CHAPTER 15: THE SNOOPERS

The road wound through low hills, covered in grasses that ranged from pale green to dry gold. The sky was clear, an almost cruel blue, with no clouds to offer respite from the sun — but the cold wind of the driest season blew constantly, raising whirlwinds of ochre dust that marked the horizon.

Eren walked ahead, his worn coat flapping in the gusts of wind. The machete at his belt knocked against his leg with each step, setting a metronomic rhythm that blended with the sound of boots sinking into the hard earth.

Behind him, Nyssa dragged her heavy cloak, trying not to make too much noise. Kaela followed with a smile of a bored predator, her gaze burning with that uniquely golden light.

He paused for a moment, letting the wind toss his hair back, and thought to himself:

Next town...

The system flashed a notification.

[Next Destination: Barovik]

[Major regional trade center.]

[Population: ~12,000.]

Barovik. Good market to sell loot. Fewer patrols, lower tax. More chaos.

Satisfied, he took a deep breath and opened the status visor:

[Affinity Status]

[Kaela: 98%]

[Nyssa: 35%]

The difference was stark.

Kaela practically walked glued to his scent, her feline-wolf tail lazily whipping, her gaze possessive. Nyssa, on the other hand, trembled with fear whenever Kaela came close, even though the wolf looked at her with something she called "playfulness."

Eren sighed.

Not a good dynamic. In combat, it breaks synergy. I need to balance it.

Kaela approached Nyssa, shortening her steps until she was almost shoulder to shoulder — if you could call Nyssa’s upper part a shoulder.

"Hey, softy."

Nyssa shivered.

"I-I’m not... soft."

Kaela growled low, almost a laugh, and lightly bit the cloak’s fabric, tugging like a pup would with its mother.

Nyssa squealed a loud plop.

"Stop!"

Kaela released it, licking her teeth.

"You make funny noise. Kaela likes!"

Nyssa buried her "face" in the cloak, trying to disappear.

Eren looked back, frowning.

"You two. Enough."

Kaela raised her lupine eyebrows.

"Just marking territory."

Nyssa whimpered quietly.

"I-I don’t want to be territory..."

Kaela made a scoffing sound but obeyed and stepped back, hands crossed behind her head.

The wind blew colder there.

They had entered a different biome — no longer fields and open hills, but a salt marsh.

The vegetation changed quickly. Thick reeds appeared on the sides of the path, and small flooded pools popped up, exhaling a smell of sludge and salt. Twisted trunks emerged from the mud like giant bones, covered with white lichens and sticky algae. The sound changed too: no more open wind, but the distant croaking of giant frogs, the wet rustling of winged insects.

Eren paused for a moment to analyze.

Biome: Saltmarsh. Known spawns: Devouring Frogs, Golem Leeches, Armored Crabs. Good source of chitin.

Kaela sniffed loudly.

"Rotten smell."

Nyssa trembled.

"S-so wet..."

Kaela smiled.

"Softy must love it."

Nyssa made a protesting plop, trying to wrap herself more in the cloak.

Eren narrowed his eyes.

This will be a problem. Kaela provokes too much. Nyssa panics. They can’t operate like this in a group.

He slowly turned his head, scanning the terrain.

And the system flashed.

[Alert: Hostiles Detected]

Kaela lifted her chin, eyes narrowing.

"Animal smell."

Nyssa shrank more.

"I-I hate this place..."

Eren saw it first: circular movements in the muddy water. Concentric waves growing in speed. From the mud, faceted eyes emerged, reflecting the faint light.

Monstrous frogs, larger than pigs, with grayish skin covered in crystallized salt. Their forked tongues darted and retracted, testing the air.

Saltmarsh Toads. Estimated level: 6–8. Attack: whip tongue, moderate poison.

Kaela licked her lips.

"I want to play."

Nyssa trembled.

"P-please... no..."

Kaela turned to her.

"Going to stay there? Going to become bait?"

Nyssa began to dissolve with fear, her outlines trembling.

Eren raised his hand, silencing them both.

"Enough."

They froze.

He drew the machete.

"You will fight. Together."

Kaela grinned, full of teeth.

"Yes, meat chunk."

Nyssa sobbed.

"I-I don’t know how to fight..."

Eren looked her in the eyes — or what passed for eyes in the translucent mass.

"You’ll learn now."

The croaking turned into a scream.

The frogs charged in heavy leaps, the water exploding in dirty waves. Forked tongues lashed out like whips.

Kaela crouched in a fluid movement, muscles ready to explode.

Nyssa squealed a high plop, her cloak trembling.

Eren stepped forward, machete ready, eyes of steel.

It’s now. Let’s see if this team works.

The scene froze for a moment — the smell of salt, sludge, imminent blood in the air.

And then, everything turned to motion.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

The salt marsh stretched like a greenish, muddy stain, marked by brackish pools and dead trees covered in lichen.

Not far from where Eren commanded Kaela and Nyssa with a dry voice, a group of five adventurers moved carefully, sinking up to their ankles in the mud.

Their clothes didn’t match. One wore a thick, cracked leather breastplate, another had only a torn shirt and a headband. They all carried worn weapons — curved knives, improvised spears, a bow with a patched string.

But what stood out most were the monsters beside them.

A Skyrazor — a large hawk with bluish feathers, a curved beak, pecking nervously at the air.

A Mud Howler — a skinny, brown dog with cropped ears and pointed teeth that drooled a bit.

A Marsh Leaper — a slender, gray monkey with webbed hands and a prehensile tail, hopping from trunk to trunk.

A Saltscale — a fat lizard with white scales and milky eyes, spitting salty goo.

And a Snare Vine — a walking plant with thin vines that wrapped around everything, creaking like wet velcro.

They weren’t spectacular monsters. But they were theirs.

"Hurry up with that, Lorre!" growled one of the guys, a big fellow with a face full of pimples. "We’re here to catch Croakjaw. Did you forget?"

Lorre, the thinnest one, grumbled.

"I’m trying not to sink in the muck, Ergan. It’s slippery!"

The guy with the bow grumbled.

"Don’t fight, you two. The guild won’t pay if we return empty-handed."

Another, bald and wearing a necklace of teeth, laughed.

"The guild pays peanuts anyway. But it’s that or work for a merchant."

The last one, quieter, commanded the Snare Vine. He watched everything with narrowed eyes.

"Croakjaw is worth 50 coins if whole. 30 if missing a paw."

"What if it’s missing the head? — Lorre mocked."

"10."

Ergan sighed.

"Better whole."

The Mud Howler growled at the Marsh Leaper, which growled back.

"Hold your beast, Tavo! — the one with the bow complained."

Tavo pulled the makeshift rope.

"Howler just doesn’t like simians."

The monkey snorted and turned, tail swinging angrily.

Silence for a few seconds. The cold wind cut through the marsh.

Ergan sniffed.

"You know Marnost’s guild now requires a license to tame beasts?

"Heard about it." The bald man spat. "A 5% tax on everything you sell."

Lorre shook his head.

"Crazy. No one oversees here."

Ergan grumbled.

"For now."

The one with the bow cleared his throat.

"Barovik will follow soon. They’re saying the boss there is negotiating with the capital."

Bald man widened his eyes.

"Damn."

Uncomfortable silence.

The Skyrazor pecked at mosquitoes in the air.

The Saltscale slithered, spitting slime.

The Snare Vine pulled small insects into its hollow trunk.

The Mud Howler sniffed.

Suddenly, it growled.

Tavo crouched.

"What is it?"

The dog trembled, drooling.

"There’s someone there."

Ergan frowned.

"Hunter?"

Lorre wiped his nose on his sleeve.

"Listen."

The breeze carried voices.

A masculine sound — rough, authoritative.

"Kaela! Left flank. Nyssa, paralyze!"

Then a loud plop.

And a female laugh, deep, almost feline.

"Hah! You’re slow, Lazybones!"

"D-don’t call me... that!"

A growl.

Another plop — wetter.

The five of them moved closer, crouching behind some dead logs.

Ergan hung onto a fallen branch to spy.

"Ah, damn."

Lorre squeezed in beside him.

"What?"

"Look."

In the muddy clearing, Eren stood like a statue, machete in hand. His cold eyes moved as if calculating every angle.

Kaela was in a low stance, thigh muscles trembling with energy. Her disheveled hair swung, and her crooked smile revealed sharp fangs.

Nyssa was behind, trembling, her cloak dripping with mud, emitting an anguished plop.

She seemed ready to melt from embarrassment.

Ergan held back laughter.

"Damn... the guy has... has two different monsters."

The archer whistled.

"What is that?"

Bald man widened his eyes.

"A humanoid female slime. Didn’t know those existed."

Tavo bit his lip.

"Pretty, huh."

The Snare Vine guy finally spoke.

"They’re rare. The slime seems bonded."

Ergan sniffed.

"And that one? Looks like a... wolf... damn, look at that body."

Kaela leapt to the side, snapping at the air, growling.

Nyssa shrank back.

"N-no... don’t bite..."

Kaela laughed loudly.

"Lazybones!"

Ergan held back laughter.

"Those two have no synergy at all."

Lorre scratched his sparse beard.

"Really, the tamer doesn’t know how to tame both. They’re fighting."

Tavo licked his teeth.

"Forget about taming those things, I just want to eat them."

The bald man slapped his shoulder.

"Shut up."

The archer pointed.

"He’s giving formation orders."

They heard Eren speaking loudly:

"Kaela, to the left, control the rush. Nyssa, form a barrier!"

"I d-don’t know..."

Kaela growled.

"Hurry up, Lazybones!"

A loud plop.

Eren rubbed his face with his hand.

Ergan laughed.

"What a mess."

Lorre bit his lip.

"But look... I’d like a slime like that."

The archer nodded.

"And that wolf... would sell easily."

Bald man looked serious.

"So rare. Must be worth a fortune."

The Snare Vine guy gritted his teeth.

"Let’s talk to him."

Everyone looked.

Ergan licked his lips.

"Yeah. Let’s go."

"But carefully, huh. — said the archer. — We don’t want to mess up the negotiation.

They stood up, adjusting their improvised weapons.

Ergan smiled.

"Let’s meet the friend."

And they started walking towards Eren.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Silence returned to the muddy clearing as the last Salmarsh Toad fell dead, its forked tongue curling in a spasmodic contraction. The mud was splattered with greenish blood and salt crystals torn from the creatures’ skin.

Eren wiped the machete on a piece of dry reed. Not for hygiene — just out of habit.

Kaela was crouched over one of the bodies, claws buried in the swollen belly, pulling out the salted entrails to see if they were useful for anything.

"Bleh." She licked a bloody finger. "Bitter."

Nyssa was further away, huddled under her cape, sobbing with a low, almost tearful plop. Parts of her body trembled, and the slime seemed more liquid than solid.

Eren looked at her without expression.

No synergy at all.

Kaela acted purely on predator instinct. Nyssa, in panic, tried to hide and dissolve.

If it were real combat, one would already be dead.

He didn’t elaborate further. He had already noted it. He would correct it later.

Instead, he crouched and began to gather loot.

Salt scales, venom glands, tongue membranes — all valuable to some alchemist or craftsman.

While packing the loot, he stopped.

The wind changed.

The sense of smell — synchronized with Kaela — caught the scent before hearing any sound.

Wet leather. Sweaty humans. A hint of fear, mixed with curiosity.

Kaela straightened slowly, her lupine ears tilting.

"Strange smell. What is it, Chunk of Meat?"

Eren didn’t respond.

Already knew.

He stood up, attaching the loot bags to his belt.

Kaela cracked her fingers, eyes narrowed as if she were about to have fun. Nyssa shrank even more, trying to hide behind him.

Curious. Amateurs. Cheap weapons. Little training.

The system flashed:

[Analyzing...]

[Ergan (Human)]

[Level: 6]

[Class: Monster Tamer (E)]

[Monster: Mud Howler (level 5)]

[...]

[Lorre (Human)]

[Level: 5]

[Class: Monster Tamer (E)]

[Monster: Skyrazor (level 4)]

[...]

[Tavo (Human)]

[Level: 5]

[Class: Monster Tamer (E)]

[Monster: Marsh Leaper (level 4)]

[Bren (Human)]

[Level: 4]

[Class: Monster Tamer (E)]

[Monster: Saltscale (level 3)]

[...]

[Varlo (Human)]

[Level: 6]

[Class: Monster Tamer (E)]

[Monster: Snare Vine (level 5)]

Ordinary monsters.

Soon, the five emerged among the reeds. Improvised weapons on their shoulders, monsters tied with old ropes.

Ergan was the first to speak.

"Look at that... damn... Wow! What a thing, huh?!"

The others stood side by side, agape.

Lorre wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Is that a... she-wolf?"

Kaela crossed her arms, displaying her long muscles, her tail lazily swaying.

Nyssa tried to hide behind Eren.

Tavo gave a low whistle.

"And that one? It’s a female slime, right? I almost didn’t recognize her with that cloak. Actually, I only got the impression because I’m a good monster tamer, you know? We have an eye for these things even when they’re hidden, haha."

Bren bit his lip.

"Besides, they’re rare. Extremely rare".

Varlo squinted.

"You... are a Monster Tamer, right?

Eren didn’t move.

"Yes."

Ergan pointed.

"Are they yours?"

Kaela chuckled softly.

"He’s mine!"

Nyssa dissolved further, a distressed plop.

The five other guys laughed together, noticing that the big one had a more dominant style. She could even talk. That surely wasn’t normal for a monster.

Eren didn’t smile.

"They’re mine."

The group exchanged glances.

Lorre stepped forward half a step.

"Dude... they’re beautiful. Besides, they talk. I’ve never seen anything like it."

Ergan scratched his chin.

"How’d you get these? I’d pay a lot to know where the place was."

Eren blinked slowly.

"Found them."

Silence.

Tavo frowned.

"What do you mean... found them?"

Eren raised an eyebrow.

"Beginner’s luck."

Kaela snorted but wasn’t entirely convinced by Eren’s words.

"He really is lucky."

Nyssa tried to protest, but only a sad plop came out.

Bren leaned in, trying to get a better look.

"You... sell them?"

Eren looked at him like one looks at a stone in the path.

"No."

Varlo raised his hands conciliatorily.

"Wait a minute. We can negotiate. Coins, equipment... even another monster."

Eren took a deep breath.

Waste of time.

"They aren’t for sale."

The tone was so dry that even Kaela stayed quiet.

Ergan scratched his neck.

"Come on, buddy. I know we don’t seem to have money, but if we talk nicely with our guild, I believe we can make a good deal. You’re heading to the city, right? We can all go together and negotiate the terms, what do you think? What you earn in a year you’ll be able to earn in a day, for sure."

Eren took a firm half-step forward. The machete swayed slightly on his belt.

"I said... no."

Silence.

The cold wind carried their scent — nervous sweat, cheap leather, a touch of fear.

Varlo frowned.

"Better think carefully. No need to make the wrong decision. — His voice hardened. — We don’t want trouble. But if not willingly..."

Kaela growled.

Nyssa let out a hysterical plop and shrank further.

Ergan gripped the knife handle.

"We’ll do it unwillingly."

Absolute silence.

Eren didn’t move.

The shadow of his bangs covered half his face.

When he spoke, it was low, rough, without a tremor.

"I think you didn’t understand."

Kaela smiled, showing her teeth.

Nyssa trembled so much the cloak slipped off her.

The wind seemed to grow colder.

"The ones making the wrong decision here... are you."