Stonard ignited the camp fire right away, while Dana began to unpack some supplies.
I got off and began to stroll around the open cave.
There was a small pond with water as clear as crystal and looked incredibly deep.
Light made the crystal clear water shine like a sapphire.
Irelia walked up to me, noticing how I admired this beautiful and deep pond, “don’t fall in, you can’t see it but…” She paused to pick up a branch from nearby rubble some hunters had left behind and threw it into the pond.
She continued, “look closely.” The log was ripped around immediately by some invisible current and speeding around the pond a few times.
When it reached the middle it just disappeared.
There wasn’t any trace left and the pond looked still like a mirror, but it was simply gone.
My mouth hung agape and she laughed, “that’s the reaction I was hoping to see~.” And she slapped me on the back, “but for real, as long as you stay out of it, you can refill your water skin here.
Nothing beats fresh spring water~.” We returned to the others, Stonard maintained his gauntlets and Silvia sat at the campfire, while Dana was cooking something meat stew with a massive pot.
Everyone still wore their armor, despite looking relaxed.
Silvia looked up at me and the others as Irelia settled in close to her lover, “do we want to discuss tactics before eating?
I know you guys like to cozy up with a full belly.” She began, then took in a more serious tone, “we will enter the ice grottos from the southwest entrance tomorrow and then scout out the central cave system first, as it has the highest chance of Boreagard tracks.” She pulled out her own hunters notes and opened a drawn map of the cave system, just to hold it out to me, “Rookie, can you tell why we don’t search the upper or lower layer first?” It actually was the first time I could openly look at hunters notes that weren’t my parents or mine.
Her skill at making maps felt special to me, as my parents simply used ones provided by the guild.
I gulped nervously, three sets of eyes on me, while I stared at the drawn map.
There were a few dozen ways to enter the system of ice grottos and caves, with fewer of them being big enough to allow big wyvern or raptors to enter.
Of the five layers the cave system had, there was basically only one that wouldn’t directly lead into Marx’s defenses or the camp we were at.
After a moment I replied, “because the central caves have the only exits that easily fit a monster of that size and it has to feed itself too.” Silvia nodded, “exactly and when we check these caves first, we can usually make out if the Boreagard is on the upper or lower levels of caves.” She continued, “Stonard and I will lead up the front tomorrow, with Irelia switching flexible in and out.” Irelia and Stonard nodded along, as it seemed to be their usual tactics.
I listened to her explanation and made notes for later.
Forgetting important things like these could be really painful.
My role would be to look out for the tail and help Irelia sever it if possible, while defending the others from the monster’s tail strikes.
I cut in, “wait, I have to block the tail strikes?
With sword and shield?” This wasn’t a game, this was reality and while my shield was plenty big, it didn’t have the size lancers used.
It would never block any major monster attack without possibly pulverizing my bones or worse.
Silvia tried to reassure me, “don’t worry, their tails usually are weaker than other wyvern’s.
Their claws are more dangerous, but you can avoid them easier when you stay at the tail.
Just pick the side you want to be on.” I lifted the sword I usually used with my left hand, “then I’d prefer the right side..” I sounded a bit insecure.
The last time I saw such a big monster was when I was 6 and it was the scariest thing I remembered for a long time.
At least until that one night.
“Then you’ll take the right.
Makes it easier for you to cut off the tail, but be careful to always stay behind its legs or it could cost you an arm,” she then finished up the explanation.
As if on cue Dana pulled out some bowls and handed each of us the stew she cooked and a few thick slices of rye bread.
While eating I reread the notes I took.
I mentally began preparing myself for tomorrow’s fight.
Everyone went to bed early that night, even wearing their armor while sleeping.
The next morning everyone rose right at sunrise and we left the camp behind, while Dana stayed behind.
We shared hot drinks the porter had made and went on our hunt into the cold alpine region.
It was frigid.
Even with the hot drinks, it was bone chillingly cold and they made it barely manageable.
I sank into my knees with every step, despite being 180 centimeters tall, so I tried to walk in the deep gashes Stonard left behind.
At least the guy was big and heavy enough to make a walkable trail.
After an eternity of walking around this frozen mountain we reached an ice grotto.
Wind howled out of this icy hole, lashing at our faces and stinging like thousands of tiny needles.
It felt like my face was freezing over.
We lit our oil lamps, the flame illuminated the cavernous ice grotto, reflecting off almost everywhere.
Silvia and Stonard took to the front.
They scanned the cave while continuing deeper into the darkness.
I noticed more than one old scratch in the frozen walls and unconsciously readjusted my shield.
This shield had somehow survived defending against Hans back then, so it felt sort of reassuring to have it strapped to my right arm.
I opened and closed my fist, even healed, I was anxious if I could hold up, but here we were.
I watched my seniors check out some gashes on the floor and Silvia told me those were Boreagard claw marks, so I quickly copied what they look like into my notes, while the others slowly continued on.
I hurried to catch up, my steps suddenly reverberating a bit more than I’d have expected.
Getting closer to the others again, there was some buzzing in the air.
Stonard and Silvia stopped, with her commanding me, “Rookie, you get them.
It’s good training.” It couldn’t be.
No.
I looked at Silvia and all I saw was seriousness.
A lump formed in my throat as I took lead.
The truth is, I always played the game with an insect phobia mode turned on and this buzzing?
It meant one thing.
Insects.
Of course this world had insects and I usually could ignore them easily, but this buzzing was worse.
The second their black chitin bodies came into view, something inside me snapped.
I couldn’t run, I was a huntress after all and my fingers clenched around my sword handle.
“Diiiiiieeeeeee!” Was all I screamed, my voice dying as much as I wanted these Waspoids dead.
I took off into a run, my boots slamming so hard against the icy floor, they left deep imprints.
My blade was already drawn when the first Waspoid tried to pierce me with its stinger, the blade slashing diagonally right into it.
It exploded in a green fountain of its disgusting fluids and I spun.
The moment I stopped again, my shield smashed the next one to pieces with my brutal shield bash and didn’t even care anymore about the following fluid shower.
I used one of the ice walls for a wall run, using some small protruding rocks as foot holds and descended on the last one.
My sword pierced it until it was crushed flat under the impact on the floor and my armored weight.
My breathing was now ragged and I let out a long exhale.
I had no idea how I just did that, but these damn things were at least gone now.
The others came up to me and Stonard slapped me across the back, “Didn’ think ya had it in ya.” I glared at him and holstered my sword.
“That sure was something,” Silvia joined in, her eyes on the fluid and chitin splats on the floor.
They weren’t harvestable anymore.
“You were a really good rookie.
Keep it up,” she paused for a second, “just don’t scream like that please.” ‘I see your face Silvia, don’t think I haven’t noticed.
I bet you hate insects too!’ And smirked a little despite the embarrassed blush creeping up on my face.
“I really hope these were the only ones,” I openly confessed, while cleaning my face off of the gross goo with my gloved hand and we continued on.
“There’s some Boreagard…
tracks,” Irelia pointed out after some more walking.
We followed the monster’s tracks and marks up and came into an open ravine, where my eyes wandered for a moment.
It was slightly warmer than outside and some water was dripping off of the frozen walls, only to end up in puddles around long naturally formed and smoking chimneys.
Small slivers of light came in through the frozen ice ceiling.
There must have been some further openings, as the smoke hadn’t accumulated much.
I moved towards Silvia and Stonard, who were looking at something on a stony lower plateau and our leader simply said, “there it is.
Are you all ready?” Everyone nodded and I gulped.
With another lump in my throat, I followed their eyes.
It basically looked nothing like the game’s monster.
What had been a flat feather texture thanks to developer’s being cheap, I had imagined it to be more like a Zengard.
This thing was a feathered and easily 15 meter long raptor.
Its teeth were showing as it chased after a poor mammoth-like Kudrat that was lost from its herd.
I took a deep breath and nodded.