The group stomped out the campfire and packed up their camp.
On this commission, they had eliminated a total of thirty-six wild wolves and harvested ten undamaged wolf pelts—a fairly good haul.
Any pelts with cuts or blemishes had been discarded. Blackstone Town was never short of such resources, and damaged goods wouldn't fetch any price at all.
Marcus cleared his throat and spoke up.
"According to the commission issued by the Adventurers' Association, the bounty on a single wild wolf is three silver coins. I took down thirteen, Gray took twelve, Vallis took nine, and Zelier took two. No objections on the count, right?"
The others nodded one after another in agreement.
Extermination commissions targeting ordinary beasts were usually paid out per kill. Only in coordinated subjugation battles against monsters would the reward be split proportionally.
"Beyond that, each person gets a base participation payout of five silver coins. That's all the money you'll receive. Everything will be settled on the spot once we turn in the commission at the Adventurers' Association."
Delight showed on Gray's face.
Once this quest was over, he'd be able to live it up at the tavern for a good long while.
Zelier, on the other hand, quietly did the math in his head.
A six-silver bounty plus five silver in base pay. As for the wolf pelt from his kill, the fur had been incinerated by flames, so he got no cut of that.
He would walk away with eleven silver coins in total from this quest.
That should keep him afloat for a while.
The currency system of the Candia Continent was straightforward: one gold coin equaled a hundred silver coins, and one silver coin equaled a hundred copper coins.
Thinking about it, it did feel a bit meager... Bustling around in the forest for days on a quest, and he couldn't even bag a single gold coin.
After packing their gear, the party began heading toward the forest's outskirts.
Marcus took the lead at the front. Having spent nearly a year operating in this forest, he knew the surrounding terrain best.
Zelier looked around.
Ashwood Forest truly lived up to its name. The bark of every tree bore an ashen, bone-white hue, which, combined with the morning mist drifting between the trunks, made even the air feel damp and heavy.
The party tramped forward in silence, broken only by the soft crunch of thick fallen leaves beneath their boots.
After walking for about another hour, Marcus suddenly came to a halt. His burly back stood motionless where he was, his voice turning somber.
"Something's wrong."
"Are we lost?" Zelier blinked.
To his eyes, the scenery around them hardly changed at all—it was always ash-white trees shrouded in fog. If someone told him they'd been walking in circles, he would have believed it.
"Not lost..."
Marcus looked up toward the sky. "By this time of day, the sun is already fully up. The morning mist ought to have burned off by now, but it's gotten thicker than before."
The four party members were barely a meter apart, still able to see one another's figures, but whenever they looked out into the surrounding woods, their line of sight was noticeably obstructed.
"A rare patch of heavy fog?" Vallis asked.
"Doesn't look like it." Marcus shook his head.
"It didn't rain yesterday, the forest is dry, and the temperature hasn't plunged. The conditions for heavy fog aren't there."
As if confirming his words, the surrounding mist churned and rolled as gusts of chill wind swept through. Visibility dropped another notch from roughly ten meters.
A sharp pang of unease suddenly welled up in Zelier's chest, and he instinctively twitched his nose.
The fresh scent of greenery had vanished, replaced by a rank, pungent odor.
It wasn't wild wolves, though. A wolf's stench leaned more toward gamey musk, whereas this smell...
It was laced with far more metallic blood!
"Watch out, everyone."
Vallis looked grim, having caught the scent as well.
His longbow was already in his hand, a fletched arrow nocked on the string. "Something's in the mist... A nasty piece of work might have shown up."
Gray also dropped his usual easygoing expression. He gripped his sword's hilt, the muscles in his forearms bunching as he tensed, scanning their surroundings warily.
"Could it be a bear?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a low roar echoed from all directions, rattling them to the core as the mist churned violently like boiling water.
A massive black silhouette materialized without warning, flashing past through the dense fog ahead of the group!
Though it lasted only a split second, all four saw it with their own eyes, and a wave of terror detonated in their chests.
"Damn it!" Gray backed up two steps, yelling in shock and fury, "What the hell is that thing?!"
Vallis took a deep breath. Calm as he always was, his voice now wavered slightly.
"It's a Mist Demon..."
***
*Adventurers' Association General Monster Compendium*
[Sequence 21]: Mist Demon
Individual Threat Rating: [Challenging]
Physical Characteristics:
The Mist Demon's appearance is extremely unstable and may take virtually any shape, but fundamentally it is an aberrant entity formed from a mixture of flesh, blood, and bones of diverse creatures.
Its most prominent trait is a layer of fluid, flowing energy that blankets its body like a barrier.
Habits and Behavior:
A quintessential ambush predator, exceptionally aggressive, usually active in forests, swamps, and other terrains well suited for concealment.
The appearance of a Mist Demon is invariably accompanied by extensive, lingering, unnatural fog that defies ordinary laws of nature.
Special Abilities:
The Mist Demon possesses immense physical strength far exceeding ordinary beasts, surpassing even that of bears. However, its core capability remains the energy barrier covering its body.
It is capable of nullifying most forms of pure kinetic energy. In practical terms, ordinary sword slashes, arrow piercings, and warhammer strikes cannot harm its true physical body of flesh and blood.
Core Weakness:
The barrier reacts violently against attacks imbued with battle aura or magical power.
A full-power strike infused with battle aura from an intermediate warrior can shatter this barrier, while pure energy attacks—namely, magic—are the most effective means to breach this hard shell.
Association Remarks:
Warning! Warning!
The Mist Demon's [Challenging] rating stems not from its destructive power, but from its near-impenetrable defensive properties.
If a party lacks a warrior who has mastered battle aura or a mage, the Mist Demon will prove an utter nightmare for the entire team!
Based on the reports of the few survivors, the following points can be confirmed:
1. Do not trust your eyes, and do not rely on your experience. The moment you realize the morning mist has not cleared after sunrise, immediately retrace your steps to retreat, and report the matter without delay to the nearest Adventurers' Association. A squad will be dispatched to purge the area.
2. If a party encounters a Mist Demon without an intermediate warrior proficient in battle aura or at least one mage capable of reliably casting offensive spells, the Association strongly advises immediate flight. Do not make futile attempts!
***
"Damn our rotten luck..." Gray's complexion turned thoroughly pale.
"What's a Mist Demon?" Zelier asked, looking completely at a loss.
"A textbook monster. The energy barrier over its body can deflect almost any physical attack; only battle aura and magic can break it," Vallis explained rapidly.
In the Adventurers' Association's assessments, Ashwood Forest carried a fairly low risk rating. Only ordinary wild beasts frequented its outer rim, while signs of monsters appeared solely in the central zone. Furthermore, there had never once been a reported sighting of a Mist Demon here.
Chapter 5