D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kat —

Bower got through most of the legends by the time they reached the devastation. They were all… pretty similar in execution. Usually, X person was running in the woods and was attacked/saved by some exaggerated version of the monsters found within the mists. From there they were either escorted home by the animal, or stumbled home gravely wounded but with a trophy from the battle.

That was around ninety percent of the stories Bower shared. He did warn them this would likely be the case, but it was just so strange to realise that there was basically a genre of ‘forest monster’ stories that got traded back and forth. Lily even got Kat to ask, “So… how seriously are these legends treated? Lily seems to think it’s more of a… fishing story?

Like I went out and caught a fish this big,” Kat gestured for a fish about the size of her palm “and then his friend found one this big” Kat increased the size, “and then some other guy at the bar says he caught one this big,” Kat stretched her arms out to their full length,” Experience new tales on freewebnovel

Bower nodded, “There is at least some element of that. I was somewhat steering away from the type of stories old hunters tell to their buddies for that exact reason. The ones I was confusing on are mostly told to kids to convince them not to go into the woods. Those ‘fishing stories’? They tend to be more ‘Bar Tales’ where hunters brag about how they acquired a specific scar,”

“My clan does much the same,” stated Hunter. “Many refuse complete healing for particularly large and noteworthy scars. This is despite the fact we are encouraged not to partake in such bragging. Scars, especially large collections of them, can limit mobility in minor ways that can cause major mistakes.

“I myself have never kept any scars from my hunts… but I do admit to the temptation being there. That fight against the kraken I mentioned before for example,”

“Ya leaving me out here lass, what’s this about a kraken?” asked Bower.

Hunter waved him off, “It’s a longer tale I went over with the rest of the group while travelling to your town. I focused more on a particular ability of mine then the fight itself. If you really wish to know I can share it with you when we stop for food next,”

“So even you got tempted?” asked Kamiko. “My big sis has a few scars… but only really little ones. Mum made sure that they didn’t impede movement at all and are purely cosmetic. If I had to guess, mum just healed the scar and then made it look like it was still there somehow. I… haven’t really been in that position myself. So… um… why is it tempting?”

“It is a mark of pride for many, especially great warriors,” answered Hunter. “It… it’s also a story. You can show the scar off and say, I got this and I survived! Almost nobody keeps scars from particularly silly things such as falling when they’re young or slipping and falling down a cliff.

“No, it’s a way of saying ‘I survived fighting this monster that nearly killed me’ and having evidence of that. I did not understand the draw for a long time. I was under the impression that scars were not that hard to acquire if you wanted them…

“But that was never the point. What you want is a scar with a story, and erasing that scar, especially the first time you encounter one such… is that it makes you feel a bit like you’re erasing the story along with it. That you no longer have evidence of such an epic tail happening and that people are now less likely to believe you when you recount it. At least, that is what I gathered,”

“I can’t say you’re too wrong,” agreed Bower… somewhat. “I’d add in that for people without access to the sort of healing you gals clearly receive on the regular… it is a way of saying ‘yeah I survived’ but the story itself is also your payment. If you have to be stuck with a scar your entire life, for we cannot so easily remove them, then at least knowing that is a grand tail is some consolation.

Though, of course, many lie about the true source of less impressive scars,”

Before the conversation could continue, the group had found themselves at the beginning of the damage. The tree line was littered with woodchips and broken branches that all surrounded a deep gauge in the forest. Looking at it closely instead of from the sky really hammered home that something was wrong.

Instead of churned dirt, as Kat had assumed, there was a grey ashy quality mixed into the soil and as they approached, they could see cracks in the dirt as if it was a salt flat or something similar. Even just sniffing the air a bit seemed to suck the moisture out of your nose. Hunter slithered up to the edge to run her hands through the dirt. She picked up a small section and sniffed at it.

When Bower went to do the same, he flinched back causing the rest of the group to turn to him. “Tried to suck the mana right outta my body it did. Not sure how safe this stuff will be for me to walk over. I’m happy to try… but we’re already getting into dangerous territory it seems,”

And before anyone could stop him he stepped forward onto the dirt, the motion kicking up a decent amount of dust though Bower seemed mostly unaffected. He did take out a cloth from somewhere and tied it over his mouth and nose then grabbed some goggles for his eyes. “Doesn’t hurt me just standing on it… but I’m gonna have to be careful. How is it for you?” asked Bower.

“I don’t notice any pull on my reserves, which is quite good for a number of reasons. We are not at the same risk of having our energy pulled out, and in that same vein, we are not at risk of corrupting the soil, which would likely be a worse longer term problem,” stated Hunter.

“So… with that said what’s the plan?” asked Kat.

“It’s… strange,” said Bower. “I can’t really see any tracks. It makes me wonder how long ago the drake was here, or if it even walked down this way. It might’ve just blasted out its breath weapon… but if that’s the case why were the trees knocked away like this? It looks more like something walked through here… but once again no tracks. Hunter?”

“I share similar thoughts. I suspect that the drake was here, but that it didn’t stay long. The strange mostly dead nature of the soil leads me to believe that the drake didn’t leave proper tracks because the wind picked up sufficient topsoil to disguise its path. Though… I agree that it is hard to tell what was going on. There’s so much damage its hard to say what caused what.

I’m sure multiple monsters stampeded through this area but as for the one we want? Hard to say,” answered Hunter.

“Would it be better if we like… swept away a bunch of the dirt?” asked Kamiko. Would that show us where the tracks were?”

“Maybe?” said Hunter somewhat unsure. “It depends how heavy the drake is but its certainly worth testing. It might give us some information on the current size of the beast,”

Kamiko nodded and walked forward onto the dust, pulling out a large broom with a twirl as she started to get to work sweeping away the dirt in patches to see if it revealed a footprint. While this was happening, Kat looked to Lily and thought. *So… do you want to test your resistance to the pull of this dirt?*

Lily transformed and sighed, “I suppose I have to. Just… be ready to pull me back in case I freeze up or something. I’m not sure how painful it is and I’d bet Bower has a much better pain tolerance then I do…”

Kat nodded wrapped her tail around Lily’s stomach. Kat did give some consideration to using the rope, especially as they hadn’t untied themselves yet, but this was just a basic first test so it was fine. Kat was ready to pull Lily back at the slightest sign of pain… but as Lily reached down into the soil nothing seemed to happen.

Lily tapped the ground a few more times just to be sure, “It… doesn’t seem to be doing anything to me? I mean… I’m fine? I don’t feel like my mana is being drained and it definitely didn’t hurt…”

“Well what the heck does that mean?” asked Kat.

“I… really don’t know. Hunter, Bower? Any ideas?” asked Lily.

“I ain’t got a clue. Definitely hurt me something fierce. A bit like that one time I punched away a fireball. Really burns ya deep,” said Bower.

Hunter gave Bower a sighed eyed glance but answered as well. “I also have no idea. This is not really my area of expertise. Despite hunting many monsters and a few corrupted like this I’ve not had someone with your combination of energies on my team before. So I cannot say,”