elra
patreon
An Otherworldly Scholar - 94
🕑 Added 2024-01-20 00:51:25 +0000 UTCThe cold northern wind bit our faces as we climbed the mountainous path into the Farlands. Ilya led the way in silence, her head hidden under her cloak as sudden gusts of wind pushed us back as if they wanted to prevent us from continuing our travels. My worries were unfounded. Despite her massive backpack, Ilya advanced with sure footing and a good pace.
“Almost there,” Ilya said as she led me around a patch of dangerous frozen rock.
Snowy peaks appeared behind the immense sea of dead trees and the evergreen pines. Before we reached the forest, Ilya climbed an outcropping on the rock and surveyed the terrain ahead. A glint of green mana shone in her eyes as she used her tracking skills. Imitating her, I let [Awareness] gather information on the path ahead. Dry rock. Compacted pebbles. No sign of monsters.
After a minute, she jumped down with surprising agility and resumed our march. We slowly descended the slope, hugging the mountain to avoid treacherous wind gusts. The valley's silence was only disturbed by the distant screech of the Roc Harpies and the wind whistling across the mountain pass.
Ilya suddenly stopped as we reached the fertile and soft undergrowth. “It seems someone passed here before us. These marks seem to be fresh.”
I crouched by her side to examine the footprints. Big, heavy boot footprints from a single person moved down the slope into the forest.
“Sentinels?” I asked.
With a member of the Royal Family staying in Farcrest, Chieftain Alton should have all the available Sentinels in the field looking for potential threats. I was confident no monster had managed to reach the southern valley, which meant it was safer for us to hunt.
“Sentinels don’t leave such obvious tracks. Even low-level Hunters try to pass unnoticed as Iceshard Boars are shy creatures,” Ilya explained.
“A bored soldier then?” I asked.
Ilya shrugged. “Let’s focus on our hunt.”
Instead of hugging the mountain like the previous time I ventured into the Farlands with Elincia, we entered the forest. Half of the trees had lost their foliage, but the further we went, the evergreen pines became more dominant, keeping the lush canopy even in winter. Occasionally, Ilya stopped me and pointed toward winter birds and small rodents before [Awareness] could even discover them. On one of our stops, an owl with a peculiar crown of feathers became interested in us and silently followed us for an hour before another creature caught its attention.
“Good sign. Crowned Owls are not actually owls; they are scavengers. They like to eat crystalline shards that fall off the backs of the Iceshard Boars. There has to be a band nearby,” Ilya said with a satisfied expression.
It took us a whole day to navigate the forest, but it wasn’t in vain. The more we advanced, the more traces of the boars we found. Ilya’s tracking ability wasn’t just helpful for detecting small animals and surveying terrain.
Well past noon, we reached the valley's northern edge, where the forest was thicker, and the pines covered most of the sky.
“Look!” Ilya said.
In a small clearing, a couple of Crowned Owls were on the forest bed, pecking the remains of what seemed to be icicles. [Awareness] informed me it wasn’t ice shards but the crystalline formations Ilya had mentioned before. It was a good sign. There had to be a band of Iceshard Boars nearby.
Ilya entered the clearing without minding the birds despite the fact they were as tall as her. The Crowned Owls turned around briefly but ignored her and continued eating. Ilya had to move her arms for the owls to take flight and perch on nearby branches, looking at her with displeased eyes.
“I’m a Hunter! You should respect me!” Ilya raised her fist.
As the owls didn’t seem particularly amused with the threats, Ilya crouched by the violet and blue shards and examined them.
I crouched by her side, and seeing she grabbed the blue shards mindlessly, I grabbed one too. They were hard like horns but very slightly flexible. Some of them were as long as my forearm. At least I understand why they were called Iceshard Boars.
“This is strange,” Ilya said, handing me one of the violet shards.
It was as hard as steel. I noticed the Crowned Owls avoided the violet shards while easily going through the bluish ones.
“There might be a Matriarch nearby,” Ilya said worriedly.
“I take it that isn’t a good thing?” I asked.
“We will be okay if we don’t harm her or the piglets. Matriarchs aren’t particularly hostile,” Ilya explained. “I’m more worried about whoever entered the Farlands before us. Let’s keep an eye open.”
I nodded and tucked the violet shard inside my backpack.
We surveyed the surroundings, but the direction of the band of boars was unclear.
“The plan remains the same. Let’s focus on hunting an adult male,” Ilya said.
“A boar, right? An adult male boar,” I said.
Ilya rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. Despite the initial nervousness, I was having fun, and Ilya was knowledgeable despite being a Level 1 Hunter. I had the suspicion that Elincia’s curriculum leaned heavily into the knowledge of the Farlands.
“Those jokes work better with ten-year-olds and younger, you know?” Ilya jabbed at me as we resumed the march north. She also grabbed a violet shard for herself.
“Don’t remind me. The crowd gets harder after puberty,” I sighed, following. “I do enjoy seeing my students cringing, though.”
Ilya stopped walking and turned around.
“You do it on purpose?”
“I’m not that tone-deaf!” I replied.
We continued our hike in silence. As we advanced, we found more signs of Iceshard Boars: fresh feces, scratched bark, and tiny shards of bluish crystals. Ilya pulled out a map of the area and pointed out the potential spots to set feeders.
By the end of the day, we reached the mountain slope. The valley forked. To the east was the path leading to the orc tribes and Mr. Lowell’s secret gathering spot. The west path would lead closer to Byrne’s cabin if we traveled that way for three or four days. We moved away from the forest, without leaving the valley, to set camp so the smell of smoke wouldn’t scare any nearby prey. Ilya guided me to the top of a rock formation with a depression protected from the wind.
“Well, we know there are Iceshard Boars in the area. Lots of them, judging by the amount of feces,” Ilya said, taking off the backpack and sitting on a rock.
“I thought we were going to meet more Hunters,” I pointed out as I prepared the campfire. As the sun went down, the temperature also plummeted.
Ilya quickly approached to help, but I dismissed her. She was the Hunter; I was the butler.
“There are better spots on the safe side of the mountain, but they are too far from Farcrest,” Ilya said, removing her socks and replacing them with the enchanted pair I had prepared for the trip. “Sentinels, Alchemists, and leveling parties are the only ones who travel this side.”
Suddenly, Ilya’s ears pricked. She quickly put her boots on and grabbed her bow.
“Wait here,” she said before jumping out of our hideout and getting lost beneath the rocks.
I obeyed and continued preparing the campsite. A few minutes later, Ilya returned, dragging her feet.
“A fowl fooled me,” she sighed.
“Good one,” I replied.
I lit the campfire, and Ilya passed me bread and dried meat. I missed aluminum cookware. Iron pans were heavy, so we carried only the essentials. The crackling of the fire hid the rest of the night's sounds. I boiled water and prepared an herbal tea Elincia had prepared specially for the occasion. We sat by the fire to enjoy the tea, watching the sunset behind the mountains. Despite the cold, the warm blankets and tea made it comfortable.
“So… any tips for starting adulthood with the right foot?” Ilya asked as we finished the tea.
My expression must’ve been off-putting because she quickly got defensive.
“What?! Elincia told me Mr. Lowell made her dizzy with advice. The fire has been burning for an hour, and I haven’t heard any advice yet,” she said, flustered.
Then it struck me. This wasn’t just an opportunity for Ilya to start testing her Hunter skills but a rite of passage into adulthood. I cursed Elincia for not telling me. I cursed myself for not understanding. It was pretty obvious in hindsight. Ilya left the orphanage as a kid and would return as a full-fledged Hunter.
I squeezed my brain, looking for advice. Since I abandoned my career as a teacher, I have been actively avoiding the responsibilities of adulthood. Sure, I paid my bills, but adults weren’t defined by their capacity to pay bills.
I sipped from my mug and tried to gather my thoughts. In the back of my mind floated hundreds of practical advice for college and trade school, but nothing that could be used in this world. I wasn’t sure what it was to be an adult.
Then I remembered something that had happened more than a decade ago.
“When I was your age, I asked my math teacher if I could do an assignment with a classmate. You know, because I was too lazy to do it alone,” I said after a long silence. “You know what he told me?”
Ilya shook her head.
“He told me that one day I’ll be an adult, and I will have to face the real world on my own,” I said. “So I ended up doing the assignment on my own.”
“I guess you must rely on yourself when you are an adult. Holst used to say something like that. In the end, you are alone with your Class and your level,” Ilya pointed out as she fed the fire with small, dry branches.
“They are wrong,” I said, catching the girl by surprise.
“What do you mean?” She demanded to know.
The answer to Ilya's question was evident after comparing my old life on Earth with my current life at the orphanage.
“Being an adult is about taking responsibility for yourself and others, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone,” I said. “If I had to give you one single piece of advice, I’d say surround yourself with good people.”
“What if they are annoying?” Ilya asked.
“Are you talking about Firana?”
“You said it, not me,” Ilya grinned.
This time, I was the one rolling my eyes. The conversation moved to less important topics until nighttime. The sky was clear, and the stars seemed closer to us than usual. I almost felt sorry to have to sleep and miss the show, but Ilya’s First Hunt had priority.
“Go sleep. Tomorrow is your big day,” I said.
Ilya wrapped herself in the enchanted blankets and crawled inside the tent. As I looked into the embers, I reflected upon my own life. I now understood how big of a commitment it was to be responsible for Elincia and the orphanage. It was also the most important thing I had done with my life. A grumpy governess and twelve charming kids wouldn’t sound like a lot, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
* * *
By noon, we had set up three feeders. Based on the traces of feces and loosened crystalline formations, Ilya had delimited the area where it was most likely to encounter boars. The trails were fresh, not even a day old, and Ilya was puzzled why there were so many clues but no boars. The day was extremely windy, and hearing each other’s voices was difficult.
“Something is driving the boars away,” Ilya said.
“Do you think it's our friend’s fault?” I asked, referring to the fresh footprints we had found the day before.
“Maybe.”
We continued towards the western valley to add one extra feeder in case the Boars had escaped that way. Ilya stopped to examine the animal trails every few steps. The trampled brambles and broken branches were signs of a stampede. The number of broken shards scattered through the thicket pointed toward a fight.
“Boars don’t fight for territory. They live in pairs or alone in the mountains due to the lack of food, but they have no problem flocking during winter feeding season,” Ilya explained.
“Do you think Black Wolves came this way?” I asked. The chance was slim, considering monsters never reached this far south without a Monster Surge.
Before Ilya could answer, we found an uprooted oak tree. It wasn’t a young tree by any measure. I doubted an elephant could’ve toppled it easily. Ilya examined the area around it just to find more violet shards.
“Matriarch’s dorsal shards don’t usually fall easily, not even after crashing against a tree,” Ilya replied, pointing towards a violet shard. “On rare occasions, if two Matriarchs come together, they might become hostile.”
“Let’s hope that’s it.”
We ate a simple meal of strips of salted meat and dried fruits, sitting against the uprooted tree. Temperatures had fallen compared to yesterday, and I feared a snowfall was approaching. Depending on the severity, we could be forced to return ahead of schedule with or without finishing the hunt.
“If they don’t appear, they just don’t appear,” Ilya said as she chewed the meat stripes.
“Oh, they will appear. Don’t worry about it,” I said as I energetically patted her shoulder.
My words might have jinxed it because a mighty roar made the ground tremble under our feet. [Awareness] flooded my brain with information. The sounds came from the west. My heart rushed as I tried to figure out if a monster had passed through the Sentinel’s web. The forest's silence was replaced with the drumming sound of a hundred paws plummeting against the ground.
“A Matriarch!” Ilya yelled, throwing the piece of meat to the ground and grabbing the Cooldown Bow from her back.
I grabbed Ilya from the cloak and dragged her behind the felled tree. An instant later, a sea of boars with light blue crystalline formations protruding from their backs surrounded both sides of the tree. They were fleeing from something or someone.
At the other side of the tree, past the flattened brambles and crushed branches, a half-orc wielding a round iron shield and a long spear fought against a boar the size of a bus. The boar was monstrous. Countless violet crystalline shards protruded from its back and sides, serving as a shield and a weapon against the orc.
The half-orc rammed against the Matriarch, shield first, sending a shower of small fragments to the ground. It wasn’t enough to damage the Matriarch’s body, only succeeding to make her angrier. The beast countered with a violent headbutt, but the half-orc covered his shoulder in mana just before the impact.
“We should help,” Ilya said. “I can kill the Matriarch if it stops for a second. I just need a clean shot. The armor is weaker in the joints and the neck.”
Without a question, I summoned a round mana shield around my arm and jumped the felled tree to help the half-orc. I was halfway there when I noticed his faction markings were familiar. The Matriarch spotted me and moved away, giving the half-orc a moment to breathe. As he took off his torn-apart cloak, I recognized our interloper. It was Risha.
Comments
Kalmars
the suspense
