Chapter Summary: The duo wizards finally settle in their job to be body-guards. But, they didn't expect danger to be... well this dangerous. Hiroto gets second thoughts about this job.

Chapter 2: Fang Wild Forest

The forest was damp, the trees dripping its droplets overhead us, and the soil sinking further under our feet. Most traces of sunlight had vanished the moment we entered the dense forest, enveloping us in dim lighting. It was hard for me to keep my sights on the trader and Hiroto. Not only was it difficult to see, but it was also even harder to hear, the snarls and hisses of the creatures masking our footsteps. I didn't know what lurked inside this place. I didn't expect myself to even venture into the forest. But, here I am, inside Fang Wild Forest, in charge of guarding a trader, alongside my friend.

And it's giving me a wild adrenaline rush!

"Are you two young'uns okay back there?" The trader asks, slowing down his wheelbarrow

"Yes, si- Mr Trevor! Doing well!" I answer back with enthusiasm, the energy boost from the adrenaline filling me with surging excitement. I don't know if I'm so nervous I'm excited or the other way around.

"What about the boy?"

Hiroto seems to be drawing the same wood elf on the back of his hand, unfocused on his surroundings and Mr Trevor's words. His drawings spring to life, racing up his arm and joining the others on his back and head, as the cycle repeats.

"Uh, he's fine." I answer for him, seeing as he's still not responding. The only words coming out of his mouth are his magic chants for the wood elf.

He seems to be drawing an army of them, considering the ten tiny silhouettes on his back and a couple on his head. Does he plan to use them for offence, defence or both? Ah, but they're so adorable! I can't bear to see them getting ripped to shreds by the forest creatures.

"Ah, good, good. I was worried you two might be feeling nervous about the Hyenas and the Basilisk." His words nearly freeze me in my steps. "Those two are the main predators around here, always competing with each other for prey and jumping at any chance to get any treasure. That includes my dear old wheelbarrow, of course!"

I'm sorry, did he just said Basilisk? The legendary snake in folktales? The darn Serpent King who can kill with a single glance?! And he also mentioned hyenas! Great, we're going to be protecting the wheelbarrow against the Serpent King, who's leading a pack of forest hyenas behind it.

... Now I'm slightly envious about Hiroto tuning himself out of this world. Or maybe not, since he's not going to be aware of the dangers in this forest. Again, we're about to be fighting a mythical creature and a pack of hungry forest beasts!

Okay, strategy time, Nozomi. My Force Magic allows me to enhance my strength, defence or speed, up to 2.5 times my normal abilities. I am only capable of enhancing one trait at a time, so I have to decide. 'Speed' is out of the question since I would have to stay in place and protect the wheelbarrow and the trader. That leaves either 'Offence', where I go all out against the creatures, or 'Defence', where I minimise the blows and hits I take. The former would be good if they are frail or weak defensively, but since I'm up against snake armour, I might not be able to break through it. The latter is stable, but I'm worried that we may not have enough power on our side to knock them out. My defence can only sustain for so long. That means I'd have to count on Hiroto to pump out the offence against them, while I focus on protecting the wheelbarrow and trader.

I give another look at the boy. A total of twenty silhouettes are now present on his back, and several of them are riding on his head. I don't see the glow of light from his hand anymore, so I guess he's finished drawing his wood elf army. Or it seems that way. Despite the dimness, his body still shakes visibly in my eyes, the silhouettes quivering alongside him. Some of the wood elves had gone onto his shoulder and poked at the boy's face, probably trying to comfort the teenager with their own way.

"Hiroto?" I softly call, walking nearer to him. "You okay?"

I half-expected him to nod and say he was 'fine', but instead, he gives me a truthful answer with a shake of his head. "N-No, I'm not."

He tilts his head towards me; widened, nearly teary cyan eyes meeting my golden ones. "I-I'm scared, Nozomi. I-I'm scared of the hyenas and Basilisks, I'm scared they'll tear off my wood elves with ease, I'm scared they'll h-hurt me... I'm just regretting taking on this job. I don't want to be here anymore!"

I take a quick glance at Mr Trevor. Good, he doesn't seem to be listening in on us.

"Hiroto." I pause for a bit, trying to string my words together. Comforting a scared person is a bit hard when you're scared as well. "It's okay for you to feel afraid of them. I'm not going to tell you otherwise. But, sometimes, we just have to push that fear down, swallow it up like drinking wine, if we want to accomplish what we've set out to do."

The boy turns to the ground, fingers scratching against the back of his hand. "I don't know if I can do that..."

I take ahold of his hands, stopping him in his tracks. I then kneel down to his height and look at him straight in the eyes. "You can. Tell yourself 'you can' or 'you have to' if needed! Convince yourself that you aren't scared of some forest dogs or a tapeworm in scales. If you do that, you'll find yourself less scared of them." Though I say those words to him, it feels like I'm saying it to myself as well. It doesn't matter if the trader is walking off without us or if my clothing is getting dirtied. There's no way I'm allowing either of us to fight with half-hearted determination.

It's just going to get us killed in battle.

"Hehe, you shouldn't be kneeling like that... It looks wrong." Hiroto gives a light chuckle, much like earlier.

"Atta boy, just distract yourself. Laugh at me if it makes you feel better, think of Reign if it takes your mind off." A grin forms on my face as shades of multiple reds washes on his face. Well, I guess I really am that evil.

"W-W-Whaaaat?! Hey, what's with that last statement, you vile woman!" He takes a step away from me, dramatically raising his arms. Ah, that's the Hiroto I recognise now! "Stop giggling to yourself! You're weird!"

"I'm not even giggling."

"What?" His anger diminishes slowly, confusion replacing it. "If you're not making those laughing noises, then-"

"Ahhh! H-Hyenas! Where are you two?!" Mr Trevor shouts from ahead of us, snapping our attention to him. Oh shit, maybe I should have cared if he was going further away from us! I immediately get to my feet and chant to myself, "Force Magic: Speed Enhancement 1.5x."

My feet feel lighter than earlier, almost as if I'm walking on air itself. It's been some time since I last used my magic for speed, but this one calls for an emergency. Taking Hiroto by the hand again, I dash forward through the dim-lit, straight path, the wind blowing harshly against our bodies, as I cover the distance between us. Light starts to peek through the trees, lighting up the pathway, albeit a bit. But, it's enough to provide a clearer sight of our enemies near the wheelbarrow.

The Hyenas are in my sight. They seem to surround the trader, a burst of hearty laughter escaping their snouts, as they go nearer with confidence. Basked in the light, the Hyenas glimmer with... scales? Well, no time to think about it!

"Hiya, Hyena!" I throw a kick to the front, pushing my momentum into the nearest Hyena and sending it flying to the trees. Letting go of Hiroto, I proceed to give another kick to the underside for the other Hyena. It pushes the creature away. The pack of Hyenas finally notices my presence and steps back, all eyes on a dizzy boy and me.

"Wha, what?" Hiroto mumbles, still feeling dizzy from the run. Ah, maybe I went a bit too fast.

"Oh, you two are here! Thank goodness!" Mr Trevor sighs in relief, taking refuge behind his wheelbarrow. He doesn't seem to have been injured, so I take it as a sign that we didn't fail the mission yet. Whew, I was worried there for a second...

"Grrr..." The Hyenas growl, forming together under the peekings of light. It shows their bodies more clearly, and the scales are evidently there, no mistake about it. Those are navy blue scales, ones that actually belong to the mythical creature, Basilisk. I don't know why they're there, but I know that offence isn't an option anymore.

Escaping is.

"Mr Trevor, can you hop into the wheelbarrow?" I say in a low tone, switching glances between the man and the Hyenas. The only reason why they aren't attacking us yet is that they're playing it safe, those smart, aggressive forest dogs. They don't know if we're good targets to prey on.

"H-Hop into...? Yes, of course, but what are you going to do?" Both Mr Trevor and Hiroto look at me questioningly.

I take a sigh. "Running away."

Here we are, on the run from the scale-covered Hyenas, who laugh away behind us. They're excited about this, chasing prey they thought were too strong for them earlier, running with animal adrenaline pumped into their blood. I've given them a reason to by running away. 'Offence' was no longer an option, and I couldn't take my chances with 'Defence' anymore, leaving me with just 'Speed', an early voted-out option.

Hiroto had managed to draw up a foal Malef on the towel, taking inspiration from the ones at our Guild, while he was sitting in the wheelbarrow with Mr Trevor. Now, he's clinging onto it for dear life as we made sharp turns all based on the man's directions. Well, at least I didn't have to struggle with pushing two people on the wheelbarrow.

"Left! Go straight! Make a sharp turn to the right!" Mr Trevor struggles with his instructions, trying to keep his voice above the waves of laughter from the Hyenas. I try to keep my ears open to his voice only, but with the Hyenas coming closer and closer, it's harder to hear him. Luckily for us, the further we go, the more light starts to shine into the forest, lighting the path for us.

"N-Nozomi, beside you!" Hiroto's warnings nearly fall short as I turn to the side. Some of the Hyenas were running beside the trees, looking ready to pounce on us at any moment. Their tongues were out, golden eyes narrowing in on me, wearing a mocking, cocky face.

"Hiroto, make the foal go faster! Force Magic: Speed Enhancement 2.5x!" I give out my command. My feet felt weightless as I push the wheelbarrow's wheels quickly through the ground, feeling the friction and air resistance through my hands. Hiroto shouted something, and the Malef caught up to my speed. By then, the Hyenas were lagging behind us, their laughter quieting down to echoes only, and their footsteps sounding to nothing.

"One last turn to the right! Then, go straight! We're reaching it soon!" Mr Trevor's words ignite hope and relief in me as I make a turn to the right. With a straight path and the exit shining ahead of us, Hiroto and I give our last spurt, pushing through the air, fear and ground towards the bright light. We're nearly there!

"Grawr!" A sharp growl sounds from above us. Before I could even acknowledge it, a black shadow drops in before the exit, holding its ground.

"Whoa!" I yelp in surprise, as I try to stop my momentum. Pulling myself back and skidding my feet through the dirt, I try to slow down the wheelbarrow so that it didn't slam into whatever it was in front of us. It barely slows down to a halt right before the creature, while Hiroto manages to stop his foal Malef much earlier. The drawing disappears with a poof and, the boy falls onto the dirt with a cry. "Waah!"

Despite our situation, I couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Hey, I heard that!" Hiroto says, getting off the dirt with a huff. "What is it that stopped us in the first place?!"

"... My pack! Grawr, you...! Intruders, out!" The creature takes a step forward, covering the remaining distance between it and the wheelbarrow. The shadow reveals to be the Hyena, only of tall stature, holding much more feminine qualities, and having most of its body covered in scales.

But, that's not the only thing that surprises me. What really caught me off-guard was how this Hyena knew some English! It could speak!

"Wait, did that Hyena just talked?!" Hiroto catches up with my surprise, cyan eyes nearly boggling out at this discovery. "I think Reign's Animal Magic is rubbing off of me..."

"It rubbed off of me as well."

Mr Trevor was silent, so I assume he's quiet from the shock of it talking. Or the fact that the Hyena was right in front us, glaring at us as if we were the worst humans to walk on Earth right now.

"Intruding, no! Grr... Die!" With those words, it swipes its claw against the wheelbarrow, scratching the wood. I swiftly pull back the movable burden and place by the side of the trees, creating an open space for us to fight in. Alright, we've outnumbered the Hyena, and I still have a little bit of magic left. I can channel the rest to 'Offence'.

"Force Magic: Physical Enhancemen- Gck!" The Hyena tackles me, cutting my chant off and throwing me to the ground. It swiftly pins both my arms down with its paws, mouth opening and fangs baring at me.

"Hey, hands off the vile woman, Hyena! Go, Wood Elves!" I tilt my head to the side to see what Hiroto was about to do. Armed with wood elves, he raises his hands up and... starts throwing them like a machine gun?! The ginger-haired idiot mercilessly throws the adorable creatures at the Hyena in rapid-fire, as if they were just wood ammo. Some of them hit the scales, but most of them had gone for the Hyena's face, the sharp points of the diamonds poking the soft fur. It reels away with a cry and releases its paws, giving me the chance to recover.

I push myself off the ground and finish off my chant. "Force Magic: Physical Enhancement 1.5x!" The muscles in my arms and legs pulses in response, and weighs more than before. Ah, that's the familiar feeling!

"You can thank me later." Hiroto says smugly, walking beside me. Oh, I'll give him more than thanks much later. I'll serve him a good knuckle sandwich to the arm after what he just did! That was way worse than anything I've ever thought he was going to do with the wood elves! I thought they would be small warriors, not ammunition!

"Grrr... Intruders! Grawr!" Keeping the same tune, it rushes towards Hiroto instead of me. I intercept the creature before it could lift a paw, grabbing it by its snout and raising it off the ground. The Hyena panics in the air and flails about, but it was to no avail. Slamming it down to the dirt, I kick at its scaled underbelly, pushing it away from us.

Though it was down, I didn't think it was out at all, not even for a second!

I rush over to the Hyena and slam down my foot onto its tail, making sure it's still alive. The whining it gives indicates it's still breathing life, so I step on it again with more force. With a few more steps, its tail was covered with dirt and flattened to the ground, and the Hyena still glared at me with arrogance. "Stop staring at me like that, you stupid forest dog!"

It was then when all my fear had been fully converted to anger. This Hyena, though it was down and outnumbered, could still look at me with such pride and arrogance that it riled me up. It made my hair stand and, my vision go red as I raise my leg up.

Though the magic's effects were disappearing, I still had raw, innate strength in my legs.

"Damn forest dog!" One kick to the face.

"How dare you go for my friend?!" A swift stomp to the un-scaled body.

"How dare you stare at me with such a victorious look!" A third kick to the underbelly, cracking the scales on it.

"Your kind should just be wiped off the face of Seven!" It gives a whimper at my fourth kick.

"You-" Before I could deliver another stomp, something wooden and pointy bonks my head. I turn around to see a teary Hiroto, scared and shaken, holding up his last wood elf and aiming it at... me?

"Stop it, Nozomi! It's already unconscious! It could even be... dead." His voice shakes with his body. When his words reach my ears, my mind snaps back from the red rage and into reality, my golden eyes flickering to the ground. I give a horrified gasp.

The Hyena was battered with injuries, blue scales floating on the pool of blood around it. Its mouth was half-open, most probably to give that last whine of defeat from earlier, and dirt was prominent on its body. It looked like a monster just gave it a ruthless beating.

I was that monster.

I was the one who did that to it. That Hyena, she... She kind of deserve it, did she? W-Who knows how many animals and even humans she would have killed? B-but, does that make... Does that make me better than the Hyena?

"Nozomi..." Hiroto's voice sounds beside me, but I didn't turn to him at all. My eyes could only stare at the fallen Hyena. "I-I'm sure you had a reason for doing this. You did what you had to do just to save us from it!"

'No, that's not it at all, you don't understand, Hiroto. I wanted to kill the Hyena out of pure hatred and anger, just because it was so similar to them.' were the words I wanted to say to him, but I couldn't bring myself to spit them out to him. His eyes look so pleading as if he's just hoping what he said was the truth of my actions, and I couldn't destroy that. He may have a big mouth and bicker a lot, but Hiroto is still a young teen, he can't- shouldn't comprehend what I just did.

If I was alone in this forest, I think I would have done much worse.

"Nozomi? Why are you silent?"

"Oh! Uhm, yeah... I went a bit too extreme there, sorry about that." I say with a half-smile, tasting the bitterness in my tongue. This regret was so bitter, it could beat out coffee. "And thanks for the rescue earlier. Who knows what could have happened if you weren't there to stop it?"

That last two statements were the only truthful ones.

"Y-Yeah! Be thankful to me! Your life is now under my debt!" He laughs at the end, a brighter smile taking over his earlier nervous face. This time, I couldn't tell whether or not if it's fake. Either his acting skills are improving or, he's genuinely being happy.

"O-Of course, my life is yours now. I am now your beer server." I roll in with the jokes, taking my mind and eyes off the Hyena. "But, let's go fetch Mr Trevor first."

"Right! I almost forgot the presence of that mortal." He keeps his all-mighty tone up, walking with me to wheelbarrow by the side. Inside, the man had closed his eyes and covered his ears with his hands, making small whimpering sounds. He looks like a puppy; an old puppy.

Hiroto knocks against the wheelbarrow. "Knock, knock!"

"W-Who's there?!" The man answers frightenedly, refusing to open his eyes.

"Harry." The boy starts to chuckle slightly.

"... Harry who?"

"Harry up and get out of the wheelbarrow!"

After that hilarious knock-knock joke which got my sides aching, Mr Trevor finally climbed out of his wheelbarrow with red cheeks. He asked about what had transpired, to which I filled him in, talking about the fight with the female Hyena. He expressed slight regret at the end, recognising that we were intruders to their habitat, and even apologised to us. Hiroto waved it off, saying that it was our job, which I agreed with. That's the only justification I had to my actions, after all.

But, he said he didn't want to repeat that mistake and chose to take the 'Trader's Path', trusting us to defend him if any unreasonable people showed up. For the first time, I took fighting humans over fighting mindless creatures, because some of them had a big enough brain to speak. The boy agreed with me on that point.

After getting the wheelbarrow in its proper position, Mr Trevor pushed it the rest of the way out of the forest, passing by the fallen Hyena, who still clung onto life. Every time I looked at it, I couldn't help but wince at it. It looked like it was in so much pain, and knowing that I caused it, didn't ease my mind. I guess Hiroto must have seen my distraught because he suggested that he'd bring Reign here after the job was completed.

"Maybe the Hyena could even join Reign's Animal Group! It was smart enough to talk, and it seems like a rare creature." Hiroto suggested.

"Maybe..." I didn't dismiss the idea, but I couldn't fully agree with it. Imagining myself waking up every morning to see that Hyena in our Guild seems unbelievable, but maybe I could be used to it. The best solution to facing trauma is to face it, no?

Anyway, the three of us finally gone out of Fang Wild Forest, arriving at the gates of Slautier Town, where another trader with a wheelbarrow was waiting for us. The two traders conversed with one another for a while, before trading their wheelbarrows, looking around suspiciously as they did. Hiroto and I were both quite curious about the wheelbarrow's contents, but I couldn't ask at all. It's a breach of privacy!

Sadly, Hiroto didn't understand that.

"Hey, what are you two trading?" He innocently asked, walking up to them.

"Hiroto, don't ask that!" I immediately yanked him away from them, covering the protesting boy's mouth. The two traders looked over to us, both having their eyebrows arched at us. "I'm sorry, he doesn't understand the meaning of 'personal space and privacy'."

I almost added in, 'Please don't dock our pay' into my apology, but I thought it would sound a bit worse.

"You should teach him that. I can tell he's going to get into a lot of trouble at hot springs." The other trader says, the two of them erupting into laughter afterwards. I let loose a few laughs as well, with Hiroto violently speaking into my mouth.

After the trade was completed, Hiroto and I resumed our body-guarding jobs, following Mr Trevor and his wheelbarrow from behind. We went into the open 'Trader's Path', where other men and women walked with their trade items. It was a barren, brown path, paved in a long stretch connecting each town, as I had mentioned earlier. Fang Wild Forest, though dangerous, was actually a shorter route. We took approximately an hour and 20 minutes to escape the forest, 40 minutes earlier than usual, because I had used my speed enhancement magic. But, Trader's Path took 2 and a half hours to walk through at average human's speed.

Added with the fact that both of us were exhausted physically, mentally and even magically from going through the forest, we had to make multiple stops throughout the journey for rest. In the end, we took 4 hours to go through the path, and no unreasonable person showed up to mess with us at all. In fact, one of the women was kind enough to give us a sip of her water when we were busy dying earlier!

But, I'm not complaining. I don't want to get into any more fights after the brawl in the forest.

"My legs are gone. I can't feel them anymore." I tiredly say, leaning my head against a tree. We finally reached Gier's outskirts with the inches of our lives remaining! Hiroto couldn't even mutter a word as he lays against my body, putting his weight into it.

"Oh, you two young'uns are really tired out from the day, huh?" Mr Trevor cheerfully says, his joyful energy radiating out of him. It rejuvenates me by a bit as I tilt my head towards him and answer with a nod.

"Well, I bet! I hadn't had such an adventure since I was young! Seeing all those Hyenas and riding the wheelbarrow like a cart... Gave my heart a run!" He reminisces, a waterfall of tears pouring out of his eyes. I couldn't even answer him, so I just stare at the sight.

"For all that you two have done, here's an extra money on top of your reward!" He hands me a folder, to which I muster my remaining energy to take out of his firm grasp. The packaging feels heavy in my hands.

"Thank you, Mr Trevor..." Hiroto mumbles, sitting up against me. If I wasn't so darn exhausted right now, I would have delivered his knuckle sandwich or at least protested against his actions. But instead, I have to bear with him using me as a chair.

"I hope to hire you two again in the future! I'll put a good word out for your Guild."

'Yes, good publicity for once! And all we had to do was do a trek through a forest and be emotionally scarred for life!' I cheer inside, smiling outside.

When the man left, Hiroto and I heaved our heavy bodies and tired bones towards the Guild, groaning in pain all the way. Well, I got what I asked for; a thrilling job that got my adrenaline pumping. Maybe next time, I'll just go with the easier ones, like fishing.

I don't think I want to see the grin on Ms Vanessa's face when we come back...

A/N: Well, Chapter 2 was a bit tenser and darker than I originally had planned it to be. Traffic Graphs are down, so I don't know if ya'll are reading this, but I'll still be posting with the hopes that you are! I'll see you guys in the next chapter!