BXBX NOVEL Chapter 383 382: Bait
Their gazes were obviously on my body as they walked, and I could almost hear their plans to follow me when we were finished, wanting to take me anyways when we were away from Mirgraz's eyes.
I had to stamp down on the desire to draw one of my blades and throw it towards them, the hushed whispers behind me making my spine tingle and my heart palpitate with anger.
Instead, I focused my mind on something different, trying to figure out what I should do when we reach wherever it is that Mirgraz is leading us to.
From the sounds of it, this place that she wants to visit is filled with monsters normally, but with whatever it was - likely the Soul Bond, or remnants of it - that was attracting monsters to me, it would turn into a damn swarm of bloodthirsty monsters that wanted a bite of me.
Considering what Mirgraz said earlier - a pack of Geri wolves had been rushing towards us as she made her way over - I could only hope that the majority of monsters were around the level of the Geri wolves.
From what I recall of the brief times I had read the entries of the monsterpedia, a Geri was a three eyed wolf that was a tad bit large than a normal wolf, with a bit more power and a lot more reaction time and reflexes.
They weren't as large as Dire Wolves, which were double the height of a normal wolf, but instead they tended to pack more muscle into their frame and be a pain to deal with up close, since that third eye perceived time at a different 'speed' then the rest; it allowed the Geri to react much quicker than it should, since it could almost 'sense' when the attack was going to hit it - granted that the Geri could see that attack with the third eye.
A strong monster, sure - stronger than a goblin, definitely - but not something that had me extremely worried right now.
However, I doubt that the Geri were the strongest monster inside the forest, even amongst the more common monsters that lived here.
That was why I believed I had two options
The first was to stay and rely on these three to deal with the monsters for me, using my magics to assist and gather experience from the vast amount of kills that would happen in that location.
Risky, but an option that had a lot of rewards attached to it as well.
If I could reach some kind of agreement with Mirgraz - if she remained civil after dealing with the monsters, that is - to point me in the direction I needed to go and to retain some of the materials from the monsters I killed, so that I could try and mask my scent with the scent of the monsters.
Again, really, really risky choice, but one that might be able to help me quite a bit.
The second, and more likely option was to bail during the thickest of the swarm, to run through the forest and create a large amount of distance between me and them before I scaled a tree and repositioned myself.
I would need to be aware of the Harpy tribe that likely occupied the canopy, but I just need to see the sun when it's past - or before - the point of noon, so that I could orient myself correctly.
That would also likely enable me to try and tug on the Soul Bond between Jahi and I once more, to try and see if the range between us being lessened by a thousand-ish miles helped in my ability to utilize it...
I NEEDED that to work, or else I might just be running blind inside a very hostile forest...
With a mind full of thoughts, we eventually reached the place that Mirgraz wanted to take me to, the blue skinned Oni turning back and grinning at me as she said "Welcome to one of the few places inside our forest that has a name. Bloodstone Clearing."
Erika hissed at Mirgraz, saying "Are you fucking crazy?!" while Selessei looked around the clearing with narrowed eyes, her spear held at the ready.
Bloodstone Clearing; like the name would suggest, situated around the large, open swathe of forest were giant crimson stones that flickered with red light, each one giving of a metallic scent similar to blood.
The snow that laid around those stones shimmered with a red glow as the stones pulsed with dim light, contrasting the blues and grays that made up the rest of the forest.
Mirgraz grinned more as she looked towards Erika, who's fur was standing on end as she warily looked around the clearing, clearly uncomfortable.
"What? Never hunted inside the Bloodstone Clearing before, whelp? If you wish to leave, go ahead... no ones stopping you."
Erika hissed again, shaking her head as she remained where she was, which made Mirgraz chuckle.
"Good. Alright Katherine, your role is simple. We need you to walk to the center of this clearing and stand there. Don't move when the stones grow brighter; they cause no direct harm to you. The scent of blood will grow thicker, and when paired with your scent already drawing monsters over, well..."
She licked her lips as a hungry, demented gleam entered her eyes, the Oni making even Selessei shiver as she said "We're going to be practically swimming in blood... Now go, Katherine. Be our bait, so that we can hunt freely. Never leave the center of the clearing, but do protect yourself; it'd be a shame if you died, after all..."
Waving her hand at me, Mirgraz gestured for me to step into the empty clearing, and I took a deep breath before walking forwards, past the first Bloodstone that began to shine with my presence.
Cautiously, I had my spells at the ready, just in case this was a trap, and I unsheathed my daggers as I made my way to the center, my heart beating wildly in anticipation and worry for what's about to happen.