I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 996: Sensing

The party pressed deeper into the forest with deliberate steps. Their ears straining for the faintest sound but the silence lingered thick and undisturbed.

There were no rustle of beasts or monsters, no crack of branches under unseen feet, no ominous signs of danger. Only the hollow hush of leaves swaying in the night breeze and silence.

Jan frowned. His hunter’s instincts prickled but nothing came to him.

First there was a wyvern far from its lair. Then Arty’s unsettling claim of being watched. And now... just nothing.

No threats and no disturbances. The contradiction gnawed at him.

Hund’s hand stayed loosely on his sword hilt but his brow furrowed with the same unease. Esther’s sharp eyes scanned the shadows again and again but finding only stillness. Annette clutched her hands closer, though even her careful senses failed to pick up anything unusual.

The same thought crept into each of their minds. What in the world was going on here?

"Guess there’s really nothing here," Jan said at last with a smile, though his tone carried a signs that they all should be careful.

Arty didn’t answer. Her gaze lingered on Hund, Esther, and Annette. She wanted to speak up again but she then felt that it was better to stay silence before her words making the person tailing them suspicious.

"Hmm... maybe we should just camp. It’s already night," Annette said finally, her voice soft, though there was tension beneath it.

"I agree. I’m hungry," Hund added, rubbing his stomach with exaggerated weariness.

Esther nodded, sparing a glance at Jan.

"Alright then. Let’s make camp here," Jan decided.

They moved with practiced movement as if had been doing this for so many times, falling into a rhythm born of countless nights on the road.

Hund unstrapped packs and began laying out the tent poles. Annette cleared the ground of rocks and branches.

Esther whispered a brief incantation, coaxing a flame to life at the tip of her staff before transferring it to the kindling Jan had gathered.

Soon, a small fire crackled, its glow pushing back the shadows.

Arty crouched beside Hund, watching as he secured the ropes and canvas.

She helped when she could, fumbling with knots but smiling all the same. Hund also laughed with her clumsiness, making the mood lightr.

The tension of the forest seemed to ease around the warmth of firelight, though it never fully vanished.

When the tents stood and the fire burned steady, Jan finally allowed himself to sit back, bow resting against his knee.

The smell of woodsmoke curled upward into the night, masking the faint scents of moss and earth.

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Far behind them, the assassin released a long breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Relief swept through him in a wave so sharp it almost left him dizzy. He dropped heavily onto the forest floor and pressing his back against the cold ground.

"They’re making camp," he thought, closing his eyes. "Good. That means they won’t move tonight."

His body sagged with exhaustion. Holding the concealment spell for so long had drained him more than he’d expected.

But with the adventurers settling down, he no longer needed to strain every fiber of his being to stay hidden. For tonight at least he could conserve his strength.

The party settled around the campfire as the tents stood firm and the crackle of flame offered comfort against the forest’s silence.

Jan opened one of the leather packs and pulled out wrapped portions of dried meat and bread.

Hund, always eager, snatched his share quickly and tore into it with unrestrained enthusiasm, his mouth already full before he even sat properly.

Annette laughed softly at his antics and shook her head, carefully slicing some fruit she had carried with her.

Jan added his own comment about Hund’s bottomless stomach and the three of them fell into lively chatter that echoed easily in the stillness.

Their voices carried warmth, exaggerated complaints, and jokes that masked the unease lingering in each of their hearts. All of their talking voices were loud, exaggeratedly loud.

Esther, meanwhile, rose from her seat and walked toward Arty who was sitting near the tent’s edge. The firelight painted faint gold along her dark hair.

Esther lowered herself beside her and leaned closer, her lips moving in a whisper drowned beneath the others’ loud talking.

"Arty, we believe in your senses. I know you have the highest Magic power among us," Esther murmured, her tone calm but filled with intent. As a witch she knows what to do so she was the one who speak to Arty about it

Arty nodded her head and kept her eyes on the fire.

"I know. That’s why I played along and pretended there was nothing. Otherwise, the one tailing us would have suspected that we realized about them." Her reply was just as soft, almost hidden in the crackle of the fire.

Esther nodded, a flicker of approval in her eyes. "Good. You’re very smart. Now, describe to me what you’re sensing."

"I only felt it when I used my power to kill that wyvern. At that moment, I sensed someone’s presence. They were watching us," Arty said.

"Then they must still be following us," Esther reasoned, her voice steady. "We don’t know their purpose yet but we must find them. I want you to try again now. Use your senses and see if you can feel them. Concentrate."

Arty swallowed and nodded, straightening her posture. She shut her eyes. Her breaths growing measured and deep as she pushed aside the laughter and voices around her.

The warmth of the fire seemed to dim in her awareness as she sank into the quiet flow of her own Magic.

Minutes trickled by, slow and heavy. Her body stayed still while her mind reaching outward.

She followed every faint thread of energy that brushed against her perception, searching for the irregularity that did not belong to the forest’s natural stillness.

Then, after what felt like five long minutes, her eyes opened sharply. She had found it.

"There," she whispered, barely moving her lips. "Behind us. Someone is there."

Esther’s eyes narrowed and for a fleeting moment her hand flexed over her staff.

She did not glance toward the shadows where Arty had pointed with her senses. Instead, she leaned closer and whispered again.

"Stay quiet. We know where they are now. Let the others keep talking. We’ll draw them out soon."

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