"A lot of adventurers usually avoid going too deep into the forest. Apparently there's a Myywright not far from here. A tree that dabbles in illusions." Kaela an adventurer spoke without worry as they made their way deep inside the woods.
Not far pair of golden eyes landed on their party. It was Reynolds, perched on a tree slowly trailing the three. Thanks to the Duskrend's senses he was able to sense them from far away not to mention stealth he managed to remain undetected while following them.
"That's enough Kaela, we should be nearing the zone soon enough." Derrin, the captain of the leader spoke, his voice low hinting at something dangerous lurking about. So far Reynolds came to now the names of the three thanks to the easy banter that went about.
Their leader was Derrin, a great sword enthusiast that hung from his back. His voice always came off as exhausted however Reynolds could sense the power that hid underneath that facade of his. The girl mentioned as Kaela was the mage of the group.
An elementalist in the field of Pyro which was greatly bolstered thanks to her staff and the third member that initiated small talk with Kaela was the party's rogue, Thorsen. Twin daggers lightly swaying at his hips, his demeanor wild and unruly making it harder for Derrin to pay attention.
'What a bunch of amateurs. It's shocking that they have been able to survive this long in these woods. However it would seem that they have a mission, something that could be worth my time.' Trailing them he kept his distance watching from afar before the trio came to a stop.
"It's here!" Derrin barked, his eyes surveying the premise that was completely desolate. Reynolds had long gauged what he was trying to locate as a smile formed on his face. The two took their guards and as if on cue a small pack of mindless goblins came out.
Dressed in crude rags, they sensed the three before launching their pathetic excuse of an attack. The exchange short lived before the three darted off in the direction the pack came from and so did Reynolds.
***
"With this payout we should be good for quite some time." Thorsen mused with delight alongside Kaela. "Yeah, we won't have to work for a couple of months, hopefully buy some of the fallen world clothes. Some of them have some interesting designs I'm sure would look great on me."
Kaela responded eliciting a grunt from Derrin. "We'll focus on the shards later but as for now, can we focus on the mission we have at stake. After all we can't get back empty handed." Reynolds however squinted his eyes at Kaela's words. 'Fallen world designs? So it would be safe to assume that she means my world.'
However before he could have any more time with his thoughts a deafening roar echoed through the woods, scattering nearby fauna away as the trio held their ground. A swarm of goblins popped out of the foliage, their snarls an ear sore and their physiques laughable.
However unlike before their attention remained absolute, their eyes looking at their target. The goblin king which towered above the regular goblins. It wasn't big enough to be classified an ogre but definitely not small enough to be a goblin. It's clothes seemed way more advanced than the rest of the goblins, the air around it much more calmer.
With it's well defined physique, it was clear that it wasn't meant to be taken as a joke. And with a swarm to back it, it was safe to say that it wouldn't be as easy at they had initially anticipated.
"Quick! Form the ring and get into the flank!" Derrin ordered,the two executing without delay. The sounds of sizzling flesh as well as rampant snarls of goblins ringing about. Reynolds admired their teamwork that overtime declined in terms o quality. 'Are these new in this kind of field?'
Kaela's chants took longer to cast, a trickle of blood dripping down Thorsen's ear and Derren, he was going to be dead with the next swing of the goblin king's mace. Rather than intervene like a knight, he kept on watching the entire scene unfold, waiting to make his move in the shadows.
*BAM*
Derren's figure was sent crashing into a tree, a mouthful of blood spurting as his great sword slipped out of his hands. Distressed Kaela chose to defend him while Thorsen was left with the responsibility of defending the pair. "It's going to be okay." Her voice echoed with warmth as she tried to cast a healing glyph onto Derren's figure.
"Don't bother with me. Just get out of here." His voice intercepted with another raspy cough containing his blood. "All we have to do is retreat is all. We're going to be okay Derren."
"Arghh!!!" Thorsen screamed, his ribs shattered upon impact with the mace as he too went flying to the side. "Grab the woman, we'll use her as a furnace for our kin." The goblin king muttered, his voice sultry with lust as he drew closer to Kaela who now shifted her attention to the pack closing in on her.
'Damn it!' She cursed inwardly. Running wouldn't get her far, what she needed was a means of completely warding off the goblins which she lacked. Speaking in incomprehensible words, a rune formed around her hand and shot a cinder or fire at the goblins.
The attack taking out most however the goblin king remained unharmed as he kept on drawing closer. "I'll make sure that you pay for those that you've just killed. I'll enjoy using your body." A sleezy smile that didn't last long as it's peripheral tilted to the side and without it's knowledge it's life came to an end.
Kaela who was already picturing all the atrocities that would be enacted on her smiled with glee but only for a moment before she felt a light tinge of pain pierce her chest. Looking at it, an arm bore into her chest and callously ripped her heart out. Reynolds merely watched the look of shock on the girl's face before throwing the heart to the side.
Derren looked at Reynolds figure however he too fell unconscious similar to Thorsen who had yet to wake up. Without taking any chances he finished the three off and pillaged their clothes and their belongings. Satisfied with the cloak that masked his figure he made his way towards the direction Kaela had earlier mentioned.
The walk wasn't long thanks to his dash however what he came across wasn't exactly what he had expected. A huge tree stood in the midst of the forest, towering the trees around it however his senses told him that he was in great danger.
'I'm glad that the being overcame the language barrier from before or I would've missed such a gem.' Thanking the being that gave him a second chance, he drew closer to the Myywright. Never once did his guard drop. "Look a demon! Kill it!"
A voice echoed behind him however he felt nothing. 'An illusion huh?' Without the need to look back, he could tell that it was an illusion. Before he could take another step an attack was hurled at him. A vine shot at his chest to which he was capable of dodging.
'Well this should be interesting, never thought that I would find myself doing a bit of gardening.' Rather than pulling back he inched closer to the Myywright which merely shot more vines laced with poison at him. He would let some hit his body get adjusted to it.
Death was no more to him, his body riddled with poison making him bleed from every orifice and yet that was what he wished for. As more vines closed in to tear him limb from limb, he left out a howl to ward them off and using the Creaspine glide and dashes made his way towards the bark of the tree that let out a faint glow.
More attacks followed no doubt however he dug his hand deep into the Myywright' core that resulted with the games of illusions coming to an end. The voices in the distance coming to a halt as he looked at his hand that dripped with golden nectar. Taking a lick he now had the illusion attribute added to him.
'Finally, and here I thought that I would waste my life living in the woods.' As much as he wanted to spend more time getting stronger, even he yearned for proper human interaction and if not to check as to how the world was developing.
His demonic horns as well as his dark skin were now masked and made to look like a regular human body. 'Now it's a matter of coming up with a name.' Lost in thought he made his way back to the town where the trio had come from.
***
The guard gave a skeptical look at the man that had washed up at his gates. "May I inquire as to know as to who you are?" His voice laced with curiousity however Reynolds managed to keep his cool. "My name is Rowen, an adventurer however I have some findings to deliver back."
Showing the goblin king's head, the guard had no choice but to let him in. 'I wonder what the limit is?' He was sure that someone would be able to see through his disguise as a human. Unlike humans who sensed one's rank through the Knighthood or Maga path, he only sensed essence.
So far the trio's essence wasn't all that astonishing, the guards was barely noticeable however he knew that he would run into someone that with an overwhelming amount of essence. ''So this is Carwirth.'
Looking at the city that swirled around him, his eyes darted all over out of intrigue and curiousity. Sure it was just as he had expected with the gimmick of spires and medieval structures however here and there he caught glimpses of modernity etched.
The roads weren't as crude as he was used to back at Calledra when he first came to this world. Malcore lamps could be seen all over the streets, buildings here and there with lavish modern designs however they were present into the far distance.
For the most part everything retained it's aesthetic for now but it was only a matter of time before this world fell into modern earth. With the few shards that he had, he made his way to one of the hotels at the edge of the city. Cheap and the landlord didn't ask too many questions.