Chapter 58: Have Pride

Balthar and Rion’s squad stood around a table that had a crude map of the purple fog forest spread on it.

At the moment, they were at one of the central camp sites, which was around 500 meters away from the edge of the purple fog forest.

There were a total of three sites that blocked the purple fog forest from the north, east and west.

Each site had five camps that were large enough to accommodate the stay of three squads, yet they only had two squads.

The group leaders stayed at their personal leader camps, which were approximately 750 meters away from the edge of the purple fog forest.

Because of Rion’s squad, Haria’s group currently had eleven squads, so she had decided to use his as scouts.

To which Rion agreed in a beat, as it would allow him and others to quickly gain the experience needed to be a full-fledged squad.

“What do we have to look for?” Rion asked while rubbing his chin.

Balthar lifted his head to look at him and answered, “Kareth… They usually don’t form groups, but every six months, a Kareth Lord takes birth within the forest.”

“Kareth Lord?” Yuura muttered with a curious glint in his eyes.

Balthar nodded and explained, “The deeper the forest the denser the fog…”

He shifted his eyes between all five of them and continued darkly, “The denser the fog the stronger the kareth.”

He placed his finger on the crude map and added, “Every six months, a kareth lord takes control of kareths weaker than itself. A kareth lord is usually a five-horned, but I’ve heard a few talk about a six-horned.”

Disbelief drummed everyone, and their mouths went agape.

They knew that a four-horned kareth was just as strong as a group leader, so they could assume the strength of a five-horned, let alone a six-horned.

Balthar pointed his finger at Rion and said, “Your task is simple, you have to inform us of any unusual grouping of the kareth.”

Rion nodded and asked, “So when do we start?”

Balthar shrugged and walked away from the table.

“You can start now, tomorrow, or after a month, it’s all up to you. You are here on your own, even though I am teaching you, you are not really a part of our group yet.”

Rion stared at his back for a moment before mumbling, “Thank you,” and leaving the camp with his squad.

Muro, a member of Balthar’s squad asked, “Why are you helping them?”

Balthar’s lips lifted into a smile, and he answered, “What reason do I need to help our family and our comrades?”

Muro furrowed his brows and pressed further, “There has to be something.”

“Hmm…” Balthar rubbed his chin in thought and said, “Well, He is strong…”

***

Rion stood before his squad and said, “I know all of you are dying to see the forest, but I can’t allow any of you to step near it.”

“What?!” Yuura and Dora shouted at the same time while Karhun and Tarun furrowed their brows.

Karhun stepped forward and asked, “Why?”

“None of you has awakened your aura. You may kill a kareth using your weapons, but you won’t have them with you all the time, so all of you have to awaken your aura before stepping near the purple fog forest.”

Tarun’s expression darkened and he remarked, “You are saying it like we are stopping ourselves from awakening our auras.”

The others nodded, and Dora commented, “He is right, aura is not something that can be awakened just because we want to, and none of us know it better than him; he has been a squad member for the past five years.”

Tarun and Dora were squad members before joining Rion but none of them had stepped near the purple fog forest.

Dora couldn’t do it because Zukah didn’t allow her to fight and disagreed with taking her to the hunt while Tarun was simply put under Kiron as the next fence guard.

Rion looked at Tarun and said, “Your father was a squad member, right?”

Everyone turned silent, knowing how personal Rion’s question was.

“Answer me,” he ordered.

“Yes…” Tarun answered reluctantly.

Rion shifted his eyes between all of them and said, “Many people… strong people have died just at the edge of that forest, tell me what makes you all so confident about running around it like it’s your playground?”

None of them answered and Rion continued, “You say that I am asking too much — Maybe I am… but did you all forget who you are?”

He pointed his finger at his most trusted friend. “Karhun, the trainee with the highest physical strength since the last decade.”

His finger shifted to the right. “Yuura, the most agile and fastest trainee since the last decade.”

His finger moved towards one of the people he loved the most, and continued, “Dora, descendant of the God of Travel and the disciple of Heaven’s Bow.”

His finger shifted for the final time and he said, “Tarun, most talented and strongest trainee of his batch and the fifth person to hunt a dark wolf.”

He lowered his hand and asked, “Tell me, haven’t all of you always been different from others? So, why are you comparing yourselves with those who are weaker and way less talented than each one of you? Have pride!”

All of them lowered their heads in shame and embarrassment.

Rion shook his head and said, “Follow me.”

They nodded and began to follow behind him.

A few moments later, they reached a clearing wide enough for all of them to spar, and he stated, “There’s one thing I found out after awakening my aura, and I would be using that to force your awakenings.”

A surprised expression appeared on their faces and they asked at the same time, “What did you find out?”

Rion clapped his hands together and answered with a smile, “Being in a desperate situation makes it easier to awaken your aura.”

“Huh? How is that going to help us?” Yuura asked with a confused expression, but understanding dawned on him the very next moment.

Fwoom!

Silver aura covered Rion’s hands and he stated with a devilish grin, “Don’t worry, I’ll try not to kill any of you.”

Yuura’s face went pale and he gulped. “Try…?”

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