So, I got isekai’d

...

Deep within the Myriad Forest, can be seen a party of 5 random adventurers. A typical set up at that, two vanguards, one mage, and two supports. Their goals aligned with each other, but the path to that goal wasn't. Its as if seeing through a glass that's covered in thick fog, you can't see the other side...

...and that is the problem that these adventurers are facing right now

"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?"

"I'm never wrong in my calculations, thank you very much"

"But we've been doing this for hours! That place isn't even that far right?!"

"It seems so in the map provided by Wind Pillar herself, but if the scale and proportion isn't in a 1:1 ratio-"

"Cut to the chase! Are we even getting closer or not?!"

"We are getting closer! Its just that, there's inaccuracy in Wind Pillar's map!"

The two vanguards kept pressuring the mage, but they knew that their mage isn't the type of person to mess up in these kinds of things, yet their trust wavers the longer they keep going

It was then that the two support voiced their opinions

""H-Hey, is it just me, or are we going in a loop?"

"Loop?"

"I noticed that too! I tried to leave a mark on one of the trees here, but even though I didn't see the mark I made, I remembered how this place looked like earlier!"

"I believe on our healer, but I don't know about you"

the other vanguard said, as he bat an eye on the other support

"What?! Did you already forget how many times we saved your asses from death?!"

"It was our healer that was doing most of the work when that happened"

"The reason why you can even fight stronger monsters is because of my buffs you pricks!"

"You were buffing us the whole time? I didn't feel it"

The other vanguard nods in agreement

"HUH?!"

The mage, who was silent the whole time, spoke his thoughts

"Wait...I think she's right"

"What?"

"We might be going in circles for hours right now"

"Ha?! In this forest?!"

His frustration echoed around the place, the other vanguard asks the mage

"Wait, what made you think that?"

"I've tried to calculate the ratio of Wind Pillar's Map, if the ratio wasn't 1:1, then it might be 1:2 or other possibilities"

"Dude, he's starting to speak ancient language again"

"No, no, go on"

"Right, other ratios that aren't 1:1 wouldn't be possible because of the travel time that the Wind Pillar and the Water Pillar takes to get from point A to point B. Remember what she said? That it should just take us an hour or so to get here?"

"That's true..."

"What's true man? I don't get it"

They didn't pay attention to the other vanguard as the mage went on

"I understand that it'll take us few more hours than that to locate the waterfall since we're just relying on a hand-drawn map, but its been 9 hours to be precise. We started before the sun rose, and now we're nowhere near to that waterfall"

"WAY TO STATE THE OBVIOUS!"

"Shut up, you're the only one who ate 50% of our rations up for this expedition"

"Mind you that we're in the frontlines? We need fuel to fill our energy, and that's where food comes from!"

"Tsk...speaking like I've never saved his ass a lot of times"

"What was that?!"

"*Ahem* nothing, anyway, we're stuck in a loop, and I haven't figured it out how to get out of it"

The healer raised her hand slowly

"U-Um, could this be the work of an illusion spell?"

"Good thinking, but there would be mists all over this forest if that were to happen"

"Lurachnids are capable of that right? So you saying this isn't the work of a Lurachnid?"

"..."

The mage thought it over as the buffer reconfirms it one more time

"As far as I know, most Lurachnids are good at illusions, traps, deceptions and other stuff, but I've never seen a Lurachnid who can cast an Illusion spell without a mist..."

"You haven't seen once, but there's a possibility, right?"

"I don't know...and I don't see a Lurachnid doing this either"

"Why not?"

"Why would a Lurachnid even hang out in a place like this? Most Lurachnids are only going out within their hometowns"

"Hmph! A runaway Lurachnid then?"

Its as if the musclehead of their vanguard hit the nail

"...That might be a possibility...but I've never seen this level of illusion before"

"Well at least we're heading something. Next is how do we get rid of it"

"That I don't know"

"HUH?! AREN'T YOU A BOOKWORM?! A KNOW IT ALL?!"

"Shut up! I never said that! There's many things that I still don't know either!"

"Ah...they got the gist of it, just like those other adventurers, oh well, playtime's over"

"YOU BETTER DO SOMETHING NOW OR I'LL- ?!"

Right after the vanguard started to take a step to strike a blow, the ground, started to crack, spreading far and wide

"What the?! The Illusion is starting to break itself?!"

"! It knows! Its here! Don't panic! It attacks our minds, stay calm and- ?!"

The whole surrounding shifted into nothingness, resembling a void...

...slowly, a dark, red aura started to fill the atmosphere, showing its killing intent. That was enough to make the adventurers broke down to their knees

"H-H-Hey...this is still an illusion...right...?"

But what the musclehead vanguard can see, is just his party, shivering in fear

"AAAAAAH!"

It was then that the healer disintegrated into dust

"?! W-What's happening- ?! NOOOOO!"

The buffer of the party was next on the list

"I don't want to be a part of this anymore! LET ME OUT OF HERE- H-HUH?! A-AGGGGHHH!"

Finally, it was the noisy vanguard's turn to disappear...

...only the mage and the other vanguard was left at the scene

"They're not dead...right?"

"...I don't know...I don't know, I don't know! I don't know anymore!"

The mage crumbles, he doesn't know which is real and is not anymore

"..."

In front of them, is an appearance that was formed from the looming auras

"?! A-A Dragon?!"

That was where the vanguard lost his cool

"Brave one I see. You didn't falter like the others"

The dragon said teasingly, knowingly that the vanguard can't even swallow his own saliva

"What's a dragon even doing here?!"

"..."

"Why are you doing this?! Is this the same thing that happened to the other adventurers?!"

"...You talk too much"

"?!"

*slash*

It was swift, but a sharp sound echoed throughout the place, causing his head to be severed in front of the mage

The mage stood in shock, discerning that this isn't an illusion anymore, its the reality itself, the reality of them dying in the hands of the dragon

(What was that Wind Pillar and Water Pillar thinking?! We can't handle this beast! They should've been dealing this themselves! We never had a chance from the start!) The mage said to himself

The dragon then directs its attention to the mage

"You..."

He shrivels in fear

"...You guys don't need to remember anything about this"

"?!"

*slash*

...

...After a few seconds had passed, there was nothing but the colour red that the mage can see...

A one sided battle, a random party of adventurers lost in the hands of the dragon...

...

...

...

"*Gasps*...*huff*...*puff*..."

...

...As if woken up from a bad dream, the same party of adventurers, specifically the mage, rose up

"Oh? You're finally awake"

"...?"

As he looked to his left side, the Wind Pillar, Aeris can be seen, leaning beside the camp's doorsteps

"Casa and I carried you guys on the way here, the others had woken up yesterday, but it took you an extra day to wake up"

"...I see"

"So, what happened? You and the others went out to that place, right?"

"We did..."

"Got any leads for us?"

"It took us a few hours to get the gist of the map, and the moment we got in there halfway..."

"...?"

"...Huh? That's weird...I can't remember..."

"..."

The mage tries hard to recall...but to no avail

"W...What happened after that? I-I can't recall..."

"Well you did just woke up, so its understandable"

"! The others! Surely they can tell you-"

"They also can't remember what happened after you got halfway through"

"W-What?...That's impossible..."

Without any leads, Aeris breaks the silence

"Take a rest for today, someone will fill in for your spot on the border"

"I-I see...sorry that I wasn't able to provide any information despite giving us an approval"

Aeris didn't look back but waved a hand as if to signal that its fine...

...

...

...

"*Sigh*..."

"Let me guess, another fail one?"

"Tell me about it..."

Casa and Aeris took a walk away from the healing camp

"Same information, all of them can't remember anything right after they got halfway through"

"Weird...but they aren't injured either, just collapsed on the ground"

Aeris deeply thought about the situation

"Last time, we were also able to come to that waterfall, but as of now, we can't even locate the place anymore"

"I know that we took a few days to come back since no one was coming but...what happened in between those days?"

"Not to mention, it also takes them more time to explore the place than us, its not like your map is a maze or something"

"..."

"What should we do? Should we tell this to Hikari?"

"No, we'll get punish if we do that"

Without Hikari knowing, Aeris self approved the requests of those adventurers by saying that it was already approved by the Light Pillar, but hasn't have the time to submit it. Of course they believe the Wind Pillar because she is under Hikari's orders, but Once Hikari gets a word from the adventurers getting harmed, its Aeris that will have to pay the price

"I don't want to say it, but maybe we got spotted"

"Spotted?"

"Think about it Casa, the waterfall that we can easily locate, is now nowhere to be found"

"So the only logical reason for them is to hide it"

"Exactly...but rather than hiding it..."

"...?"

"...I think the one who's residing in there cast a spell on the place"

"Illusion spell..."

Casa said abruptly

"We didn't see mists all over the place, so its possible its not an illusion spell, but the chances aren't 0%"

"That's true...but there's no adventurer that will take it"

"We either have to do it ourselves, which reveals our identity to the enemy..."

The more information you have on the enemy, the better, raises up your chances of beating the enemy, whether they're stronger or not, hence why Aeris doesn't want to fight it head on for now

"...or ask that last set of party that had been abstaining for a while"

"Oh...those reputable adventurers?"

"This will be a gamble, but I'm pretty sure I can convince them to do this"

"I just hope this plan of yours works wonders in the end"

"Oh, it will"

Aeris said, with a smug look on her face

They then went on with their own errands, separating on their own paths as the other had another plan set in stone...

...