Kingdom of Blumund – Free Guild
Inside the Free Guild headquarters in the Kingdom of Blumund, Guildmaster Fuze sat at his desk, the weight of uncertainty heavy on his shoulders. He tapped a finger against the wooden surface, deep in thought, weighing his next move. His concerns all pointed toward one place—the Forest of Jura.
It had begun a month ago. Monsters in one region of the forest had started to vanish under mysterious circumstances. No one knew why, or how. Two weeks ago, the king himself had approached Fuze with a request: send adventurers to investigate. Perhaps it was the work of the east, stirring trouble within Blumund's borders.
Fuze complied, dispatching a pair of B-rank adventurers to the area in question. They never returned.
Their weapons were all that remained—discovered only after a second group was sent to search for them. The conclusion was obvious: the first group had been killed. But by what?
Fuze leaned back in his chair, lips drawn in frustration. Their gear had been untouched, their bodies gone. No enemy army would bother to remove corpses and leave equipment behind. That meant only one thing—it was a monster.
But what kind of monster could do something like this?
He clicked his tongue, the sound sharp in the still room, and narrowed his eyes.
'If it is a monster,' he thought, 'then the question is: what could kill a whole group of B-rank adventurers and leave behind no trace—not even a drop of blood?'
The lack of evidence gnawed at him. No blood. No limbs. Just silence. And the pressure was mounting. The adventurers' families were demanding answers. Even the king had grown impatient.
To make matters worse, none of Fuze's contacts in neighboring kingdoms had any insight. Whatever was lurking in that forest had also eliminated other investigative parties sent by foreign nations. At this point, there was no way to uncover what was truly going on—not without risking more lives.
Fuze rose from his seat, casting one last glance at the papers on his desk. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to face the king.
'Let's just hope he understands,' he thought grimly, 'and doesn't demote me for this disaster.'
With that, he closed the door behind him and began the walk toward the royal castle, unaware that the worst possible outcome had already begun beneath his very nose.
Forest of Jura – ???
Far from the human kingdoms, deep within the newly completed ant hill, the Chimera Ant Colt, stood, engaged in discussion with two fellow squadron leaders.
They were an odd trio. One of them, a penguin-like creature with a spiky hair bun and two tufts of white beard on his cheeks, leaned forward with a thoughtful frown. The other was a tortoise with age-creased skin and sparse hair, his shell layered with jagged scars from past hunts.
[IMAGE]
"We're nearly out of weak prey," Colt stated, arms folded. "Anyone have ideas on how to proceed?"
The tortoise nodded slowly. "Maybe we should send two squadrons after one of the stronger creatures. Double our strength."
Colt frowned at the suggestion. It would work—technically—but it would also slow down the collection rate of food, compromising the queen's strict timeline. They needed quantity, not just quality.
Across from them, the penguin, Peggy, closed the book he'd been reading and spoke.
"If it were that simple, strategies would never have existed in the first place," he said with calm intelligence. "Perhaps we should rely on our knowledge of the terrain and set precise, reusable traps. That way, we can control the battlefield and maintain our numbers."
It was a clever idea—one with merit. If they could design efficient traps, they could win without expending unnecessary effort. The monsters in this forest, while powerful, lacked the one trait the Chimera Ants held in abundance: intelligence.
Most of the local creatures operated on simple instincts—kill or be killed. A few had higher reasoning, but lacked the strength or numbers to pose a true threat.
Colt gave a nod of approval, his mind already spinning with ideas.
"Excellent work, as always, Peggy."
The conversation shifted as Turtle raised a curious question.
"Say, have you found anything useful in those books we took from the humans?"
Peggy's eyes lit up, gleaming with excitement as he stood straighter.
"A few things," he said. "First, humans rank their warriors in tiers. The ones we killed were classified as B-rank. Second, there are multiple nations surrounding us, though their overall strength is still unclear. Lastly,"—his beak curled into a grin—"I found a bestiary. It details all the creatures in this forest… and even includes their weaknesses."
Colt and Turtle were visibly surprised. Such information could shift the tide of their hunts entirely.
Colt was the first to respond.
"We'll hold off on worrying about the other nations for now," he said. "But that book—those details will prove vital. Share everything you've learned with the other squadron leaders. It'll help us tremendously."
Peggy nodded, understanding the importance of what he held.
With no further points to discuss, the three squadron leaders parted ways, each heading off to prepare for the next hunt.
Unbeknownst to the world around them, it was only a matter of time before the first Royal Guard was born…
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Hey guy's, I promise the next chapter will be longer! This was supposed to be a short chapter explaining a couple things that will be more important later on. So keep in mind some of the things said. They may prove to lead to major things in the future.
I hope to see everyone in the next chapter. Have a great day!
Power Stone's?