Hello everyone, I want to say thank you for reading Grimm Slayer: The Frontier.
If I'm being honest, I never thought to come this far with this story was supposed to be a One-Shot thing. Then again, there are so many ideas from what I originally planned. It is clear that more characters started to appear and probably some more in the future. I'm not sure what I can expect in the story, but I'm really glad people enjoy it.
Thank you, all of you, it really means a lot since I want to try to improve my other stories.
"I can't believe she is still sleeping." Priestess commented as Grimm Slayer was on the bed. Goblin Slayer was standing next to the door while Brawler was sitting on a chair, exactly next to the bed with a concerned look.
"She is a heavy sleeper when doing too much fighting on the same day." Brawler sighed. "It isn't easy to be an older sister."
"Good thing nothing bad happened to her against the Goblin Champion." Priestess said while trying to lighten the mood. Brawler remained quiet as she couldn't stop looking at her younger sister.
"Goblin Slayer." The huntress spoke. "I…I couldn't thank you before for saving her."
"Not a problem."
"No seriously, I really owe you a lot because without you, probably I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to her." Brawler clenched both of her fists, almost getting on fire. "She and our father are the only family I have. After losing our mother, my dad felt on depression when we were way too young."
"What…what happened to your mother?" Priestess asked but felt a little afraid as it sounded personal.
"She… she was a huntress too. She left for a mission but never returned, and some declared to be dead as the only thing our uncle found was her white cape. Sis was 2-years old when that happened. She probably doesn't even remember much of her. I'm trying to protect her from everything, or so I thought until this day." The room was full of melancholy, as Priestess looked at the floor with a sad expression.
Goblin Slayer grabbed a towel and poured some hot water on it. He squished it until it was warm enough to fold it. The armored guy went towards Grimm Slayer and put the warm towel on her forehead.
"What are you doing?" Brawler asked. The armored guy didn't respond. He left the room by saying a single word of it. The huntress looked confused, Priestess smiled a little as she knew why he was going it.
"Don't worry." The adventurer said with reassurance. "He wanted to make her feel better, on his way at least."
"I guess." Brawler said while trying to relax on the chair, looking at the ceiling with as she looked tired for the day. A couple of minutes later, someone knocked on the door. Priestess attended to see who it was.
"Hello, is this a bad moment?" It was the Guild Girl with a tray on hand. She was carrying a plate with food, two cups, and a teapot.
"No no, it is fine. What's with all this?" Priestess asked.
"Oh, Goblin Slayer asked me to bring biscuits and tea for your friend. He said she would like them." She said with a smile. Brawler and Priestess were happy although Brawler couldn't still understand what was inside the armored guy's mind.
"Thank you." Priestess replied while taking the tray.
"If you need anything else, don't forget to ask me on the desk." Guild Girl said while vowing and leaving the room.
"Well, I have to go. Hope you don't mind being alone for the moment."
"I will be fine. See you tomorrow." Priestess left both huntresses alone, taking a rest for the arduous night they had. The adventurer started wondering of how tough it must be fighting Grimm for so long back at their homeland. She wondered, whether Grimm or goblins, there's always a monster on everyone's life.
On the lobby, Priestess saw the tables being pretty vivid as she was walking downstairs. Everyone must be having the time of their lives.
"Here's the report." Goblin Slayer handed a paper to the receptionist.
"It wasn't necessary. You could do it for the next day. Although I appreciate your organization." Guild Girl said gladfully. She archived the paper along with other reports on a single folder. Goblin Slayer started to walk towards the exit.
"Goblin Slayer!" Priestess approached towards her companion. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going home. I wasn't there for a long time." He said in his usual tone. Despite sounding monotone, Priestess could sense some concernment underneath those words.
"Oh okay, I guess I will see you tomorrow… Oh, I almost forgot, have you seen the others" Priestess asked for the rest of their party.
"They left hours ago. Guild Girl told me that they wanted to investigate more about those Creatures of Grimm."
"I see... I hope they are alright." She said with concernment.
"They will be fine. See you tomorrow." Goblin Slayer said as he left the building. Priestess started to pray for the well-being of her companions. Wherever there are doing, the only thing she hoped was that they could seek for answers.
"What's wrong with those things!" High Elf Archer yelled as she was busy shooting a barrage of arrows to a pack of Bewolves.
"How should I know, Long-Ears!? Those are more problematic than yesterday!" Dwarf Shaman was spitting fire at two Boarbatusks, but with they were charging at him while ignoring the fire.
"Let's hold the line for the moment! There must be something to stop them" Lizard Priest was fighting against an Ursa with the assistance of his reanimated skeleton.
All the adventurers have been fighting Grimm for 30 minutes on the woods. It's been a weird concentration of those dark creatures that became alarming during the day. So far as their investigation went, they still couldn't get many answers.
"Hey, Scaly!" The Dwarf called for Lizard. "Could you give me a hand here!?"
"Gladly!" Lizard Priest wrestled with the Ursa. He used his strength to lift the Grimm and throw it against the Boarbatusks, smashing them while the animated skeleton tackled the Ursa for greater impact.
"There I go!" Dwarf used some rocks to shoot at them. He was able to kill the Borbatusk as those were affected on their weak points, but the Ursa was far from gone. "This can't be good." He said while looking at Grimm growing spikes and bone-like armor. It seemed angrier.
"Are you done with it!?" The Elf asked her party as she was using her dagger to slice Beowolves' throats and arrows to stab them on the eyes.
"It seems this one is evolving in the middle of a fight!" The Dwarf replied.
"What a curious creature. We shall find for a vulnerable spot before it grows further!" Lizard tried to attack it with his weapon made of bones, but it was enough as the spikes didn't allow him to get near. The Ursa Major countered the attack with two swift swings with its claws.
The reanimated skeleton tried to tackle it with all its power, but the Grimm was above its league. The Ursa Major shattered into pieces with a single blow.
"Okay, any other idea?" High Elf Archer asked as she was done killing the last Beowolf of the pack.
"Unless we have a bigger weapon, we can't get closer to it due to its armor." The Dwarf said while trying to get into position. The Grimm started charging against the adventurers. They dodged the attack on the niche of time.
It tried to bite them, but Lizard blocked the attack with his weapon. Some of the spikes were piercing his body, but the scales helped him not to get outright stabbed.
"On your left, you fiend!" The Elf tried to get the Grimm's attention. She began shooting arrows at its face, more especially, its eyes. Unfortunately, the mask covering its face nulled them, forfeiting the Archer from using her main weapon. "Dammit, not use!"
"You need something with more power than sticks, Long-Ears!" Dwarf Shaman said mockingly. Even in the worst situations, he still had time to berate his fellow adventurer.
"What could be stronger than arrows or magic!?"
"How about a gun?" For everyone's surprise, they heard an unknown voice coming from the trees. As they tried to look at the person standing among the branches, he began shooting with a filmstock pistol at the Ursa Major, effectively breaking some of the spikes surrounding its body.
"Who is this guy!?" The Elf asked as the stranger jumped down with his massive sword on the one hand. He swung it, effectively damaging the Grimm while sending it flying a couple of feet away from the adventurers and the Stranger.
The guy with the sword with lightning speed, he slashed and shot more spikes, leaving the Grimm vulnerable for any other attack. "I guess I played enough games with you, little cub." He smirked at the creature. Taking a firm stance, the stranger got his eyes on his mark.
The charged against each other, the tall grass and some trees received cuts on the air as both sides clashed. The Stranger sneezed, making the Ursa Major fall into pieces. It disappeared into black smoke.
"Impressive." Lizard Priest said with amazement.
"I have to say. He really gave us quite a help." The Elf said while putting her bow away.
"Meh, I said he was quite a show-off." Dwarf Shaman shrugged.
The Stranger opened a canteen, but he noticed it how empty it was. He was disappointed. His appearance was rough. He was wearing a tattered cape, messy black hair, and a 3-day beard. He didn't look a proper adventurer. Shockingly, they could see his tag being Rank Gold. "Huh?" He started noticing the adventurers looking at him with weird looks. "What?"
"Sorry, but we couldn't stop ourselves from admiring of how you dealt with Grimm." Lizard Priest said politely to the Stranger.
"What? You mean those? They were nothing." He said nonchalantly.
"How did you break that creature's armor? None of our weapons worked against it?" High Elf Archer asked the messy guy.
"Easy, I use better metals." He started to show both his sword and pistol.
"What curious trunk. You were able to make it spit fire out of it." Lizard Priest said while inspecting the pistol with fascination.
"Don't you know what a gun is?" The Stranger scratched his head while yawning.
"What is a gun?" The Elf asked.
"You naïve Long-Ears, don't tell me you aren't familiar with what a gun is." The Dwarf Shaman said with a taunting tone to her.
"O-Of course I do, it just happens that I don't remember."
"Don't lie to yourself, kid." The Stranger grabbed his gun back while showing it off with a demonstration shot. "This thing is capable to shot pellets, stronger than arrows or rocks. I wouldn't expect an immature girl like you could have the hang of this."
"I'm 2,000 years old. Don't treat me like a child!" The Elf was starting to look red on her face, something that the Dwarf snickered.
"Age doesn't mean much if you act like a brat."
"I changed my mind. I like this guy!" The Dwarf said as he couldn't stop laughing.
"In any case. I noticed that you appeared to be a huntsman, as I assumed." Lizard said.
"Oh, so know them huh? That saves me the trouble to explain to you who I am then." The Stranger said while holstering his weapons away. "Welp, I'm off. It was a nice talk, but I must continue."
"W-Wait a moment!" The Elf held the Stranger from his cape.
"Hey! Don't touch the cape!" He scoffed. "What do you want now?"
"We wanted to learn more of those creatures since you are the expert here."
"Sorry but I don't have time for classes at the moment. I'm out of liquor, and I should get more at the nearest town to refill it before doing more of my investigation." He said it while shaking his canteen.
"Well, we can bargain some info for liquor if that's what you ask, my fellow drinking connoisseur." The Dwarf said while showing his signature drink in front of the huntsman.
"What kind of liquor is that?"
"Fire Wine, only the best among my race." The Dwarf said proudly.
"You don't say? Let me taste it then." The Stranger took the little cup from the Dwarf's hands. He began to sip it, slowly savoring as the Fire Wine was from an acquired taste that couldn't find any other place in Remnant. "WOWIE! That really kicks in pretty fast!" The huntsman said while enjoying it.
"What are your expectations, good sir?" The Lizard Shaman asked.
"This goes way beyond!" He said while trying to contain himself of not getting more drunk than he already was. "I can share you some info if you can give me some of that to myself."
"You have a deal, my friend!" The Dwarf and the Stranger shook hands while pouring some of the liquor inside the huntsman's canteen.
"Now that all of you are so eager to learn more about Grimm. You should follow me then." The Stranger said while guiding the adventures. The group didn't object despite the huntsman being an odd person.
They walked until they reached a cliff, nothing at sight for the adventurers. "This is it." The Stranger said to the confused party.
"I think you got way too drunk because we don't see anything!" The High Elf complied.
"I'm talking about what's down the cliff." The huntsman pointed out for them to see what was below. And from what they saw, they weren't too happy with the surprise.
"Is that…"
"That's an old castle." The Lizard Priest said while looking closely to its surroundings.
"As you can see, that place has a nest of Grimm. It is probably a black pool where those things are emerging in this region." The Stranger explained in great detail. The group found it noteworthy that such monstrosities have a point of origin.
"Do you think that destroying the black pool will stop Grimm from appearing at The Frontier." The Dwarf Priest asked.
"No chance, there a lot more than I couldn't pinpoint their exact locations yet, but this one is pretty important since there are villages and other settlements close by. It will be troublesome if someone doesn't take of it now."
"How is that even possible? Why you didn't say any of that sooner?" The Elf asked about the severity of the situation.
"I just found it today, and I was on my way to notify at the closest Guild since this requires a bigger group to exterminate this place." The huntsmen took a sip of the exotic wine.
"This must be a troublesome situation. It goes with tremendous complexity than a regular request." The Lizard Priest said while analyzing the place.
"You stole the word right out of my mouth, Scaly. This would be a Raid Quest." The Dwarf said while the huntsman started to walk away from them.
"Where are you going?" The Elf asked the Stranger.
"I'm going to hunt more Grimm on the area while you guys put the request on the Guild."
"Wait, are you not going with us?"
"You kidding? I can't leave the area as long Grimm are still reappearing from that castle." He had his large sword out, ready for another fight. "You better get either adventurers or huntsmen. We can't start cleaning the place with less than ten people aboard."
"So, how can we contact you if we bring aid for that castle?" The Lizard Priest asked.
"Well, I'll wait in this exact spot. Don't worry for me, I'll always check here every once in a while, in case you return." The Stranger said while taking another sip of wine before starting to hunt. He was already gone among the woods, leaving the group thinking about their next move.
"I can't believe it." The High Elf Archer commented. "We are going to need more people, and I doubt Priestess and Orcbolg would be enough to accomplish this."
"Aren't you forgetting about the girls we found, Long-Ears?" Dwarf Shaman said while scratching his beard.
"Certainly, those girls and their friends should be enough to help us with this. Especially since they have more experience with those creatures." Lizard Priest started to prat for the Stranger's safety.
"Let's head back to the Guild then. We need to sleep and resupply before gathering them." The Elf started to walk away from the cliff while the rest of her group followed as well into the forest. They knew that they would need a lot of more preparation to accomplish a Raid Quest that will require teamwork.
What awaits for both adventurers and huntsmen within the limits of that castle?