I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 831: Waiting In Silence

A few minutes earlier… not far from where the battle raged, deeper in the same forest, another group was moving.

Ten men and women, all armed and hardened by years of rough work, stalked carefully through the undergrowth.

At their head was Darel, their leader, his eyes sharp and alert. They had only been walking for barely a minute when a sudden noise tore through the trees — distant, but close enough.

It was the clash of steel, the roar of something monstrous, and strange, bone-chilling shrieks unlike any beast they had ever heard.

Darel raised a hand, and at once, his party stopped dead in their tracks, muscles tensing and eyes flicking toward the source of the commotion.

Around them, the forest was strangely clear — no mist, no creeping chill. The oppressive force that clung to this place seemed to part before them. It was the amulets they wore around their necks — tokens given to them by a cult contact, passed down from the cult to their organization's leader, and then handed to each of them for this mission. The amulets were crafted so the forest's malevolent force would recognize them as allies, or at least not as enemies.

"Go low," Darel ordered in a low growl.

They crouched immediately, sinking into the cover of the brush. Their ears strained as the sounds of battle echoed sharper now — steel slicing, monstrous screams, bursts of unnatural flame.

Varn, one of the brawnier men near the front, gritted his teeth.

"What the hell is that?" he muttered, voice hard but laced with unease. His hand gripped the haft of his axe a little tighter.

The man next to him, jittery and pale, shot back,

"How the fuck should I know?" His voice cracked slightly, showing his rising anxiety.

Varn clicked his tongue in irritation, trying to mask his own growing nerves behind a fierce scowl. He hated this — not knowing what was out there, something new and unknown stalking the same woods he thought he knew.

Darel glanced at them, then spoke quietly, his tone calm and cold. "We stay put. Let them fight it out. Maybe the beasts will thin their numbers for us."

The rest of the group exchanged glances — relief flashing in their eyes. Smiles flickered across tired faces. If those other adventurers were getting torn apart right now, that meant less work for them later. Less risk. Easier pickings.

But not everyone shared their quiet celebration.

Yara, crouched near the back, didn't smile. The mage-fighter's dark eyes stayed fixed in the direction of the battle, her fingers unconsciously brushing against the amulet at her throat. She could feel it — a wrongness in the air.

Two things gnawed at her.

First, the adventurers they were supposed to hunt — they weren't weak. She could sense it now, through the flares of power rippling in the distance. They were strong, stronger than Darel had made them sound in the briefing.

And second… the force that had awoken in this forest — the thing that brought the beasts and warped this place — it wasn't from this world. She knew the powers of this land, the magic and spirits that roamed it. This… this was something alien. Unfamiliar. It made her skin crawl.

Yara swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry. The amulet was protecting them now, yes. But for how long? Would it really hold if something stronger came next? She doubted it. And she was sure stronger things would come.

Darel noticed the tightness in her face and leaned closer. His voice was low but edged with concern. "You alright?"

Yara forced a nod. "I'm fine."

Darel's eyes lingered on her for a few seconds longer, studying her. But when she didn't say more, he grunted and looked away, seeming satisfied.

The group fell back into silence, crouched low and listening, as the sounds of distant slaughter echoed through the dark woods.

They waited in the underbrush for about three more minutes, every muscle tense, ears straining. Then silence happened.

The sounds of clashing steel, the roars, and the unearthly shrieks all faded away, leaving only the rustling leaves and distant calls of normal forest birds.

The sudden quiet made them frown in confusion.

All of them were seasoned enough to know how battles like this should go. Darel, with his years leading men through dangerous hunts, and Yara, with her sharp senses honed from countless skirmishes, could both tell — judging by the number of beasts they'd heard and the strength in their cries — this fight should have lasted at least ten, maybe fifteen minutes.

But it had ended in three. Far too quick.

Darel's frown deepened, his jaw tightening. He turned his head and caught Yara's gaze, expecting to find the same confusion on her face. But instead, she looked… calm, focused. Not surprised.

"You predicted this?" Darel asked, his voice low.

Yara gave a slow, silent nod. She didn't explain, and for a moment, Darel's eyes narrowed at her, studying her face.

His stare grew so heavy Yara felt her shoulders stiffen under the weight of it. But then he grunted and turned his gaze back toward the place where the battle had been.

"Alright," he muttered. "They're stronger than we thought. Keep that in mind."

His words rippled through the group. Some exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions turning sour — annoyed that the job might be harder than they'd expected. But others shrugged it off, smirking faintly.

So what if the targets were a bit stronger? By now they'd have used up their strength, exhausted from the fight. And Darel's party had numbers on their side — ten against however many survived over there.

Confidence flickered back into a few eyes. They still believed the advantage was theirs.

Knowing this, Darel decided to make his party just wait and not do anything for now. They will wait for more strange force of the forest to come and wear their target out, then in the last moment he and his party would take their heads to prove their claims over the reward from the Organization.

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