Ominous Omen
Pragaria's disappearance day.
The village vigilante leader, Frindel, left only the bare minimum to guard the village and set out to search for his daughter.
"How's it going over there? Find anything? Even the smallest clue would help."
"Nothing..."
"...Hoo."
He knew something ominous was afoot the moment he returned home and realized his daughter was nowhere to be found.
"Maybe she just wandered a bit farther out?"
"Pragaria often roamed the forest..."
"I hope so, but she's not the type to leave without a word."
Frindel had strictly warned her never to leave the village alone. Everyone knew she wouldn't defy her father's orders.
"She was fine when we stopped by Rangl's place."
"So she vanished after that."
"No one's seen Pragaria since..."
The search had been going for six hours already. Dusk was falling.
At night, monsters became active. It was time to call it off.
'Pragaria, where the hell are you?'
The vigilantes had no idea what was happening right in their front yard, where they'd buried the monster they'd chopped to pieces.
The golden hour to rescue her slipped away pointlessly, and by the next day, Frindel was barely holding it together.
"Ugh."
His men resumed the search, but their numbers had dwindled sharply. The vigilantes were just a ragtag group of village youths, each with their own lives to live.
It felt like they'd never find the missing Pragaria. In a village bordered by monster-infested woods, this happened sometimes.
Monsters rarely approached human settlements, but rogue packs occasionally strayed. No matter how careful people were, complacency crept in, leading to tragedies.
'But this... feels off.'
Just two weeks ago, Pragaria had faced mortal danger from some unidentified monster. Would she, having only just mustered the courage to venture out again, head deep into the forest and vanish?
'No way.'
Something grotesque was unfolding in these woods. Frindel couldn't shake the thought.
He desperately needed help.
The adventurers who'd taken the "Investigation of Worms in the Forest" commission visited Frindel's home that very evening, early on.
"We're here for the investigation request. You're Mr. Frindel?"
"Yes, that's me."
Frindel welcomed them warmly, though inwardly he was surprised. They were young. About the same age as his daughter.
'These kids are supposed to handle monsters?'
Two women, one man. A robed man with neatly trimmed hair stepped forward as the party leader.
"I'm Jade, a bronze-rank adventurer affiliated with the kingdom guild."
"Same rank, Tia."
"Beth here."
Beth was a well-trained female brawler. Her toned physique matched the confidence radiating from her expression.
In contrast, Tia hung back shyly behind Jade, but as a priestess from the church who could wield holy magic, she was indispensable to the party.
All three were promising young adventurers in their early twenties, not much older than Pragaria.
"I'm Frindel, leader of Rotana Village's vigilantes. Thank you for coming all this way."
"If it's alright, shall we discuss the request now? I'd like to scout the area before dark."
Frindel explained the situation to Jade. The worm issue was resolved, but his daughter had gone missing the day before, and they were still searching.
Jade listened with a sympathetic expression.
"That must weigh heavily on you. Shall we take a look?"
"You three?"
"We're adventurers, after all. I get it if bronze rank doesn't inspire confidence, but dealing with forest monsters and tracking things down is our job."
Frindel swallowed hard. Those words made him realize just how cornered he'd been mentally. Such simple relief from a single sentence.
Tia smiled gently.
"Leave it to us, sir."
"...Please help. I'll pay double—no, triple the fee!"
"We appreciate the offer, but we'll stick to the standard rate. Half upfront, the rest upon completion."
"Why not, Jade? They're offering extra for once."
Beth grumbled a bit, sounding mildly annoyed.
"Beth, we're here on an official guild request. You know we can't take extra without permission."
"I know, but... it wasn't in the plan. A tip wouldn't hurt..."
"No."
"Stingy."
"Beth, come on..."
"You too, Tia. That's why we're stuck at bronze."
Frindel watched the three with a faint smile. They got along well.
"It's late today, so let me treat you to dinner and lodging."
"Really? Thank you!"
"Yay!"
They'd firmly refused extra pay but jumped for joy at free lodging. True adventurers, Frindel thought.
The average adventurer was young. It was a job anyone could start without qualifications, advancing purely on merit without discrimination, making it popular.
Adventurers were ranked bronze, silver, gold, with special tiers above. Reaching silver was seen as success by most, so bronze held the bulk.
Kingdom adventurers especially had rigorous certification. These three were skilled—very promising ones.
"We'll scout the area first, then. Let's go, Tia, Beth."
"Okay."
"Got it."
As Jade's group stepped out energetically, a small, cute girl ran straight into them.
"Ah!"
"Adventurers!"
"Who are you, kid?"
Tia knelt first, patting the girl's head.
"I'm Aness. Please save my sister."
"You bet. We'll bring her back."
"Don't worry, the monsters around here are low-level. We won't get taken down by goblins or anything."
Beth snorted confidently.
"Your sister might've even bashed a few goblins with rocks and gotten lost. Those things are dumb and weak."
"Beth, watch your mouth... 'Bashed to death' in front of a kid?"
Rebuked by Jade, Beth blushed slightly, embarrassed.
"Ahem."
"I feel like my sister's in real danger right now."
"Did you see where she went?"
"No... but..."
Aness's clown doll crumpled in her arms.
"It just... feels bad."
"Sun's setting soon. Let's hurry."
"Ah, yeah."
"...Be careful, big sis, big bro."
The group pushed through tangled branches, venturing deeper into the forest. Beth grumbled with her lips pursed.
"There were plenty of good quests nearby. Why drag us to this backwater again?"
"Well..."
Tia hesitated to answer fully. If she said it was because that white worm had her worried...
She'd have to explain 'that incident.' She just hoped Beth wouldn't notice.
"...Just a hunch."
"Unbelievable."
"Drop it, Beth. This is the first time Tia's pushed for a quest."
"You shot down everything I suggested..."
"Because you kept bringing insane high-reward jobs way beyond our level."
"We can't grow big just grinding trash mobs forever~!"
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Beth punched the air with spirited footwork. Her ponytail whipped around with her agile movements.
"You think we have time to fight worms?"
"Worms come in all kinds. Hold up—tracks."
Tia immediately pulled collection tools from her bag.
"Here."
"Scratches on the tree. Looks like it brushed against while heading toward the village."
Jade carefully collected bark samples like specimens, sniffing them.
"What is this? Still a bit damp."
"Kinda slimy too."
"And the size... pretty big."
Jade had tracked mid-sized monsters before, but this was larger. Quite threatening.
"Maybe wild bear-sized."
"No food around here, yet a fat, plump worm? Weird."
"No human tracks."
Tia scanned the surroundings.
"Strange. If she vanished outside the village, there should be footprints."
"Let's head back, Jade. We know monsters are here—that's enough."
"..."
With night falling, they'd planned only a light scout. Jade didn't push it.
"Yeah, let's go. We found a clue for her father anyway."
"Food and sleep sound good."
"Jade, something over there."
That's when Tia spotted it.
"A rabbit?"
A dead rabbit.
"What killed it?"
Its body was rigid like rigor mortis had set in, but no blood on the fur, no wounds. Eerily unnatural.
"Let's check it out."
As Jade prodded carefully, bugs swarmed up from underneath like they'd been waiting.
"Jade, hands off!"
Beth snatched the rabbit and hurled it away nimbly.
"This is..."
Underneath wasn't bugs, shockingly...
"What the...?"
A flower made of meat. Its grotesque form left them speechless.
Up close, it looked like multiple worms tangled into a flower shape. Long tentacles from the bloom had pinned the rabbit.
"Urk..."
The nauseating sight made Beth dry-heave.
"Never seen a... plant? Animal like this."
"Kinda like a worm."
"Too small. Maybe a colony of baby worms."
"So gross. And it's alive."
"Carnivorous, probably. Don't touch it."
The rabbit was proof.
"Step back a bit."
Jade extended his hand toward the tentacle flower.
"Fire Bolt!"
Fwoosh!
The flame arrow Jade conjured seemed to incinerate the tentacle flower in an instant... or so it appeared.
Covered in slippery liquid, it quickly extinguished the flames clinging to it and writhed actively. Jade frowned slightly.
The women in the party freaked out over the wriggling tentacles.
"Eww, seriously. Too gross. Do something quick."
"...I'm gonna puke..."
"Guess we have to kill it ourselves..."
This was man's work. Jade took the mace from Tia and smashed down on the meat flower with force.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed like bursting fruit pulp. Even its death throes were horrific.
"Hup! Hup!"
Jade pounded several more times, just to be sure. Only after pulverizing it until it stopped moving did he relax.
"Done."
"...Ruined my appetite."
"..."
Jade's group returned to the village before nightfall.