Chapter 109 - 108: A Reason to Hunt

Chapter 109: Chapter 108: A Reason to Hunt

Iris and Claire continued along the path leading back toward the settlement.

The roar of the monster had long since faded, but the image of it collapsing outside the wall remained fresh in Iris’s mind. She could still remember the faint glow from the openings in the stone, the sharp projectiles cutting through the air, and the way the creature had barely managed to take another step before it fell.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

The distance between the northern section of the wall and the settlement was not short. The forest within Velaris made the journey feel even longer, with trees lining the paths and patches of greenery spreading between the different areas of the territory.

Iris walked at a steady pace.

Claire stayed beside her.

"You really didn’t know they would fire like that?" Claire finally asked.

"I knew they were defensive structures."

"That’s not what I asked."

Iris glanced at her.

Claire’s expression held the faintest hint of amusement.

Iris sighed.

"I knew they could attack hostile targets. I didn’t know exactly what it would look like."

Claire nodded.

"Fair enough."

They continued walking.

After a few more steps, Claire looked back in the direction they had come from.

"They’re going to be talking about that for a while."

"They probably are."

"You should have seen their faces."

Iris smiled faintly.

"I saw them."

The conversation faded again.

Iris let her attention wander as they walked.

The forest around them was quiet.

It was strange how different the inside of Velaris felt from the world beyond the boundary. Outside, every unfamiliar sound could mean danger. Inside, the trees, plants, and paths had become almost familiar.

Almost.

Iris slowed slightly when she noticed a plant growing beside the path.

She had passed it before.

She was almost certain of that.

But she had never stopped to examine it.

The leaves were narrow and slightly curved, growing from a short central stem. Small pale fruits hung beneath several of the branches.

Iris stopped.

Claire took another step before noticing.

"What is it?"

"I don’t know."

Iris crouched beside the plant.

She studied the leaves first.

Then the fruit.

She did not touch it.

Instead, she opened her panel and used Appraisal.

Information appeared before her eyes.

Iris read through it carefully.

Not dangerous.

That was the first thing she checked.

Then she examined the other details.

The plant had properties she had not expected.

It was edible.

The fruit contained a small amount of nutrients and water, though it was not particularly filling.

Iris looked at the branches again.

There were several more plants farther ahead.

She stood.

"Interesting."

Claire raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Iris looked toward the path.

"Just something I want to check later."

Claire gave her a knowing look but did not press.

They continued walking.

The thought stayed with Iris.

Food.

It had been sitting quietly in the back of her mind for some time.

Foraging had helped them survive.

It had helped when they first arrived in this world, when every meal had depended on what they could find around them.

But Velaris was no longer just a small group of survivors moving through a dangerous forest.

People were arriving.

The settlement was growing.

And more people meant more mouths to feed.

They could not depend on the forest forever.

The thought of farming had crossed Iris’s mind more than once.

She needed to look into it properly.

If the territory could provide a reliable source of food, then the people living here would not have to keep relying on whatever they happened to find outside.

But that was something she could investigate later.

Right now, there was another matter to deal with.

Hunting.

By the time Iris and Claire reached the central part of the settlement, they could already see people moving between the villas.

A few survivors who had witnessed the Sentry demonstration were still talking among themselves.

Iris did not stop.

She headed toward Hale’s Garden Villa.

Claire followed.

The villa’s interconnected structure meant that the different sections appeared separate from the outside, but the connected spaces made movement between them easier than the exterior suggested.

As Iris entered Hale’s Garden Villa, she found the Hale family already there.

Henry was seated with Veronica nearby.

Benjamin and Caleb were there too.

The others were not far away.

The bodyguards had remained around the Garden Villas rather than following Iris to the wall, and Priscilla, Jin Taejin, Li Wei, Marcus, Victor, Evelina, Daniel, and Elias were all within the connected villa area.

The two dogs were there as well.

The moment Iris entered, several heads turned.

Caleb stood.

"What happened?"

Iris looked at him.

"A monster approached the northern wall."

Benjamin’s eyes widened slightly.

"And?"

"The Sentries killed it."

There was a brief silence.

Henry looked at Iris carefully.

"The ones you installed?"

"Yes."

Caleb’s expression changed.

"So they worked."

Iris nodded.

"They did."

That was enough.

There was no need for her to explain what a Sentry was. The people in the room already knew about them. The only thing they had not known was how they would perform when something actually approached the territory.

Now they knew.

Veronica leaned back slightly.

"So Velaris can defend itself from outside threats now."

"Partially," Iris said.

She walked farther into the room.

"The wall is still the wall. The Sentries give it another layer of defense."

Marcus crossed his arms.

"That changes things."

"It does."

Victor glanced toward the others.

"Especially if we’re going outside."

Nobody answered immediately.

The words hung in the room.

Iris looked at him.

Victor continued.

"We already know we can get stronger by fighting monsters. But every time we go farther out, the risk increases."

"The Sentries won’t follow us," Henry said.

"No."

Iris shook her head.

"They’re tied to the territory."

Caleb leaned forward.

"But if we’re close enough to get back..."

"We have a better chance of reaching the wall before something gets too close."

Iris stopped.

That was the point.

Not safety.

A better chance.

The Sentries did not make the forest harmless. They did not erase the monsters beyond Velaris. They did not guarantee that anyone who left the territory would return.

But they changed the balance.

Before, leaving the territory meant that once they were outside, they had only themselves to rely on.

Now, there was a defensive boundary waiting for them.

If they stayed within a reasonable distance, retreat was no longer simply a matter of outrunning whatever was chasing them.

They had somewhere to return to.

Caleb looked at Iris.

"So we can go."

Iris studied him.

"Go where?"

"Hunting."

The room became quieter.

Benjamin nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing."

Henry’s gaze moved between them.

"We shouldn’t get careless."

"We won’t," Caleb said.

Elias spoke from nearby.

"We don’t have to go far."

Iris remained silent.

She knew what they wanted.

They had spent enough time inside the settlement.

They had seen what happened when people went outside without enough preparation.

They had also seen what happened when people stayed inside and waited.

The world did not become safer simply because they refused to face it.

And there was another truth she could not ignore.

Velaris needed people who could protect it.

The wall could protect the territory.

The Sentries could help protect the wall.

But if something ever came through that defense, or if they encountered threats farther away, they could not depend on stone structures to solve everything.

They needed stronger people too.

Henry looked toward Iris.

"What do you think?"

Iris glanced around the room.

Everyone was listening.

Caleb.

Benjamin.

Henry.

Veronica.

The bodyguards.

Elias.

Even the dogs seemed unusually attentive to the movement around them.

She considered the risks.

Then she thought about the monster outside the wall.

It had not even been strong.

At least, not compared with what they might encounter deeper in the forest.

That was exactly why she could not ignore the opportunity.

"We go together."

Caleb smiled.

"I knew you’d say that."

"But we’re not wandering around."

His smile faded into a more serious expression.

"We stay together. We don’t chase anything too far. If we encounter something we can’t handle, we retreat."

Marcus nodded.

"Understood."

Iris looked at the group.

"We’re going out to train and level up if we can. Nothing more."

Caleb nodded.

"For now."

Iris gave him a look.

"For now."

A few people smiled.

The tension in the room eased slightly.

Iris turned toward the open side of the villa.

Outside, the forest stretched quietly through Velaris.

She could not see the Blackstone Wall from here.

The trees stood between the settlement and the boundary, just as they always had.

But she knew it was there.

Somewhere beyond the forest.

Waiting.

Iris’s thoughts returned briefly to the plant she had seen on the way back.

Food.

The territory.

The people arriving.

The things they still had to discover.

There was far more waiting for them outside these walls than monsters.

She would have to start paying attention to all of it.

But first, they needed to become strong enough to explore it.

Iris picked up her long sword.

The obsidian dagger remained secured at her side.

She looked at the others.

"Let’s go."

This time, no one hesitated.

The doors opened.

One after another, they stepped out of Hale’s Garden Villa and into the forest of Velaris.

They were not leaving to find safety.

They were leaving because sooner or later, they would have to learn what existed beyond it.