Chapter 9: Chapter 9: A Strange Encounter

Rallied, the army of hunters wasted no time entering the forest. As they traveled, Artie wondered where Mayumi was. He hated it; his urge to seek that woman out made his blood boil.

"I should have asked more questions when I had the chance."

Trailing a few feet behind the pack, Artie stared at the broad shoulders of men and women who boldly sought out danger. He did find it comical to see some of them wearing name-brand clothing and mismatching with crude leather.

The direction they traveled was harsh; nature grew undisturbed like an outbreak. The path was cleared ahead, but branches and prickly bushes still grazed him. The land was far from flat; abrupt dips in elevation caught even the most confident hunters off guard. If not for his anxiety, he'd laugh at the sight of muscular, 300-pound men tripping and falling into small dirt pits.

Most of the tree's fullness blocked light from seeping through, so he toiled through the shadowy landscape carefully.

"Divide!" Roared a distant and unfamiliar voice.

At the head of the pack, humans began branching off left and right, while a more significant majority continued straight. There were no words exchanged as it happened; everyone simply knew where they belonged.

Unsure which path to take, he stopped.

"If I could at least tell which way was less dangerous…."

The groups were advancing further away by the minute, and Artie stood indecisively.

Artie racked his brain, thinking of where to go, but he came up with nothing. Panicked, his heart began to beat faster. Then, starting from his hands, his body became colder. He'd started to walk excruciatingly slowly as he looked from left to right. However, there were no visible hints to guide his decision.

Artie reached out his left arm and leaned against a tree. Cold sweat trickled down his shaken face as he continued to examine the paths.

"If I go the wrong way, I could end up with an elite team. If those wolf monsters are there, I'll-"

There was never any mention of any "elite" team; however, his experience from games led him to believe there would be and overthink it. He'd started to dread a decision that would be based purely on chance alone. One minute turned into two, then three, and six minutes had elapsed before long. By then, the silhouette of the hunters was nowhere to be seen.

"If that monster show's up…." He said shakily.

He recalled the first day's events, his encounter with the creature that chased him to the cliff, and the depth of the fear he felt. The low bass throbbing of his heart was heavy enough that it could be heard with his acute hearing. In Artie's moment of distress, the forest's shadows seemed to move. Move, and shift like the terrifying jet-black monsters he'd faced only days ago.

Artie dizzily raised a hand to his head before tightly grabbing it. Meanwhile, he peered into the haunted shadows with his eyes and mouth wide, expecting something to emerge.

He continued this for minutes, simply frozen in anxiety while gazing into the forest's darkness.

 

<>

 

"First time?" Materialized a stranger, giving Artie a light tap on the shoulder.

"Taaaaa!"

Artie screamed and turned around, exposing his frightened face. Shaking uncontrollably, he instinctively swung the spear at a man.

What frightened Artie more than anything was the silence of darkness. He'd relied on his exceptional hearing to survive, avoiding monsters unmistakable sounds. However, shadows did not make sounds, and neither did the man who suddenly appeared behind him.

The unknown man effortlessly caught the weapon and held onto the hilt as he continued to speak to Artie.

"Take a deep breath."

"I'm on your side."

The man's voice was friendly. He had straight shoulder-length black hair and was lightly dressed in black sports shorts, a white anime t-shirt, and sneakers.

Artie inhaled sharply when he calmed and noticed he'd swung at a human. He looked at him wholly and remorsefully released his hold on the weapon.

"There you go, relax," said the man charmingly.

"Sorry, I didn't know…." Sighed Artie, catching his breath.

"This must be your first time," the man accurately guessed.

"Yea… Could you explain what's happening?" Artie mumbled.

"Sure," he agreed, walking past Artie and pointing.

"The left pack is W- Oh yea, they call them guilds now. Left is Mayor Wana's guild, Skull and Sebastian is center, and Ferrari and Ryu's guilds are the furthest right."

Artie visibly cringed in front of the man as he explained.

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"Since the guilds were formed on the second day, whoever you meet in town first automatically adopts you," he continued.

"Aren't guilds supposed to be voluntary? Making people join the first person they meet is definitely an involuntary draft," Artie remarked.

The stranger chuckled and nodded his head.

"I agree, but I'm more surprised you didn't ask about the ridiculous names we've chosen for ourselves. Especially after the twisted expression you made."

"I had an edgy faze too; there are much worse names to end up wit-"

Artie stopped and fixed his gaze on the person smiling in front of him. He thought he might have misheard him and questioned his previous sentence.

"You said names 'we've" come up with. As if you were among them?"

"I am," the man replied.

"Ah..." Whispered Artie.

There was stillness between both of them. Artie merely dazed off, waiting for the situation to make sense again.

The corner of his mouth and his left brow twitching without his permission.

The man grinned as he continued to look at Artie, observing him. He was tall, so his gaze angled down at Artie, who'd waited for the punchline to the joke.

After a discomfiting silence, the strange man blinked and held his stomach as he broke into a full laugh.

"Your reactions are priceless!" He exclaimed, clinging to his gut.

"T-thanks? But why is the leader of the guild this far back." Asked Artie.

The man didn't answer but straightened himself, grinned, and reached out his hand.

"Sebastian, pleased to meet you."

Artie forced a crooked smile, grabbed the man's hand, and shook it.

"Sebastian isn't that strange a name," opposed Artie.

"Even if I tell you the name is borrowed from my favorite anime character?" He asked, releasing Artie's hand.

"It could be borrowed from a certain dancing crab, and I still wouldn't think so," Artie replied casually.

Another silent moment befell the two. Sebastian's dark brown eyes held onto Artie's even as he sneakily tried to look away. The man's shorts revealed his toned calves, and the sweaty T-shirt that was a size too small made it abundantly clear the Caucasian man was athletic. His face was youthful, yet his height and frame were that of a man's, making it difficult for Artie to gauge his age. Regardless, he categorized him as a man-child because of his mischievous aura.

Sebastian's laughter once again broke the silence.

"It's a bummer my guild didn't find you first. So, who's the lucky devil?" Inquired the man, trying to speak clearly over his own laughter.

"Lucky? No, but you're spot on about them being a devil. Ryu will probably kill me before the wild monsters," brooded Artie.

Sebastian grabbed his left shoulder and forced a smile. Seeing the chipper man unable to joke about his circumstance only furthered Artie's unease.

After releasing his shoulder, Sebastian carefully scanned the area and returned Artie's spear.

"Welp, my Job here is done. Your guild is getting pretty far away; you'll need to be quick to catch up."

"Your Job?" Asked Artie curiously.

Sebastian unsheathed a dagger that was tied to his waist, and before leaving, he gave one last smile to Artie.

"Just making sure none of our friends run away from their duty," Answered the man playfully.

Within seconds Sebastian had jogged out of sight. There was hardly a sound as he ran, as if he was walking above the ground, not on it.

His last words became etched into Artie's mind as he watched him depart.

"..."

"What just happened."

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