Chương 42: [BL] 41. Horned One [1]

The trees' trunks looked different, as they appeared much thinner than the usual ones Willow had seen; they arched and bent like a stout twig. A strong morning wind swept them around. Branches rustled against each other, letting blue leaves sway downward. Some fell to the small ridge where a rock formation rose, overseeing the stream of the river, rushing downward underneath misty air that slowly shimmered away as light grew stronger. Willow appreciated the fog.

It was cool on her throat and provided much-needed cover. This, however, made hunting much harder, as they had not encountered a single rift-born yet. Her eyes remained watchful as Leynah had repeated three times how important it was to be ready anytime, even though they had sent scouts and kept the Olympyans on the rear to protect their backs.

Still, she couldn't help but stare at the pegasus-unicorn, which seemed to understand they were sneaking around, so it tucked its dark wings and carefully minded its footsteps.

"Thunder Pegasus," Leynah said in a whisper beside Willow.

"It's quite a gift." She glanced at Josha, offering him a smile. Josha went abashed and patted the Thunder Pegasus's mane.

"It is…"

"One that might seem excessive," Shera added with a side glance at the horse, who met her stare with a cold one. She shuddered and even mumbled an apology to the pegasus.

"I've been worried about that too, honestly," Josha said.

"The young lady is correct," Becks the [Royal Guard] said.

"This is too great a gift."

"My grandfather sometimes is kind like that," a hesitant voice tried to rise. All eyes fixed on Krywen; she blushed and dropped her head.

"It's not proper to speak of the Count like that, Becks," Evan said after closing his grimoire. The teenager pulled his monocle up after almost stumbling over some jutting roots.

"Damn forest."

"Apologies, my lady," Becks said to Krywen, although it did not sound like he meant it. The [Royal Guard] led the front of the formation, and honestly, Willow did not like it. His body blocked most of her vision. She walked idly, watching the busy stream that went down the slope, and her eyes flitted from tree to tree; the fog cloaked each branch, so who knew what was above them. Leynah broke the silence.

"So, young Rider, have you decided on which class upgrade you want to take?"

"Ah… I did the moment Willow gave me this class. But now with this guy?" Josha scratched the pegasus's underbelly.

"I'm not sure."

"Great, let's talk it through then," Leynah said.

"That will be great, actually," Josha perked up.

"Wait! Speaking of class upgrades," Shera suddenly sprinted beside Becks.

"Master Becks, your Tier-one is Guard class, right?"

"Indeed, though I'm not sure if my Class stone comes from your village or not."

"What makes you choose Royal Guard?" Josha suddenly became interested as well.

"Most in our village go for Warden or Vanguard for Tier two, then make their way toward Knight or Frontier Guard." Willow wondered why it mattered. In the end, both Josha and Shera had different classes now. Then, after thinking about it a bit, she realized that the [Guard] class was perhaps not just a class to their village, but more like a symbol, and it was a connection they both had to their hometown. Part of her was jealous. She had nothing like that back on Earth.

"Interesting. I heard most of the runes in Shera's village err toward the path of Aegis. It's different from us, or at least from the Guards in my training cohort. Our runes lean toward the Path of Might. My instructor held one of the Tier-five Guard classes, and he is here with us."

"Oh? And his class is?"

"Sentinel. For me, I picked Royal Guard because I'm the princess's shield. It's as simple as that."

"Wait," Willow said suddenly.

"You get to pick your class upgrade?" Everyone nodded and sent her a stare. So it's common knowledge. Well, I'm sorry no one told me! Leynah explained, "There are usually common choices, mostly three of them, with, in special cases, one being an outlier. Of course, it also depends on your runes."

"I think I will only get three choices. My rune is not exactly a rare one," said Josha.

"Mind telling us what it is? Mistress Leynah and I could offer you guidance," Becks said.

"Momentum Rune."

"That is fitting for a Rider class," Leynah said.

"Lancer, Cavalier, Outrider, if I recall correctly, right?"

"Precisely," Josha nodded eagerly.

"Lancer is shock cavalry meant to break enemy formations and retreat to do it all over again or pierce through their formations. Cavalier is an elite close combatant with weapon proficiency. Outrider is meant to scout and skirmish."

"Sounds like Lancer fits you better," Willow commented.

"That's what I thought at first, too!" Josha said.

"But now with this guy?"

"Oh, what happened to Enzo, by the way?"

"I'm hoping to retire him. He's old and should spend the rest of his days grazing. But I think other units will need every horse we have." Josha led the Pegasus to stop just beside a stream. The horse lowered its head and drank, and the rest of them took a rest when Leynah recommended it to Willow. Krywen and Evan served as scouts and went along with Shera just in case they needed her fog. Willow watched them and could not help but worry, but the Tier-threes said it was an important experience.

Besides, the Princess and the Lord made it clear they wanted both of them to have as much experience as possible. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Continuing their talk, they settled above the rock formation. Willow dipped her toes in the stream, and the frigid chill traveled through her body in a shudder. Leynah joined her, and Josha began again.

"At first, Lancer is the perfect choice. But I cannot help but think Cavalier will allow me to have balance, and that probably will be more useful mid-air. Besides, I cannot expect a group of flying cavalry to be with me, making a charge. Charging alone in and out seems not very practical."

"Why not?" Leynah asked.

"We have our own Pegasus Knight unit with us." Pegasus Knight? Willow stared wide-eyed and was a bit jealous of Josha for having a chance like this.

"Well…"

"Ah, do you think the Empire will take you away from your village? Don't worry about that. At worst, we will be tasked with securing the closest Rifts to the village for its protection."

"With your Momentum Rune, picking Cavalier and Outrider can work, but you will lose the perfect synergy you have with the Lancer class. Unlike the Ascendant class…" Becks' eyes beneath his bucket-like helmet flitted to Willow.

"It's better to choose reasonably within the confines of what makes sense."

"I have to agree with Master Becks," Leynah said.

"I'm an outlier with my goddess blessing. My rune… I suppose it's not really a secret."

"No, it's not," Becks let out a laugh that Willow did not know the man was capable of.

"My rune is the Rabbit Rune. An instinct rune, which is not confined by normal sense, so any class I pick can make sense, although figuring out a fighting style needs creativity and experimentation. Truthfully, I'm jealous of you who have a straightforward rune." Josha chewed his cheek and rubbed the bottom of his chin.

"Thank you, I will think about it more…"

"In the end, pick what you think is the best, but Mistress Leynah and I had made it clear which we think is the best for you."

"What about me?" Willow asked.

"What about you?" Leynah tilted her head.

"I mean, what is the upgrade for Hunter?"

"Ranger, Tracker, Trapper. It's a very broad class," Becks hefted his half-moon axe down between two rocks, making its haft stick up.

"But my lady, you do not have to worry about that. Bright Runes can fall under the category of Ascendant class, just like your other two, although it's in its own category since it is the rune of savior."

"My other two classes counted as Ascendant classes?"

"To be more accurate…" Leynah explained.

"Your runes are Ascendant runes, and when you have your class upgrade, they will mix with your class, and you will have an Ascendant class in Tier-two. For an Ascendant, your class upgrade is, let's say, very… eccentric? Ascendant class is called ascendant because they do not keep the power of mana stable, so your power is more powerful, but they might be a bit strange, like not tied by common sense."

"So there's no point in thinking about it now," Willow grunted and stretched out her arms.

"They're back," Josha said, then stopped brushing the Pegasus. The three ran across the grounds with Shera in the rear. The teenagers had full-blown panic on their faces and breathed harshly as they came near the rock formation. Willow nocked a cold arrow on her bow of winter toward where they'd run from, but there was nothing. Just fading mist.

"A devil! Devil!" Krywen said breathlessly. Willow could tell that because Krywen was in her class outfit, the girl must've had more energy that she shouldn't have been breathless from the short run she did. This reaction of hers, the shaking, her leaning on a rock like she was about to fall; this came from fear. Evan, meanwhile, kept himself together as he stood straight, hand on grimoire, and the laziness facade of his disappeared.

"Like she said, a devil. Tier two."

"Devil, you say?" Josha mumbled, then looked at Shera.

"Shera?"

"I saw it too," Shera said.

"Creepy, lanky thing, like a hunchback elderly but with a childish personality… Josha, we saw it drink from the Scout's blood. Like... it just bit into his neck and drank his blood."

"Its tier?" Becks asked.

"Tier-two," Shera answered.

"We meant to hunt Wyverns or Griffins who still rest their wings since they will be hesitant to fly," Leynah reminded Willow. Every eye went to her. Lord Kroos had been vocal about letting Willow get leadership capability, even telling Leynah and Becks to hold off deciding for the party and let Willow do it. A part of her felt horrified. Back then, when Habel pushed the command to her, she pushed it back to him, yet still the old man gave her the command in the end.

Unlike spells and Enhancers, this was something that she needed to learn. Habel must have understood that, which was why now she would decide with life on the line.

"How many?" Willow asked Shera.

"One, we only see one. But the scouts that were sent out numbered five, and I still remember the poor man; he was the last one we sent out."

"So, the chance is the other four are dead," Willow concluded. Considering the devil was tier-two, then it was still plausible that it killed every scout alone, but what if there were another? Guessing her train of thought, Leynah added more information.

"The Guidance Spirit always sees. The reason we do not just capture Riftborn and put them in a cage for our legionaries to kill is that it will severely reduce experience gain to barely any. Even Rift farms, those that are way too guarded, will barely yield any experience either."

"It's normal for a rift to be allowed to exist just for the sole purpose of level gain." Becks said.

"So this is a rare chance, you're saying?" Both of the tier-threes nodded.

"We're going," Willow decided, to both teenagers' dismay.

"If you two want to leave—""No, my lady! Please. Let me accompany you," Krywen begged.

"I'm sorry for showing a moment of weakness there."

"I wouldn't mind to—" Krywen nudged her elbow into Evan's side uncharacteristically, to his grunt, and he made a mumble about how he would follow. Becks took the very front with his half-moon axe in hand, gleaming with the morning light. He hefted it around and entered the forest, carefully killing his steps sound somehow despite his heavy armor. Willow followed behind him, like his shadow. The whole time she questioned herself, and the bow in her grip was getting unnaturally cold.

Shera held a hand and knelt under a thick, jutting branch that sprouted up like a small mound.

"Why is he…" Krywen mumbled before Leynah shushed her. A man in [Scout] class uniform stood, staring at nothing just underneath a low-hanging branch. The blue leaves hid his head, and he shook it around like some crazed lunatic, scratching his scalp with the leaves and letting out a loud sigh.

"Not good. Not good." The man turned and gave a wide, snarling grin that split his mouth, tearing his side cheek, ripping flesh apart to show the man's inner muscle and blood drenched down to a bite wound. The man—the devil gave a loud cackle as, with its hand, it tore apart the man's face, and a face of pure darkness like a mask protruded out, with eyes that looked like colored sockets of overlapping circles.

Underneath was too big a gap, showcasing its teeth in a leer that curved from its ear to ear and overtook its entire chin to nose.

"Ah, human. Contract. I want a contract. Yes. Contract. This one gave one when he died. But the body way too weak. Ah, two of you quite… You, what are you…"

"It can speak?" Willow asked as she adjusted her aim.

"Yes, although it's just temporary. It is currently using the man's body's last function before it fully dies away," Leynah answered. [Hunch Devil—Level 28] Two bone-like horns jutted out of the Devil's head, with a feather of red adorning the left one, and it bent its body forward.

"Horned one," Leynah cursed and unsheathed her rabbit sword.

"Its capability will be higher than what its level shown! Prepare for anything. Willow, I suggest you recall your golden knights now. We might need them."