Akito rested his hands behind his head, watching them glance around his sorry excuse for a camp. A breeze rustled through the trees. For once, it wasn't carrying danger—just judgment.
"So," he started casually, "does this mean I'm officially off the 'suspicious forest criminal' list? Or do I need to give a blood sample?"
Caldus, the robed mage, folded his arms. "Hard to believe. But you're not lying."
Akito blinked. "You can tell?"
"There is a spell," Caldus said, tilting his head. "Detects falsehoods by picking up incoherence between speech and behaviour. Also could temper with a person's memories. Very precise. Its use is restricted because it can be invasive… but in a case like this, I had permission to keep it active."
Akito's eyebrow arched. "Cool. Creepy. Efficient. Just how I like my terrifying magic."
Ruva, now crouched by the firepit, glanced back at him. "We weren't out here hunting you, if that helps. Our target is a wild boar—mutated. Large, aggressive, unusually mana-dense. Rank B quest."
"Big transparent tusks, dark colored hide, bad attitude, no brakes?" Akito asked.
Varek—broad-shouldered in his iron armor—turned his head slowly toward him. "Wait. You ran into it? And lived?"
Caldus straightened slightly, his expression sharpening. "You didn't mention it was that boar."
Akito paused, eyes flicking between them. "Uh. Yeah. It screamed at me, wrecked half a hill, and tried to flatten me with its forehead."
Just then, a fifth voice joined in, casual but firm.
"Well, he did run like his soul was about to be repossessed."
The scout which was pretty quiet before, joins in the chat, arms crossed. Tall and wiry, with windswept black hair and a slight smirk tugging at his mouth, he moved with a predator's grace— lean, always watching. His travel-worn cloak still hung loosely from his shoulders, hood now down.
Akito raised an eyebrow. "You're the guy that chased me, right?"
"Mm." The scout nodded. "You're faster than you look. Stupid enough to run, smart enough to zigzag. Name's Kael, by the way. I do the recon and tracking."
"Kael," Akito repeated. "Good to meet you, now that you're not holding a dagger in my face."
Kael's smirk widened just a touch. "Hey, I said surrender. You picked the scenic route."
Akito gave a dramatic sigh. "Yeah, well, next time try saying it before the knife comes out."
Ruva gave Kael a quick side glance. "You were about to pin him when we arrived."
"He was twitchy," Kael said with a shrug. "Didn't look like a spy, but I've seen weirdos fake worse."
Akito raised both hands. "I am a weirdo, thank you very much. Faking it would've taken effort."
That earned a short laugh from Caldus. "I'm still not sure what to label you as."
"Alive," Akito replied. "Somehow."
Ruva stood, brows knitting in disbelief. "Well, back to the boar topic. It is a miracle for you to survive. That thing's already killed a party of three adventurers from the last team that tried to subjugate it. It generates bursts of mana through its tusks—like explosive charges. And its hide is thick enough to dull steel. It charges with extreme precision and could chase target until they stopped because of the prey's low stamina."
"And it didn't kill you?" Varek asked, tone bordering on impressed. "That's not luck. That's absurd."
Akito blinked. "So… like a magical tank with anger issues. Wait, it could change direction when charging? then why it so fixated on my direction before?"
A chill ran down Akito's back. He swallowed, replaying the encounter in his mind—how it had snorted, charged, but never once took him seriously. Not truly.
"…No," he muttered. "It didn't even treat me like a threat. Just a bug in its way."
Realization clicked into place like a gear snapping into motion. That's why I survived. It didn't see me as prey. Just background noise.
Caldus gave a low whistle. "If it underestimated you that much, it's no wonder you got away. But still… surviving an encounter with that beast unarmed, untrained, and alone? That's not normal."
Akito scratched the back of his head. "Honestly? I'd love to pretend it was skill. But I think it just didn't bother finishing the job."
Ruva's expression softened slightly—something between approval and concern. "Still, most people would've died anyway. You didn't."
"Well, I'm very stubborn," Akito muttered. "And maybe mildly allergic to death."
They scanned his little camp again, this time with less suspicion and more curiosity. Caldus crouched beside a small, half-concealed piece of gear near the roots—Akito's makeshift water purifier. A hollowed-out rock, carved and shaped to hold layers of charcoal, sand, and cloth, with a few metal bits scavenged from his old bag.
"What's this?" the mage asked.
"Water purifier," Akito replied. "Gravity-fed, low-tech. Not fancy, but it filters out dirt, bacteria, and probably a few curses."
Varek lifted one of the nearby fruits and sniffed it. "You foraged all this?"
"Yup. Trial and error. Mostly error. I took two bites of something red and foamy and saw colors that don't exist."
Ruva laughed under her breath. "I'm starting to think you're not just a survivor. You're stubborn."
"I like to think of it as 'reluctant genius with poor life decisions,'" Akito said with a grin. "Still, I wouldn't mind some backup next time the local wildlife decides I'm on the menu."
Caldus stood up, adjusting his cloak. "If you're not a spy or a threat or a criminal, then maybe you're something else entirely. An anomaly worth keeping an eye on."
Akito gave a lazy salute. "Happy to be your local forest enigma."
Varek turned toward the trees. "We still need to track the boar. If it survived, it won't be far."
"We'll move soon," Caldus agreed, then glanced back at Akito. "You staying here?"
Akito looked around at his tarp, his sad fruit stash, and the suspicious hole that may or may not have been a snake nest.
"…Can I vote no?" He put up a huge grin on his face.
Ruva gave him a side glance. "We'll talk. If you want to tag along, we'll have to vouch for you at the guild."
Akito glanced at his pitiful lean-to, then back at the group. "So… if I tag along, do I get hazard pay? Or at least dinner?"
Kael chuckled. "We'll see. Stick close, and maybe you'll live long enough to find out."
Akito smiled, falling into step behind them.
"A liability," Varek muttered.
Akito grinned. "Hey. I might surprise you."
They turned to head out, and Akito took one last glance at his lean-to.
Goodbye, tragic little shelter. You were terrible and mildly flammable, but you kept me alive. Mostly.
And with that, he followed them into the forest, boots crunching over fallen leaves, the twin moons high above casting silver light across the trees.