Chapter 202 Shadow Forest

[Lancelot's POV]

After three days of adventuring, we were about to reach Shadow Forest. Before we entered, we decided to rest at the side of the road in a small clearing since it was nearing night time already.

As we set up camp, I overheard Ford and Yun talking about building a bonfire.

"I'll go gather some dry wood. Yun, can you help me?" Ford asked.

"Sure thing. Let's go."

As they left, I turned to the others who were preparing dinner.

"Hey, what are we having for dinner?" I asked Nanally.

It was Francine who replied first with a sweet smile. "I'm making some stew with the vegetables we picked up on the farms earlier."

"And I'm going to fry up some fish we caught at the ocean," said Alexa. "I hope that this fish isn't rotting yet. We did catch this yesterday."

"What's the point?" Francine rebutted. "It would turn charcoal anyway."

Nanally sighed. "This world is so backward that it's hard to move around."

"I know, right? Back in our world, I don't even have to think about this kind of stuff." Francine giggled, and the girls chatted happily.

I, on the other hand, set up the tent. We have passed a traveling merchant on the way, and luckily they have this adventurer's tent for sale.

It was expensive, though. Around one thousand gil each, and all of us had to chip in to buy two. One for the girls and one for us boys.

And not only was it expensive, but it was a onetime used kind of item too, so we really needed to get to Roselake Town ASAP. We couldn't be eating charcoal meat all the time since our cooking proficiency was still low and sleep outside forever.

It would be nice to indulged ourselves once in a while.

Another thing to complain about was the the currency in this world didn't make any sense. Everything was expensive, and the gil we got from defeating beasts was only minuscule except if we encountered hordes.

Good thing that I had this [Chosen One] class, and all EXP and gil I got doubled.

Though those traveling merchants didn't want to bring us along even if we offered them some money, they said that their carriage was small and wouldn't fit all of us, which was true.

As I was setting the camp, suddenly, the conversation shifted to the topic of the Old Hag in the Shadow Forest.

"So, what do you guys think? Should we take the shortcut through Shadow Forest?" asked Alexa with a troubled voice.

Francine replied, "I don't know. You've heard those villagers before. There are a lot of pretty scary stories about that place."

"Yeah," Alexa agreed. "There's an old hag who lives there, and she eats travelers who wander into her territory."

"I think it's just a myth," Nanally tried to say, coating her worry with a strangled laugh. "But we should still be careful."

"Well, we could save a day's worth of travel if we take that route," I said, considering about the shortcut.

Just then, Ford and Yun returned with an armful of wood.

"Alright, we got enough wood for the fire. Who's ready to roast some marshmallows?" Ford exclaimed.

Everyone laughed, and Francine teased. "If only we had marshmallows. I'm dying of one right now."

The conversation about Shadow Forest was put on hold as we all gathered around the fire, enjoying the warmth and the company. But in the back of our minds, the question of whether or not to take the shortcut through Shadow Forest still lingered.

As we sat around the campfire, the topic of Shadow Forest continued to come up.

Ford raised his hands over his head and yawned. "I don't know about you guys, but I think we should take the shortcut through the Shadow Forest. We're running low on supplies, and it would save us a day's worth of travel."

Yun nodded. "I agree. We're all experienced players by now. We can handle whatever comes our way."

"But what if the rumors are true? What if there really is a witch living in the forest?" Nanally asked worriedly.

Alexa rolled her eyes. "Come on, Nanally. You don't really believe in that stuff, do you?"

Nanally looked to the side. "I don't know. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"I say we take a vote," I said. "Who's in favor of taking the shortcut through Shadow Forest?"

Ford, Yun, and I raised our hands. I didn't know if it was because men were more impatient and we were sick of eating charcoaled food and sleep on hard rocks. Or that we were confident in our strength since we hadn't faced a real threat yet, that would make us turn tail, but we were more confident to travel this Shadow Forest and reach Roselake Town within hours more than anything right now.

"And who's against it?"

Francine, Alexa, and Nanally raised their hands.

Figures that the girls would rather take the longer route just to avoid this 'rumored' witch.

"Looks like we're at a stalemate," I said. "We need to decide soon, though. We don't have enough food and water." Though I doubt that it would kill us, it would make the others easily exhausted with an empty stomach and dry throat.

Yun raised his hand. "How about this? We send out a scout to see if the path is clear. If it is, we take the shortcut. If not, we continue on the longer route."

Everyone agreed to this plan, and we quickly decided that the one better to do that kind of job was Ford since he had stealth and he had the highest AGI among us – second to mine, of course.

We also had access to our teleportation and blink skills at this current time thanks to grinding every day, so we agreed upon that Ford would set out as soon as the light was up.

Then we continued to chat and enjoyed the warmth of the fire until we fell asleep, taking rounds to stand watch and guard.

Came the next morning. I think it was around the earliest hour of five when we set out towards the entrance of the Shadow Forest.

Ford bid us farewell and entered the forest after we reminded him to be careful and flee at the first sign of danger.