When i left the guild, i realized that i had no knowledge on both my way around the village and where i could hunt monsters. Setting aside my stupidity, i turned around and headed back to the guild.
This time when i entered the reception area, i was given a wide berth, nobody wanted to mess with someone of higher rank.
I went up to the receptionist and asked for a map. “Here it is.” The were-rabbit bent under the table and took out a parchment paper. “At the direction west of the village is the Screaming Woods, that area is mainly occupied by F to D-ranked monsters, it is the hunting grounds for beginners. The north side is the Devil’s Stomping Ground is inhabited by strong creatures, usually C to A-ranked. Looking at the mission you have taken, i would suggest a party. Shadow panthers are B-ranked, they are very stealthy and agile, you will need at least a sensory mage and a body enhanced mage to capture it.”
“I work better solo, thanks for the information.” i gave her a small smile. Her rosy cheeks were pretty cute as she blushed.
Dragons are very territorial creatures, we like to keep to ourselves but i was different, i liked to roam the lands and discover different races, one of the titles i got from my people was ‘The Wanderer’. I probably covered around 80% of Neopagan during my travels.
As i turned around and headed towards the exit, i caught a flash of red in my peripheral vision. Tilting my head, i saw a woman around 5’2 with hair that resembled a crimson flame. She was staring intently at me and i held her gaze. She could only hold it for a moment before looking away, unable to match my stare.
In the olden days, it was believed that staring into a dragon’s eye for a long period of time could reveal your entire soul and one can never escape it’s gaze. But no one tested this theory because they were not astronomical idiots to try and challenge dragons, even legendary figures did not want to take the risk. There was not much known about dragons, so everyone treaded very carefully around us.
I exited the guild and could once again feel the presence following me. I paid no mind to it, if the stalker did not hinder my activities or try to attack me, i couldn’t give two s**** about it, but i would be lying if i said that i was not the least bit curious as to who it was.
With nothing to do right now, i decided to get the mission done with.
Entering the Devil’s Stomping Ground, the first thing i noticed was how dark the place was. The trees were bloating out the sky, casting weird shadows everywhere. As i walked further and further into the forest, it became eerily quite and i could not hear any birds chirping or insects scuttling on the ground.
I took out my mission leaflet and double checked the appearance and features of the panther. It had glowing purple markings on its body, with a scar stretching across its one-eyed face.
With no knowledge of where or when the shadow panther will appear, i formed a chair from stone and sat down in the middle of forest.
.
.
.
LITHANA BLADEHEART
I watched as the man settled down on throne-like chair that he conjured up. ‘He is not going to just sit there and wait…right?’ I was dumbfounded, this isn’t a children’s playground but the godforsaken Devil’s Stomping Ground. I didn’t know whether he was really dumb or really, really brave.
I watched on as the hours ticked by, hoping he would do something. As an assassin, i had confidence in my stealth abilities. Thinking he will not spot me, i hid in the trees and watched.
Nearing the fourth hour, he got up and stretched. His eyes were scanning around as if looking for something, as his eyes started to turn in my direction, i held my breath, afraid of even making the slightest movement. He paused on my hiding spot for a moment and the next second he was gone. He moved so fast that my eyes have no way of tracking him.
.
ERIC PENDRAGON
Sitting on the chair was certainly not because i wanted to relax… well maybe, but more importantly i was trying to locate the panther. Bats use a form of echolocation by using sound waves to ‘see’ around them, with the waves echoing back towards them, they know the exact shape and location of they prey. What i did was similar but in a much larger scale. Instead of using the air, i used the ground instead. By sending tremors through my feet into the ground i was able to cover the whole expanse of the area, and after four hours of doing that, i was finally able to locate the sneaky bastard.
Standing up, i stretched my limbs after sitting fixedly for so long. I have long since noticed a little snooper camping on the trees behind me, from the echolocation, i found out that it was a girl. Giving her a short glance, i sped away towards my prey, not giving her a chance to follow me and mess up my plans for it.
