Episode 668
Episode 668
Though Lee Han cursed inwardly, from his friends' perspective, it was unavoidable.
When the hunters asked, 'Can you guys do that too?', it wasn't like they could lie and say 'Yes!'
After landing, the hunters tightly bound the poachers and confiscated their equipment.
"Keep walking east. If you look back, we'll shoot."
"P-please, at least return our armor..."
"No."
Lee Han agreed with the unnamed hunters' firmness.
While confiscating weapons might be understandable, taking all their equipment might seem excessive—but imperial poachers were as persistent and vile as the game they hunted.
Frankly speaking, they could easily have hidden spare weapons nearby and returned to poaching again.
Only by stripping them of everything would they be forced to descend the mountain, swallowing their tears...
"Poachers' equipment brings bad luck—we should throw it far away."
"......"
At this superstitious reason that differed from his own thoughts, Lee Han was left speechless, his expression turning awkward.
'Well... the end result is the same anyway.'
Lee Han decided to stop observing the hunters and focus on setting up camp.
The hunters had been trying to hide their faces with their coats whenever Lee Han glanced their way.
He didn't know what kind of tradition that was, but it didn't feel great.
"Maybe they think you're going to cast a Petrification Curse?"
Ponlig grumbled in agreement, nodding his head.
The basilisk tapped Lee Han's wrist with its tail, as if telling him not to worry about it.
'Is it because of these two?'
Lee Han gave them both a slightly suspicious look but didn't voice his thoughts.
Both were quite petty—if he said anything, they might sulk.
"Let's just set up camp."
At Lee Han's words, Yoner tightly tied back her hair and called the others.
They needed to divide the work.
"First, the walls—"
"I'll handle it."
"The pit in front—"
"I'll dig it."
"Securing drinking water—"
"I'll take care of it."
Yoner stared pointedly at Lee Han. Feeling awkward, he asked:
"Did I take on too much?"
"Taking three out of three tasks isn't 'a little.' Anyway, Lee Han, just stay quiet now. We need to set up the lights too—"
"Oh. I think I should handle that."
Yoner gestured to Siana and Derguhan. The two dragged Lee Han away.
"He just used a lot of magic—let's just do it ourselves."
"That's probably better."
At Siana's reply, Gainando asked nervously:
"But what if it turns out worse than if Lee Han made the camp?"
"Then you can sleep outside."
"...Now that I think about it, even if it's not great, it's fine. The campsite doesn't need to be perfect!"
Two hours later.
The students, having completed the campsite (Lee Han had sneakily helped out midway), surveyed their surroundings.
"Listen up. Mountain ranges are dangerous by nature. Even with a campsite like this, you never know what monsters might crawl in."
Nilia, true to her hunter background, pointed out sternly.
But despite her warning, the others didn't seem too concerned.
The completed campsite's defenses were sturdier than expected.
A moat to block wild beasts, repellent herbs, an alarm spell in case of attacks at the entrance, windproof wooden walls...
Noticing their complacency, Nilia said sharply:
"Mountain ranges are more dangerous than Einrogard!"
"Gasp!"
Only then did the others tense up and inspect the campsite carefully.
Professor Lightning-Step and the hunters had already left to scout the nearby area.
Explorer Frost-Step would return soon after checking the waterfall area, but until then, they had to stay vigilant.
Lee Han wandered around the fortress on Ponlig's back. Nilia, puzzled, asked:
"What are you doing?"
"Just spreading griffin scent in case monsters show up. For weaker ones, this is enough."
"......"
Nilia looked down at her palms.
She had been busily clearing bushes and breaking branches to block the path for serpent-type monsters...
Only now did it occur to her that there was a better way.
"Can I borrow your basilisk for a bit?"
At Nilia's question, the baby basilisk writhed violently as if absolutely refusing.
* * *
"Has the wyvern scent faded?"
At Professor Lightning-Step's words, one of the nameless hunters brought a hand to his mouth.
It was a signal to lower their voices.
"Are there many monsters around?"
Professor Lightning-Step accepted the advice and lowered his voice.
The empire's mountain ranges were dangerous for various reasons, each requiring different precautions.
In places like the Sorrow Mountains, one had to be extremely cautious about sound once passing beyond the mid-level zones.
With so many monsters reacting to noise, extra care was needed.
Though they were still at the mountain range's entrance area, the fact that the nameless hunters were signaling to quiet down suggested that many monsters from deeper regions had moved outward.
"No, Professor. This fellow has a tradition of maintaining silence during evening mountain hikes on even-numbered days."
"......"
Professor Lightning-Step made an irritated face.
While the nameless hunters were undoubtedly skilled individuals, their dozens of superstitions were enough to drive anyone mad.
"The wyvern scent seems to have taken effect. The monsters aren't approaching."
"Even after using deodorants, there's nothing more we can do. We'll just have to wait for time to solve it."
The wyvern's scent kept other monsters at bay.
Even unicorns avoided it.
That's why they had tethered the wyvern below instead of keeping it at the campsite, while the professors and hunters attempted to mask the scent with alchemist potions...
Yet a faint trace still lingered. This wyvern was no ordinary monster either.
"Let's patrol a bit longer until the mountain's natural scents take over."
"Will the students be alright?"
At Scout Mrangse's question, Professor Lightning-Step replied as if there was nothing to worry about.
"They'll be fine. No need to worry."
"Well, Frost-Step is with them too..."
"Ah. Right. That kid's there too."
"......"
Mrangse looked dumbfounded at the professor's delayed recollection of his own relative.
Then what exactly had he been relying on when he said they'd be fine earlier?
"Einrogard students must truly be dependable. Come to think of it, I have a friend named Gethse who says Einrogard students are amazing. First-years stacking multiple enchantment spells to shatter boulders and all..."
"That sounds like he was pulling your leg. No matter how talented Einrogard first-years are, they can't do that."
"Really? But Gethse isn't the type to joke like that..."
"Anyway, the Einrogard students will be fine. There are some reliable ones among them."
The nameless hunters began whispering among themselves.
Without even listening, it was obvious who they meant, so Professor Lightning-Step spoke with visible annoyance.
"The griffin and basilisk were tamed by coincidence! Don't start worrying over weird superstitions."
"Basilisk?"
'Oh no.'
Professor Lightning-Step realized his mistake.
Come to think of it, the hunters only knew about the tamed griffin, not the basilisk.
The nameless hunters began whispering frantically. Mrangse grew concerned—weren't members of the Wardanaz family banned from entering certain imperial mountain ranges?
"There are more poachers than expected, Professor."
One of the nameless hunters who had gone scouting returned with a grave report.
"That many?"
"Indeed. Word about the unicorn must have spread. I already spotted three separate groups prowling nearby."
Mrangse's face filled with concern at this news.
When finding the unicorn quickly was already challenging enough, now they'd have to waste time dealing with poachers.
But there was no helping it.
Among the Wasteland Star-Catchers' maxims was this saying:
Sometimes the detour is the fastest path.
"Let's head back to camp first. We'll deal with the poachers before..."
"Huh? It's fine. Let's finish checking the area first. Just remember that the wyvern's scent hasn't completely faded yet..."
"P-professor! I understand you want to find the unicorn, but didn't you say there are three groups of poachers around?"
Mullanse was flustered.
Poachers weren't just simple, stupid mountain bandits.
Of course, if they faced Einrogard students head-on, they'd be torn to shreds without even breaking through the magical storm, but if poachers discovered the campsite, they'd obviously use cunning tricks.
Moreover, some time had passed since they'd flown here, so rumors might have already spread among the poachers about what kind of group had newly entered the mountain range. That would make the students even more vulnerable.
Nothing was as threatening as a hunter who knew their prey well.
"I heard you, but it's fine. Come on, let's go."
"Ah, no...!"
"I said it's fine. Everyone, move! If we think about the time we'll lose being interrupted by those poachers, we need to move even faster!"
Julban, the poacher leader, was a seasoned hunter with thick experience in several mountain ranges, including the Sorrow Mountains.
In truth, an outstanding poacher had no choice but to be an outstanding hunter.
How could one not be exceptional when sneaking past the empire's watchers into the mountains to capture forbidden monsters and bring them out?
As such, Julban also possessed superb hunting skills.
But Julban had an ability most hunters lacked—sociability.
Most hunters considered their social activities limited to bringing their catches down to villages or cities to sell.
But Julban was different.
Julban knew how to meet merchants in cities seeking forbidden monsters and strike deals. He knew how to approach nobles urgently needing those monsters and win their favor. He even knew how to coax wandering mercenaries or adventurers into working under him.
At this scale, calling him a poacher was almost an understatement—he was practically a bandit leader.
"Explorers arrived with hunters and mages?"
"They've already set up camp!"
"We can't let them take the unicorn..."
Julban frowned.
Right now, there wasn't just one client looking for a unicorn. If he secured one, enough gold would roll in that he could retire on the spot.
'But I really don't like the idea of clashing with mages...'
"No need to worry, Julban! One of our guys scouted the camp—they're all just kids."
"Is that true?!"
"Not only that, but there aren't even any hunters at the camp right now."
"!"
The opportunity was so good that Julban momentarily suspected a trap.
But thinking about it, that made no sense. Who would dig such a pitfall when coming to find a unicorn?
"I'll check for myself."
Julban climbed onto a distant rock to observe the campsite.
It was a well-made camp, as if flaunting the presence of mages, but sure enough, there were gaps just as his men had described.
Unlike hunters, mages often had prodigies who excelled even at relatively young ages.
Of course, that made sense—all they needed was magic—but to seasoned poachers like Julban, they just looked like prey.
"Good! We'll subdue them. Since they're mages, the ransom should be decent too!"
"Just bear with it."
Lee Han tried to calm Ponlig down as the griffin, disguised as a white horse, protested inside the makeshift stable.
After thoroughly masking their scents, Lee Han had ruthlessly shoved Ponlig into the stable.
The unicorn might not care about a griffin's scent, but who knew how it would react if it actually saw one?
Ponlig protested, 'Are you treating me like the unicorn avoids lowly creatures like wyverns?!' but Lee Han ignored it.
He was already annoyed that someone kept staring from afar...!
"Someone keeps watching? Probably the poachers. Don't worry. They wouldn't dare approach unless they're insane."
Ahem, excuse me... are you mages, by any chance?
"!"
Startled by the voice from outside, Lee Han quickly climbed the watchtower.
And immediately cast a spell.
Zzzzzt!