Arzuros was another three-star-level threat. While it was slower and lacked the support of other monsters like the Jaggis, it was bulkier and possessed far greater strength, unlike the long and slender Great Jaggi that used its speed to circle around its prey. The Arzuros that had appeared before Group One was also larger and stronger than the average specimen of its species.
The other adventurers moved to confront the beast while Aria rushed toward Daniel.
"Daniel! Please, hang on! I am going to heal you!" Aria scrambled toward him and immediately began casting healing magic. "Light! Grant your blessing to heal wounds! Healing Light!"
Light enveloped Daniel's body, and he began to twitch. Relieved, Aria dragged him out of the water and cast another healing spell. However, his body was not recovering as quickly as she had hoped. Daniel's injuries were too severe.
Meanwhile, Arzuros charged at the approaching adventurers.
Peter and several other Copper-ranked adventurers raised their massive shields to brace against the charge. However, Arzuros abruptly stopped and rose onto its hind legs before unleashing a powerful double swipe with its claws. The impact knocked the shield bearers backward.
Gunther seized the opportunity and led the charge against the bear's right flank. Three Bronze-ranked adventurers wielding spears managed to injure Arzuros and stagger it for a brief moment, allowing Gunther to deliver several deep cuts to its vulnerable underside.
Several arrows pelted its body as it attempted to regain its footing, but they proved ineffective against its thick pelt.
Without missing a beat, Elisia unleashed several blades of wind. The magic inflicted minor cuts while simultaneously throwing Arzuros off balance and causing it to roll across the ground.
Daniel opened his right eye. He saw Aria desperately trying to heal him. However, he knew it was useless. He could no longer feel his body, and the cold was spreading through him by the second.
"Ar...ia..." Daniel mumbled with the last of his strength.
"Daniel! Hold on! You will be fine!"
"No... tak... care... of... th... or... phan..."
"No! No! No! You are still young! There is so much more ahead of you! Do not give up!"
"Thank... you..." Daniel took his last breath with a smile on his face, satisfied that he had been able to pass on his will to this courageous and responsible girl before his vision faded into darkness.
Aria sniffled. She had just witnessed the cruelty of the world on a personal level. She stopped casting her magic. She cursed her own weakness, her own magic, her own naivety, her own belief that life was more precious than anything else.
Aria looked toward the killer fighting the other adventurers and slowly unsheathed her sword. She picked up Daniel's sword from the stream and wielded it in her left hand. Burning with anger and determination, she joined the fray.
Arzuros managed to regain its footing after being battered by the adventurers while it was down. It roared furiously before unleashing a series of frontal swipes, forcing its attackers backward. Its breathing grew heavier as it began charging at its enemies with increasingly powerful steps.
The monster tackled several adventurers, launching them into the air and incapacitating the spear wielders. Without pause, Arzuros swiped at Gunther. He dodged the attack by a hair's breadth, but the beast immediately charged toward Elisia, who was chanting a powerful spell.
Fortunately, just before Arzuros could reach her, Elisia completed her incantation. "Hurricane!"
A hurricane erupted before her, devastating the monster and halting its advance. However, the moment the spell ended, Arzuros charged at Elisia once again. It swung one of its massive claws, but Elisia narrowly avoided the attack, causing the claw to smash into a nearby tree instead.
Gunther moved behind the beast and attempted to stab its exposed rear. However, Arzuros seemed to recognize the danger of exposing its back. It suddenly leapt backward and landed on Gunther, pinning him beneath its massive body. Gunther coughed up blood from the heavy impact against his abdomen.
"Gunther!" Mary fired several wind-enchanted arrows at the beast's head. Most missed, but several struck its face, drawing its attention. Arzuros turned toward Mary and charged.
Noel rushed toward Gunther and used the last few healing potions she had remaining on him.
Mary climbed up a nearby tree, using her wind magic to increase her speed. However, when Arzuros tackled the trunk, the tree was partially uprooted and suddenly tilted. Mary lost her footing and found herself dangling from one of its branches.
"Oh no!" Arzuros raised its claw and prepared to strike.
Several fireballs suddenly slammed into the beast. Aria leapt forward and slashed at Arzuros's neck. The attack only left a shallow wound, thanks to its thick fur and tough skin.
Still enraged, Arzuros lunged at her. Aria ran and slid across the ground, narrowly avoiding its tackles and claw swipes. Arzuros refused to relent and pursued her relentlessly, attacking with tremendous strength and fury.
"Fire! Burn my flesh and be the blade that incinerates my foe! Blazing Blade!" Aria's dual blades erupted with a brilliant crimson hue. With every strike, searing flames bit into Arzuros's flesh.
The two engaged in a deadly dance. One was a giant brute that attacked with overwhelming power and brutality. The other was an agile fairy who fought with precision and skill. The surrounding adventurers could only stare in awe at the spectacle.
Aria ran and slid across the battlefield, using the terrain to her advantage to create openings. Fueled by anger, she unleashed battle cries that matched Arzuros's furious roars.
Slowly but surely, the beast was chipped away. Arzuros accumulated wound after wound as blood spilled from its body. Exhausted from the relentless battle, the beast finally decided to flee toward the depths of the forest.
Without missing a beat, Aria chased after it.
Peter charged after the fleeing monster and slammed his shield into its left side. However, Arzuros continued up the slope and into the sea of trees.
The other adventurers pursued them, but even while heavily injured, Arzuros was faster than they were.
Several arrows and spells flew toward the fleeing monster in an attempt to slow it down.
"Wind! Be my wings, bring my soul to heaven where you reside! Air Walk!" Aria chanted as she ran at full speed. She suddenly felt lighter as the air gathered around her legs. With a final burst of energy, she accelerated forward and leapt with incredible speed and momentum.
Her hand glowed with a pale white light before the radiance spread across her entire body.
The clouds parted, allowing sunlight to pierce through the forest canopy and illuminate the battlefield. The sudden light blinded the fleeing beast.
Aria's right blade struck Arzuros's rear. Using the momentum of the attack, she spun forward, shifting Daniel's blade in her left hand into a reverse grip before cutting into the beast again.
She continued spinning along Arzuros's back, landing slash after slash and dealing massive damage before finally landing in front of the beast. For Arzuros, the beautiful fairy had transformed into a demon clad in white light.
Arzuros rose onto its hind legs and unleashed a massive claw swipe.
Aria instantly closed the distance and unleashed a flurry of fiery attacks against its vulnerable underbelly: round slashes, rising slashes, downward slashes, spinning slashes, and thrusts. She gave Arzuros no opportunity to recover. With every strike, her battle cry grew louder.
The beast attempted to defend itself with its armored forearms, but under the relentless barrage, the hardened shells began to crack. Then, they shattered.
Arzuros lost its balance and fell backward, tumbling down the slope.
The other adventurers hurriedly dodged the rolling beast. Aria followed it and as the beast finally came to a stop, she slid across the ground and delivered a powerful double slash across its face. The impact shattered both her burning blades and Arzuros's fangs.
Yet the beast still clung to life. Arzuros slowly rose onto its hind legs and prepared to deliver one final attack.
Aria drew her knife and leapt. The blade plunged through the monster's open mouth and into its head.
Arzuros staggered backward. Its legs buckled and fell onto its knees.
For a moment, there was silence and it felt like an eternity.
Then Arzuros slowly toppled onto its side and released one final, feeble growl. The beast had been defeated.
Aria sat down, exhausted from her continuous exertion. Gunther and Elisia were the first to reach her and check whether she was all right. The others began administering first aid to those who had been injured.
"Miss! Are you all right?!" Gunther asked worriedly.
Aria remained silent and shook her head before sniffing and bursting into tears.
Elisia gently embraced the downhearted girl, wrapping her in warmth and reassuring her that everything would be all right.
***
Aria woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling while the surrounding area buzzed with noise.
She sat up and was greeted by a chaotic scene of people running around with papers and supplies. Apparently, she had fallen asleep after the battle and had been brought back to the town's Adventurer's Guild, where she had been placed on a nearby wooden bench and allowed to continue sleeping.
Mary and Noel were the first to notice Aria amid the bustle and immediately hugged her.
"You were amazing! Noel and I were practically speechless watching ya fight that ol' bear!"
They released her from their embrace.
"Mary got herself entranced by ya beauty. Even I might wanna take ya as my bride."
Suddenly, Noel received a light smack on the head from Elisia's magic staff.
"The two of you, give her some space. And Noel, what in God's name are you saying to a little girl? She is only eleven. Do you want me to send you to the knight order?"
"Ahaha. Soz, soz. I was just teasin' her. But ya can't deny she was awesome!"
"I am sorry, Miss. I know you are tired, but the guild master would like to meet you. Please go upstairs to his office."
""And ya told us to give her a break.""
Aria stood up and thanked Elisia before heading upstairs.
Inside the office, the stacks of papers had grown even larger compared to her last visit. Aria ignored them and focused on the man sitting in front of her.
Granziel looked through a bundle of papers before turning his attention toward Aria. "I have read the report on what happened. You did well, young lady. I am impressed with your abilities, and I am sure you will rise to become the ace of our branch. The others would also-"
"I am not worthy."
"...I know about the casualty. It was unfortunate, but this is the reality of adventuring. We never know what will happen during an expedition. Trust me, I have seen my fair share of death. Some were my comrades during my own time as an adventurer. If you are this downhearted after a single death, I suppose you may be unfit to walk this line of work."
Aria remained silent.
"Daniel will still receive his reward, though. I will ensure that it goes to the orphanage where he grew up. Additionally, due to the sudden appearance of another monster, the guild has increased the reward. Rest assured that the orphans will be well fed for quite a while."
"I see..."
"Well, in your case, it is a little special. The members of Will of the Wind have all vouched for your contribution in defeating both monsters, especially that bear. Do you know what it is called?"
"It is called Arzuros. It is an omnivorous monster that mainly consumes honey and fish, but it is hungry most of the time and thus very territorial. It can travel vast distances in search of food. It probably assumed we were invaders trying to steal its food source. If we had honey with us, we could have potentially distracted the monster with it."
"I see. Interesting." Granziel leaned back in his chair. "Well then, Miss Aria, I would like you to write down all the detailed information you know about Arzuros on another scroll. We will never know if there are more of them out there, and the guild would like to be prepared for any future encounters. Of course, we will reward you handsomely, proportional to your contribution."
Aria proceeded to inscribe everything she knew about Arzuros onto an empty scroll.
"By the way, the materials harvested from the two monsters will be purchased by the guild and presented to your father. You get to keep most of the gold from the second beast, though."
"What are you trying to imply by mentioning my father?"
"It would be good to discuss it now, since he may request an audience with the brave adventurers who took down these beasts."
"I do not want to meet him." Aria continued writing on the scroll. "You can push all of that onto our group leaders. I am sure their fame should not warrant any suspicion from the Lord."
"Your father may demand to see the guild's report. I am all about honesty here. If not, the trust I have built with the nobles over the past ten years would be in vain. You cannot escape that confrontation."
Aria remained silent as she continued writing, but her face showed clear disgust. Silence dominated the entire room, with Granziel staring at Aria while she remained focused on her task.
When the final letter was engraved onto the scroll, Aria finally broke the silence. "The Lord only kept me under his protection because of the law requiring children under the age of eleven to have a guardian. He would not want to have his daughter out on the streets before reaching maturity and damage his image as a capable noble. He never once visited me after the 'Blooming Ceremony'. He simply cast me aside like a pebble."
"Why, though? Ah. The all-important magic that nobles crave. You did not have the best aptitude for it, did you?"
"I was level one in all attributes."
"Hoo... A rare all-attribute magician, yet only at level one. Quite a shame. Still, only one in a thousand magicians in this Great Empire can cast all magical attributes. You should still feel proud of yourself."
"That sounds like mockery to me."
"Haha, my apologies. However, based on the reports, your magic should be at least level three, or even four. That is even rarer, if you ask me. One's magical attributes and level cannot normally be changed, but yours did. I have heard stories of people who have accomplished such a feat, but this is the first time I have met one. It is an honour."
Aria stood up and handed the scroll to Granziel. She still looked annoyed, but she felt somewhat refreshed after the conversation. She bid the guild master farewell and headed toward the door.
Just as she was about to open it, a guild staff member suddenly burst into the room and slammed straight into Aria.
"Guild master! It's urgent!" The staff member completely ignored Aria, who was writhing on the floor while clutching her face. "Group Two have just returned, or rather, only a few survivors have returned. We are currently treating the wounded!"
"!" Granziel immediately followed the staff member downstairs to see the aftermath.
In the guild hall, Granziel saw that only ten out of the thirty-five adventurers from Group Two had managed to return. They were all exhausted and disheveled, with many suffering serious injuries that could cripple them for life.
Granziel approached one of the adventurers who appeared to have suffered the least injuries and inquired about the expedition to the Cloudy Jungle.
"It began when we entered that monster's nest. As described, it was huge, and we could see our target sleeping. Thinking we could ambush it, we approached and set up various traps—poison, explosives, you know, the usual." The adventurer swallowed nervously.
"However, just as we were about to start, something else flew over us. It roared so loudly that we were stunned. Right on cue, our target woke up and started attacking us. We were able to dodge and block most of its attacks, but then the other creature landed on the battlefield and started pelting us with fireballs. It was similar to that Rathian, but it was bigger and reddish in color."
"Both monsters were working together?"
"Yeah! Those things attacked us, but not each other. The green one charged at us and poisoned us with every tail attack, while the red one hovered above us and charged while flying. The red one was fiercer and harder to hit since it was always in the air."
The adventurer's expression darkened. "We lost more than ten people before we decided to retreat, but the nightmare was still not over."
"What happened? Did the monsters chase you all down and pick you off one by one?"
"No... Those two did not chase us. I guess we weren't worth the effort of coming down from the canopy, where they dominate."
The girl shivered as she remembered the incident. "Something else lurked in the shadows of the trees."
Granziel's expression became serious.
"We fled as far as possible, and when we thought we were safe, we rested for a while. However, some adventurers began fighting with each other, blaming one another for the mistakes. The group leader's party had it the worst. They were bombarded with accusations of incompetence."
She clenched her fists. "In the midst of the commotion, we did not realize that we were being hunted. Then, out of nowhere, something black moved through the thick fog and claimed its first victim."
"So it was another monster that took out another ten or so adventurers. Did you at least manage to get a general idea of that beast's characteristics?"
"Yes, I do." She took a shaky breath. "It was a large, four-legged beast with a long tail, reddish eyes, and a terrifying roar that reminded me of the Great Felyxn found in the Southern Hell Savannah. It moved dexterously, using the shadows of the jungle as camouflage."
Granziel sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You got out safely without suffering much injury despite being ambushed. Impressive."
"That's becoz she fled first!" Another adventurer from the same group suddenly interjected. "She left us for dead!"
"What!? The expedition was already over the moment we retreated! From that moment onward, it became a fight for survival!"
"Then that makes you a coward and a selfish jerk with zero morality! Nobody will ever party up with ya again!"
"Big talk for someone who is just Steel rank. You can lecture me when you have attained a rank higher than my Silver!"
"Hah! 'Tis always about ranks with you! This is why the leftovers of the nobles 're such a pain ta deal with!"
"You dare! I will make sure to seal your mouth shut so you never utter such disgraceful sentences again!"
She was about to conjure her water magic when the guild master shouted.
"Stop this argument at once!" Granziel's voice silenced the entire hall. "We are trying to understand what is going on in that hell! The livelihoods of the people and you adventurers are at stake! We should cooperate in handling this crisis!"
Granziel's demeanor and authority were absolute. "Now then, we will have another discussion with the survivors once they have all recovered."
Granziel was about to return to his office when he spotted Aria. "You know what the two new creatures are, don't you?"
Aria nodded.
"We have lost too many high-ranked adventurers. I guess for now, the Cloudy Jungle will be given an entry restriction."
Unbeknownst to them, a carriage bearing the symbol of the Sultier Earl House had arrived in front of the guild.