A Story of Evil

Every member of Shard went back to their camp at the end of the day. Sol and Cain came back the earliest while Jade and Alice were the last to come back. Meanwhile it was only Hendrickson who wore a glum expression on his face at that moment. As if the most devastating and unfortunate misfortune has befallen him. At the side of this member was Nathan who was obviously consoling him.

Ten minutes before the whole of the woods turned dark, the whole team was already safely back. Everyone was tired from the long day of work and, all their stomachs were growling. That's why they were thankful because Cinder was finished preparing their meal and, even the gloomy Hendrickson's spirit was revived by the aroma brought by the meal. Automatically getting up for the first serving which everyone was more than willing to permit him.

Nobody could blame Hendrickson's eagerness. After all, Cinder's cooking has gotten all of their palettes and stomachs craving for more. That's why, even in the midst of a dangerous forest, everyone's mood was lightened up instantly because, a good meal can create such an effect.

One by one the members took the mushroom soup, with strips of crab meat added in it. The mix had a certain degree of creaminess in it. As well as a salty flavor that complemented both the mushroom and the crab meat.

It was only at this point, with everyone getting their portions, that Sol stood up to make his allies know that he was about to announce something. All of them momentarily halting in their meals which was the first thing Sol took notice of.

"You can continue eating while I speak." He said; an invitation which Hendrickson was more than willing to take.

"I'm sure that all of us has their respective reports to make. But let's also cut down on the things which you will say during our meeting later on."

"First, give the update on whether you found a crystallized monster or not. Second, the number of monster groups you faced. Third is anything peculiar which you may have noticed during the fight. Then last would be problems which you believe we may face. Now nod if you understand." Everyone did as Sol instructed. Making him continue to his next point.

"You can think of those things while you eat. That'll save time and allow us all to go to rest early. Is that understood?" Everyone nodded again and, with this, Sol finally sat down to finish his own meal.

With the recent events that unfolded, Sol knew better than to be laid back too much. With a possible first generation being an enemy, he wanted his team to be well rested in order to prepare them for the possible encounter. Thus, the minutes passed in chatter. With every member talking with their partner as they prepared the things that Sol talked about.

This made time seem quicker. Everyone was finished with their meals and, it was finally time for the updates.

The team picked from three sticks held by Sol to know who would go first. The longest stick would go last while the shortest would go first. And the result for this is that, Jade and Alice would go first. Hendrickson and Nathan are second. Then the last are Sol and Cain.

"We can start now right?"

"Yes. Please do." Sol said in reply as the two nodded before proceeding.

"First of all we didn't find any crystallized monster." As Alice said this, she saw Hendrickson's face completely light up. As if this was a revelation he needed.

"As for the monster groups. We only fought against a single nest of monsters." Jade continued, also seeing Hendrickson's face which continued brightening up as the updates went on.

"How about the peculiarities?" Sol asked.

The leader wanted to know if the enemies faced by his allies were also controlled. But since they didn't have [Analysis] it would be difficult for them to determine this. But it wasn't like Sol had no other way to determine this.

"Well the monsters were capable of camouflage if that's the kind of peculiarity you're asking for." Jade furthered.

"Wait so they could turn invisible?" Hendrickson added.

"Almost. Camouflage just reduces the presence but, doesn't make something completely transparent." Sol explained.

"Ohhh that must've made the fight dangerous."

"It did. Although they aren't invisible, camouflage still made it difficult for us to see them at first." Alice explained which, was the most believable testament the group could gain since her eyesight was second to none in the team.

"Aside from that, they also secreted corroding gas which made it that much more dangerous."

"But you found them in a nest right? They didn't attack you head on?"

This was the crucial point that Sol needed to know. Normal monsters stay on their nests instead of having all members of their group charge in. There is a good rationale to this. The monsters increase their suitability by staying on a terrain they are familiar with and, with all of the advantage being theirs. Plus, this ensures that the younger members of the monster packs are safe until they mature into proper hunting monsters. 

Those that do attack are simply the hunters and scouts of the pack. Those that are in charge of gathering food and securing that there is no immediate threat nearby. This is Sol's criteria in figuring out of the monsters faced by his allies are controlled or not. Because, in his case, all the monsters definitely charge in. They didn't stay in their nests, whether big or small, male or female, the monsters attacked all out.

"Yeah. I mean all monsters reside in nests right?" Alice said, relieving Sol who finally placed her and Jade out of the equation.

"Good. Now, is there any trouble you had along the way?"

"Well..."

Jade began explaining about the problem with his flames. Within a forest setting, there was a limit to how he could use the abilities he had. Nathan and Cinder were just the same. They needed certain conditions to be met before using their abilities, without being wary of these, then they might accidentally start a forest fire.

Sol wanted to resort to this. He didn't care what died in the flames but, he did care about the clues that would be lost in such an event. With flames burning everything, all the leads in their crystal hunting would be lust. Making all the efforts they exerted go down the drain.

But it wasn't like Sol didn't have a solution for this. He did. But this depends on the next update which would be given by Hendrickson and Nathan.

"First of all we fought against explosive and highly dangerous monsters! Wanna hear more about that?" Hendrickson began in an upbeat and excited tone.

"No. I want to hear if you found crystals or not." Sol said, knowing full well what Hendrickson was doing. He was trying to divert everyone's attention. But the group wasn't going to be fooled that easily. 

"Sadly we weren't able to get our hands on crystallized monsters." Nathan said, taking charge of explaining as he tapped his partner's shoulder.

Nathan proceeded to telling everything about their experience. How the monkeys were able to turn normal pebbles into explosives and, how the monkeys also exploded upon death. This made them dangerous creatures to go against, just like the chameleons.

But when it came to the part where Sol asked about the peculiarities, it was mentioned that the fight occurred on the nest of the monsters. Meaning, these creatures were also acting on their own free will.

Both Jade and Hendrickson's team felt defeated. They were unable to gain any hints after all.

"Sol, I'm sorry we couldn't find another nest. If we did, then we would've increased the chance of finding a crystallized monster."

"What do you mean? Both your answers gave me everything that I needed."

This confused everyone, even Cain. There were clearly no hints but, this was only as far as their comprehensions allowed.

To clear things up, Sol began explaining what happened to his part. How he and Cain encountered wave after wave of monsters. Sol then told them of the peculiarity of the monsters they faced. How each wave of creatures were actually controlled. And he also explained the distinction of the monsters he faced and the ones faced by the other pairs.

"Wait so that means..."

"Our highest bet is in following the trail leading to the leader of the monsters. We have a clear path before us now and, all we need to do is to follow it."

"As expected from my king!" Hendrickson shouted in amazement.

"Well he is Sol so this isn't surprising anymore." Alice furthered.

With this, the operation which appeared to be a failure at first completely turned. It was successful and, Sol continued to explaining the next phase of the plan to the group. All while adding how the fires would be prevented and, how they were even going to be able to utilize this to their advantage. With Sol ending his explanation by declaring:

"Whatever happens we'll continue clearing out this forest."