Chapter 11

Passing through the valley and crossing the lowland forest, they set up camp and set off early in the morning when the morning mist was rising.

Stepping on the lightly accumulated snow, the group of fifteen entered the woods with thorny trees.

The vegetation had clearly changed, and the hunters' expressions turned serious.

They were already in the territory of the 'Nightmare.' Even though it was still in its slumber, they could not afford to be careless. Any hunter familiar with these mountains would naturally be cautious, but this group seemed somewhat restless.

Regarding the girl known as the 'Hero,' the pragmatic hunters did not fully trust her, but her highly accurate detection ability was certainly useful. Since she did not make any demands and followed silently, she was not much of a problem.

The real issue was the hunter named Zaur Dymitor Bregoi, who persistently provoked the girl.

This man, who would publicly call her 'the cowardly Rolana,' had no intention of treating Akari properly in this hunt.

The hunters sent by the Rolana royal family had successfully hunted the white phantom for the first time in fifty years. The prey was of unprecedented size, and this feat had made the names of the participating hunters and the 'Hero' resound throughout the continent.

Everything about it was unacceptable to Zaur.

Zaur was the third son of a noble family in the Dorgan Parliament of the Elrodriana Union Kingdom. He harbored animosity towards Rolana, the capital of the central government. This sentiment was shared by all Dorgan people, a kind of temperament.

The five regions of Rolana, Dorgan, Burolda, Ingut, and Ad Alania formed the Elrodriana Union Kingdom about two hundred years ago, with the central government in Rolana.

However, even after a long time, the Dorgan temperament had not faded and still simmered.

The reason for this dated back over a thousand years, but in short, it could be summed up as 'I hate Rolana people.'

Such was the relationship between Rolana and Dorgan that when Rolana's hunters, who had been sent by the royal family, successfully hunted the white phantom for the first time in fifty years, Dorgan's pride was completely shattered.

The Dorgan Parliament was in turmoil.

For Dorgan, which had many border regions and continuously fought against monsters and beasts, hunters were a source of pride. The idea that they could be outdone by Rolana was unacceptable.

The Parliament's consensus was:

"If we can encounter it, it won't be a big deal. With the 'Hero's' power, we can hunt it down in no time. Since Rolana also relied on the 'Hero's' power, they can't complain."

They pressured this idea onto the central government of Rolana.

The central government, though the royal family had pushed it through, had indeed damaged Dorgan's pride. If the relationship with Dorgan deteriorated to the point of separation and independence, it would be disastrous.

Reluctantly, they agreed, thinking it was just a hunt.

The Dorgan Parliament then suppressed the village's rules at the foot of the Alerdoria Mountains by force and designated the white phantom hunters.

Zaur, who had boasted that he could hunt at any time if he won the lottery, was chosen.

In reality, the influential hunters who did not like breaking the village's rules had all declined, but Zaur had sneered at them as cowards.

Zaur was not pleased that he had to rely on the power of a hero whose background he did not know.

Dorgan hunters would hunt the white phantom. Anything else was meaningless.

Zaur glared at Akari with disgust.

Akari, on the other hand, said nothing and walked silently. She had no intention of getting involved with this hunter. In fact, she was already tired. At the school where she was summoned, she was neglected, and when called, she had to deal with the royal family's whims and political machinations. She was exhausted after just one year.

Whether they hunted or not, she didn't care.

This discordant atmosphere was affecting the hunters' morale.

It happened suddenly.

A white beast leaped out from between the trees and stopped in front of the hunters.

The sudden appearance made the hunters look around. The altitude was not where the white phantom usually appeared, and they had not sensed any presence. Moreover, the girl Akari, who usually reacted to even stray wolves, had shown no reaction.

The white beast then disappeared into the trees.

Zaur, however, had clearly seen the beast jump onto a tree.

He was not a bad hunter.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Without waiting for a response, Zaur chased after it.

"Wait—"

"Shut up, you useless piece of crap!"

Akari's attempt to stop him was ignored.

Seizing the opportunity of the encounter where her power had not reacted, Zaur ignored Akari's words.

The other hunters, though hesitant, followed. After all, he was their employer.

Reluctantly, Akari followed as well.

The beast, which seemed to be an Ilneek, had started grooming itself on a large rock.

The hunters were perplexed by its indifferent behavior.

However, Zaur, without a care, signaled for a simultaneous attack.

The hunters, though hesitant, followed their employer Zaur, drawing their bows and wands.

Akari finally caught up and tried to stop them—

—Zaur ignored her and gave the signal.

Arrows, carried by the wind, and intermixed with lightning strikes, aimed at the Ilneek.

They hit their mark.

Zaur smiled with satisfaction.

The smile froze in the next instant.

The 'rock' where the Ilneek had been moved.

It was a large thorn spider, which had literally turned into a 'rock' to hibernate.

There was no sign of the Ilneek.

The large spider, known as the 'Nightmare,' had eight silver eyes that gleamed.

Its large fangs moved, and the conical, stone-like spines on its body and legs creaked.

A hunter who had once hunted a large thorn spider would know that the only option in this situation, without specialized equipment, was to flee.

However, Zaur was the only one in this situation, and that decided their fate.

The giant spider, which the hunters called the 'Nightmare,' began to advance.

Zaur fired an arrow.

He did not consider retreating.

The other hunters, influenced by him, also unleashed their firepower.

The spider's advance did not stop.

Its body, covered in a thin layer of dirt, was impervious to arrows and magic.

The large thorn spider was known to ambush prey using the information from the web it spread on the ground and did not chase its prey.

The only time it would chase its prey until it was killed was when it was attacked during the petrification process.

The large thorn spider's awkward movements changed.

The petrification had completely worn off.

The enraged large thorn spider closed in on the hunters in one breath.

This alone caused the group of hunters to disintegrate.

Akari, who had tried to stop them, could only watch in shock.

A red dot, which had not existed a moment ago, appeared on the map in her mind.

There had been no red dot.

Even though the Ilneek was right in front of her, there had been no red dot.

A red dot indicated a certain level of power, which was indeed unstable, but any opponent that she could not handle within her line of sight would almost certainly be marked in red.

So,

So what was the point now, Akari slumped to the ground.

The sound of hunters fleeing and something being chewed.

"I want to go home..."

Akari muttered this unconsciously.

The large thorn spider's eight eyes found Akari in the bushes.

Akari gave up on everything.

In the midst of the chaos, Snow White, unnoticed by anyone, carried Akari away and ran up the mountain, gripping her collar.