Reincarnated as a Haunted House - Part 1 - The Serpent Forest

Legend of Orochi

----------- The night before the hunters arrived on the island in search of Moonlight-----------

All four members of the 4 Calamities Hunter group had set up camp just outside the boundaries of the Serpent Forest. They sat around a crackling bonfire, where a thigh from some unknown creature skewered over the flames.

"Should we go into the forest?" inquired the man in the green robe.

"I'm inclined to agree that it's a risky proposition. The Pixie Queen has likely met her demise by now," remarked the bald man. "To the best of my knowledge, this forest is a wild, untamed place, teeming with perilous creatures. On top of that, we've heard rumors of one of the Twelve Supreme Beasts residing here. We can handle threats up to level C, maybe level B, but anything beyond that, and we're walking into our graves."

"I have reason to believe that Orochi, the eight-headed serpent ruler of the Serpent Forest, is no longer present there," chimed in the man in purple.

"Why do you think that?" inquired the man in the green robe.

"Many years ago, news reached the Monarch of Central Island that unknown forces had engaged in a battle with Orochi. Surprisingly, they succeeded in slaying the mighty beast. To verify the authenticity of this news, the King recruited 30 of the finest hunters from all across Central Island. Some of them were renowned hunters who had ventured far beyond the island's borders. These 30 hunters were divided into five groups to expedite the exploration of the Serpent Forest, and my grandfather had the honor of leading one of these groups," explained the man in purple. "They scoured the forest during the day and camped at night."

"What! They actually camped within the Serpent Forest?" exclaimed the bald man in disbelief.

"Yes, and that proved to be their gravest mistake. One of the groups had set up camp dangerously close to the den of a Flamehowler, but not just any Flamehowler—it was a Midnight Flamehowler," the man in purple continued.

"A Midnight Flamehowler? Aren't they believed to be extinct?" queried the man in the green robe. "I mean, there have been no sightings of them for centuries."

"Perhaps they found refuge in the unruly lands, protected by the Supreme Beasts," mused the man in purple.

Curious, the giant, who rarely spoke, was busy munching on a grilled pig thigh. Between bites, he managed to ask, "So, what happened to that group?"

"Tragically, all of them perished, save for one fortunate soul who managed to escape and alert the other groups," the man in purple answered. "Once the news spread among the other hunters, they hunted down and eliminated the Midnight Flamehowler. However, it remains a lingering belief that more Midnight Flamehowlers may still inhabit the forest, nursing a deep-seated animosity towards our kind. That's precisely why it's relatively safer to venture into the forest during daylight, as Midnight Flamehowlers are nocturnal creatures."

The giant, now more engaged in the conversation, declared, "I believe our group could take down a Flamehowler."

"I understand, but it's not just the Flamehowlers. The Green Lake teems with a multitude of perilous creatures. By the time the King's hunter group had completed their sweep of the forest, they had lost nearly 60% of their hunters to other creatures like Akuma Bears, Hungry Hares, and even the elusive Absent Chameleons. Only a dozen hunters remained, and the Green Lake still awaited exploration. They embarked on their search within the lake's depths, but the waters were murky, concealing dangerous entities lurking beneath the surface. Nevertheless, the remaining hunters were exceptionally skilled, and they combed the entire lake in just a few days. Yet, they found no trace of Orochi," the man in purple explained.