Zone Three was indeed huge just like Foulk said. In the distance, you can see that the former town even had its own walls. The former town was also a bit cold, maybe because it was near the mountains.

As we entered through one of the holes in the destroyed walls, we saw a lot of houses and establishment that were practically falling apart, at this point. Plants and trees grew and consumed houses while weapons and shields can be seen scattered across the ruined town.

Two weeks had passed ever since we temporarily took a break from hunting monsters. We were in the south district of the former town. We planned to set up our base of operation while hunting monsters. But before we could do that, we had to find a proper place where were sure that it wouldn’t fell apart.

“Do you really think we can find a place out of this garbage town?” Takana complained. As usual, he was wearing his armor and carrying his colossal sword and shield.

“Don’t call this town garbage Takana. Look at this place, even if it’s destroyed, it still looks beautiful. If anything, you’re the one that’s garbage.” Fuyuki remarked as she used her staff to remove any debris on the way.

“I couldn’t agree more, about Takana and this place.” Merry added.

After two weeks of training, Merry finally became a Swordsman. From this day forward, she was our Swordsman. She didn’t want to use Hashi’s sword, so she bought a new one. Her new ordinary sword amounted to a silver, in which all of us pitched in some money for us to be able to buy it. We still had a financial problem especially since we took a break for two weeks.

“…I disagree about Takana but this place really is beautiful and calming.” Kihana said. Probably due to her training, she became slimmer. It seemed that she also gain some muscles.

“I know you guys really hate me but isn’t garbage taking it too far?”

“Shh!”

I definitely heard something. Merry seems she heard something, too.

“I was just asking something.” Takana frowned.

“That’s not it, I think there are enemies in that house.” Currently, we were in a street with houses on both our sides.

Unfortunately, my instincts were right. There were four kasaks in the house and they casually went out. They looked like they were laughing; it was as if they saw us more as a play tool rather than an enemy.

The kasaks had two weapons; three crude swords and one hand-made spear. They had armors, too.

We went to our battle formation with me and Merry switching, putting me in the back and Merry in the front.

With this, I can see what’s happening in the battle. It’s really hard to fight when you’re commanding, at the same time. Hashi really had it hard, huh?

If an enemy came near the rear, Kihana now had the ability to intercept them with her Self-Defense. Not only would she be able to protect the vulnerable Fuyuki, but it would also give us reassurance that the rear wasn’t completely defenseless.

Not that I intend to put them in harm’s way, of course.

“Sal, uhlm, kras, inaf,” while writing unintelligible sigils in the air, Fuyuki casted Ice Trap. The ground beneath the kasaks temporarily turned to ice but the radius of the Ice Trap wasn’t enough for the four of them. In the end, it only caught two.

With the two being slowed down, Takana charged in. He shouted “Pound!” and lured the other two in. They recklessly attacked while Takana brought up his shield and hit them with it; it was his new ability, Bash. One of them was rendered stunned while the other was unaffected.

“Take this! Hyaaa!” Takana shouted as he brought down his sword on the stunned kasak. It sunk deep within the left shoulder of the kasak.

“Graghhhh!” The kasak screamed while holding his shoulder down.

One down.

“Nice, Takana!”

“What did you expect?!” he grinned.

I should probably tell him later not to get his head big.

Simultaneous to Takana, Merry dashed in. The half-beast was fast. As her tail, fur and cat-like ears fluttered along with the wind, she aimed for one of the slowed-down kasaks and thrusted towards its chest.

“Graaa!” The kasak blocked it with its sword. It seemed the kasak was lucky but not anymore as Merry regained her stance and vertically slashed the kasak.

That’s what you get for a crude sword.

With a clank, the sword broke and Merry’s slash went in the kasak’s head. Along with the kasak’s sword, they both slowly fell.

That’s two.

While Merry was fighting the slowed-down kasak, Fuyuki casted Ice Shard; I could hear her say “Sal, mo rak,”. Three ice shards went flying to the other slowed-down kasak. Out of the three shards, only one connected, hitting it in the legs.

I could hear Fuyuki clicking her tongue. “Don’t worry about it, it’s a good hit!”

The kasak groaned. The Ice Trap vanished and the ground returned to normal but the kasak still had injury within its leg, so it still couldn’t move properly. The kasak readied itself as Merry set her upon him. She was like a hungry predator seeing her helpless prey.

Merry slashed the kasak but the kasak blocked it. Merry slashed it again but evaded it. It was a nimble one even with its injuries.

I stealthily went around the back of the enemy. I stabbed it with my dagger but it also had armor on its chest, so the stab became more of a slice.

“Orgh…!” the kasak swung its sword at me but as the kasak’s attention went to me, Merry thrusted her sword towards its chest.

Why in the chest!? She wouldn’t be able to penetrate it!

I managed to evade the attack with my new ability, Side Step. It basically let me side step. While I evaded mine, the kasak wasn’t so lucky because it shriek then fell to the floor. It seemed there was a crack on the kasak’s armor and Merry exploited it.

While wildly trashing on the floor, Merry stabbed her sword downwards.

That’s three.

Takana was having hard time with the last kasak. It was quick and nimble, just like what Merry had fought. Takana always had problem with this type of kasak as it easily can get around Takana. And since his Pound only worked once, he can’t use it again on the kasak.

But since there was only one enemy, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Hah, hah, hah…!” Merry attacked incessantly. She attacked and attacked until the kasak could no longer block and evade the attacks. Her slash injured the kasak to its arms and legs, enabling Takana to smash it with its sword.

“Goodnight, you little shit!” Takana shouted, even though it was still broad daylight, and brought down his sword on the kasak. The kasak’s head split open.

With the battle being over, Kihana checked if we had any wounds. Luckily, it was only a minor leg wound Takana received from the kasak.

Even if it’s a minor wound, it still could prove annoying in the battle. The kasak Fuyuki injured was proof that we shouldn’t underestimate any wound.

We set up our base of operation where the kasaks were staying. If they could stay there, either could we. And it was near the wall, so we can escape easily when something bad happened.

We explored and made a rough sketch of the former town. We wanted to find the best place to set our trap for Bladetree. We had encountered enemies but they were mostly groups of three or two, so it was easy to take them out. The only threat we had seen in the south district so far was a group of seven kasaks. We let them passed by because we didn’t want any unnecessary troubles.

Just like we anticipated, we also had seen some trainees and wanderers. Just like us, they were taking shelter from one of the houses and was either waiting for enemies or going directly to them. Most of them were arrogant and cocky, especially the wanderers. Whenever we would get close to their hunting spot, they would often get angry and chase us away. That being said, they were good people who still had humanity in their hearts. But I can’t really blame them for being highly unwelcoming, this was a life-or-death situation, after all.

“Look out!” I shouted.

Near to the center of the former town, there was a large building just like the church in the town. We went there because we wanted a high place to check things out and since it was in the middle, it was enough to see a lot of places.

Unexpectedly, we were ambushed by a group of five kasaks.

They jumped out from the balcony of the houses and went straight for us. Merry and I hadn’t noticed them until they started jumping, so it was safe to assume that they didn’t move until we got close enough.

Since there were five of us and five of them, it dawned on me that the enemy targeted each of us.

The rear. They need my help.

The five kasaks immediately went to their respective targets and I wasn’t worried for Merry and Takana because they can defend themselves but Fuyuki and Kihana were the most vulnerable ones.

I took out a smoke bomb and rashly threw it on the kasaks that was aiming for them while dodging a thrust from the enemy. Since I rashly threw it, I was lucky enough to hit one of the kasak. It stopped on its track and started to cough because of the smoke. As for the other one, it slipped away, pointing its sword on Kihana.

“I’m sorry!” As the kasak slash Kihana with a wide grin on its face, Kihana parried it with her staff, causing the kasak to be wide open and allowing Kihana to counter it with a whack on its head, making the kasak groaned and backed away.

That’s amazing. But you don’t really have to apologize, Kihana.

That was her new ability, Self-Defense.

I abandoned the kasak that I was fighting and went straight for the two. On my way, I rammed my dagger on the legs of the kasak where there was no armor. The kasak shrieked while I backed away.

That should immobilize him for a while. Now how should we handle this two?

I fleetingly looked over to the other two and it seemed both of them were having a hard time. Merry was fighting a kasak with a shield and spear, causing her not to get close but even if she did the kasak had a shield, so she can’t just carelessly attack like last time. On the other hand, Takana was fighting a nimble kasak but he just used Pound and Bash. As he swung his colossal sword, he shouted “Gyaaaa...!” and burying it deep within the shoulder of the kasak.

Takana might be repulsive but right now, he’s the strongest out of all of us. He’s an indispensable part of the team.

Takana was making his way to Merry and it was only a matter of time before both of them came here.

The kasak that was in front of me had a sword and dagger.

“Groaaaaa!” The sword kasak, after scratching its head because of the whack, immediately went after me. It was so angry that he slashed me in all direction. I could only block and dodge it for so long, eventually grazing my arms.

It’s really hard to fight them directly. I have to find an opening.

Kihana healed me with her ability, Heal. Heal can only be casted when the priest touched the wound, so she came near me and healed me.

“You’re literally a lifesaver, Kihana.” I smiled.

Fuyuki was finding the right time to cast her spell. She couldn’t do it when I’m near the area, so I had to back away.

“Sal, uhlm, kras, inaf,” Fuyuki casted Ice Trap. The dagger kasak was hit but the sword kasak managed to threw itself out of the way.

That’s enough. It would be nice if Fuyuki can cast her next ability.

Fuyuki had to wait before she can cast again. She can cast the same ability twice but she had to wait before casting a new ability. She said it had something to do about the flow of energy to the spirit.

I charged to the dagger kasak, ready to slice the bastard but it slashed me first. “Side Step…!” I side stepped to the left and sliced its right wrist, causing the kasak to let go of his dagger. I then tackled him causing him to fall. I jumped on him and tried to bury my dagger on its neck.

The sword kasak wasn’t just standing there, he made his way on me and tried to thrust his sword in me while I pinned the dagger kasak on the ground.

He’s going to get me.

Suddenly and simultaneously, an ice shard narrowly missed my face while the sword kasak got a direct hit in his face. Blood splattered as the kasak got hit in the face. It was quite grotesque.

“Terrin, I’m sorry! Are you okay!?”

“Yeah, I am! Thanks for that!” I said as I still pushed my dagger on the kasak.

Though maybe next time tell me when you’re going to do it. I’ll tell her when we finish this.

After putting all my strength into it, I finally rammed my dagger into the kasak’s neck. It shrieked. I pulled it out a little bit, twisted it and then rammed it again. The kasak no longer shrieked as I stood, breathing heavily.

Damn, that’s tiring.

Merry and Takana finished their enemies, it wasn’t hard for them considering there were two of them.

These kasaks are pretty smart compared to Zone One and Zone Two kasaks. They planned before attacking us, that thinking was enough to best the two.

I went to the kasak whose legs I stabbed.

The kasak was shouting at me. Though I don’t understand it, it felt like it was cursing me and saying bad stuff at me.

That makes sense. I did kill his friends.

Whether I felt bad for killing them didn’t matter, they would have done the same to us. This was how this world worked, anyway. The weak gets killed while the strong prospered.

I guess that’s how it is in even in other world, huh? Are there any other world except my world and this one? I probably shouldn’t think things I don’t know.

But I preferred killing them when they had a weapon in hand. Killing them like this felt more a murder. Although I did think that killing was murder, this world was different. Killing and murder didn’t belong to the same category. Killing was praised while murder was condemned.

Everyone went here as they hear the furious sound of the kasak.

“Aren’t you going to kill it? Don’t tell me you got cold feet?” Takana said.

“No. It’s just that killing them like this doesn’t feel right to me.”

“I agree with you, Terrin. Kasaks are kind of cute when they’re not trying to kill you.” Fuyuki said.

“Cute? What the heck?” Takana looked at the furious kasak. “You’re calling this CUTE? I really don’t know how Hashi put up with this. Bless that man, seriously.” Takana put his both hands together as if praying.

“Of course, an idiot like you wouldn’t be able to understand Hashi.”

As the two bicker, Kihana asked, “…So what are we going to do with the kasak?”

As I put my hand on my chin as if thinking, Merry went to the kasak and stabbed it in the chest. It shrieked then died. She stabbed it again as if just to make sure.

“No need to ask anything. These things are monsters. We kill them because that’s our job.”

“This is why I like Merry,” Takana said. “She has common sense, unlike our leader and whatever you call this thing.” Takana was referring to Fuyuki.

“Shut up, you idiot.”

She’s probably right about that. But still, I’ve been with Merry the longest and yet, I still can’t figure her out.

We collected our loot and went on our way. We entered the building and I went to the top to scout things out while the others rested.

So the north district is that way. If I were Bladetree, where would I stay? Hmm? What’s that?

There was a house that didn’t look like it belonged there.

Guess I’ll check it.

I told the others to return to our base while I take a look at the weird house. Besides, I think we were done for today as we achieved most of our goals.

I went to the house. It was near the wall, so it was quite far. The only reason I saw it in the first place was because it looked like it was repaired. It also looked like it was cleaned, I also didn’t see any vines or plants in it.

I stealthily made my way over there. I hid in the shadows and made sure that where I step wouldn’t make any sound. While I went there, I made a rough sketch of the way as to not get lost.

When I was near the center, there were a lot of kasak roaming around, mostly groups of three and two. When I got near the house, I didn’t see any kasaks anymore.

I wonder why…

When I finally got to the house, what I saw was right. The house did look like it was cleaned and repaired. There was also two kasak standing at the main door of the house, as if they were guarding it.

I saw an opening on the side of the house. I went there and got inside. The house was two-story but it was big, just like what you would see outside. In one of the rooms, there was a hole that would get you in the rooftop.

Guess they couldn’t fix these, huh?

In one section of the rooftop, there was another hole. I went there.

Then that’s when I saw him.

Bladetree…

My body felt itchy or more like aggressive as I saw them laughing and eating. There were four of them. The club kasak was still there but I didn’t remember if the one I injured was still there.

Calm yourself, Terrin. You’re here to check things out, not to fight and make a trouble.

I took deep breaths to calm myself. I also thought of Shakna and my party. It was surprisingly calming.

As I surveyed the surroundings, I saw blood all over the floor. When I followed the traces of it, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

There were two humans, with their feet and hands severed, lifelessly lying on the floor.

It dawned on me that that was what they were probably eating.

I knew that I had my fair share of killing and blood but seeing people being eaten was enough for me to be sick.

I immediately went out before they find me out. I went back to my party and told them what I saw.

If I our plan failed, that is what’s going to happen to us. I have to make sure that our plan would not fail or else, we’ll end up as their lunch while laughing and us lying on the floor, just like those two human.