Online In Another World

[Two Months After Setting from Elsia]

[Level Six]

[Well, I'm fifteen now. Woohoo. Some birthday it was–you know how I celebrated? By myself. That's right–Vandread slept through the whole day while the carriage moved. And about that! We've been stuck in this carriage, moving along for months straight now–all through this forest! It's insane how large it is! I thought it was just hyperbole or something when they said it was the size of a nation.]

Beyond just the change of age, other, more tangible changes produced themself on his body: his voice had grown noticeably deeper, his height increased by a few inches, and his "baby face" had shaped into an adolescent, fair shape. It was a far cry from looking like an adult, but it was progress.

Still, Vandread treated him like a child all the same.

He rested his arms on the carriage windowsill, looking at the great trees of the forest that were as wide as a house and as tall as mountains; veiling the sunlight were thick leaves and hanging vines, leaving little light shining through.

"--!"

The loud yell of the steed up front made him jump, though Vandread was much faster on his feet than himself.

With the agonized roar of the mare, the carriage came to a rocky stop; he left the carriage bounds, following behind the man.

"What happened–?" He asked.

Though there was little point in asking as he found what had happened before his eyes: the front leg of the black-furred steed had been caught in a trap of sorts–similar to a bear trap, it bit into the limb of the equine.

Vandread did not look pleased; he was quietly angered.

"This isn't good," Vandread said.

"I can cast healing on it," he said.

"That's not the problem here," Vandread told him.

He didn't' waste any time getting closer to the large steed, casting a healing spell on its leg after the trap was removed, but he watched as Vandread was cautiously inspecting the area.

What's he looking for? He seems on edge now, he thought.

"They've occupied this area now," the man said, finding a marking on one of the trees.

"Huh? Who are?"

"The 'Outriders'," Vandread said.

He didn't know what that name meant, but it seemed to be something bad as Vandread was paranoid, on the top of his guard as he stood in such a way that was guarding him while he tended to the horse's injured leg.

"Outriders?"

"They're a tribe that occupies this forest. It's vast enough that they're not usually an issue when following the main road, but it seems they've either moved or expanded to this area," Vandread told him, "Hurry it up."

"I can't heal any faster," he huffed.

"Well, you don't want to be skinned and cooked alive, do you?"

"What kind of question is that?! That's not funny, you know!" He replied.

Vandread wasn't joking though, not by the look on his face, "That's the kind of thing the Outriders do–so I suggest you speed up unless you want to fill their bellies."

"Alright, alright…"

He was careful while tending to the horse's wood, as the beast was by all means intimidating; exhaling steam through its nostrils as it continuously fidgeted in such a way that made him wary.

Please don't kick me…He thought.

After fully restoring the wound, having spent a good amount of mana doing so, he stood up, looking at Vandread, who was leaning against the coach and watching the treeline.

"All done?" Vandread asked.

"Yeah…I completely restored it," he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Good. Get–"

In that moment, as Vandread spoke to him, he witnessed the man's eyes widen unlike any other.

"Van–?"

Just as he began to call the man's name in confusion, he was pulled over into the man's arms, who moved him as if securing him from danger.

FWOOSH.

He looked back, witnessing a spear lodge itself straight through the head of the singular steed they had.

Huh…? He thought.

Just like that, from a disembodied spear that he didn't even detect, the horse was felled, falling to the side. He didn't have any time to react as he saw something coming in the distance–moving quickly. The air hissed every so slightly; parting in the way of the incoming projectiles.

Arrows? He realized.

"Ngh!" Vandread gritted his teeth.

He was pulled aside in the arms of Vandread, being brought behind the carriage before the rain of arrows befell the coach.

The sound of the wooden material of the transport being attacked by the arrowheads filled his ears, sounding like a brutal hail thundering down.

"...They're here. Shit…" Vandread said quietly, glancing around the carriage.

Now he could hear the bushes rustling in the forest, moving subtly, but still being heard. By the sounds of it, they were being closed-in on.

What's going on? He thought.

All of the training in the world couldn't prepare him for such a chaotic ambush, but Vandread seemed quick to adapt–retrieving a couple of dark-gray spheres from the pouch on his belt.

"Run to your east on my signal. I'll be right behind you," Vandread told him in a whisper.

He was left in shock by the unseen assault; though the spear came, arrows rained, and the bushes rattled, he'd yet to see any of the attacks that were encircling the trail.

"Got it?" Vandread asked for confirmation.

He nodded, "...Got it."

After a few seconds, Vandread threw the spheres down at the ground with force, causing the balls to explode into a cloud of black, obscuring smoke.

"Go!"

With that, he ran, sprinting hard through the constantly expanding smoke as he glanced back, not seeing Vandread behind him.

"Vandread…?!" He called out.

Though he couldn't see the man, nothing in his body wanted him to stop running as he continued moving east, putting his faith in the reliable escort.

These attacks–it's the 'Outriders", isn't it…? Is this why Vandread was so paranoid? It's all happening too fast! He thought.

What propelled him into running even faster were the sound of rapid steps all around him. To his left and right, he could hear others rushing through the foliage, keeping up with him, though he was still obscured by the smoke.

The spheres that Vandread had used seemed to be special to some capacity; they weren't normal smoke bombs by any means. It seemed that upon being detonated, they continued to release bountiful smoke, latching on and following whoever was caught in its initial release.

This was beneficial for him in terms of staying hidden from sight, but it also led to one glaring issue: he couldn't see where he was going.

I've got to run…! Vandread, you better be right behind me! He thought.