The Grim Woods, where the grim reaper is claimed to be waiting to count the unfortunates' deaths. Laughing at people who betray themselves to save others. Humans display selfish avarice, even when given ample chances to repent. The Grim Woods holds everything in its stomach, not letting anything out.

The early morning sun shone through the leaves, providing a warm shade beneath. As it pierced through the tent's ceiling, the heavy light faded away. As I came out of my tent,

"""Good morning, Captain!""" Everyone who had been working had come to greet me. I nodded and walked up to Stan, who was cutting dry wood, and Hale, who was putting the chopped wood into piles. We had to do this because no one in our group possessed a wood element. A Level 1 would suffice, but they are so feeble that most of them will not even attempt to go on an adventure. They primarily assist with construction tasks alongside metal-attribute mages. I have also seen some take artistry classes as their major job.

The Wood trait is unsuitable for offence and weak in defence. However, once a mage reaches pre-level 3, it has tremendous potential.

"Are they all prepared to move?" As I approached Stan, I inquired.

"Good morning, Captain! ....And yes, sir, we will be ready to go within an hour or two, " he said, saluting. 

"Make it quick; they can relax once we're out of here. We can't stay in Grim Woods any longer. " I said, "Even if these are the Grim Woods, nothing horrible would happen with our group's strength ... and even if something dangerous approaches, we always have you, captain," Stan mused, puffing up his chest while rubbing his nose.

I motioned with my hand for him to return to his job. Amid this, Hale meticulously collected the wood chunks and put them into a pile.

Hale is a level 1 magic swordsman with an ice attribute. He lacks the mana required to proceed to the next level. I believe he would barely achieve mid-Level-2 in his lifetime. That is why he is learning swordsmanship to complement his ability. And Stan is a pre-Level-2 wind mage, or so he told me when he first joined the group.

Leaving that aside, seeing these carefree losers take this journey so lightly makes me even more anxious. They won't even know when or how they died here. I want to warn them, but doing so will just lower the group's morale. They are already tired, and heightening their senses to better observe their surroundings will only make this long journey even more difficult. As a captain, I should let one man suffer instead of the entire group... and that man should be... me.

I walked over to the nearby stream of water. I cleaned myself off with a towel and changed into my clothes after taking a dip. I saw the faces of my group again before returning to my tent.

"Here you go, Captain." Cullen delivered the meal to the tent and then left, saying nothing.

It was a mushroom batter filled with dried medicinal plants that were then boiled with broth. I hate it, but I have to continue with this farce for another day or two.

We walked through this lush green till mid-afternoon, after everyone prepared for another long hike through the forest. The forest became denser as we went farther into it, limiting sunlight from reaching the ground. It was afternoon, but it appeared to be evening, and we needed to walk deeper to cross it. There is a river called Wade Beck that flows alongside the forest and goes all the way to Vanora, reaching south, but we can't use that path since it would draw too much attention because of the many tribal settlements near the stream.

So we have no choice but to trek through this forest. But the more I think about it, the more it irritates me that we haven't found a single beast since yesterday. This is the path Stan recommended because it has fewer monsters along the way. But... not a single monster? There isn't even a bird's melody? That is far too coincidental. When I asked Stan about it, he said he was as startled as I was. Is it because the hibernating period is about to begin? This was something I considered. Whatever the case may be, it works in our favour that we are having a smooth journey.

We continued walking, taking slight breaks in between, till evening fell and we set up camp for the night. Like he did yesterday, with the stack of wood, Hale built a massive bonfire in the middle of the tents.

I considered going inside, but sat near the fire. Some were singing, others were dancing, while Cullen sliced the meat to the beat of the music. Others were speaking, warriors were practising, some displayed their magic as a performance, and some sat in the audience. Without a care in the world, everyone relished their small moments to the fullest.

Thinking about tomorrow, I closed my eyes. "Things are about to get busy... and fascinating." I went to sleep on the damp soil, a crescent growing on my face.