Away from the capital city, Inner sanctuary, to the south, there was a big town called Reed Peak with a smaller slayer guild that worked as an extended network of the main guild. Surrounding the town is the mountain ranges called Ohen nag ranges and past it lies the Stonewood, the ancient forest that nearly stretched up to the Greenel plains, a massive grassland that covered most of the southern land of Pheonix kingdom territory, the stonewood is a big habitat for varaes from lower division to upper division and rarely classified division, its nearly endless and act as a wall that separates the last of proper human settlements of Pheonix kingdom to wilderness. If travel further south, past the Greenel plains, was the deserted place, the dry lands of B-12, the dumping yard and further south is the Black forest which continues for near eternity, no one has dared explore the ends of Blackforest, some says at the end of the black forest lies an eternity of void, scholars claimed there is sea. No one really knows for sure but people know it's a dangerous place, an uncharted territory, who knows what sort of varaes lived there? One rarely gets a quest that is related to southern forest since there are no human settlements that are located in the Black forest, maybe there is but no one knows. B-12 is isolated from the influence of slayers guild, since the place is not recognised as a proper settlement. Slayers guild won't needlessly stretch their service to such a remote area who can't even pay them. Stonewood and Greenel plains is where most of the quests are centered around, villages and settlements that were inside the forest frequently posted quests at the guild, mostly extermination of varaes.
Drao, a senior slayer, Cyril, a junior slayer along with Mayher Larstein, a master slayer from Dragon horn academy were venturing deep into the heart of stonewood forest investigating a rumour of Demon mouth cave. It was a big cave with massive internal structures and space, one could easily get lost inside if one doesn't mark their way however, it was also famous for its history, an ancient king built a tomb inside the cave and over time, it decayed and collapsed then it became a nest for varaes, the cave was so big that it was divided into three layers, the upper layer is where the ancient king made its dungeon and below lies the Decay strata and Abyss strata, no one has dared ventured into Abyss strata because slayers believed the existence of classified varaes or maybe ancient varaes that lived in darkness and hence normally it wouldn't come out so it was fine, however the upper two stratas the decay strata and dungeon strata were always infested by lower division varaes and upper division varaes, being an ancient cave which was infused with magical energy, it attracted varaes and over time it became a habitat on its own with its own ecology however, varaes that lived inside the cave were different, normally the forest varaes like Heberud, savrocs, drasentra and others didn't lived inside the cave. Inside the caves were the night varaes who lived in darkness like Witch spider, Astrapede, Nightcrawlers and Sezelerd etc. Most of the Demon mouth quests were from miners who mined magic cluster ores for blacksmith organisations.
However, Drao, Cyril and Mayher was especially tasked by the slayer guild to investigate a rumour about a, believed to be classified varae, that has seemed to escaped into Decay strata and there were reports of junior slayers getting attacked by the thing. It took different names like ' The beast of Demon mouth cave ' and like ' Nightcrawler lord ', the Nightcrawler lord was an ancient legend about a humanoid varae that could speak human language and possesed strength that could rival several grandmaster slayers. It was just a legend believed to have originated thousands of years ago. No such varae ever existed as per any record of slayers history but the legend existed for some reason.
" Nightcrawler lord? huh! Those pub drunkards love to romanticize things! " Drao commented.
" It's just an ancient legend to glorify slayers lore. " replied Cyril.
" It is an interesting legend though, " said Master Mayher.
They were somewhere deep in the Stonewood forest heading for the Demon mouth cave. The team was formed on the spot to guild's emergency request as there were no other Master slayers available at the moment. Everyone knew Master Mayher, he was mostly an instructor rather than an adventurer, he was already in his forties and with his hometown being Reed Peak, he retired as an instructor at the slayer guild but he was still bound by duties in case of emergencies. Master Mayher was known for his consistent achievements, he completed quests and exterminated varaes efficiently although he was not an extraordinary slayer, he was just above average in every aspect. His ordinariness was the only thing that stood out for him, he was born with Ren affinity and climbed up the rank of Master at the age of thirty and has been accomplishing slayers task efficiently ever since, he was neither too talented nor too bad, he was just above average and he hovered at that area without diminishing over time. He was known for his consistency and sincerity to the guild, he was almost like a perfect soldier that anyone could afford. Other slayers who earned the name like Flame Spear, White Claw, Serpentine Queen, Dual Fangs were extraordinary slayers who achieved higher glory than their skills, they were highly talented individuals but the name Master Mayher was known through out the guild not for any of these fancy achievements but because of his extremely ordinary presence, not everyone was like Master Mayher, he was gentle, calm, calculative and precise. Everything he does, he does gently and at pace, most of his plans were very simple thus it worked out most of the time. He knew his limits and would not seek personal glory, he emphasised results over personal greed, maybe that's why he was liked by everyone at the guild and in the world of slayers.
" It is said that the Nightcrawler lord is the peak of the Nightcrawler evolution tree. The worst we ever had is Nightdevourer, there has been none stronger than Nightdevourer and it is just a weak upper division varae, at worst it could be an old Nightdevourer who has acquired strange abilities, maybe an anomaly division? " said Drao.
" Nightcrawler lord is just an exaggerated story, we all know is Nightcrawlers don't evolve more than three stages, Nightrotter being the highest one, which is a rare classified division varae, if the rumor is true about being a classified varae escaping into decay strata, then it might make sense but that's very unlikely, no nightcrawlers would dare venture into abyss strata, they would just get swallowed by what knows live there, " Cyril voice resonated a contempt for the local rumors and their lack of rationality towards things and situations, he was more of support slayer than a fighter, he was an intellectual who confided most of his time in learning spells and hoarding knowledge relevant to his career.
Master Mayher listened to their exchange of words with gentle affection, although it contained an inclined egoistic view towards the source of the rumor, he knew they were just young slayers and nobles were inherently ignorant to some degree by their means of bringing up, they judge the world with their conceived knowledge and adheres to the self preserved and devoted ignorance towards the common people perspective, which was of course typical, but he knew these flaws of their will gradually shed off once they have started to transmute themselves with slayer's life properly. Variables exist and things happens that doesn't comply to universal patterns, Master Mayher was forced to learnt of this lesson at an early stage of his career, he was forced to abandon his pride and limited perspectives when he faced the world of varaes, such was the nature of this world and to survive he needed to shrug off what was unnecessary and to him, those values were his sacrifice. It could have been different for another individual but for Mayher, he became humbler, he lost pride and ego and attained humility, did it make him an extraordinary slayer? No, did it give him infinite courage that will elevate his glory? No, but it gave him clarity and direction which was more important he could ever know or needed, as a young slayer he desired glories and fame but all of them were not needed for his growth, at least for him. Master Mayher, the name which was known throughout the world of slayers may not have been known if he remained the same person as he was at his early twenties.
" Master Mayher, what do you think?, " asked Drao as he was expecting Master Mayher's opinion on the subject. He was curious to know whether a master slayer such as him who has skimmed into slayer's life smoothly, conforms to the absurd idea of the locals or has an idea of his own.
" The informations we have right now is too vague for me to arrive at any speculation, Well I hope it's not a nightcrawler lord after all that would mean we'll definitely die, haha " Master Mayer replied without any assertion of his opinion to them, he simply reminded of the facts and his humor and humility almost embarrassed them.
" Well, that's a good input. Right, after all we can only be sure after we find out but still I hate this cave, " Drao responded and frowned at the end of his sentence.
" Those insects make me uneasy ! abominations! " Drao frowned again in disgust.
" Just hope we don't run into any classified division varae, " said Master Mayher.
" By the way Master Mayher, how many classified varaes have you fought?, " asked Cyril curiously.
" I have encountered several of them but never fought one properly, after all it takes a grandmaster slayer to slay one. I have fought along with grandmaster Progwen one time, some time around when I was thirty two, The guild sent us to hunt down a Vrelethera, the thunder wolf. It was one hell of a battle. I will never forget that day, " Master Mayher answered.
" The battle of Mount Urane?! I heard stories about it!, " exclaimed Drao.
" Yes, it was one of the historical battles. Thunder Wolf is an apex predator and it is one of the strongest that exist. " replied Mayher recalling his past glories.
" Does it still exist?, " said Cyril.
" They still exist but not here and they are exceptionally rare, some believe that most of the classified varaes have migrated south long ago when the human kingdoms sprouted at north and spreaded out. " said Master Mayher.
" Is that why most of the southern forest remains unmapped?" asked Drao.
" Yes, that is also one of the reasons and being an unknown zone with no human settlements, it remains a no man's land. It's still a mystery but it's true that most of the strong varaes have migrated south and nested in the black forest, " said Master Mayher.
" Wasn't grandmaster Progwen one of the Anointed Paladins of Temple of Dryphelia? I heard he had already retired from wordly obligations, so who took his place? " asked Cyril.
" Grandmaster Progwen is old so does most of the Anointed Paladins, out of the seven, almost everyone of them is nearly the same age as grandmaster Progwen except the last two members, who were quite young and they were one of the venerated slayers of Sunshore Kingdom, so I guess almost all of them must be retiring now. " explained Master Mayher.
" Seems like a new generation of Anointed Paladins are coming " commented Drao.
" We really don't know who will be the next Paladins, but if talking about fame and strength, I heard there's a new young grandmaster in Dragon Horn academy, I'm not sure of her name. She goes by a name like ' Blood queen'- No, it's something Blood emp- " Mayher was interrupted by Cyril.
" Oh you mean Blood Empress!, " Cyril burst in excitement.
" Yes, Blood Empress. I heard she has already fought and slayed a few classified varaes when she was just a Master level. " said Master Mayher. " That's almost like the legend of Rudoren Feldor "
" The legendary Slayer who fought the Monarch Dragon by himself?, " asked Cyril.
" Yes, I feel like a new era of slayers is coming with the appearance of talent like Blood Empress, " said Master Mayher as he felt the breeze of his skin.
" She is impressive, I won't lie but that's probably because she is one of the pillars and she inherited their sacred bloodline magic spell, Authority of Blood, " argued Drao. He was one of the noble households of Pheonix kingdom and he knew about them, nobles love gossips as much locals.
" She is a Lezzlod? I had no idea, then she must be the eldest daughter of Sinnere Lezzlod, I once met him during an official visit to his majesty summons, " said Master Mayher.
" She is now an official grandmaster teacher in Dragon Horn academy, " said Drao.
" Speaking about Paladins, I suspect there will be candidates from the Order of Echona, " said Cyril.
" Oh , yes yes ! the knight order which is bound to the Temple of Dryphellia. Commander Jurius Nord could potentially be one of the candidates, he is a powerful knight that could even rival a veteran Master slayer. " said Master Mayher.
" It's amazing that the order still exists even today, I heard that the temple has sanctioned the use of magic in the order as ' an adjustment to the rising threat ', is what the local worshippers blabbered about, hahah - " laughed Drao.
" It was only twenty years ago that the order had incorporated magic as a part of their arsenal, until then the temple has always restricted the use of magic as they felt it would corrupt the knight order, " replied Master Mayher.
" Isn't it because they fear the order will become out of their control?, " said Drao.
" Likely but everyone knows it's because of the Archbishop Phelianes, he is a devoted worshiper of Dryphellia, to him magic was more of sacred object that should only be allowed to blessed individuals and not us lot who use magics for slaying beast, " said Master Mayher.
" Yes we do use magic to slay monsters that's only because the divine Kalaz has allowed us to do so in order to protect humanity, so why does he hold contempt towards us so much?, " protested Drao.
" Maybe it's because goddess Dryphellia was more of a nature deity that teaches us to embrace all lives, which also include varaes, "
" Oh we do, we do I'm sure. We just use magic in order to defend ourselves, " commented Drao.
" Don't the temple accept Kalaz as one of the divine gods? "
" I'm not sure, Kalaz is a god mostly sacramental to the residents of Pheonix kingdom but he did imbue magic to everyone in this world but as also the first demigod king of Pheonix kingdom we have an inseparable cultural bond to Kalaz, I'm sure some other countries might even not know the history of Kalaz, not because it was not famous but because god Kalaz forbid the formation of his religion, so unlike other divines which have temples and shrines spreaded out in this world, Kalaz has none apart from a sacred monument in Inner Sanctuary. '' Mayher explained.
" That's why I love Kalaz, he gives us freedom and his only teaching is to protect humanity and love humanity, " said Cyril.
" Oh we are here, the infamous Demon mouth cave!, " interrupted Drao.
They stood at the cave entrance relinquishing one last breath of the outside before they resolve to get swallowed by the alluring darkness of the cave.
" Let's go, Slayers, " said Master Mayher.
" Yes sir!, " replied Cyril Sharply.
" Activate Moonglow, " casted Drao and a bright light like a moon radiant appeared out of his hand and followed them in the darkness of the cave lighting up their path.