Crack…
Small twigs and withered leaves crunched beneath their boots as the trio moved through the forest.
The sun filtered through the dense canopy overhead, scattering golden rays across the woodland floor. Gentle breezes occasionally stirred the leaves, causing patches of light and shadow to dance across the rocky path.
Raising his gaze ahead, Raymond found nothing but endless trees stretching into the distance.
The forest felt alive.
Small animals darted through bushes before vanishing from sight. Rabbits nibbled on patches of grass while squirrels scampered up tree trunks.
Above them, countless birds chirped from hidden branches, their voices blending together into a natural chorus. For a while, the three simply walked.
The silence around them being comfortably quiet. But, it didn't last long.
Lyra, clearly not the type of person capable of remaining silent for extended periods, eventually gave up and spoke.
"So..." she began, glancing toward Raymond. "You said your name was Raymond, right?"
"Yes, that is correct," Raymond replied with a nod.
"Hmm, you seem young to be in this kind of job this early," she said as she adjusted the bow hanging on her shoulder.
Raymond remained quiet for a moment before answering.
"Circumstances and life don't care about what your age is, Miss Lyra. If they decide to test you, they won't wait for you to grow older first."
His voice was calm and matter-of-fact. The words caused Lyra to blink. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond. That wasn't the kind of answer she had expected from someone so very young.
Eventually, she scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"That's... surprisingly deep."
"Not really."
"It definitely is."
Beside them, Rowan glanced at Raymond.
Unlike Lyra, he didn't look amused. Instead, he looked thoughtful.
'Those weren't the words of someone who had lived a comfortable life.' He thought in his head.
They sounded more like the conclusion of someone who had learned that lesson personally.
"Still, you don't talk like most young adventurers. You know, nowadays most of them are just haughty and prideful for no grand reason."
Raymond raised an eyebrow at her comment.
"Is that so? You seem to have had a... not very pleasant experience with them."
The moment he said that, Lyra's expression twisted as if she had bitten into something sour.
"Ugh, don't remind me," she groaned dramatically. "It was infuriating, to be in the party with those fools."
She threw her hands into the air while walking, clearly still holding a grudge.
"Those idiots didn't have a single bit of sense in them. Just because they had decent equipment and a little talent, they started acting like they owned the world. Heck, every conversation somehow turned into them bragging about themselves."
Her annoyance only seemed to grow as she continued.
"One of them spent nearly an entire day talking about his family sword. Not how he used it. Not his skills. Just the sword. By the end of it, I wanted to throw him into the river."
Rowan sighed deeply. Unlike Lyra, he didn't shout however from his sigh Raymond judged that it wouldn't have been a good experience.
"And don't even get me started on their attitude. Looking down on everyone, acting like they're heroes from some story. The worst part is that most of them couldn't back up half the things they said."
She pointed ahead with an accusing finger as though the offending adventurers were standing right in front of her.
"Honestly, I'd rather spend an entire day fighting monsters than spend a minute talking to people like that."
"I-I see." Raymond said with an awkward smile.
Just then, Rowan raised his hand. Both of them stopped their chat and turned towards him.
"Be alert now, we are entering the monster infested areas now." He said his hand moving towards his sword.
"Okay." Lyra said.
Raymond also nodded, his whole attention turning towards the forest. They walked deeper into the forest ever ready to face anything.
The beast now had dwindled to none, while an oppressive silence hung over the surroundings.
Rustle.
A rustle broke the silence. In an instant, the trio turned toward the source of the sound. The bush ahead shook violently as something pushed through it. Leaves scattered across the ground while branches snapped beneath a heavy weight.
Raymond's eyes narrowed.
A moment later, a creature emerged from the greenery.
It was a boar-like monster.
The monster stood nearly as tall as an adult man at the shoulder, its bulky frame covered in coarse dark-brown fur.
Thick muscles rolled beneath its hide with every movement, while a pair of massive tusks protruded from either side of its mouth.
The tusks were easily the most striking feature.
Long. Curved. Sharp enough to gore a person clean through. Mud and dried blood stained their ivory surfaces, hinting that they had already tasted plenty of prey before.
The monster snorted heavily.
Clouds of warm breath escaped from its nostrils as small red eyes scanned the surroundings.
Its hooves dug into the earth. The ground beneath them cracked slightly.
Raymond immediately understood that this wasn't an ordinary beast. The creature possessed enough physical strength to turn a careless adventurer into a corpse within seconds.
Beside him, Lyra slowly reached for an arrow.
"A Wild Tusk Boar," she whispered. "It is an Intermediate- ranked monster."
Rowan nodded.
"Yes, not particularly dangerous alone." He paused. "But don't underestimate its rapid charge."
The swordsman's grip tightened around his weapon.
"A direct hit can easily break your bones."
Just as Rowan finished saying that, the boar suddenly tensed. Its massive body lowered slightly as muscles bulged beneath its coarse fur. The beast scraped its hoof against the dirt, sending loose soil scattering across the forest floor.
The twin tusks protruding from its mouth glinted under the filtered sunlight. For a brief moment, everything became still.
Then the monster's red eyes locked onto the trio.
A low snort escaped its nostrils as hot breath billowed into the air. Then like an arrow set loose from a bow. The monster shot towards them.
"Move." Rowan shouted.