Chapter 9 Meanwhile on the Human Side of Things... (1)

The inside of the tavern was extremely lively, filled with the sounds of people chatting or singing along with the band playing their music at the back of the tavern.

At the front of the tavern was a large wooden board where people could post things from shop advertisements to job recruitments. Occasionally, other information would be posted on the board as well.

The latest news posted there turned out to be the hottest topic of conversation.

"So there they were, facing this unknown beast. It was tall, about double the height of an average human. William dashed forward heroically to protect them, his sword drawn and shield at the ready. He slashes the creature across one arm but to their surprise, the wound heals nearly instantly! The creature's eyes glow red with anger and its tail swings over towards them and grabs William! Then Will—"

The storyteller's words are interrupted as a rather large stack of papers was launched into his face. Luckily they were all tied together or they would've scattered on the floor and that would've been a huge pain to clean up.

Varun, the storyteller, caught the stack of papers then turned his confused yet innocent gaze towards his captain, William. A faint red appeared on the tips of his ears from the embarrassment of being caught talking about someone behind their back.

The tavern-goers who had been listening to him quickly scattered upon realizing who had interrupted the story.

Varun was the only member of the team who hadn't gone on the mission to the dead forest, but the descriptions of the monster from the others who did go were enough to excite him.

According to their descriptions, the monster could belong to an entirely new species. Based on its ability to communicate, it was also most likely a demon beast.

"What's all this?"

Varun gestured to the large stack of papers as William sat down across from him and ordered a beer from a passing waitress.

"Copies of records on ancient creatures, including demon beasts. I asked the Central Library for them to see if there's anything similar to what we met in the dead forest. It's your job to look through them all."

Varun stared at the giant stack in disbelief.

"I know I'm supposed to be the intelligence guy, but do I really have to look through everything myself?"

Not receiving a reply, he picked up the pile to bring them to the room he rented in the inn next door. As the unofficial scribe and official information gatherer of the team, William was right that it was technically Varun's job to look through everything.

The records from the library contained all sorts of ancient and mythical creatures. From ones that lived in the deepest caverns below the surface to ones that lived in the clouds, there were all kinds, but none fit the description of the creature in the dead forest. None that is, until Varun reached the very last entry.

—Kisan: An ancient beast known for its high levels of nature based magic. According to most descriptions, Kisen were creatures with the body and head of a deer, two pairs of horns on its head, the mane of a horse, the front legs of an eagle, the hind legs of a dragon, and the tail of a spiny serpent. They often acted as guardians for large forests, and their physical condition reflected the condition of their forest. Despite their role as guardians signifying their kind nature, many harbored a visible dislike or disdain towards humans and fire-based creatures. Once it was claimed that a Kisan could assume a humanoid form, but no proof or records of this have been found. The Kisen disappeared over a hundred years ago and are thought to have gone extinct.

If a Kisan could transform into a humanoid form but was turned into a zombie or dark creature, it would probably look like what the team had met in the dead forest.

And since a Kisan's appearance was based on the condition of their forest, the dead forest could explain why it looked different.

Varun quickly rushed to bring the records to William, running over to knock on his door.

"Captain! I believe I found out what that creature is!"

The door opened to reveal the sleepy William, his normally well kept hair in disarray. Obviously he had just gotten up.

"Varun? What are you doing up so early?"

"Huh?"

Varun glanced over at the nearest window and found that it was indeed early morning. The sun was just barely beginning to peek over the horizon.

He laughed and shook it off, this wasn't the first time he had pulled an all-nighter.

"Never mind that, look what I found! It fits the description you gave to me."

He handed the record of the Kisen to William to examine.

The captain nodded after he finished scanning the paper, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Indeed, there is a definite resemblance. But the creature we saw had a skeletal head and tail."

"Yes but Kisen usually match their forest. If the one you saw was the guardian of the dead forest, it would be understandable if it looked like an undead. No one knows why the forest died, it just suddenly changed one day. What if it was a curse or dark spell that corrupted the forest, and thus the forest's guardian as well?"

Suddenly shouting came from outside, loud enough for the adventurer duo to hear it from inside the room. Varun and William headed down together to go check out out.

Outside the tavern next door, a large crowd was gathering. Varun quickly grabbed one of the people in the crowd to ask what was happening.

"You haven't heard? Some noble was recruiting adventurers to assist him on his hunt. The noble claimed that he'll be able to defeat that evil creature living in the dead forest. His recruitment posts have been up for awhile, and today is the day the hunting group will be setting out."