Chapter 425: 426. Tracking down Monsters

“Is it true that you’re a hunter?” a boy dared to ask.

Since Dallion had started walking about, a group composed of all the village children had been following his every move. While he could appreciate their curiosity—he too had lived in a small, insignificant village—Dallion was starting to miss the calm of walking through the wilderness.

“No,” Dallion corrected as he finished stocking up his backpack. “Just an apprentice, hopefully.”

“Why aren’t you a hunter?” another child asked. “Dad said you killed a hundred cracklings with one strike.”

That made Dallion chuckle. Technically, he could have killed as many had they been there. In reality, though, he didn’t look forward to using line attacks in the real world anytime soon. Unfortunately, it was probably that he might have to.

“That’s because hunters must kill at least a hundred and one,” he joked as he lifted the backpack.

“Wow. Hunters must be really strong.”

“They are. They are very strong.” Also, they would have been here if they’d known that the avian was a dragon’s shadow. If Eury had agreed to having an echo of Dallion’s, he would have been able to tell her exactly what was going on. Alas, the gorgon had adamantly refused any suggestion that he leave an echo behind, be it in an item.

Adjusting the backpack, Dallion did a quick check of his gear. Everything was there and in perfect condition. There were a lot of additional things he had been offered, far more than he needed or could possibly carry. Given that he had saved the village from significant damage, it was normal they should be thankful, though even Dallion didn’t expect it to be to such a degree.

“Don’t you kids have anything to do?” Banra walked over. “Give the man some space.”

Sounds of dissatisfaction filled the air. No child wanted to go, but at the same time, they knew better than to annoy the woman. She was going to remain in the village long after Dallion had left, and as strong as he was, he was just passing by.

“You’ll get a chance to talk to him once he’s caught the creature,” she added—a clear lie that sounded plausible enough to get the children to comply. “Got everything you need?” she asked, once the crowd had cleared.

“I got plenty.” Dallion tapped the side of the backpack. “I don’t have space for more, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“You’re funny,” the woman said. “I’m just here to tell you to be careful. You’ve strong, I’ve seen that much, but so is the crackling. And I don’t think it’s the only problem.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Half a year ago, the whole area was the most boring place in the county. We’d cut lumber, then sell it to one of the merchants, who’d then take it to the nearby towns, maybe even Nerosal itself. Then, suddenly, there was a sighting. That’s not too odd. We’re close to the middle of nowhere, so we get the occasional creature to appear, though nothing like this. Until yesterday we’d get five or six avians at most. They were still bloody difficult to deal with. The village had to spend quite a lot to buy sea iron arrowheads. Yesterday, though…'' She looked at the belltower. “If you weren’t here, half the village would be gone.”

Shifting from six to three dozen in just one wave was quite the jump. Without a doubt something had happened to create this change.

“Maybe it’s because of me,” Dallion suggested.

“I thought the same yesterday. Not how, though. Even if you had somehow attracted their attention, the crackling population wasn’t that large.”

“You think more of them had become breeders?”

“Maybe it was just bad timing. Maybe, in the past, the cracklings would split up between the villages in the area and not attack at once. If I’m wrong, however, the countess might have to end up sending an army to deal with this.”

Never a dull moment, Dallion thought as he nodded. He was getting more and more impressed by how Eury managed to deal with such matters all the time. All the hunters had vast skills that made hunting look easy, but when not on a hunt they were doing their own thing. Eury, on the other hand, was constantly involved with the city guard, helping the overseer protect the city itself. More than likely that was the reason she had chosen this task to test Dallion. Or maybe he was overthinking things again.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this,” Dallion said. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Yeah, I expect you would. Good luck out there and may the Moons be with you.”

It was a bit too late for that, but Dallion nodded and thanked her all the same.

A lot of fanfare accompanied him leaving the village. Every bodied person had gathered to see the “awakened hero” start his journey to destroy the creature that had been plaguing the village for months. Several people even offered to join him to help. They knew they didn’t have the skills to face the cracklings, but reckoned they could carry his things to assist. The offers were well intended, but ineffective. At present Dallion could carry more than half the village combined. With a body stat of thirty-two, he was fifteen times stronger than the average person, maybe more. Having someone else carry his backpack would be more of a hindrance than anything else, especially since normal people were noisy, slow, and needed to sleep. The only people that he could have taken along were the Banra or some of the other local awakened, but everyone agreed that was a bad idea. Someone needed to provide protection for the village while he was gone.

Ten minutes after he’d returned to the wilderness, Dallion stopped and looked at the map of the area the village chief had given him. It was a lot more accurate than the general maps he’d found in Nerosal, including four new settlements as well as a trading station. The empire might have stopped its expansion east and south, but merchants were always pushing the boundaries. After Nil’s speech on magical creatures, Dallion was starting to get an idea of why. Maybe it was cynical of him, but there was only one reason that people dealing with money would risk life and profit by venturing beyond the civilized world—poaching.

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What are your thoughts on this? Dallion asked.

It’s possible, Nil replied. Quite possible, actually. After the trouble in Nerosal, it will be quite a while before the artifact market becomes viable again. Therefore, we’ll see a return to creature resources.

So, hunters aren’t the only ones to go out there…

Hunters are tools, dear boy, just like assassins. People don’t have to hire an assassin to get someone killed, but it helps. There’s no saying whether or not the “traveling merchant” was alone in this. Or maybe he was just a local guide. Merchant organizations often acquire the services of people who are familiar with the area. In fact, that is the reason a lot of them enter that profession to begin with. It takes connections to join a trade group. Those who don’t have them become the equivalent of mercenaries doing their own thing, hoping their skills or finds would earn them an invitation to where the real money’s at.

Dallion shook his head. Some things never changed regardless of what world he was in. The notion also ruined his childhood memories of Dherma, when a visit from a traveling merchant was one of the highlights of life. A distant aunt of his had even married one, earning her relative comfort and protection from the Luor family during the not so pleasant times of the past.

Of course, it’s only speculation. Nobles also tend to go on hunts, which they call chases, on their own.

I thought they didn’t bother with such things.

Heh, Nil laughed bitterly. Do you know what’s the difference between a noble and everyone else? Nobles can choose to do things common people do. While they don’t always have the experience, they have the skills. A botched capture attempt is exactly something that one would expect from some idiot going on a “chase.”

You seem to know rather a lot about nobles. Is there something you haven’t told me?

Dear boy, there are decades of things I haven’t told you. Just as there are things in your past you haven’t shared with anyone. We met in Nerosal. That should be enough.

The hint was clear.

Dallion glanced at the map again, then folded it away. According to what he had learned, the avian had been first seen somewhere in the forest that started a few dozen miles away. The explanation was annoyingly vague, most likely by design. Given the technological limitations of the world, finding a monster in the forest, even with his skills, was going to take a while. Well, normally it would. Dallion had a few things up his sleeve to remedy that.

For over an hour, he spent following the rough trail that passed for a road connecting villages. To his surprise, Gleam seemed quite enchanted by the experience. The shardfly hadn’t seen a true forest such as this ever since she was born and would use the whip blade to float about in amazement. Given the nature of the forest, Dallion couldn’t blame her. The trees were unlike anything back on earth—they were multiple times larger, almost to the point of a rainforest giant. At the same time, they didn’t tend to obscure each other. It was almost as if they had reached an agreement to keep their roots and branches to themselves and shoot straight up.

No wonder people come here for lumber, Dallion thought.

One of the bigger trees was enough to rebuild every structure in Dherma twice over. Even the “smaller” easier to chop trees were a good haul.

Know anything about nature as well, Nil? Dallion asked. I don’t see any stumps.

People don’t usually chop down trees in the middle of the forest. Well, not unless they want to make a path. Your suspicions are right, though. This particular species does tend to grow rather fast. It was long speculated that they were remnants of dryad groves, until a dryad guardian dismissed the notion in a conversation with a leading philosopher four centuries ago. As it turns out, they are just trees that grow fast.

Trees that grow fast. That didn’t sound too scientific. Either way, they were going to help Dallion find the traces of the cracklings. Reaching the “fork” in the forest mentioned by the village chief, Dallion stopped. It was time to use his athletic skills again.

Climbing wasn’t a skill he had relied on too much. Back in Nerosal, most of the buildings had been low enough for him to jump to the roof. With trees going up for several hundred feet, that wasn’t an option.

“Lux,” Dallion said as he took out the caleidervisto. “Gleam, time for some fun. I want you to get up there and tell me if there’s any part of the forest that’s not right.”

Without any further invitation, the whip blade darted up like a sea serpent through water. On his part, Lux merely flashed, arriving at his destination in a single moment.

No one likes a show off, Gleam said within Dallion’s domain, causing the firebird to offer an apologetic chirp.

Amused, Dallion went to the trunk of the largest tree in the vicinity and started climbing.

You are aware that cracklings don’t affect the living, Nil said.

“I know,” Dallion replied. “That’s why I won’t be looking for rotting trees, but patches without trees whatsoever.”

Oh?

“Cracklings can’t feed on what they can’t decay. Also, I doubt a dragon could hide in this thicket. It’ll need an open place to make its lair or living ground. If the merchant who spotted it had anything to do with its transformation, he most likely lied about where he saw it. However, there’s a good chance he mentioned the closest landmark he could think of. So, it’s pretty much a matter of combining the two.”

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