Forest Near G'cal
Valena's POV
"Whew, another hunt well done." Lychee slumps onto the ground in exhaustion as she is want to do once we take down a big monster. "Pawsome! You were so cool, Val! Dancing around the meownster like that!" Lima cheers, raising her massive hammer over her head as if it was made of air, and not weighing over fifty kilos (~110 pounds~).
I sigh, drying my swords off with a cloth. That surprise attack by an Onyx Ironwing shouldn't have ended like this. Leon is studying the carcass, deep in thought.
"Anything off with this one? It was far too slow..." I ask as I sheathe my blades. Lychee and Lima also come over, intrigued by what Leon is pointing to. "Here... I think this might be why it was so easy to take down." Leon says as I walk over to him.
A large gash across the back of its left hind leg is what has caught his attention. The wound is deep, having ripped apart the sturdy layer of fur-covered scales that cover the Onyx Ironwing. It also seems to be oozing a black, oily substance, and the exposed flesh is a sickly greenish brown.
"The poor thing would probably been beside itself with pain." Lychee mutters. "At least meow it's out of it's misery..." Lima adds.
"We should take samples of whatever this is... It could be related to an undiscovered monster." Leon fumbles around in his bag for a vial. He always keeps a few handy, for cases like this. "Do we leave the body?" I ask.
Leon considers for a moment. "Let's dispose of it properly. Make a pit and burn it, then cover the remnants in soil." He finishes taking the sample, and gets up.
"Awe, and I was looking forward to the parts we could get from it." Lima pouts as she sets her hammer aside and removes her latrine shovel from her backpack. "I suppose I'm the one digging the pit." She sighs and gets to work with frightening efficiency.
An hour later, a pit able to house the Onyx Ironwing's body has been dug. Together, we push it into it, and cover it in branches and other burnable things.
"Stand back!" Leon warns as he casts a Fireball onto the body, igniting it into a fierce blaze. Almost immediately, the noxious odor of burnt hair and flesh fill the area. I retreat further away from the pit, gagging at the smell.
It takes several hours for the fire to die down, and when we finally finish piling the dug up soil back onto the charred remains, night has fallen.
"Well, that's over." Leon sighs before sniffing the sleeve of his shirt and grimacing. "We might need to buy new clothes. Mine at least smell terrible."
"I want to go homeow..." Lima complains. "So do I, but is it safe to wander at night?" Lychee adds in.
"Now that you're mentioning it... Other than this Onyx Ironwing, there's been no monsters in sight. Not even the small ones." I put a hand to my chin in thought.
"Perhaps whatever injured the Ironwing also scared off all the other monsters?" Leon suggests as he picks up his pack in preparation for us to move out. "But it should be fine, right? This close to G'Cal there shouldn't be anything we can't handle." He gives a nervous smile aimed at me in particular.
"Indeed, let's go. The less time we spend here, the better." As the leader of the group, my decisions carry the most weight, and the others immediately start moving towards the town.
We encountered nothing on the way back, and I could finally slump into my own bed, exhausted after being awake and active for over twelve hours. Tomorrow the plan is to deliver that sample to Mina's place, and then take a few days off from hunting, as we're all pretty discomforted by what's going on in that forest.
...
I- I must be dreaming?
"You are." A quiet voice echoes in my mind. "I thought it best to visit you like this. I am Gaoithe, Divine Envoy of Air."
A lithe man, or woman? It's hard to tell. They appear before me, at least. Their short, blonde hair is interspersed with feathers of many kinds, and a pair of wings sprout from their back. Otherwise, they look average, even plain.
"I know you wish for strength derived from yourself, but I'm afraid you've been chosen as the Divine Champion of Air." Their voice carries a tinge of regret, though their face is perfectly calm and unreadable as their voice is issued without them moving their lips at all.
I feel an anger well up inside me. "Why?! Why can't I be strong on my own?!" I cry out, tears welling up in my eyes.
"Because if it wasn't for others, you'd be long since dead."
Those words freeze me, my heart skips a beat. "W-what do you mean?" I manage to hiss, a bit sharper than I'd have liked.
"Your companion, the now Great Monarch which you Named Millibelle. If not for her, you'd never even become a licensed Hunter. You'd perish during your trial, and the ones accompanying you would be severely hurt as well, two of them never to take up hunting again."
My mind flashes back to the disastrous first attempt at a trial. Someone had lied about when they'd cleared out the Boss, and it had re-appeared whilst we were inside, flooding the Dungeon with its minions.
"So- so that's why my Stats went up." I mumble.
"Indeed, once your Intended Fate was changed, your body started undergoing several changes." Gaoithe pauses for a moment, seemingly contemplating something. "Honestly, even the Divine aren't entirely sure why it happens. Something about possibilities and infinity in relation to the Web of Fate." They shrug, as if it is of no importance.
"So- if what was supposed to happen to me didn't come to pass, what of my Fate now?" I ask.
"As someone whose Fate has been interrupted in some way, it is tied up to the one who did the interrupting. I suppose this is why you've been chosen as a Champion as well, since there's several candidates that are close enough to be considered viable for the task."
"So my Fate is now dependent on what Millibelle does? Or what happens around or to her?" My mind is boggling at the concept. All are taught about Fate, and how it plans out the big outlines of what is going to happen to us during our lives, but to think something, someone, is able to change it? It's a terribly big revelation to be told in a dream.
"More or less. Though as far as we know, the reason for us needing Champions aren't directly related to her." They pause once again, this time seeming to be listening to something. "You should know, Champions of all the Divine are being gathered here in G'Cal. You'd do well to try to get along with them. I think you know at least one of them."
They smile, the first time their face has showed any emotion at all, and as I feel myself awaken from my dream, I hear a faint whisper. "Good luck, and farewell for now."
I wake up fully. I'm drenched in sweat and my duvet is a wrinkled ball, but I don't really care at the moment. If it's true that I'm a Champion now, it should reflect in my Status.
Valena Argenfeather
Species: Ayvin (Humanoid) (Uncommon)
Gender: Female
Status: Tired (Lesser)
HP: 475/475
MP: 450/450
SP: 200/475
Attack: 100
Armor: 95
M.Attack: 90
M.Armor: 90
Speed: 138
STR: 100 (MAX)
CON: 95 (MAX)
INT: 90 (MAX)
WIL: 90 (MAX)
DEX: 100 (MAX)
Skills:
Language Comprehension: Common (Great) - Language Comprehension: Ayvin (Normal)
Air's Blessing (Great - Unique (Ayvin)) - Sword Proficiency (Great)
Ambidextrous (Grand) - Whirlwind Blades (Great)
Namers' Call (True) - Divine Art: Shredder Tornado (True - Unique (Air Champion))
Regeneration: HP (Normal) Regeneration: MP (Lesser)
Elemental Affinity: Air (Normal)
Spells:
Wind Blade (Lesser) - Wind-Devils' Cleave (Normal)
Microburst (Lesser) - Tailwind (Normal)
Social Titles:
Guild Master's Relative - D-Rank Hunter
Aspirant - Monarch Namer
Divine Champion: Air
I drop back onto my pillow with an annoyed groan. Fuck. I stew in my annoyance for a bit before taking a deep breath. Laying in bed all day won't change a thing, and I'm curious what Mina will say about that sample of goop we collected. I get up and begin getting ready for the day.
"Wow, Valena, you look terrible." Leon blurts out as I approach the group waiting for me by the town center. "I know right, it's as if I didn't sleep at all last night." I grumble, half jokingly. Only half, because I'm too tired to be fully joking.
"Aw, Val, I can carry you if you want?" Lima offers, always ready to show off her uncanny strength. "I'll let you know if I need the Lima-Cab services." I manage a tired smile.
"Now, let's get this sample to Minas'." Lychee urges, leading the way out of the town square and towards Minas' Monster Ranch. I figure I'll tell them once we're done with this, and we're somewhere private. After all, not everyone would be too pleased to know that the Divine are Awakening their Champions.
"Wait here a moment, I- I'll go get the boss." A flustered receptionist hurries deeper within the building after we showed him the vial containing the oily goop. We wait a few minutes before he returns, along with Mina.
Taking one glance at the vial, she ushers us all into a room, closing the door securely behind her. She looks... afraid? I've never seen her like this, and I've known her since I was little.
"W-Where did you find that? Have you any idea what that is? Give it here." Leon hurriedly hands her the vial, glancing nervously at me.
"We collected if from a wound on an Onyx Ironwing that attacked us in the forest just west of here." I inform as Mina carefully uncorks the vial, acting as if the liquid inside might jump out at her. "We decided to burn and bury the body, just in case it was contagious." Lychee adds.
Mina glances at us before fishing out a lens from a back pocket. As she brings the lens to her eye and looks at the ooze, the lens darkens before deep cracks form in it. With a loud plink, the lens shatters in her hands.
"As I suspected..." Mina mumbles. "This... is Inert Malice." For some reason, the room temperature seems to drop several degrees as she says this. "M-Malice? L-like the stuff that replaces the hearts of monsters that turn Hateful?" Lychee stammers.
"More or less." Mina replaces the cork on the vial before setting it aside. "Normal Malice is highly dangerous, as it reaches out for anything living in order to corrupt it into a suitable host for it. Even humanoids can be tainted by it, causing a terrible transformation into half-monsters."
"However, humanoids are imperfect hosts. Once turned, the Malice within them loses its ability to spread and sustain itself. Without its now chimerified host, it quickly ebbs away." She points to the vial. "This is residue left behind by a chimerified humanoid that still lives."
We stare at the vial in horrified silence. That Ironwing, it was attacked by a humanoid that has been infected by Malice...
"That term... 'Chimerified'... Does that have anything to do with the Chimera?" Leon asks. "Well... I can't confirm it, as the methods of producing Chimera have all been lost, and even if I knew..." Mina trails off. Of course she wouldn't tell us if she knew. Chimera and their creation are considered taboo and forbidden by law. Even speculating their origins could land us in trouble.
"S-So, does that mean that there's a chimerified humanoid roaming the forest to the west?" Lychee looks to us. "I mean, I doubt the Ironwing would have been able to travel far in the state it was in..." She adds.
An uncomfortable silence follows. "... Anyway, I thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll alert the proper authorities about this." Mina takes the vial, making sure the cork is securely fitted before pocketing it and leaving.
We leave the Ranch in silence. Perhaps I should wait a while with telling them about my new status.