Hearing Lisa’s comment, Lohan went on high alert, fully activating all his tracking skills.
In an instant, he felt a chill run through his core—not from fear, but from the flood of data his abilities had begun processing simultaneously.
Through a rhythmic pulse emanating from the ground via [Instinctive Perception], Lohan confirmed Lisa’s observation. Thanks to the [Spatial Echo-Location] ability, he mapped a complete three-dimensional scene even without a direct line of sight around them, perceiving four bipedal figures moving in a coordinated tactical semicircle, accompanied by two much larger and heavier vibrating masses that indicated the presence of quadrupedal monsters acting as scouts.
To confirm the source of the threat, Lohan activated [Chemosensory Aptitude Lv 11], picking up scent particles that stood out against the forest’s purity, sensing a faint, familiar scent he had encountered in Thalendor.
Through [Thermographic Perception Lv 9], he confirmed the heat signatures of the monsters accompanying the group; these monsters had elevated body temperatures and followed the humans with far greater discipline than they would exhibit if acting naturally, suggesting they were under the direct control of the people in the group.
Finally, adjusting the [Monocular Telescopic Vision Lv 9] to focus on a point in the distance, Lohan managed to see through the gaps in the foliage the details of the pursuers.
From what little he could see, those people were young, dressed in luxurious emerald-green silk robes and carrying ornate ceremonial whips at their waists, much like the one worn by that arrogant Elf they had met at the Horizon Bazaar while buying Mana Stones.
From these details, Lohan realized that they were most likely a group of Thalendor tamers, their eyes filled with the same greed and arrogance he had seen in Valerius, the arrogant elf.
"Lisa, I think they’re young Thalendor tamers." Lohan transmitted through the mental link in an alert voice. "They’re probably not here to kill us, but they likely believe they’ve found two rare, ’ownerless’ monsters waiting to be captured."
"They’re a group of four people and two monsters. I believe that, in their view, the two of us will be the two unaccompanied monsters... fortunately, the strength they’re displaying doesn’t seem particularly exceptional—maybe at the very limit of Level 10, maybe a little higher; I’m not sure." Lohan explained everything he’d managed to analyze based on the details he’d picked up.
Since Lisa had to focus on running and could only look in one direction at a time, Lohan was responsible for scouting them out.
Deciding to brace himself for the worst, Lohan’s jelly turned soft, and he quickly enveloped Lisa’s body completely, transforming the fox into a glowing blue mass that raced through the forest.
"What do you want to do?" Lohan asked curiously.
He wasn’t particularly worried about these people; in fact, to his own surprise, Lohan was feeling excited about the upcoming confrontation, eager to test himself again against a group of people.
Lisa analyzed the information Lohan had relayed to her and was torn.
She knew the best course of action here would be to simply speed up and run away, since that group would hardly be able to keep up with her, but she was also feeling a twinge of curiosity in her chest, wanting to put herself in that situation to see how things would play out.
If this were the Lisa from a few weeks ago, she might not even have felt that way, but after so much time spent constantly with Halon, little by little she had started to enjoy herself more in Elysium without feeling guilty.
"How about we see how this plays out?" she asked in a playful voice.
Hearing the tone of her voice, Lohan laughed excitedly. "Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about!"
If this group showed even the slightest bit of cruelty toward them, Lohan would immediately have an excuse to kill these people and devour them!
Considering the upgrades he’d gained from killing that human group, he was excited to see what he’d gain from this group here.
-xXx-
"Are you sure those two monsters are special, Dalyor?" A human girl, her cheeks flushed from the effort and holding a simple staff, asked as she tried to keep up.
Kael was the shyest of the group and the only one who hadn’t yet managed to tame a creature of her own, which made her the constant target of the other three’s jokes.
Dalyor, a young half-elf with spiky blond hair wearing a green silk tunic that looked far too expensive for a forest hunt, snorted impatiently. "I’ve already told you, Kael! I’m sure that fox is from some rare lineage; I’ve never seen anything like her, not even in the catalogs the elves use. And the slime, though it’s useless trash, was roaming around the Silver Crucible as if it owned the place, walking through Thalendor without a shred of fear... maybe that little creature has something unique too."
The group consisted of four young people who, despite their luxurious attire, exuded a clear lack of field experience.
Jax and Mira, the two beast-people of the group, led the way.
Jax had gray wolf ears that twitched constantly, picking up vibrations, while Mira, with a cat’s tail lashing the air in agitation, used her natural agility to leap over the colossal roots of the surrounding trees to keep sight of the two prey.
The boy was the most frustrated, since he had lost his familiar, a hunting hawk, in a disastrous confrontation with a high-level Level 9 monster just a few days ago.
Capturing rare creatures was the only way to make up for the loss and avoid being ridiculed in Thalendor’s wealthy circle.
Even though they weren’t elves and didn’t interact with them very often, there was still an aristocratic circle that the other races had developed.
Not because the elves were racist, but because of their race’s longevity, they tended to isolate themselves in closed circles, not giving many opportunities for people of other races to join.
Given Thalendor’s size, it wasn’t impossible to have another circle like that, even without the elves’ presence.
"I just don’t get why we’d waste time on that blue jelly." Jax growled, his nose picking up the trail of ozone and mana left by Lohan’s recent evolution. "A slime isn’t even good for carrying backpacks. It’s slow, dumb, fragile, not to mention it might even try to eat our stuff! I’d feel humiliated if anyone saw me with a thing like that on a leash."
"Yeah, sure." Dalyor laughed, adjusting the ceremonial whip at his waist. "You can have the white fox, Jax. That white fur of hers will go well with your hair, haha. Kael, if you’re so desperate for a contract and don’t have the guts to tame something real, you can have the slime. At least that useless little ball matches your lack of aggression."
Kael lowered her head, feeling the mockery tightening around her chest, but looked in the direction of their targets, lost in thought.
Unlike Dalyor’s arrogance, her intuition screamed that something was wrong with this. "Fine... if no one wants it, I’ll take the slime. I just want a companion to help me not be a burden..."
Mira let out a cute, cat-like laugh, leaping onto a tree branch to get a better view, but then she was startled by something. "Guys, something’s wrong! It looks like that Slime is devouring the Fox!"