Jet landed behind them and folded his hands with a proud expression. "Hm, aren't you two glad now that I help you express your honest feelings?"
His satisfied expression suddenly turned serious. He jumped away just as a sword and a mace came cleaving where he stood. The attack didn't stop, both Jack and Grace chased after him, sword and mace swinging.
"Hey! Hey! Have you two gone mad? Why are you attacking me?" Jet exclaimed while continuing to back away.
"Why? How about you just go and die!" Jack uttered and kept on slashing.
The three went on for a while. Jet continued to jump back and dodge. Although Jack and Grace were attacking seriously, they never used any skills. After a few minutes, they slowed down before stopping altogether.
"You two cool your shit already?" Jet uttered, which drew the ire of the two. The cat and mouse game resumed again for another few minutes.
After the three stopped, Jet didn't dare to say a word anymore. He just looked at the two while panting. It was not easy to dodge Jack's attack non-stop. Additionally, Grace had come numerous times at the worst timing. He was fully serious when he dodged the two's attacks.
Jack and Grace didn't say anything as well. They turned back and climbed onto their steeds. The three resumed their journey. The difference was that it was dead silent now.
Jet was itching to say something to break the ice, but he was afraid he would just blow another fuse. It was Peniel who finally said something after the long awkward silence. "I didn't disagree with what that pervert old man do, you know. You two are just asking for it," she said.
Jack rolled his eyes at her. He then glanced at Grace, the girl continued to be silent.
*
That night, Grace used her Repellent Group Tent again. The tent magically adjusted its size to not become bigger than the space around it. Because of that, it couldn't accommodate the usual ten people. At its current size, it could only allow four to sleep inside. She had searched for a large clearing within the woods but found none that was large enough for her tent's full size.
Even though it was enough for the three of them, Jet was barred from entering.
"So, where do I sleep?" Jet asked.
"In a gutter somewhere, for all I care," Grace replied crudely.
Jet walked away grumbling. "This is what you get for trying to do good," he grumbled and kicked a stone away. He then took out his own tent, a rare-grade tent. He whirled back and was about to shout, 'If you two just want me to stay out so you two can do something improper inside, all you need to do is just ask!' But he stopped himself once his mouth opened. He was certain that if he did, the two would come rushing out and it would then become a heavy exercise before bed. He was not looking forward to it. So, he just resumed his grumbling and went into his tent.
Inside the tent. The two were lying on the bed. Yet, their eyes were wide open. Peniel sighed. How long would this last? All the worry she had about the Lost Forest was somehow being offset by the worry of a long journey with this awkward silence. She decided to just recede into her hidden dimension and forget everything.
Jack and Grace continued to lay awake for quite some while. Jack took a glance at Grace to make sure that she was still awake. She was.
He thought for a bit before saying out loud, "I am Lone Wind."
"I know," Grace replied.
"Hm… I somehow suspect you do," Jack said.
"So, what now?" Grace asked.
"… I think we should take things easy," Jack said.
"Sure, good night," Grace said.
Jack looked at her. She was now lying sideways with her back to him.
Jack sighed. He was never good about this relationship thing. Mostly because he was not sure about his own feeling. He did care for Grace, but he was not sure if the care he had for her was simply the same as the care he had for his other friends.
After thinking a bit more, he decided to just let the matter proceed naturally. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
*
The next morning, Grace greeted Jack cheerfully as any other morning. Jack did the same. They then talked as usual. Seeing as if things had gone back to normal, Jet came and joined the conversation, only to be chased away by the two.
'Damn it, they are still holding a grudge,' Jet thought dejectedly.
They continued their journey for several more days. Peniel took them through a route that had no monster too strong for them. So, they killed the monsters they met when passing through, for exp and also to alleviate boredom.
"Is it still far?" Jack asked.
"Should be around three more days with this speed," Peniel answered.
'With this speed,' Jack thought. If he went by himself with Pandora, he would have arrived earlier. But Grace was right, he was in a team now, he should adjust himself to accommodate the slowest member.
Two more days passed. They should arrive at the Lost Forest tomorrow if Peniel's estimation was correct. On that day, Jack caught something interesting on his radar. A white dot.
A native? So deep in the middle of the woods in this no-man's-land region? Very little chance that it was a native adventurer, they usually traveled in a group. This dot was alone.
"Something's the matter?" Grace asked after noticing Jack's expression.
"There is a native over there," Jack told her.
"A native? What is a native doing so far out here?" She asked.
After thinking for a while, Jack said, "Can it be one of the villagers from the Village of Peace?" Guila did mention only the ones from the village could travel through the Lost Forest safely, which meant there were times when the villagers came out. This lone white dot could be one such case.
"It might be so," Grace said.
"Then we should catch this person and force him or her to tell us the secret of entering the village," Jet said.
Jack and Grace gave him annoyed glances.
'Ugh, these two still harbor a grudge,' Jet thought.
Jack said, "If this person is from the village. We should approach and ask nicely. Perhaps we would even be invited into the village if we can show that we are a friendly group."
He came down from Pandora and unsummoned her. The Nightmare's aura might cause a stranger to feel uncomfortable.
"I will approach this native. It's probably better if I go meet this person by myself first. The sight of many people approaching might spook the person, otherwise."
Grace nodded. "Be careful," she said.
Jack then ran in direction of the dot shown on the radar. He slowed down after getting close. Any person would also be spooked if seeing a stranger running at full speed toward them. Jack decided to approach the native covertly. He wanted to take a look first. Fortunately, there were a lot of trees and bushes for covers.
He came behind a tree where he should be able to see the native. He peeked from behind the tree and frowned because no one was there. Was the person above? Jack looked up. Nothing above. There was also no tree for someone to climb up.
Below the ground? Jack wondered. But then he noticed tiny dust swirled on the ground. At the same time, the white dot on his radar was moving.
'Invisible?' Jack thought.
The white dot moved around a bit. Jack hid back in the tree. Without seeing the person, Jack was not sure if the person was looking in his direction or not. He used his radar to track the person's movement. When it was slightly close to where Jack was, Jack's mana sense felt some kind of energy radiating out. This energy passed him by. Once it does, the white dot suddenly bolted in the opposite direction.
"He knows I'm here!" Jack uttered. He immediately came out of hiding and chased after this invisible native.
"What was that strange energy that he used to find me?" Jack asked Peniel while running. "Do you sense it as well?"
"Yes," Peniel answered. "Most probably it is the Detect skill. It's a non-standard elite skill that can be learned by Ranger's branch. It will let the user knows all the hidden objects, monsters, or persons within a twenty-meter radius. Max level can cover a fifty-meter radius."
"He is fast!" Jack said. He had been running at top speed. The distance between him and the native was decreasing at a very slow pace.
Jack activated Life Burning Art, increasing his attribute. He then used a Haste scroll. His increased speed managed to shorten the distance abruptly. But suddenly the white dot also picked up in speed.
"Don't think you can escape!" Jack uttered and used Shooting Dash. The distance was short enough to be covered by his three connecting dashes.
Jack didn't take out any weapon. He didn't want to antagonize this native. He just wanted to stop this person and asked about the entrance to the Village of Peace.
His third dashes allowed him to reach the invisible native. The native turned visible just before Jack caught on. Their bodies bumped into each other. Their collision caused the two to fall and roll on the ground.
When they rose, Jack had a clear look at the person and uttered, "Oswald?!"
