The three sat around the campfire, its warm glow casting flickering shadows on their faces as the cool night air settled over the forest.
The earlier tension between them had eased slightly as they ate, but the silence was filled with unspoken questions. Finally, Damien decided to break it.
“So, what brought you two to this forest?” he asked, his tone calm but curious.
Keith hesitated, exchanging a glance with Narna, before answering. “We came here because of her.” He gestured toward Narna, who looked a little sheepish but didn’t deny it.
Narna huffed, folding her arms. “I’m a beast tamer. I wanted a stronger mana beast to add to my collection.”
“I told her there was somewhere with powerful na mana beasts to her liking and even I mentioned this place to scare her, she wouldn’t listen.” Keith sighed, shaking his head. “She insisted on coming to the Forest of Twin Disasters. Against my better judgment, I agreed to accompany her.”
Damien raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t think that was a bad idea from the start?”
Keith chuckled dryly, though there was no humor in it. “Oh, I knew it was a terrible idea which was why I suggested it in the first place. But once she gets something in her head, there’s no stopping her. Apparently, I had underestimated her obsession.”
Narna shot him a glare but didn’t argue.
“We got here through a teleportation scroll I had that was connected to this particular place as I have been here before. The peaceful atmosphere didn’t last long before we encountered and began fighting mana beasts and demons on the way.”
Keith continued, “but nothing too overwhelming. That is, until we stumbled across the cave entrance where you found us.”
Damien nodded, his expression neutral, urging Keith to continue.
“In the cave, we encountered a Grade Three Feral Ape King,” Keith said, his tone darkening. “It was a tough fight, but we managed to defeat it. And that’s when her greed got the better of her.”
“I told you those eggs were worth it!” Narna interjected, her voice defensive.
Keith ignored her, addressing Damien directly. “She found a clutch of eggs—three of them, shining like nothing I’d ever seen before. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I figured they were from some low-ranking mana beast the Ape had stolen them from.”
Damien’s lips twitched, his suspicion growing.
“But,” Keith continued, “we didn’t know the truth. Those eggs belonged to the Obsidian Drake. We realized it too late. Narna had already stolen one by the time the Drake arrived. It must’ve been drawn by the Ape King’s final cry.”
Narna looked away, biting her lip.
“And the rest is history,” Keith finished with a sigh.
Keith turned to Damien, his expression serious. “We know what happened up until we blacked out. But what about the Drake? What happened after it attacked us?”
Damien had been prepared for this question. He leaned back slightly, his expression thoughtful as he crafted a plausible story.
“It wasn’t easy,” he began, his tone even. “The Drake was quite the stubborn beast. I distracted it while Aquila carried you two to safety. Once you were at a safe distance, Aquila came back for me. We fled before the Drake could follow. As an avian beast, the sky was Aquila’s turf.”
Keith nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied with the explanation. Narna, however, looked skeptical.
“You distracted the Drake?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Yes,” Damien replied simply, his calm demeanor giving nothing away. “Is that hard to believe considering I look young?” He added with feigned annoyance.
Keith interrupted before Narna could press further. “Thank you,” he said earnestly. “You saved our lives. We owe you.”
Damien waved off the gratitude, steering the conversation in another direction. “How do you plan to get back from the forest?”
Keith reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glowing scroll. “We have a return teleportation scroll. It’ll take us straight back to the city we came from.”
Damien nodded, relief washing over him. “Would it be possible for me to leave with you? I… lost my own means of return.”
Keith nodded without hesitation. “Of course. It’s the least we can do.”
Narna frowned but didn’t object, seemingly still pondering Damien’s earlier story.
As the fire crackled, Damien glanced down at his worn and torn clothes. “Do you have a spare set of clothes I can borrow? I can’t return like this.”
Keith rummaged through his void key before pulling out a simple but clean outfit. “Here,” he said, handing it over.
Damien took the clothes and stood, walking a short distance away to change. When he returned, the new outfit fit well, though it did little to hide some faint scars from his hundreds of battles in the forest.
As he sat back down, Narna couldn’t help but stare at him, her curiosity growing.
Just then, Aquila let out a soft cry from its perch nearby. Damien looked at the Griffin and smiled. “You’ve done enough for now,” he murmured, his voice soft but commanding.
He mentally commanded his system to cancel the summon, and in an instant, Aquila vanished into a shimmering blue portal.
Both Keith and Narna froze, their eyes wide with shock.
“It… it was a summon?” Narna stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Keith turned to Damien, his expression incredulous. “You’re a summoner?”
Damien smirked faintly, his blue eyes gleaming in the firelight. “Something like that.”
For a moment, there was silence as Keith and Narna processed this revelation.
“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Keith asked, his voice a mix of curiosity and wariness.
Damien shrugged. “Didn’t think it was relevant.”
Narna, however, leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. “A summon like that… it’s not ordinary. What rank is it?”
Damien’s smirk widened slightly. “Does it matter? You don’t want to tame it again, do you?”
Narna opened her mouth to argue, but Keith held up a hand to stop her.
“Thank you again,” Keith said, his tone firm. “You saved us, and we won’t forget that. Summoner or not, you’ve earned our trust.”
Damien nodded, his expression unreadable. As the fire continued to crackle, he felt a small sense of relief. His identity as a child of the Terrace family remained intact—for now. ‘They will find out when the find out. It’s high time I left the forest.’