Tales of Concordia: Volume One

Chapter Two: Hunted

Rentaro

-Several hours later

Dead leaves and branches crunched and snapped as I trekked through the forest. Night had already fallen, not that it mattered to me. Visibility wouldn't affect my travel much since I couldn't see normally anyway. I still felt anxious though, as beasts are generally more active at night. There was no telling what they could be up to, so with that thought in mind I checked the two blades fastened to my hips, and continued onward to the village.

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"It's quiet..." This was the first thing I thought to myself. While the sun did set several hours ago, It was far too quiet. The village was small, but not small enough to be dead silent, There was no activity in the village at all.

I continued walking before coming to a stop in the center of the village. I hadn't felt anybody's presence. No one making their rounds for the night watch, no drunkards stumbling around the dirt paths. It was eerily quiet.

I couldn't help but think that I might've come to the wrong village, despite knowing that was impossible. Instead of dwindling on these thoughts, I inhaled slowly and then exhaled. Both to calm my nerves, but also to check my surroundings.

I felt mana build up within my chest, then slowly emanate outward, forming a sort of bubble around me. By giving it another thought, I let that bubble expand outward and burst, launching a wave of my own mana in the area around me. I can't see traditionally with my own eyes, but I can use my own mana as a wave, which then either bounces back to me or sticks to objects. You could think of it as a kind of echolocation. Although usually nonliving things can't generate their own magic energy most objects, living and nonliving absorb and bounce back energy. Like a rock, for example, would have trace amounts from the plants nearby. I can also pick up on the energy and "intents" of living things, which can give me a basic outline of a person or object.

My burst gave me the outlines of the buildings in the area. Each and every door was left open one way or another, With several having been broken into. As I analyzed the town and my surroundings more, my mana highlighted various other things. Large animal tracks, and clear signs of struggle across the ground. A terrible thought crept into my mind, and without thinking, I darted off to the direction of the Mineshaft. I know I promised I'd wait and defend the village, but what good will standing around and watching a bunch of empty houses do?!

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"There's no way. It's possible but why?" I continued to think to myself as I ran. Beasts don't take back prey alive, they slaughter off instinct most of the time, so why? I know Miss Rika said they're becoming smarter but smart enough to capture an entire village of people? Not killing a single person? And for what reason?

I finally reached the mineshaft. Wooden planks, which had been used to close off the entrance were thrown about and scattered, broken into pieces. There were obvious signs of a futile struggle; Kicked up dirt, and even some blood. But not a single body was in sight. As I peered into the entrance of the cave, my better judgment told me to not enter. I felt goosebumps rise across my body, and my ears flatten ever so slightly. My body nearly took a step back, but I steeled myself. I needed to be determined to push forward.

I entered the deep darkness of the cave.

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I traversed deeper and deeper. I only walked for a few minutes, but it felt like hours had passed in my head. Despite that, I still hadn't encountered anything. No signs of wild animals, no signs of corrupted beasts, and no signs of human life. Was I wrong? Was the report wrong? No... there's no other explanation as of right now. I was in the correct place.