Royal Capital, Acadrisis, Royal Palace, the Queen's Belvedere.
A young man appeared abruptly within the shaded belvedere. Although the place was quiet as it were, when he appeared under the shade, movement from the surroundings stirred. The men hiding in the shadows to monitor the palace constantly reacted to the presence of an unknown individual. The young man had black hair and black eyes. He was also in tattered clothes that resembled the very clothes that the Lord Hero, they all were familiar with was wearing.
"Halt! Who are you? How did you sneak past the guards?"
Soldiers came in after receiving a report from the shadow guards. Soon, an encirclement formed, and they cautiously asked Clay these questions. Exhausted as he was mentally, he didn't want to have a question and answer, so he directly transformed into his Super Saiyan: Full Power form they were familiar with for a few seconds before reverting to just the golden haired Super Saiyan form that greatly reduced his musculature.
"L-Lord Hero, is that you?"
"Sigh, yes. Could someone tell his majesty that I am requesting an audience?"
"O-Of course! Yes, sir! Someone, go and relay Lord Hero's orders!"
"Yes!"
Since they ascertained his identity, the soldiers left, and the shadow guards returned to their posts and maintained their vigilance. Meanwhile, the king received the news and the soldier that delivered the message also mentioned that the Hero seemed troubled in passing. Without further considering his position, Gracius vi Acadria, King of Acadria left for the Queen's Belvedere.
"Lord Clay! How goes your excursion?"
"It almost led to a disaster, your majesty."
This answer almost left Gracius in utter shock. He now understood what the soldier said when he appeared troubled, and indeed, there was a big change in the hero's attitude? Was it his confidence that got hit? Gracius suspected.
"What do you mean, Lord Clay? What did you encounter?"
"That… I saw a frog monster by the name of Agamemkeru, no matter how much I simulate, I cannot beat that demon. If we try to continue our operation as is, not only will we suffer great loss, but it may also lead to greater disasters."
When hearing the name 'Agamemkeru' and the descriptive 'frog monster' and 'demon', Gracius' hair stood on end. It was greatly alarming for him to hear of the calamity of the North to be mentioned.
"Did you just say that its name was Agamemkeru?"
"Yes, his title is Grand General of the Demon Empire."
"Then there is no doubt, that is one of the guardians of the entire Demon Empire since ancient times!"
"You know of him?"
"Yes! He, in fact, is one of the reasons why the demons could even own land of their own."
Gracius introduced the known history of the demons to Clay and the story of how it was achieved. After a while, he finished the story and Clay nodded along seemingly understanding.
"I see. He's been truly around for a long time. No wonder his level was exactly 898, after a few millennia, even I could reach that high a level."
"That's right, Lord Clay. Right now, I'm guessing you are still level 1? I remember that it was written that Heroes are blessed with rapid growth and one of the easiest ways to grow for them was fighting and killing Ferocious Beasts. Not only in the wilds but also in dungeons scattered all over the world."
"You have dungeons?"
"Of course! The kingdom cannot flourish on its own without the help of these dungeons within the territory. However, Ferocious Beasts aren't only available in dungeons. They are also spread out in the wilds, in the forests, and all over the world. One of the habitats near us that is not considered a dungeon is the Forest of Death at the foot of Mount Moribor."
Hearing all this, Clay's eyes lit up. This is exactly what I need! He thought with excitement.
"Your majesty, please send word to those soldiers we sent to the demon territory to keep hiding for the time being. When I've trained enough and feel confident of beating the Grand General of the Demon Empire, I shall go ahead and lead them to the capital and finally, fulfill my promise!"
"This… may I ask, Lord Clay, how long would it take for you to reach that level?"
"I am confident that it would not take a long time. Half a month, should be plenty enough of time!"
Listening to Clay assure him like this and while he still seemed less confident, at least, he saw within Clay's eyes, no longer was there despair but hope!
"Certainly, Lord Clay, I will task Sunshine himself with this. Rest assured."
"Then, I will take my leave. I will go to the Forest of Death to level up for half a month. Wait for my good news!"
"Do you need supplies, Lord Clay?"
"I'll find my own in there. Don't worry."
"Don't you need new clothes?"
"Huh?"
Clay was so distressed earlier, and depressed that he did not really even mind his look. The king did not mention it since maybe it was not a good time to interrupt his thoughts, but now, since he was leaving again, it would be the exact time to remind him.
"I see. I have embarrassed myself in front of the king. I will change into a new pair."
"That's good. Someone! Go and tell the royal tailor to get Lord Clay's measurements! Hurry!"
"At once, your majesty!"
Soon, Clay was fitted with a new set of clothes. He requested that the clothes be comfortable to wear and be fit to fight in. He also asked for two more pairs of the same. Gracius bid him farewell after a while and Clay flew towards the Forest of Death, in Mount Moribor. Sunshine was also tasked with a critical role, deliver a dire news to the soldiers in hiding within the Demon Empire. Hald a month, they were asked to find ways to survive and hide for half a month within demon-controlled territory which was close to an impossible task right now without the protection of the hero.
Meanwhile, Clay stepped foot inside the Forest of Death and welcomed the challenge. Right as he landed and breathed in a significant amount of air within the forest to pump himself up, he was already visited by his first customer. It was a monkey that looked like a fusion of a wildcat. And it wasn't alone. There was a troop of them waiting in ambush at set positions.
"Did I enter their territory immediately by just arriving?"
Clay was curious. Although the fear of death still lingers in his mind, he is forcing himself to be brave enough to face a challenge like this. After all, his survival in this world depends on his adaptability.
"Here goes nothing!"
One of the reasons for his confidence now, would be that he could see that these monkey-cat hybrids were all Level 82, but their attributes were not that high. And seeing as their racial skill was called [Troop Enhancement] that basically increases their attributes according to the number of members within the troop, Clay had confidence that even if they ganged up now, once few of them died, he would be able to beat them with ease.
However, his confidence wasn't only because of that, in fact, Clay truly was desperate to grow stronger, because he is responsible for the lives of those soldiers, he sent to the demon territory without fully comprehending the scope of the enemy's strength. With Agamemkeru's level as his goal, Clay started a fight for his life.
"Come, monkeys!"
With his provocation, the Spotted Monkeys, as they are named by the Status, reacted by screeching, and moving towards him with clear intent, kill him!
Without further ado, Clay started fighting the Spotted Monkeys in his fully transformed body. When he had his measurement taken, he transformed into his full power transformation so as to avoid getting it torn after transforming. The Level 82 Spotted Monkeys were quite fast almost to the point of moving beyond the speed of sound, something which to Clay was not fast enough. This was quite frankly not even a fight, same with what he experienced with Agamemkeru, right now, the Spotted Monkeys must be feeling what he felt in such a despairing fight with him.
"Hah!"
Explosions rocked the entrance of the Forest of Death, and the deeper inhabitants of the forest knew that something was up. Those with a higher level of awareness, not to the extent of sentience, were curious, but they were not interested. However, those who had developed traits like scavengers, flocked to the periphery of the fight.
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
Multiple status updates rang in Clay's head as he accumulated almost an endless amount of level ups. Like this, Clay grew stronger by the minute, and he went deeper into the Forest of Death to find and fight stronger opponents to level up for half a month. And in that span of time, countless soldiers also died from the hunting party sent by the empire to purge this gathered force. Many still living soldiers continued to do their best to survive, having faith that the hero they counted on would deliver on his promise.
Half a month of trying their best to survive took a toll on the surviving members of the originally legion sized army, now they were only in the hundreds, after being hunted down by demons all over. And right now, they were being chased again by some demons who had unique abilities to track.
"Dammit! We're doomed this time! Do you think the hero will still come?"
"We have nothing else to rely on. Unless you want to desert and lower yourself to banditry?"
"That… is an option."
"You! I know all of us are wearing thin on the hope that the hero will come and rescue us, and I understand wholly where those thoughts are coming from. Our fellow soldiers who have already fallen also have families back home, and they would never be able to hold them again, and so do we. But if we abandon our honor now as soldiers, even if we return to the kingdom, our families will only see our heads on a spike for deserting. It's better they remember us with heroism in our blood than the shame they will be subjected to for being associated with traitors!"
The acting captain of the remaining soldiers gave a speech to encourage them all. However, deep down, even he thought it was a bad idea to continue to stay here. If not for the orders of the king, they would abandon this place and find ways to survive on their own. Every man for himself!
Soon, the demons good at tracking, found their traces and continued their pursuit. Noticing this, the soldiers abandoned their newly found hideout and split the hundred or so men into teams.
"Men, this operation is a failure. We have failed our country; we have failed our king. And above all, we have failed our families. However, today, let them all remember us as heroes who risked our lives to punch the demons in the face! Men, do your best to survive!"
"Hah!"
Silent screams were given. And they started to split up. Some were already thinking of how to return to their homes by reducing themselves to bandits. Who would know? When all of their comrades died already. And most of them already grew their hatred towards the hero. Such a reckless individual. Risking the lives of all these soldiers as if he was having fun. He was probably out there enjoying his stay inside the well-protected confines of the palace. They imagined. However, what they couldn't imagine was that Clay was in the Forest of Death, just a few hours prior finishing up his 'training'.
It was only at the 13th day that he found out about the exploit he could take advantage of with his current abilities. He slapped his head hard and wanted to bury himself alive for his stupidity. He was too blinded by the feelings he'd felt, that despair he experienced that he forgot his main powers given to him by Imhoteph.
"If I wasn't so stupid, I would have already gone to face the entire Demon Empire the next day after 'dying' to Agamemkeru!"