Chapter 29: Disturbance in the Great Forest
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Veylir couldn't believe on what she saw on the results of her appraisal.

Was my eyes decieving me!? Again!

Veylir tried to use her Appraisal ability once again.

How could that be!? I'm certain that the result of his appraisal shouldn't be like this!

 "You should stop doing that."

Veylir was surprised when Soru spoke to her.

"Eh?"

D-Did he know I was prying on him...?

"Ahh...Erm..."

"Don't do it next time..."

Soru looked back and continued watching the fight. Meanwhile, Veylir was extremely confused about what was happening.

D-Did he knew I was using an appraisal to him? But how?

Wanting to know how Soru managed to do it, Veylir boldly asked him about it.

"M-Master Soru, may I ask a question?"

Soru didn't respond to her right away. Although he heard her, his eyes were fixated on the dwarve's training. 

Gahh! Did he just ignore me?

Soru noticed her unusual reaction when he took a glance at her.

"Go ahead."

Upon hearing his approval, Veylir went serious and asked him.

"What is the truth behind your ability, Master Soru? Every time I tried to rack my brains on what and how your ability works, I couldn't figure it out..."

Soru didn't respond to her right away. His eyes are fixated on the match.

"Isn't it enough to see it every time I use it with your own eyes?"

"J-Just give me comprehensive information about your ability. Then I won't pester you after that!" Veylir answered out of desperation.

"You are really persistent..." Soru murmurs.

Knowing that Veylir was persistent to know the truth, Soru had no choice but to answer her questions.

"...I'm capable of transferring anything that I deem useful or that threatens me." 

Veylir's expression remained the same upon hearing his answer.

I already knew that ability of yours..!

"Then, could you explain why any of the attacks that were thrown at you would only leave you unscathed?"

"I can "see" anything that is being directed towards me, be it hostile or neutral. Thus, I can transfer them whenever I want."

Veylir's eyes widened after hearing his response.

"See"...? T-That's why he knew right away I was using appraisal on him!

"T-Then...!"

"Although I don't know what you're trying to pull off, the intent you're giving off that you've directed towards me was enough to let me know you're up to something."

Veylir paused in disbelief.

Does that mean he knew it right away and transferred the results of the appraisal, just because he "saw" my intent?

Suddenly, Veylir sighed in front of him.

"I apologize, Master Soru. Because of my actions, you misunderstood it and got wary."

"Mhm."

Even though Soru answered every question, Veylir wants to know the identity of his ability.

"If I may, could you at least tell me the name of that—"

Their conversation came to a halt when Veylir felt a strange aura converging beside her.

 "Hm?!"

Suddenly, a strange figure appeared in front of them. It was emanating a bright greenish glow around its body.

Veylir quickly realized the identity of the figure and was surprised by it.

"What are you doing here...?"

At the distance, the dwarves saw the commotion ahead and immediately froze upon seeing the figure. They couldn't believe what they saw.

The figure had fair skin and short, light-green hair. She wore a slightly translucent dress with opaque, greenish clothes that covered their important parts. Several vines could be seen floating around its body.

Even in the distance, the dwarves saw her and stopped their match due to bewilderment.

"I-Is that...!" Völun exclaimed.

"A dryad..." Alguis murmured.

"Dryads are spirits known to be the guardians and caretakers of the forest... What is it doing here?" Aeden asked in confusion.

Meanwhile, the dryad lowers her head in front of Veylir. The dwarves was surprised upon witnessing such scene.

"Greetings, Wildfire Dragon Veylir. Forgive my sudden arrival, but I need to inform you of a serious matter with haste."

Veylir paused and surprised that the dryad knew her identity.

"Hmph. I will ignore your impudence this time, but the fact that you've guessed my true identity while on this form right away surprised me."

The dryad raised her head and faced Veylir.

"Since we, the dryads, are connected to the forest itself, we knew everything that was happening here, including your death, master..."

Veylir went silent for a moment.

"That makes sense... Now, tell me the "serious matter" that you mentioned earlier."

The dryad closed its eyes and spoke in front of them.

"I sensed a great disturbance in the forest, and if left unattended, it might cause a great catastrophe that will turn this forest upside-down..."

Veylir's eyes widened in response.

"Huh...?"

Wanting to know the reason behind the dryad's arrival, the dwarves immediately rushed in the direction where Veylir and the Dryad were talking. When they arrived at the scene, they heard Veylir asking some questions to the dryad.

"Would you care to explain what do you mean by that?"

All of a sudden, the green vines that float around her began to glow brighter.

"A great monster wave of unknown scale will happen anytime soon, and those humans should leave before they get entangled during their wake."

Veylir shrugged her shoulders.

"It's just a mere monster wave; what is there to be afraid of?"

The Dryad widened her eyes in surprise.

"...There are two disaster-grade monsters included on the wave."

Suddenly, Veylir paused in disbelief.

"What...?"

The dwarves were also shocked at the revelation coming from the dryad.

"Of all times, why here!?" Alguis exclaimed.

"Those disaster-grade monsters shouldn't be taken lightly, right?" Aeden asked him.

"H-Hey, how strong are those monsters?" Völun asked them.

"They're far stronger than you can ever imagine! They could raze a forest within an hour, and if left unattended, they could decimate a nation into ruins!" Veylir exclaimed.

"O-Of course, I could take one or two of them during my prime, but now's not the right time to face them by myself," she added.

Völun gulped and trembled.

"The previous Dwarven King valiantly fought an awakened disaster-grade monster who almost destroyed the Dwarven Kingdom 500 years ago. Alongside the young Halvar Jörden, they managed to destroy its rampaging core..." Alguis told them.

"I didn't know such an event happened in our kingdom..." Aeden murmured.

"Have you figured out the identity of these disaster-grade monsters?" Veylir asked the Dryad.

The Dryad nods her head.

"Yes. Those monsters are Gargantua and Adeptus."

"Gargantua, the Tyrant of the Lake...? Isn't that the puny monster I defeated a millenia ago when it tried to take over the Great Forest of Drys and include it as its own domain!?" Veylir asked.

"It seems that it is the same monster that you defeated, Master Veylir," the Dryad answered.

"Hmph. So it wants seconds, huh?" Veylir said with a smug expression.

"But thanks to its defeat, I managed to get the seat as one of the Six Calamity Dragons. It was worth it in the end!"

Veylir paused for a moment.

"About that "Adeptus" monster that you speak of, I'm sure I've heard it somewhere before..." Veylir said while trying to juggle her memory.

Hearing the identity of the second monster, Alguis froze in fear. Veylir noticed Alguis' strange reaction.

 "Hm?"

"M-Miss Dryad, the second disaster-grade monster you mentioned was called Adeptus, right?"

"Yes," the Dryad briefly answered.

"No way..."

Soru, including Aeden and Völun, was wondering about his unusual reaction.

"Do you know the identity of that monster, Sir Alguis?" Aeden asked him.

"If I'm not mistaken, it is the same disaster-grade monster who wreaked havoc in the Dwarven Kingdom centuries ago, the Lord of Variance, Adeptus!"

"What!?" Aeden and Völun exclaimed.

"May I know what the monster looks like?" Alguis asked the dryad.

The dryad stared at him in the eyes with a serious look.

"Upon its arrival at the borders of the Great Forest several kilometers from the east, it only resembles an opaque sphere. But its form began to change upon engaging in a battle with multiple monsters. Right now, its appearance is completely different from what it used to be."

Alguis began to sweat profusely.

"What you saw initially was its core..."

Due to anxiousness, Alguis began to caress his beard.

"T-There's no mistaking it. It is the same monster that the previous Dwarven King and Halvar Jörden fought!"

"Eh?!" Aeden and Völun exclaimed.

"Ah!"

All of them shifted their attention to Veylir.

"That "Adeptus" monster is considered one of the strongest disaster-grade monsters, close to being a calamity-grade monster!"

"There are five known monster threat classifications: Normal-grade, Special-grade, Casualty-grade, Disaster-grade, and finally, Calamity-grade. All monsters are graded based on their capability to inflict destruction on the environment, but sometimes there are monsters who reign supreme over the monsters with the same ranks as them, and Adeptus was one of those monsters!"

"D-Does that mean... that monster named Adeptus should also be on par with calamity-grade monsters?" Völun asked.

"No..." Veylir replied.

"Why?"

"Because the Calamity Dragons won't allow it."

"Our clan wants to monopolize the position of calamity-grade as exclusive to the dragons only, maintaining our standing as one of the strongest monsters of the continent. The inclusion of Adeptus would sully our reputation, and others might use the monster as an instrument to wage war on us and disrupt our standing..."

"How did Adeptus manage to achieve such a feat? What are its capabilities that make it almost comparable to a Calamity Dragon?" Aeden asked Veylir.

"It is because Adeptus possesses an ability that could contend with the likes of calamity-grade monsters..."

"Adeptus possesses an Ultimate-level ability called "Reactive Selection," which enables it to adapt to any circumstances it may encounter."

"I don't know the exact details, but one of its features is that when a user of that ability is exposed to external stimuli such as attacks, it will automatically adapt to that specific attack, which will be ineffective the second time you repeat that same attack on Adeptus again."

"That monster, Adeptus, was a real deal! We wouldn't stand a chance against it!" Völun exclaimed.

"That's why I advise you to leave the forest immediately. We don't know when the monster wave will start, but it is better to think ahead of time than wait for your doom," the dryad said to them.

"Wait. Something doesn't add up."

"What do you mean, Master Veylir?" The dryad asked Veylir.

"What is Gargantua's status right now?"

"The monster hasn't resurfaced yet and is still currently situated on its lake. Though it is nowhere to be seen, its influence is evident, thanks to the monsters amassing at the lakeside. Right now, they are constantly being monitored by my other three sister dryads."

Veylir pondered for a moment.

"Both of them haven't made any advancements yet... Interesting..."

"Perhaps they are waiting for something?" Aeden said.

The dryad looked directly at her.

"I'm afraid they want to conquer this Great Forest together." 

"That's impossible! There's no such thing as collaboration between monsters, not to mention they're on the same grade. Their pride won't allow them to do so," Veylir exclaimed.

"No, either there is one or two of the underlying reasons that could explain why they became active all of a sudden," Alguis said.

"Oh? And what was that?" Veylir asked him.

"Maybe they are being guided by someone else, or they are fighting for supremacy over this forest."

Everyone was surprised by what Alguis told them.

"Both reasons are heavy, and one of them was most likely the reason for their activeness." Aeden said.

"Due to the sudden absence of the Wildfire Dragon, those monsters most likely took it as an opportunity to seize control over this Great Forest," the dryad told them.

"It is also possible that someone was leading them into the forest for some ulterior motives." Aeden said.

"There's no time to contemplate which's which. Both reasons are no good." Alguis told me.

"Should we tell those settlers to evacuate?" Völun asked them.

"We should. They would surely die if they got caught in those monsters's onslaught," Veylir replied.

"No. Telling them right away would cause a mass panic, especially with the information about the existence of those two disaster-grade monsters."

"So what should we do then, Sir Alguis? We should act with haste before it's too late!" Aeden exclaimed.

They fell silent and felt a sense of restlessness about the impending threat that was coming. Meanwhile, Soru silently listens to them without uttering a single word.

"Let's inform Miss Reika and Mister Silas first. Perhaps they might have a say on this matter," Alguis told them.

All of them agreed and immediately went back to the settlement and decided to discuss it at the large house. On their way, several villagers noticed the dryad walking alongside the dwarves. Veylir and Soru are also with them.

"Hey. What was that?"

"Was that a dryad?"

"A dryad?! I couldn't believe that I would get a chance to see one in this lifetime!"

"So that's what they look like, huh? She exudes such grace!"

The villager began to wonder why a rare spirit such as Dryad visited their settlement.

"What is it doing here anyway?"

"Perhaps she would like to have a discussion regarding us settling here?"

"Most likely the case..." The villager murmured and nodded at each other.

Alguis saw Silas talking to another villager and approached him.

"Sir Silas, we need to discuss something."

Silas noticed the dryad behind them and immediately recognized it. Seeing that Alguis seemed to be in a hurry to seek an audience with him, he thought that the discussion was important.

Silas dismissed the villager and followed them inside the house. 

"What would you like to discuss with me, Mister Alguis?"

"The thing is..."

Alguis told him everything: the probable event of the monster wave, the existence of two disaster-grade monsters, and the threat they possess.

While Silas was listening to him, he was filled with shock, and a sense of fear could be seen in his eyes. He was concerned about the future of the villagefolk.

"It's hard to make such hasty decisions right away," Silas murmured.

"In a practical sense, it is better to abandon this settlement for our safety. But those villagers outside have already suffered several traumas over the past few days; hearing such dreadful news would cause mass panic for sure!"

"Now that they managed to settle peacefully, being forced to abandon it again would be hard for them to accept. They have nowhere else left to go, especially since we decided to leave the kingdom for good. The king won't allow us to resettle on his domain again..."

"That's what I thought too. Safety aside, we must also consider the future possibilities, including its impact on them." Alguis told him.

While they were in the middle of the discussion, they heard a door suddenly open. All of them saw Reika walking outside the room. She woke up from her afternoon nap.

"Hngggh..!"

Reika noticed Alguis and others staring at her. She immediately fixed herself and cleared her throat.

While wondering why they were gathered together, Reika noticed an unfamiliar figure standing behind Soru. 

"Eh...?"

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