The Witch's Relay

Chapter 39: Small talk

We small talked as we ate, discussing current events going on, my prior experience with fighting monsters, and what to expect during the day.

"So basically, the idea today is to watch you fight a variety of different monsters, to determine your skill level, and if you are ready to get a rank-up. It is pretty simple really, we will go between a couple monster spots and when I say fight, you fight." Grim explains. "It is also customary for the instructor to do a quick sparring session as well, but that part of the test is less important. My job is to just conduct the test, Linda here will be the one actually making the assessment."

"I should be pretty fine then." I say and then proceed to joke. "Although I was recently poisoned by a serpentine snake, so both do and don't take it easy on me."

"Are you alright?" Linda asks, concerned. "That happened to me too once as well, but it was only a couple of drops, so not even enough to leave any scars. I can imagine more venom would be rather awful." She notices my wrapped up hand.

"It wasn't too bad.." My voice trails off. "The worst part was probably once the painkillers wore off. Since when I was fighting it I had a good dose of adrenaline."

"But you did kill it?" Grim asks, showing interest.

"Yes, thanks to my new weapon."

"A spear?" He tilts his head.

"No, a sword." I drum my fingers on the wrapped up blade slung on my back. I will need to get a sheath for it pretty soon.

"Did you stab it?"

"No.. I chopped off its head.." I suddenly realize too late, that decapitating a serpentine snake isn't common for someone of my rank, and I also realize this probably isn't the best for staying out of the spotlight.

"No way!" He grins happily. "Then you shouldn't have any issues with today, as long as that hand doesn't hold you back too much."

Glancing at everyones empty plates Linda stands up. "Well, are we ready to get moving?"

"Yup. Let's go." I stand up as well.

"See you around beautiful." Grim does a half bow towards Heather, before following Linda and I out towards the door.

Since we are all regular customers here, the cost for the meal will simply be put on our tabs.

...

So Kade cut the head off of a serpentine snake? That really is quite impressive, at least for someone of his rank. Is he really stronger than he gives off? Today is a perfect opportunity to find out.

"Where will we go first?" I ask while looking back at Grim.

I got to know Grim nearly instantly when I moved here. While he looks a bit scary, there are few people who are technically as harmless as him. If you are his friend at least. Mess with someone he cares about and you are in for a world of hurt. That is why I made sure to be on his especially good side. So I call him in whenever there's a spot to fill, he takes it as compliments.

He probably has some underlying reason for needing to feel wanted. I am pretty sure his parents were pretty harsh on him, before actually disowning him for some messed up reason. From there he went from one bad group to the next. Although by some miracle he turned out to be alright. He really is quite the fascinating character.

Although right now I'm more interested in Kade.

"I am thinking that we start at the master spot by where the mountain rivers intersect."

"Oh, that's where I was yesterday and got into trouble." I comment, remembering yesterday.

"Really? That place is normally pretty tame though, and a serpentine snake appeared there?" Grim turns away from me and towards Kade.

Hm?

"Yea, I thought so too, I mostly meant to simply get used to my gear, but ended up not finding anything. At first it seemed like just a normal area, until I actually got ambushed."

"That is a bit concerning. But I think we should be fine to check it out anyway. If we find another C-rank monster, I'll just be sure to send you after it, and if there are many, then me and Linda can do some extermination. The guild will want to know about any abnormalities anyway. Right Linda?"

"That's right. Although this situation isn't unheard of. Usually weaker monsters migrate down from the mountains in order to flee the stronger ones, and these monster spots are just where different monster trials intersect. It is possible that your snake was just too small to hold its own in the harsh mountains, and decided to climb down. That would also scare away other, weaker monsters." I explain to Kade as clearly as I can. "But if a serpentine snake couldn't hold its own up there could mean something bigger than normal has emerged in the mountains."

"Could it be the dungeon?" Kade suddenly asks. "Like if they sense something is going on up there?"

Oh? So Kade does know about how monsters act. Although that is to be expected, since I've confirmed Heather to be a mage. That would mean Kade is being taught magic and the theory of it.

"What do you mean?" Grim asks him, confused.

"I mean that the dungeon will spew out monsters, and if the already existing monsters know that, they may choose to migrate a little quicker? And some of the big ones too?"

"That would be an interesting theory. But there is no evidence of monsters even inhibiting such intelligence. Besides, that would mean they could sense things they never encountered, which in itself does not make any sense."

"Oh.. I see.. It was just an idea I had." Kade shuts up real quick, probably realizing he said too much.

Oh Kade, you really are naive aren't you.. "I agree, however unlikely it may be, it is an interesting theory."