Chapter 225: Entering Pyknos forest

Eldrian didn't understand why he had such a hard part in accepting that souls existed. If he could accept magic, why couldn't he just accept souls too? He didn't know, but for some reason he just couldn't. Likely due to how magic felt more concrete, he could actually see its effects and use it himself. The soul instead was still a completely foreign concept to him.

Eldrian mulled on this until the others started to wake and he had to go down to join them for breakfast. As he joined them and had breakfast, he stayed in his mental space not even realizing that they were the first to arrive at the keep. He only started coming out of his reflection by the time all the others had arrived.

A few minutes after which Fanon also appeared, along with two others following him. Everyone but Eldrian was in full gear, even the two new arrivals wore their battle gear. One of them, a centaurette, wore a white clerical type Akro with a yellow tanned leather breastplate over her top robe. The other wore dark blue robes, with a hint of Mythril armor under them, only slightly showing thanks to her hood not being up.

"Evale, I have already told my men of your group and your mission. You will be given access to the fort from any gatehouse, though only the Northern gate is open all the time. The others have specific timeslots where they allow travel, mostly during the early morning and before sunset. Katania can inform you more of this." Fanon said, pointing to the centaurette in clerical clothing.

"Thank you Fanon." Evale replied, after which Fanon quickly left.

"Now then, let's discuss our plans for actually doing the mission. Katania, and..." Evale paused and looked at the demi-human in her dark blue robes. It took her a few seconds to realized that Evale was waiting for her to say her name. "Thesolis... Do you have any information that will enable us to start quicker?"

Both took their time to consider, Thesolis replying first, "Well I know a little bit of the situation from some hunters. For the most part the forest is still safe. However weaker undead such as skeletons and zombies are quite abundant, and these are not limited to humanoid beings. So we might run into a zombie Arkbeast or a skeletal Direwolf or anything similar."

This idea didn't bother anyone as most common Arkbeats and Direwolves were generally under Tier 5, and hence not a problem for anyone but Eldrian. Only a few might reach or surpass Tier 5, these normally also ending up as the Alphas of a pack. Or maybe a misfit omega, something that would actually cause everyone in the group quite some trouble.

"I assume we are first going to get used to the forest, as such we can use the hunting cabins to rest if we aren't going to return to the fort. They are scattered throughout the forest and should offer better lodging than tents. Naturally, the undead isn't the only danger, monsters are quite common in the forest as are magical creatures."

"This is largely why most hunters don't care for the added danger from the undead. They're used to their pray being dangerous. The undead just makes the work they have to put in much more, while not adding to their payoff. Seeing as they actually just ruin the creatures they take over. Hence why they are so irritated by the situation, and why Fanon is so pissed. Many nobles have been complaining about the lack of magical resources being delivered."

Evale and Evules frowned upon hearing this, they didn't care for the noble's discomfort. They were certain that the hunters were being pushed to try and make up the difference, which irritated the twins quite a bit.

At this point, Katania added, "Luckily we know where the beasts normally stay, as well as their range of activity. This certainly might change thanks to the undead, but it should still allow us to skirt where they are most likely to appear in large numbers. This should also help us not run into any of the stronger beasts."

On saying this some in the group had ideas of going hunting for some extra cash. Instead of using the information to dodge the beasts, they were going to use it to find them.

"The undead we are going to face should also all be weaker undead as Thesolis mentioned. Though everyone should be wary that higher undead are present and not all that rare. If we get close to the corruption then they will likely be controlling a horde of weaker undead. I assume everyone knows that in that case, we must kill the higher undead to weaken the hordes coordination."

As she said the latter part everyone nodded. It was common sense to take out the leader if possible, this was even more important when the leader boosted the strength of those under them. A key factor of most undead, as the leader increased their intelligence, resilience, and in some cases even their strength.

"Alright, anything else?" Evale asked as they seemed to finish their explanation. As she asked this Katania quickly explained how the gates worked, as well as the curfew that was in effect. She also mentioned where the best blacksmith shops were for if anyone wanted to get new gear or repair their current.

"Good, so then we should probably split into smaller groups for now. Seeing as the danger shouldn't be that high near the fort. Doing so should allow us to get familiar with the forest, while also familiarizing a larger part of it." Evale said once the other explanations were done.

With this, their group of 21 split into four groups, Eldrian in the main group with Evale, Evules, Kydone, Katania, and Thesolis. This worked out well as no others wanted Eldrian in their group, nor did they want Evale or Evules with them at this stage. Kydone would naturally not want to join others and the new two were clearly more disciplined and would ruin the others hunting plans.

After splitting each group took on of the Southern gate. As they exited the fort and entered the forest Eldrian was quickly reminded of the forest of Avgi. Trees in every direction limiting sight to a hundred meters at best. Having two locals their group made far more progress, along with the fact that they didn't stop to take any magical plants. Nor did they try to track down any magical creatures for their materials.

With Katania and Thesolis's lead, their party quickly found their first hunting cabin. Eldrian making sure to check his map and add some tags to this place. Something he had started doing as he also started taking more and more notes through the system. These notes allowed him to quickly reflect on things he had felt important.

The first day passed quickly with only a few encounters with aggressive beasts. Evale handling most of this with her exquisite bow. Eldrian couldn't help but stare at her as she shot down the first encounter. While she had taken it out before leaving the fort, Eldrian hadn't gotten a clear view when it was slung over her shoulder.

Her bow was made fully out of some type of magical metal. Runes covered its limbs which were by no means slim, each limb nearly as wide as a sword. The limbs were also sharpened, with a precise rest for arrows at the grip. Each arrow she shot was also clearly not normal, having runes engraved over its shaft.

Eldrian assumed the feathers were also special and the arrowhead made from some rare metal. There were even crystals embedded in the shafts of some arrows, these arrows arrowheads normally glowed after being shot.

Evale only used these ones when they came across an undead. No matter where she shot it, it died as soon as the arrow struck. None of the others in the party had needed to do a thing during the entire day. Evale was always the first to spot a threat, and she would loose her arrow before anyone else saw it.

Eldrian quickly became envious of her skill with the bow, he also understood just how much greater arrows were than bullets. No matter what, you wouldn't be able to make such high-grade guns and bullets. Even so, there was no denying that guns would greatly help those at the weaker Tiers and those without magic.

As they set up in a new hunting cabin for the night Eldrian headed over to Evale. "Evale, sorry for bothering you, but... Would you mind teaching me how to use a bow?"

The question caught her off guard, she had no expected that. "Why, I thought you already focused on both magic and melee fighting. You do know you can't master everything, right?"

"Well, yes... I have come to realize that... But, I would really like to at least be able to shoot a tree twenty meters away with confidence. I am certain it is good to try and learn as much as you can." Eldrian tried to explain himself, not sure if he had instead just insulted himself. He hoped that by asking for help he didn't need to stumble until he became decent.

"Sure, it is good to be diverse, but not before you have a focus," Evale replied, causing Eldrian to sulk quite a bit. "Tell you what," she added upon seeing how sad he became, "If you reach Tier 2 in either of those you are already focused in, then I will teach you."