"Huh . . . ?"

"This isn't good!"

"Damn it."

The party immediately regrouped.

Sienna spoke, "Those cries were from Grey wolves! The situation is not good. Grey wolves tend to be solo hounds. However, that is a different story when confronted with an enemy it cannot conquer by itself. They will howl to attract their fellow wolves to group together and outnumber their foe." 

"But that damn dog was already at the end of its line. So it called its family to finish us off, huh?" Jessica complained.

"If I recall correctly, a pack of Grey wolves can span up to fifteen wolves?" Dalis inquired solemnly.

"The numbers tend to vary between roughly eight hounds, but if we are unlucky, it may reach about fifteen like you said." Sienna’s expression became more grim.

"Fifteen?” Jessica let out a hollow laugh. “That's five times the amount of people we have here!" 

"Understood. Let's leave. Follow me."

Dalis gave a short wave of a hand to beckon the girls.

"You have a plan Dalis to get us out of here?"

"Not exactly, but I know we will be lambs for the slaughterhouse if we stay here. The glade is dangerous. It's too open fielded, allowing beasts to easily surround us. It would be a repeat of last time but worse. The Spliz's threads won't be of any aid either.”

Dalis lurched his head up to the sky, prompting the girls to follow his sight.

“Furthermore, It's quite dark now and will only get darker. The wolves’ eyesight are on par with humans, in actual fact, their night vision is superior. This is due to the abundance of rods [greyscale receptors] in their retina. Moreover—”

"That’s right!" Jessica interrupted. “And they also have a keen sense of smell!” 

Dalis blinked in surprise and nodded. Due to the severity of the situation, he had no negative feeling from her outburst, finishing off his sentence. It was something to be grateful for as this meant that Jessica understood what they were up against.  

AWOOO

The cries of the grey wolves were getting clearer and closer. 

"The beasts will be here any minute! Dalis lead the way." She gestured.

Dalis immediately ran into the veils of the dark forest. The others slightly flinched from the sudden sprint, but the next moment their legs took off in the same way.

"Be careful and watch your step. There are many ingrained roots sticking out in this part of the forest."

The three hastily travelled through the forest. 

Dalis's guidance and warnings enabled them to proceed at a faster pace than they had anticipated. 

However, this was not sufficient. 

The barking and cries of the beasts hadn't once ceased, and the distance between them was approaching closer each second. 

After all, their battle from earlier had been exhausting. They had yet to even take a moment of respite.  

"D-Damn it? How can they be so fast!" Sienna glanced over her shoulder and saw in the distant deep in the dark a pair of shimmering eyes, multiplying in pairs.   

"They're natural hunters after all." Dalis was about to berate her for looking behind her, but she quickly turned back to the front. A simple glimpse was fine and was beneficial, as long as one did not carry away and continued to pay attention to their surroundings. 

"Ahhh their bloody keen sense of smell! At this rate we will be screwed! Any ideas?"

"You need to calm down Jessica. Sienna, are there any nearby lakes? Although I'm unsure, the wolves should be slower in chasing us down in the waters. Additionally, we will be able to wash ourselves and remove this scent."

"Yes there was one . . .” She squinted her eyes, giving the impression of bitter resignation. “But with the direction you took, I have no idea where we are now."

" . . . "

" . . . Well Dalis you have a place in mind right?" Sienna was a little worried.

"Indeed I do, it's my hideout. Pardon, it is my place of residence."

??? 

The girls were confused.

 

***

 

Minutes passed . . . they were reaching their limit. Dalis's traversing speed had become considerably slower, Sienna seemed to be a little better off than Dalis, as for Jessica . . . 

"W-Wait, s-stop you two."

The two stopped their breaks.

Jessica was resting the palms of her hands on her knees, sweating profusely and heavily gasping for air. She had reached her limit. 

"Jessica, if we don't hurry they're gonna reach us! Just a little longer . . . right Dalis?"

"Yeah we should be there in about ten minutes . . . "

"T-Ten ten minutes?" Jessica's knees wobbled in response to that cruel statement. 

"Jessica . . . ten minutes will pass in a moment of fleet. Hang in there!"

"*Huff* *Huff* *Huff* okay . . . let's go!"

"Actually, I'm under the impression that we will be safe now." From the wolves at least.

"What do you mean Dalis?"

"Haven't you noticed in the past five minutes the cries of the beasts have gotten quieter and less frequent?"

"Yeah now that you mention it . . . Wait, I don't hear anything anymore! Sienna looked to her behind and saw no indication of being followed. 

"That's right. We have survived the game of cat and mouse. Well done you two."

Dalis expressed a warm, ample smile. Setting their sight on Dalis, their faces alleviated with delight.

"Yessss!!!" Jessica shrieked with happiness. Her legs had dropped to the floor. She was now sitting down with her legs spread out. 

It was cloud nine. 

Dalis questioned her brazenness and unladylike gestures inwardly, but then dismissed it. This was very Jessica like. That was charming in itself. Dalis liked it very much.

"Ooof, that was a close one." Unlike Jessica, Sienna took her time before resting herself to the ground. She maintained a vigilant outlook. It seemed she was still wary of her surroundings.

As expected from Sienna.

Though Dalis did not sit down, he leaned his back against a tree a metre away from him. 

Sienna then spoke.

"On a serious note, why would the wolves suddenly stop their pursuit."

Hearing this, Jessica's face was replaced, worn with seriousness.

"Hmm . . . perhaps it's because The Monster . . . may very well be close by?"

The faces of the girls became aghast. 

Sienna gave a wry smile. "Sorry Dalis, I must be exhausted from all that transpired today. Could you repeat that again for me?"

"Haha . . . yeah . . . come again Dalis?"

"Hmm . . . perhaps it's because The Monster . . . may very well be close by?"

Dalis used the exact same words as before. His nonchalant tone was tinged with mockery, subtly teasing them.

"WHAT!"

The two shouted in unison.

"Indeed, you heard correctly. The monster is just around the corner or perhaps under your beds."

"Enough with the jokes. Dalis explain." Sienna reprimanded.

"Despite all the noise we are making, don't you find it strange that there is no sign of any life?"

The two anxious girls looked around.

"That is true . . . " Jessica said.

"Apart from us, it's oddly silent correct?"

"Yes . . . "

"Yeah . . . "

The girls took a closer look into their surroundings. 

The terrain was not much different from the parts of the forest they had been. Though, there was a small hill reaching about six metres tall behind them, fringed by a series of interweaving vines that made the hill appear as though it had been there for a considerable time. 

"A hill in a place like this . . . " Sienna mumbled.

"Well it can happen right . . . right?" Jessica also found it peculiar. 

"Yeah I guess so, but I heard the western zone’s topography is mostly flat land . . . "

"Shall I go investigate?” His legs started to raise. “I volunteer to be a tribute!" Dalis vehemently spoke. The enthusiasm behind him was a stark contrast to his battered appearance.

Sienna was taken aback. "Your attitude in a situation like this Dalis . . . "

"My attitude?" 

Dalis pondered . . . indeed, he was taking it lightly. The monster could be right behind that hill for all he knew. Or perhaps something else that could pose a danger.

Yet, he was composed for the most part. And he was enjoying the thrill. 

Was Dalis perhaps having fun?

Fun?

"Dalis?"

Dalis was snapped out of his thoughts by Jessica. 

"What is it?"

"Are you planning to go check the surroundings?"

"Yes. You and Sienna stay here. I won't be long."

"No, I'm going too."

"You mean, we are both going."

Jessica and Sienna stood up and were determined to not let Dalis survey the area alone. If Dalis were to encounter a beast, then they would be filled with regret for not tagging along.

Dalis thought for a moment. 

Honestly speaking, he would fare much better alone as he was an expert of using dusk to his advantage and had elusive skills. Combat-wise, he would be worse off in his current condition, but scouting was incomparable. 

However, he didn't want to reject their goodwill.

"How about this, we camp here for tonight. We have barely rested. If we venture now, we will be pushing ourselves. Let's investigate first thing tomorrow morning."

After those words, the faces of the girls were filled with relief. They were on board with the plan. 

"Oh but this place is dangerous isn't it? Shouldn’t we find another spot?" Jessica asked, realising this important detail.

"No Dalis's choice is actually spot on.” Sienna shook her head. “After all, the most dangerous place is usually the most safe."

 

***

 

The three set up camp. 

A small campfire was lit. They sat on their respective logs and were taking fervent bites out of their cooked beast meat. This beast meat did not belong to any of the beasts they had fought tonight. Instead, it came from a hunt from a day ago. 

The trio had no time to even have the chance to store the beast remains in their inventory. The main issue was that corpses couldn’t simply be easily stored in the inventory. And if they had a shred of life, they couldn’t be stored unless there were special conditionals which allowed otherwise. 

One had to properly scavenge and salvage the corpse when putting it into the inventory. If they didn’t, problems could arise. Most commonly, the blood and mana of the beasts can actually tamper and damage the inventory slots of the System. In the worst case scenarios, the allocated slot/s become unusable or cause detriments for the next item in those slots.

Despite so, they still felt regret not taking the risk. It was their hard work after all, and the damages were fixable albeit tedious.  

After surviving all those hardships, the beast meat was especially savouring. It was as if they were eating a high-class cuisine. Their mouths could not stop closing and opening, slowly alleviating the regret in their hearts and their empty stomachs.  

Particularly, Dalis's eyes were all stars. He had managed to at least obtain some mana. Soon, he no longer cared about their abundant lost harvest. But the reason for the stars in his eyes were different.

Because finally—he had passed the calpufer famine. 

As he was eating, a thought rose to his mind. 

He wondered how fried calpufer herbs would taste like? Knowing that he had to take a bite to test his theory, his face looked as though it would turn green, and he obliterated that thought in an instant.  

All went well until dinner was over. 

It was much too late to create an actual shelter. They were also reluctant to dig a room shaped hole to sleep in. Sleeping in the tree wasn't favoured and forming a hole from the hill was out of the question. If the other side of the hill was actually a cave with a beast residing in it, it would be an invitation to death. 

Thus . . . 

There is nothing wrong with this situation. Yet, I feel a little . . . odd.

Dalis was laid on his back. Sienna was to his left and Jessica was to his right. Unsurprisingly, they were laid on their backs snuggling reasonably close to Dalis.