"I saw a monster earlier as well."
I showed Stella the corpse of the hand-shaped creature I had killed with the axe earlier. Stella poked around the body with a stick, nodding slowly as she examined it.
"It doesn't have eyes, a nose, or ears, but its sense of touch is highly developed. See here? The sensory organ that detects magic is bulging."
I grimaced as Stella nonchalantly dug around the corpse. Her tolerance for such things was impressive, but this examination did give us some useful information.
"It's a monster that can detect magic. It probably attacked you after sensing your magic. Did you use any magic?"
I recalled using the bird taming magic. Although the spell had failed, it still consumed magic.
So, it had sensed that and attacked me. It seems that I need to be very careful about using magic in this forest.
"It's an interesting ecosystem. This would make a good presentation at the academy, that is, if we manage to get out of here alive."
Neither I nor Professor Balan could laugh at Stella's self-deprecating joke. It was just like she said, it was uncertain if we'd survive and make it back at all. ȑ𝙖ɴÔ𝐁ƐŠ
"But the good news is that I've had plenty of experience with this kind of thing as an adventurer. As long as you follow my lead, at least we won't die."
Stella began to draw on the ground with a stick, sketching out information about the monsters she had encountered while scouting the forest.
There were a bunch of insect-like monsters that crawled on all fours and looked like praying mantises, and a bunch of beast-like monsters that looked like a cross between a crocodile and a wolf.
She also mentioned giving them names.
"The insect-type monsters are called Hell Mantis. The beast-type monsters are Hell Hounds."
"Aren't those names a bit too simple?"
When I asked, Stella shook her head.
"It's better to keep things straightforward. That way, when you hear the name of a monster, it sticks in your mind right away. Makes it easier to deal with them."
Now that I think about it, she's right. Most monster names were pretty intuitive. They were named from the perspective of the people dealing with them.
"Anyway, now that you seem to be back on your feet, let's move to a different hideout. I found a cave nearby that should be big enough for the three of us."
Professor Balan and I followed Stella as she led the way. As we walked, she kept gathering herbs and berries that could be used for medicine.
Watching her work made me feel a little relieved that she ended up falling with us. Without her, my chances of survival would have been significantly lower.
Eventually, we reached the cave.
The entrance was so narrow that a person had to kneel to crawl in, but once inside, it opened up that even when fully stretched out, my head didn't touch the ceiling. It was cozy enough.
At that moment, Professor Balan, who had gone inside, stepped on something. It was a white, dry skeleton. It resembled a human more than that of an animal.
Looking at the chains bound to its hands and feet, Stella said.
"Must have been a fugitive. Plenty of criminals try to escape beyond the wall. It's not just criminals either; there are mystics, secret societies, and heretics who cross the wall."
I had heard about it as well. Criminals facing the death penalty often chose to flee beyond the wall rather than be captured by the royal army.
Though in the end, they would just die .
We tidied up the cave and had a meal.
The meal was nothing more than chewing on the fruits, vegetables, and dried meat we had brought, since we couldn't light a fire inside the small cave.
Still, it felt good to fill my stomach. There's the sense of fulfillment to have survived another day.
With that, we decided on our future course of action.
"First and foremost, our top priority is to return safely to the south side of the wall."
I briefly imagined what might be happening due to our disappearance. Mirna and Marmar must be worried about us.
Maybe they're making a fuss about organizing a search party or subjugation team. If Aira or Elga hears about it, that's exactly what would happen.
The first thing to do should be to let them know that we're alive. I could do that through the telepathic communication with Marmar's tail.
However, there's one problem with that—this place was teeming with monsters that can sense magic. So, I began calculating whether it was possible to communicate without emitting too much magic.
I figured I could manage about 30 seconds.
「Marmar, can you hear me?」
「Ah-! My tail is talking…! No, it's comrade! What happened? Are you safe? Everyone's in a panic right now!」
Marmar rattled off her words like a machine gun, firing question after question. Of course, I understood. She must have had a lot she wanted to ask.
But there was no time.
「I don't have much time, so I'll keep it short. Professor Balan, Professor Stella, and I are safe. We'll return after crossing the wall, so let everyone know. I'll contact you every evening.」
With that, our conversation ended.
There was so much more I wanted to say, but dragging it out might attract Death Grips, the palm monsters.
Anyway, I've let them know we're alive, so that should ease everyone's worries somewhat. Now, we just had to focus on our survival.
"Let's all sleep now. Going to bed early helps with survival too."
We all covered ourselves with blankets at Stella's suggestion. As I was starting to feel drowsy from the overwhelming fatigue, I felt someone nudge my side.
—Theo-nim, I have something to tell you.