. He doesn’t know specifically his actual job but, he trusts his word, and proceeded to look for another clue.

“Senior Yuu. You should look at this.”

“You don’t need to use the senior, just call me Yuu.”

“I can’t do that. I need to respect someone older.”

Yuu let out a dry laugh from Hyodou’s stiffness.

“So what is it, Hyodou?”

“Please look above!”

“Above……”

Yuu tried to look above but, he failed to notice anything except branches and leaves.

“What about it?”

“Please look closer into the leaves.”

Yuu once again tried to look at it. Then he finally noticed it.

“The leaves are… red?!”

Yuu didn’t notice it before because of the lack of light, and the amount that was covered by it.

“Is that perhaps… blood?”

“I also thought the same thing.”

Strange. Not only there was blood on the ground but, also above.

Yuu had no idea what happened at this place.

“Fall….No. No matter how much I think of it, I can’t think of the situation where he injured in mid-air like this.”

If the blood was only on the ground it was easier to thought of the thing happened here but, when there was also on the leaves above. Quite lots of imagination have to be use.

What he thought of were falling, and flying. However both were unlikely.

In the first place there wasn’t any high place near here. Feral also can’t fight around while jumping from tree to tree. Even if he was quite agile, that was still not the realm he can reach.

Flying was even more out of question.

“His arm got severed, and the blood gushed out like a waterfall…. This isn’t a movie.”

Yuu himself felt stupid for thinking like that.

“For now let’s look for other clue. We can think about this with everyone later.”

“Okay.”

Leaving the mysterious blood aside, Yuu and Hyodou looked for another clue.

As they searched for clue about their missing friend, the sun already set. They started preparing themselves to rest for the day.

The space around them was large enough. So they gathered dry branches, and made a fire to prevent wild beast from coming at them.

All of them took out a small pouch bag from their traveling bag, and opened it. They took out a dried meat, which was their dinner, and put it in their mouth.

“It lacked taste.”

They can’t really complain about it. Since they came to this world, all the food that went to their mouth taste bland no matter what they do about it.

Actually the dried meat they ate was blander than the thing they eaten before. However because their tongue was used to delicious food, they didn’t find it different.

They endured the hard preserved meat, and filled their stomach with it.

“There’s something.”

Out of nowhere Hans said that.

“What is it? Squire?”

“No, no. It’s nothing that cute. At least there’s around one meter tall, and several of them.”

Selia who also noticed that prepared her sword.

“Get in position!”

With Yuu command all of them moved to their designed position.

Selia and Hyodou at the front. Hans and Huke at the middle. And Yuu, Mike, Mary, and Julie at the back.

This was the best position Yuu can thought off.

Because they were in an open space, the position slightly changed with Yuu and the other in the center followed by Hans and Hyodou on one side, while Hans and Selia on the other side.

“Gyraaa.”

After they finished preparing themselves something came out form the forest.

Standing on two legs a one was one and a half meter lizard. It dark colored skin slightly reflected the fire light, showing the sharp scales that covered it body.

“Dinosaurs?”

To be precise, velociraptor.

The big lizard that was in front of them was called velociraptor in their world but, here it was called Rabid lizard.

Unlike velociraptor which didn’t even reach one meter. This Rabid lizard exceeded it and has larger arm that can be used to grab its prey.

A large lizard that not only has strong leg but, also long reach. It also won’t let go of it target once it decided as if it became fanatic, thus named it rabid. Because it attack in group, it was a dangerous enemy for beginner. Moreover there were three of them.

The heroes didn’t know about this and only thought it was just a velociraptor. They didn’t show any sign of worry or fear as they waited for the sign to attack.

“Gyaaaa!!!”

It let out an intimidating sound and the other two rabid lizards began their attack.

One leaped toward Hyodou. It used it powerful leg to shorten the distance in one jump, and immediately open it wide mouth.

The sharp fang bared itself and met with Hyodou’s shoulder. Upon reaching its target it tried to dig deeper and ripe through his flesh.

“Gyaa?”

However it failed to do so. When it tried to dig deeper into the meat behind the cloth, it felt something hard and unable to tore it.

“My trained body won’t be damage that easily!”

Hyodou proudly said. He then tried to grab the rabid lizard but, failed because it used its hand to held Hyodou’s.

Unlike a normal velociraptor that has a small arm, it has equal arm strength to rivaled Hyodou, who was considered strong in term of pure strength.

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“Gyaaaa!!!”

While still holding his arm, it once again bites Hyodou on the same spot. However it was fulfill. The sharp fang wasn’t enough to tear Hyodou’s steel like body.

“Hmn? Is that it? Then it’s my turn.”

After few second stalemates Hyodou finally began his attack. He held the lizard’s wrist and turned his body toward the other side while raising his hand to his shoulder. He slightly bended his leg and pushed his hip to the back.

“Gyaa?”

The lizard was confused. Even if it was heavier and stronger than him, it was slightly raised from the ground as if it was nothing. However it didn’t end there. Using the momentum Hyodou raised the lizard along his shoulder and slammed it toward the ground.

*Bam*

The impact made a loud sound. At the same time air escaped from the lizard’s mouth.

However as expected from a monster that live by fighting. It didn’t lose conscious and immediately stand up again using it tail as a support.

“Hmnn. That’s a good reaction. I praise you for that!”

Hyodou nodded as he praised his opponent. However he didn’t realize. That this wasn’t a one on one fight but, a group fight.

“Gyaa……”

The lizard realized it. It just realized it after he felt burning sensation on it back.

On his back there was a sharp object stabbed deep into his body. It was unlikely that it received it by bad luck when it was slammed. Of course it wasn’t unintentional.

When Hyodou was about to slammed the lizard, someone lightly put the sharp object between the small gap in it scales. It was perfectly place in that little time so that when it was pushed again the ground it would dig deeper.

The result was perfect. No one noticed it, even the lizard itself until it felt the pain on its back.

The person, who did it, Hans, was already taken some distance to make it look like he tried to dodge the throw just now. In the safe distance he wore a smile as he waited for another opportunity to add another trap.

On the other side, Selia blocked the incoming Lizard’s attack with her sword. Selia was clearly at disadvantage in term of strength. No matter how skillful she was at sword or her strength was increases because of her skill. Her body was still a female’s.

In the face of a lizard that has strength equal to Hyodou, she wasn’t able to push back her opponent. However despite that, the lizard didn’t push her back.

The reason lies in the sword.

The lizard made a mistake when it decided to grabbed Selia instead of using it fang. The moment Selia blocked and the lizard put it strength to pushed her back, it hand was cut by the sword.

If it tried to push her, the sword would easily dig deeper into it hand. If it let go of it, Selia would immediately cut the lizard into two.

The rabid lizard was in a difficult situation.

“Gyaaa.”

It tried to ask for help but, an arrow went toward it. In the middle of confusion it crushed the arrow using it mouth.

“Aw, damn. I thought I had it!”

From behind Huke clicked his finger in frustration.

“Gyaaaaa!!!”

Seeing that he was in a pinch, it sent out a distress sign to the first rabid lizard.

The first rabid lizard, most likely the leader, immediately came to help. However another arrow flew toward it.

The lizard looked at the archer.

“You won’t be going anywhere, as long that I’m here!”

Huke tried to say it as cool as possible but, the moment it leaped toward him, he ran away.

“Selia, he~~lp!”

Not only his image was ruined, he also bought the trouble back to Selia.

“You useless curly……”

Selia said that with a fed up face.

“My hair doesn’t have anything to do with it!!”

“Take care of it by yourself. I’m busy.”

“Don’t say that and help me!”

Seeing the trouble Yuu started to act. He moved from the center and held the Lizard.

“Yuu~, you saved me.”

“Aaah, but I will be grateful if you also help me. I won’t last long.”

“If you’re a man then don’t look for others help and handle it yourself!”

“Look who’s talking!”

From behind Julie retorted.

“I guess this about it.”

Selia thought that it was enough to gauge her opponent’s strength. She decided that it won’t be a problem if the monster in the forest was at this level.

She without hesitation pulled her sword out from the Lizard’s hand with a single movement.

“Gyaaa!!!”

It severely damaged the lizard’s hand in the proses. But she didn’t care about that and continue with a fast direct stab at it left chest. Just like that the rabid lizard died without even let out a dying cry.

Selia swung her sword to clean her sword from the fresh lizard blood, and turned toward the next victim.

“Gyaaa!! Gyaa!!”

“Hold still. This won’t be long.”

The rabid lizard was panicking as Hyodou put his arm around its neck, and another one at the end of his hand. It was a choke hold.

The lizard was resisting with all of strength but, it still can’t break free from it. It kicked to the back, scratch, used it tail. However it still wasn’t able to break free. The blood lost from the wounds on its back only made it feel weaker and weaker.

“Hold it. I will finish this with a liiittle time.”

Hans leaped toward it and slashed at the lizard’s throat using his knife. Blood splashed out from it as the lizard twitched few times before it finally stopped moving for good.

“Ew, lizard blood feels somewhat gross.”

Huke let out his comment as he watched the fight came to an end.

“Oh, your side also done?”

“Yeah, it ended with three slash from Selia. Isn’t she awesome?”

“Why are you saying that when you barely did anything……”

“Ehe!”

Selia silently unsheathed her sword again.

“W- Wait, wait, I’m joking. I’m joking!”

Huke became frantic.

“A-are you alright?”

“Yeah. Although that was scary, this much wound was nothing.”

“B-but still. L- let me heal you!”

On the side Mary healed Yuu who had a scratch from the fight with the lizard. Like he said it was nothing. But Mary became worried as she knew detail information about infection and stuff, which was close in her life.

“Then, I’m counting on you.”

“Y-Yes!”

Mary then started healing Yuu.

“Is there anyone else that has injury?”

No one except Yuu got injured. Selia didn’t give her enemy a chance to attack back, Huke fought in the distance and ran away, Hyodou was scratchless except for his shirt, and Hans was out of the reach because of Hyodou.

The heroes who finished taking care of the problem, went back to eat their dried meat and rest for the day. They took turn to keep watch for each other while the other sleeps.

Tomorrow, they left the place where the arm was, and tried to head deeper into the forest to search for clues.

In the way they encountered several rabid lizards but, they all became Selia’s sword stain. After walking until noon they exit the forest.

However they didn’t exit to the village. After all they walked with the intention of walking away from the village.

What went into their view was a vast open space that was larger than the Fruuh village. There were many rocks that have a same pattern scattered in the ground, and broken furniture such as chandelier or painting. The only thing that was left fine was a single gaudy looking chair in the middle.

“……A ruin?”

The heroes came upon an unknown ruin in the deep of the forest.

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Author note: The end is soon.

After weeks full of test, a field trip, and now mid-term exam. I'm starting to hate this. At this rate the next chapter might be in 2 weeks. Please be patient as the story about to finish the beginning part.