Emulous Plume

The following morning was chilly in the cold mountainous region of the southwestern part of the Red Forest. The coward sun was veiling itself with a thick curtain of heavy clouds since early morning, although it was almost 10 am. Hence, the activity in the camp was undoubtedly low. Nevertheless, the veteran adventurer ladies of the group were not perturbed by the wild changes in the weather. They woke up early as usual and started preparation of breakfast for the whole expedition group.

The breakfast was light and consisted of dried meat, cooked animal fat, fresh eggs of a big emu-like bird called 'Aptery,' collected by the hunters, and cheese, which they brought with them. Though most of the adventurers prefer this usual calorie-filled light breakfast, a dense soup and hot mead are prepared for the craftsmen and the scholars who are accompanying them.

One of the fine young ladies, who was entrusted with serving food to the men, was asked out of the blue by her senior to serve breakfast to the new member of their expedition group. Although she has not yet met him, she heard from the gossips that a male pixie, a local of the Red Forest, came to their camp last night and decided to help them while crossing the dangerous Red Forest.

The young Lady has heard numerous tales of the beautiful cities of the pixies in the mysterious elven forests from her mother, though she had never met one of them before. So when she was given the job, she was very delighted. But then, she remembered the numerous rumors floating about him, that he is a strange wildling with little to no knowledge of the outside world, and that he looks so pale as if he is a living wraith.

Clearing her mind, she decided to ignore all the rumors and her nervousness as she entered his tent after taking permission. She was immediately charmed by the faint but clear voice that asked her to come in. And as she entered, she was almost enthralled by the pale doll-like figure she saw. His big bluish-white eyes emitted a faint glow, like that of precious gems, and his black hair, which was cut short like that of a child, looked silky like Unicron tail but black.

He graciously got down from his hammock and took a deep breath. And as he exhaled, the mysterious charm and the faint glow in his eyes disappeared and all life left from his body. No, it was literally, as if all his lifeforce has been sucked out from him, leaving behind an empty doll-like husk.

She was at a loss and stared at him in a daze. He was dressed rather properly, for a wildling, and she couldn't help but find him a little, cute.

The ice was broken by him as he introduced him as Kenny, a sprite, with an elegant bow. His gentlemanly adult-like voice, which didn't match his young face at all, rang sweet bells in the young Lady's heart, and she nervously answered, "I... I have brought your breakfast," and while attempting to do the daunting task of placing the tray on the nearby foldable stool, she dropped it, probably comically.

But in a split second, as if time had been reminded, the tray with its contents, held in his porcelain-like white hands, was perfectly safe. "Yare yare! A pretty lady like you should leave the tasks like preparing breakfast to us," he said with a refreshing smile.

"Yes!" With her cheeks reddened, she could answer only one word and hurriedly left his tent with the tray hiding her face. After that, the rumors of his being a strange dead-eyed wildling were replaced by a handsome gem-eyed gentleman of exquisite skills.

----

Kenny was woken up early in the morning by a young adventurer girl who came to serve him breakfast. As he was not used to the waking-up-early thing, he mistakenly released his strong magic presence for a few seconds, which scared the girl - according to him. She was so scared that she dropped the tray. But Kenny acted fast and caught it while uttering a dandy line to calm her down. The girl then ran out of the tent in fear - all according to Kenny. Poor Kenny could only hope that she does not spread any strange rumor about him. But he didn't know that his fear will come true - in a different way.

Last night Kenny was allowed to return to where his guardians were to take their permission. Kenny ran back to the High Gardens and told Mimosa and the prof. about the circumstances. They nodded with a smile like they understood all of it. "Kenny, I think it is a nice opportunity for you to meet more people and learn about the outside world. Go for it, my boy," the professor, "Kenny, be careful while using your power and never release your full magic presence, okay. They might get scared of you." and Mimosa gave him lectures like real guardians and sent him off with, "Behave properly," and "Don't forget to change your dirty clothes regularly, okay." Saying so, she handed him a small bag containing changes of clothes.

I feel nostalgic somehow, thought Kenny as he ran back to the camp of the expedition group.

When he returned back quickly, they thought that his guardians were nearby as it was almost impossible for an average person to cross the Red Forest so fast. They urged him many times to introduce them to his guardians too. Kenny explained again and again that they were not near, and after some time they seemed to reluctantly give up on the idea. Dinner was served shortly after, and Kenny was given a small tent of his own to sleep. They were quite surprised, though, when he said that he didn't require the warm blankets. Kenny doesn't really feel the difference in the temperature as he is a part High Undead. Rather he enjoyed the outdoor camping and slept peacefully.

----

After washing his face and eating breakfast, Kenny walked out of his tent. The sight which greeted him was a fascinating roll of various people engrossed in their work.

As the group was to camp there for a few days recovering their energy while also waiting for their reinforcements to arrive, they had reformed their camp area to a certain extent, and it could be called a small settlement. Trees had befallen down, the ground was leveled, and temporary cooking, washing, and toilet facilities were constructed. And, as their camp area was under the shadow of a high rocky cliff and bounded by streams, they felt a small sense of security when compared to their previous camps, which attracted many small and large disasters.

The members of the group consisted not only of humans but also several dwarves, a few elves, few demi-humans and 2 orc warriors, who happened to be brothers. As Kenny had never seen demi-humans before, the sight of the feline Lady, with her animal-like feet, hairy back, big blue cat-like eyes and lion's mane like hair left him in awe. Unfortunately, the orc brothers perished in the hands of monsters on their way here. So Kenny couldn't meet them.

As he was asked last night, Kenny went to meet the Captain to discuss their further plans. Finding his tent was not a problem, as it was the largest one among the rest. In his way, he noticed some young men approaching him.

----

Filbert had a big haul yesterday. He and his party successfully hunted an Aries yesterday. The massive mountain goat is said to be one of the strongest undomesticable goats in all of Wisteria. Its beautiful white fur is a costly material, and its delicious red meat is eaten by the Royals in big ceremonies.

So, Filbert and co. were delighted when they found a small herd of them grazing near their camp area. Unlike the SnowDeers, the Aries is not an endangered species, according to the scholars. So, they put all of their strength in ambushing and killing one of them. The rest of the group was also delighted after seeing the hunt. Not to mention, Filbert was loaded with praises by everyone for his remarkable feat. And so he partied all night.

Maybe that way, he was not aware of the events when a new member, a local of the Red forest who is supposedly very strong and could hunt and survive in the wild alone, had joined their group. And, according to the ladies, he is a young and handsome skinny lad possessing some excellent skills.

For Filbert, who was called a young prodigy in swordsmanship and elemental magic, the appearance of another strong individual of the same age as he was very irritating.

But, according to the rumors, the new member is a wildling and has almost little to no knowledge about the civilized world. Maybe he survived in the forest so far by relying on his primitive skills and by avoiding the strong monsters with his understanding of the surroundings.

Analyzing the information in that way, Filbert concluded that he is definitely stronger than that newbie. But still, he couldn't suppress his curiosity and decided to meet him.

----

"Hey, are you the wildling that joined our group yesterday?" Filbert asked in a cocky voice after he confronted with the new member. "Now, listen to this closely, forest ape. This expedition team is a collection of some of the best adventurers and scholars of MoonHarbor. Almost all of us were selected after rigorous tests, overseen by the Captain and Lady Janet themselves. So, don't get arrogant just because you were asked by the Captain to join our group. You are just another scout who has a little bit of knowledge of the Red Forest."

The pale white lad seemed to wonder about something after listening to him. A few seconds later, he looked directly at his eyes and said in a soft voice, "You must be FIlbert, right? I was told about you yesterday. By the way, my name is Kenny. And I am a Sprite. I wonder if there are apes like me, though. Well, anyway, nice to meet you. I was asked by the Captain to help while crossing the Red Forest. So, please don't worry about me, as I am just a temporary member."

"Heh, you must have some guts to say that. Though the Captain might have accepted you, the rest of us are will never accept a weakling like you. You better suck up to Lady Mylisant, or don't come crying to us when in danger." Filbert replied with a *hmph*.

"Please don't worry about me, Filbert-san. As I said, I am just a temporary member," he said and continued with a confused smile. "And, I guess, I will be able to handle most of the beasts of the Red Forest."

"What did you say?" Filbert was clearly angry. "Do you know how many strong monsters are there inside this legendary forest of death? Just yesterday, we took down the level 440 mountain goat Aries." Hearing that, Kenny looked more confused. "Oya! My bad, you might not even know about the level records of beasts and monsters. 'cause you are a wildling, right?" saying so, he and his friends started laughing mockingly.

But he was reasonably mistaken, as Kenny knew about the leveling system of beasts. The beasts of this world are also given levels which determine their combat strength. But, as the beasts gain their levels almost entirely by fighting in real combat scenarios, they are certainly stronger than people with the same mana levels. A level 200 beast will be somewhat hard to beat by a level 200 person. And also, their levels are assigned to their entire species. So, a specific individual might be stronger than the rest. And when the beasts absorb the mana cores of other beasts or people, they may evolve into a superior version of their species, like the alpha wolf Kenny encountered yesterday. Kenny read about it in the library of the High Gardens. By the way, the malevolent beasts and others are called monsters. But it is more of a subjective choice.

"Well, I do know about the level records of the beasts and monsters, you know," said Kenny the exact same face.

"Hmpf, don't you lie, you wildling. I think I should teach you your place." Saying so, a smile sprouted on Filbert's face. "Let's have a duel, a knockout battle. What do ya say?"

"Oh! are duels allowed here? What will you do if you get hurt?" asked Kenny.

"Listen here, you forest ape. You should really worry about yourself," said Filbert with an angry countenance. "But don't ya worry. I will surely ask Lady Janet to heal you." His friends started encouraging him and cleared space near the camp for the battle. The news spread quickly, and other curious onlookers began gathering.

Yare yare! I thought I could be away from all these as Mimosa is not here, Kenny thought. Looks like I will have to prove myself first, to get a little respect from these people.

The opponents stood to face each other in the open space.

"Oya looks like you don't have a weapon or a staff. Don't tell me you are going to fight barehanded with that skinny body of yours." Filbert and his friends laughed. "Let's make it even. I will not draw my sword too. What do ya say?"

"I don't mind," Kenny said with an expressionless face.

"Hmpf, you arrogant bastard! Here I come." Saying, so he enveloped his fists with mana. The mana released violent sparks as it glowed yellow. It is a martial arts technique called 'Thunder fists' whose efficiency increases with the capability of the user.

Filbert approached Kenny with a powerful jump and lunged his right fist in to hit his opponent's face. The 'Thunder Fist' is a powerful attack, as the part of the body which is run by it is immediately paralyzed, and the shock travels up to the head, making you feel like you were just punched in the ear.

But, Kenny calmly blocked his punch with his left hand making minimum movements, and his expression divulged that he was not affected by the spell. Filbert was further irritated and attacked violently with both his fists. But all of his attacks were blocked similarly as if Kenny could predict them.

Sensing something was wrong, Filbert leaped backward and took some distance. "Tch! It looks like you have some excellent pieces of equipment. To be able to block my 'Thunder Fists' without any effect!" Saying so, he quickly formed a big red fireball and launched it towards him. The fireball was not that fast, with speeds comparable to the wind sphere. So, Filbert closed in following it, after strengthening his arms by mana circulation. He knew that Kenny might be able to nullify the fireball like his 'Thunder Fists.' So, he used it as a cover to hit Kenny in the split time, after his equipment nullifies the spell.

But, when he saw a white palm coming out of the fireball, he was quite dismayed. The palm didn't stop and struck his chest at impossible speeds. And before he could react, he was thrown backward. He hit the ground with a significant impact. A second later, the pain kicked in from his hips and chest, making it difficult for him to get up.

The fireball vanished, and Kenny was suddenly near him in a completely relaxed state as if it was all a lie, leaving the spectators speechless. Then he looked towards Filbert's party members, and after meeting his eyes, they rushed in to help him get up. One of them gave him a potion, which probably healed his internal injuries.

Suddenly a long-faced young but handsome man came out of the crowd with a laugh. "Hahaha... quite a Godling you are, Filbert! Losing so pathetically to a wildling," he said with scorn and continued to laugh.

"Shut up, you ex-prince. I lost because I didn't use my sword and went easy on him." Filbert said with soreness in his voice and irritation on his face.

"Heh, you glorious frog of the well, looking down on others just because you are a little good at swordsmanship." The ex-prince continued, "You will never become strong."

"You bastard, come here and fight me. I will show you how strong I am." Filbert roared and tried to wake up. He gripped his sword and used it as a cane, and when he was up, he unsheathed it. "Hmpf, my dagger will be enough for the likes of you." Saying so, the ex-prince also drew his shiny aureate dagger.

But suddenly, Kenny appeared before him blocking his way. He was asked to stop them by a tall lady with ample bosom. "Both of you stop right now! Ryan, you shouldn't inflame people like that. And Filbert, stop your childishness," said she, who seemed to appear out of nowhere and to yell at them. Her long 'magician cloak,' which was worn over her ordinary-looking hunting gear, fluttered; and anger glistened in her eyes. But still and all, a charm could be felt from her waist-length brown hair and feminine curves.

Everybody present there were terrified when they saw her like that and dispersed as fast as they assembled.

"Hmph, I should not waste my time with a pitiful weakling like you." Ryan walked away too, after uttering so.

"Filbert-san, please try to calm down. Anger is nothing but a brief madness." Kenny said so while looking worried. "And I would like to apologize for all the troubles that I have caused."

"Damn you, stop talking to me like that. I am the strongest young Godling from MoonHarbor," Filbert cried out. "I will never lose to the likes of you all."

*slap* It was the tall Lady. Though she lightly hit him, her movements were so fast that almost nobody except Kenny could see. "Filbert, stop with this now. That Captain! He has really pampered you to the bone."

"But, but, Lady Janet..." Filbert tried to reason but in vain.

"Both of you come with me." she, one of the strongest mages of MoonHarbor, Lady Janet said with a relaxed tone, as her anger finally calmed down after thinking about what Kenny said. "Let us take a walk near the stream."

----

After that, the three of them took a long walk in the surroundings, near the streams, with Lady Janet in the middle, while Kenny and Filbert on either side; as the latter, still hadn't accepted Kenny. But after listening to the insightful words and tales of the past adventures of Lady Janet, for a long time, until they realized that it was already afternoon, Filbert slowly began to lose some of his arrogance and ego, and even apologized to Kenny, though not by directly looking at his face. And, that was probably the beginning of their legendary friendship, one that would last as long as Filbert's High Human lifespan.

-----

But then, suddenly, Kenny felt the presence of a small group of people heading towards them from the north. An individual then separated from the group and sprinted towards them. Kenny immediately informed Lady Janet about the approaching unknown group of people and the runner.

She asked Filbert to go and inform the rest of the group and decided to rendezvous with the approaching party at that place with Kenny.

When the man noticed them, he stopped and approached them with a gentle walk. He was wearing ordinary looking light leather armor on his skinny body, and a hood fastened on his head.

"You are Lady Janet, I presume." He said with a small bow and continued with a respectful manner of speech, "I am a scout, sent ahead by Lord Dogbane to check out our path, and also, if I happen to come across any of you, I was to inform that we have come as per the request. The rest of our party is on the way and would reach here by evening."