Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Zertold Forest

Wolstan pushed the gate closed behind him, it locked with a metallic click. He could feel the old woman’s eyes burning into him, perhaps concerned about his safety but he wasn’t bothered by it. All that mattered was he did it. He finally entered the forest.

He couldn’t help smiling, he knew he should be afraid of the Drenids in the forest but he couldn’t stop the bubbling giddiness inside him from seizing control. All around him the forest’s great trees danced and swayed in the morning breeze like they were cheering him on.

Not sure how long that foolhardiness would last, he looked around, the forest’s main pathway was straight ahead. The cracked stone path had turned green with moss from disuse. It led to another gate that needed a different key than the one he had as there was said to be a village of Forester Drenids beyond it that were stronger than the ones that appeared near Zertold.

Chances were he would have met a Forester that way but those leering emerald eyes came from that same direction. 

Wolstan shuddered at the thought, it wasn’t worth the risk. Besides, he already knew where at least one Drenid was, and they’d be easier to catch if they were injured.

He turned left and wandered aimlessly hoping he’d randomly run into the Drenid, which didn’t seem too impossible in the forest.

There were as many tales of destiny and good fortune in the forest as there were of people getting run through from a [Crusader]’s blade. That’s what Wolstan wanted, his own destiny. 

Growing up an orphan he never knew his parents, but they saw fit to leave him on Kesta’s doorstep eighteen years prior. The old man treated him like the son he never had but Wolstan could never shake the feeling of being a burden, which led him to move out four years prior. If he could find his own destiny, perhaps he could make it on his own and even start to unravel his origins in Gelia.

As he walked lost in thought the trees around him grew denser, he struggled just to continue forward and more than once felt someone's gaze burrowing into him. But every time he looked he was alone. At least he hoped.

That continued for a few moments more before the trees opened up to a round clearing where a pale Drenid lay unconscious in the grass.

Wolstan smiled despite everything in his being telling him it was a trap. 

The Drenid had cuts and scratches all over her body, mud and leaves caked her short, shiny, bronze hair, and she so far hadn’t noticed his presence even though he made no attempt to conceal his movements. 

He tapped the Dredot to bring up her stats.

Drenid Name: Rania

Hunter: Null

Tribe: Forester

Form: [Fighter] (1st stage)

Class: Warrior

Level: 3

Strength: 4

Defense: 2

Intel: 3

Agility: 6

His smile widened, it was finally happening, now all he had to do was touch her without waking her, or else that would be the end of him. 

His every step seemed amplified by the forest’s tranquility, he held his breath lest the Drenid hear his breathing. Mere inches away from the Forester he bent down and touched his finger to her collarbone.

A vibrant green light flashed before his eyes the second their skin connected. A rush of wind roared past him but ended just as it began. He opened his eyes to find he was no longer in the forest. At least his consciousness wasn’t; he had linked to the Drenid’s mind.

He wound up in a lush prairie devoid of anything besides tall grass, the deep blue sky above, and a strange green orb floating above an old stone pillar just in front of him.

If he hadn’t read about the phenomenon beforehand and had that strange dream he might have been freaked out but he knew that all he had to do was reach out to it, to seal the pact between human and Drenid. 

He did so without hesitation and instantly felt a strange warmth envelope him. It entered through his fingertips and spread all throughout him.

[Registration Complete: Rania has been caught successfully!]

The words ran through Wolstan’s mind so quickly he barely caught them. The Drenid’s mindscape lit up white and he felt himself flying backwards as if he were being dragged by a fisherman’s reel. A second later he was back in the forest looking down on Rania. A black, three-belled, fool’s cap engraved itself on the Drenid’s skin where his finger made contact.

Wolstan’s brow rose at the sight of it. Some said a hunter’s sigil said something about the hunter themself or their family line. The little mark clearly branded him a fool. 

As he pondered what it could possibly mean, the Drenid’s eyes flicked open. He tumbled backwards and scooted away from her as she sat up.

For a moment she appeared confused but then she followed Wolstan’s gaze to the fool’s cap on her collarbone and looked back at him barring sharp fangs. Wolstan backed up some more.

“Capturing me while I was knocked out. Coward!” Rania hissed as she advanced on him. A thick wooden blade materialized in her hands. “I’d rather that other Drenid finish me off than serve such a spineless human!” She raised her weapon high.

“Stop!” Wolstan shouted and thrust his hands out.

Rania stopped in her tracks with her weapon still raised. An angry growl escaped her immobile lips but she couldn’t go against her hunter’s command.

Wolstan exhaled deeply, his heart hammered in his chest. “Just relax.” He said once he calmed down a little. Rania slowly sat down but avoided Wolstan’s gaze.

He pointed his hand at his Drenid once again to see the changes.

Drenid Name: Rania

Hunter: Wolstan

Tribe: Forester

Form: [Fighter] (1st stage)

Class: Warrior

Level: 3

Strength: 4

Defense: 2

Intel: 3

Agility: 6

⌊More⌉

Seeing his name registered as Rania’s hunter made him happier than he could put to words. He clicked the ‘More’ sign, and a new window appeared.

[Fighter]: Forester Drenids of the warrior class that use wooden weapons and their above average speed to fight enemies. Like other Forester Drenids they’re attuned with nature and can usually be found near forests or wide open plains. Unlike other Foresters their speed allows them to zip through trees and make hit and runs, making them difficult to catch.

Skills: Weapon Materialization

Equipment: Wooden Sword

Wolstan simply nodded at the new information, he wasn’t aware the Dredot provided that many details. It probably only gave it out for Drenids caught by the hunter.

Having accomplished everything he set out to do, he got up and started back towards Zertold but Rania didn’t budge. 

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She looked around the trees with a worried look on her face but Wolstan couldn’t see what the problem was. Before he could so much as move a muscle the sound of snapping branches filled the air. Another Drenid tumbled into the clearing. 

Tattered rags covered his body and legs. His chest expanded and fell rapidly as he took in the scene before him. His eyes fell on Rania and he scowled.

“Rania, I should have known… You led that unholy beast into the forest didn’t you!” The Drenid yelled.

“Are you insane!” Rania growled back. “Look at me, the monster got me first! She chased me throughout the forest, if it wasn’t for her this damned human wouldn’t have caught me!”

The new Drenid jumped as he finally laid eyes on Wolstan. A second later he bared his fangs just as Rania had.

“Great, first the monster and now a hunter, looking for Drenids.” He said and pointed a sharp finger Wolstan’s way. “I’m not gonna let that thing kill me, but I’m also not getting caught like that idiot. Leave the forest or die, your choice.”

Wolstan started to tell him he had no intention of catching him but Rania jumped up and pointed her sword at the Drenid.

“Who are you calling an idiot?” Rania said.

The other Drenid raised his finger further and pointed rocks rose from the ground aimed at Rania’s chest. “The fool of a Drenid that allowed herself to get caught off guard twice today.”

Rania launched herself at the Drenid and struck at him at random. She slashed at him wherever she could get in but the other Drenid dodged her every strike. 

He returned in kind, shooting edged rocks towards Rania but the deft Drenid danced around them before a single one could hit her.

“Rania!” Wolstan called. She glanced back at him quickly before starting in on the other Drenid again. Wolstan couldn’t understand why she was fighting at all, the Drenid gave them an out. He didn’t know what to do, if he told her to stop, she’d get hit and the other Drenid would kill both of them.

Not sure what else he could do he pulled up the other Drenid’s information.

Drenid Name: Alanis

Hunter: Null

Tribe: Forester

Form: [Earth Mage] (1st stage)

Class: Mage

Level: 5

Strength: 3

Defense: 4

Intel: 7

Agility: 4

Wolstan frowned. Alanis was a higher level but Rania was faster, she shouldn’t have been having any trouble hitting the [Earth Mage]. 

Rania screamed as a rock sliced her side. She quickly readjusted herself and struck at Alanis anew. Her movements became savage, Alanis seemed to have even less trouble dodging her than before. 

“Wait, Rania, you’re not hitting him because he knows where you’re going to attack!” Wolstan said. “You need to calm down and use your speed to hit him.” 

Rania stopped her assault and glanced back at him. Alanis smirked.

“You’re not actually going to listen to a human are you?” He said. 

“I’ll listen to anyone as long as it means beating you!” Rania said and steadied herself with her sword drawn out in front of her. 

Before she could move Alanis raised his hand and a hailstorm of rocky shards shot towards her, she deflected most with her blade as she advanced on him. 

Sweat formed on Alanis’s brow as he tried to keep her back in vain.

“You human lovi-” Alanis started.

Rania got close and brought her sword down on his free arm; a crack reverberated around the trees. 

Alanis screamed, reeled back, and raised his undamaged arm to summon more rocks. Before a single rock rose Rania raised her sword high above his head and slammed it down. 

Wolstan winced as another sickening crack reached his ears. The untamed Drenid fell to his side unmoving as Rania panted above him.

“I-is he?” Wolstan began. He was interrupted by the sound of a small chime, the dot on his arm glowed white but he was far too focused on the felled Drenid to investigate. 

“He’s alive,” Rania said glaring down at the Drenid. Her tone gave Wolstan the impression she thought it was unfortunate. She turned around and let her sword disappear in a flash of light. “Look, let’s get out of here before he wakes up, or worse, the monster comes back.”

“Right, come on then, the way out should be this way,” Wolstan said. He nervously started back the way he entered the forest, acutely aware of the risk he took by letting Rania walk behind him, but leaving before whatever scared her and Alanis showed up took precedence.

Wolstan only let his guard down once Zertold’s gate came into view. He could finally savor getting his first Drenid and might even stop to tell Kesta everything that happened before he left for Gelia.

“Don’t move!” Rania shouted.

Wolstan spun around, Rania once again searched around the trees as something rustled amongst them. 

“It’s the beast, it’s here!” She said and drew her weapon. 

Wolstan followed her gaze to an overgrown shrub and watched as its branches were pushed back. A large Drenid stepped out of it.

He could hardly describe what he saw. Gnarled antlers grew from the Drenid’s head into whetted points, black and silver fur covered her body save for her rosy pink face. A stringy black tail whipped excitedly behind her. Worst yet her eyes were the same emerald green of the Drenid that stalked him that morning.

Wolstan’s arm shook as he raised it towards the new Drenid to see just how outmatched Rania was.

Drenid Name: Esta

Hunter: Evrouin Diamarta (Deceased)

Tribe: Natrius

Form: [Wendigo] (3rd stage)

Class: Beast

Level: 87

Strength: 257

Defense: 225

Intel: 305

Agility: 244

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