In the darkness of the forest you could see a small figure dashing through the densely wooded forest,expertly avoiding trees and obstacles.Holden had vastly underestimated how long his "trip" would take as after an entire 8 months of travel had only gotten what he estimated too be an eight done with his trek too the capital,he had also become a 7 year old.
As the days had dragged on he got stronger,faster,and smarter and managed too learn how to hide from predators and navigate the forest.His ability too sense danger had became scarily accurate from his numerous battles with the beasts of the forest along with a special ability from a crystal.He had managed too get quite a few crystals,more than the average person would see in their entire lives!
He had grown and matured even more and his body which originally had some baby fat had become unnaturally muscular and he grew too resemble the height of a 12 year old,the crystals that he had absorbed at a young age had increased his growth at a staggering rate!
In fact if somebody said that he were a 7 year old not a single person would believe him,the only proof of identity he had was a plaque that every person born in his country received at birth.
His face had thinned out and he became a handsome youth with long messy blonde hair and glowing golden eyes that shone with alertness.He had luckily received 3 special characteristics from the beasts he slayed counting his tough skin from the massive imposing bear,danger sense from a giant mutated rabbit,and last but not least enhanced vision from his most terrifying foe yet which was a terrifying owl with a 30 foot wingspan!
In fact,the owl was pushing the boundaries of an E tier monster and might have even been a low D tier.That just shows how much Holden's swordsmanship and fighting ability had increased over the span of 8 months while he had had almost daily fights with dangerous beasts!
He fought with the owl an entire two days without sleep as it dived at him with massive steel talons over and over again.Holden had his eyes peeled on the skies the entire two days,always on the watch for when the flying beast would swoop down.
Holden,as the fight drew on slowly accumulated deep cuts all throughout his body as the razor sharp talons could even cut through his toughened skin with ease.The owl was also injured as Holden managed to sneak in a stab or a slash onto the owl's massive body,and it started too leave a trail of crimson red mist in the air when it would take off into the skies.
The owl accumulated damage faster then Holden and as the sun began too fall on the second day,the weakened and tired owl who was single mindedly hunting its prey,reacted too slowly as it swooped down and Holden finally managed managed too evade its talons with an exhausted roll ,spring up quickly ,and with a roar he managed a swift yet violent cut on the beasts wings,crippling it and sending it crashing into the ground too it's demise.
...
He was currently attempting too make up as much ground as he could before winter hit because he knew his pace would slow down as soon as it reached freezing temperatures.
Holden even sacrificed sleep too continue running in the dark with his enhanced vision,he was risking running into one of the more powerful creatures at night!
He put one step in front of the other as trees whizzed by his peripheral vision,checking his map at regular intervals.The winter cold already began too set in and he could felt the air arround him grow colder.
Holden set down camp and started a fire with confidence that he could deal with most beasts that dared attack him.He laid down next to the fire and slowly drifted off into sleep.
SNAP!
Holden's eyes shot open as he heard crashing sounds barreling towards him from the forest.
He quickly stomped out what remained of the fire and jumped into the tree canopy,eyes trained on the ground below.
He then saw an astonishing sight as hundreds of creatures small and big rushed through the woods at breakneck speed.Confusion clouded the boy's eyes before he heard a large thumping sound.
Then,massive crimson eyes shone in the darkness and Holden,who hadn't experienced fear in months,felt his entire body shiver before instinctively running away.
Holden leaped from tree too tree as fast as his legs could take him as the hair on his neck stood on end.He could hear the massive monster behind him chase him while letting out eardrum-shaking roars!He could hear the beast's massive heaving breaths and fear penetrated deeply into his bones.He could hear trees collapsing and underbrush being destroyed.
Holden's legs were on fire and his lungs felt as though lava had been poured into them,burning him every time he took a breathe!He kept running and leaping for hours until the monster's thundering footsteps grew more and more distant and he could no longer see it's piercing red eyes.
He kept on running through the night until day began too rise and he finally collapsed on the forest floor in exhaustion.He lay there with gasping breathes and his eyes wide open.Fear and alertness were present in his eyes until he eventually regained his composure.
Holden now knew that he thought too highly of himself,and that he was still at the bottom of this wicked forest's food chain!
His pace slowed down as he moved through the forest cautiously and for the next week he never let down his guard.Then one morning he woke up freezing,to the sight of a winter wonderland!The dense foliage was covered in a layer of white and the usual dirty green-brown forest floor was a pristine white.
Every blow of the wind brought mind numbing cold and Holden could finally put on his bear-fur cloak and wear the oppressive bear head hat on top of his head.Holden's face became obscured by shadows and he resembled the once mighty bear itself from afar.
He continued on and interestingly,as he travelled he noticed that the small monsters he used too prey on would become instinctively scared by the eyes on his bear-head hat and run away.
Food became scarce as most of the smaller beasts hid away for the winter and he had too depend on fighting strong beasts regularly too obtain enough food to sustain him.
Naturally from numerous fights his swordsmanship became more skilled and violent,aiming too take away life as efficiently as possible.
Unfortunately while he did keep on growing from the crystals,it seemed as though the crystals from the type of beasts during the winter wouldn't provide him special abilities.
The only exception was a few days into the winter when he killed a large mammoth looking creature that he easily outmaneuvered with his incredible agility and put down with a single chop of his sword through its neck.
The crystal he absorbed from its chest gave him a small cold resistance which he internally very thankful for.
...
He trudged along and once more became comfortable with the forest as he got into the routine of running,eating,killing,and sleeping.
He rarely spoke anymore and the only sounds he heard were the ambient sounds from the wildlife and the occasional roar from clashing with monsters.
Occasionally Holden would wake up too find himself in the middle of a blizzard and even though the dense foliage managed too block some of the snow he still couldn't make much progress on those days.Early on he decided to dedicate the time he spent in blizzards too swordsmanship.
He would find himself a cave or a particularly dense part of the forest,set up a campfire,and just swing his sword repeating his basic swordsmanship for hours on end.If the blizzard lasted particularly long he would simply wait it out and train through the day.
He led a life of solitude,discipline,and silence as he enveloped himself in his journey and his survival.He lived simply, finding water when he could and living of the land.His voice grew rough and hoarse from rarely talking and he only just barely remembered how too speak.
...
In the dark of the forest you could see an outline of a man covered in beastskins ,sporting an imposing bear head as a helmet leaping nimbly through the forest at high speeds.The man leaped horizontally from tree too tree,going so fast and jumping so lightly it appeared as if he were flying!The trees slowly thinned out and the man's speed slowed down until eventually he touched the ground and started walking.
The trees had thinned and gone,and the man started too emotionally stumble and then suddenly,his sturdy frame fell too his knees.The man lifted his helmet too reveal a pair of glorious eyes that shone with the intensity of the sun,he had the face of a handsome teenager with a light stubble on his prominent jawline,and he had a head of long unruly blonde hair tied into a knot with a piece of simple string on the back of his head.
His eyes reddened and a single tear trickled down his cheek,his piercing gaze was looking upon a majestic city surrounded by towering white walls that simply gazing at would give you an imposing impression.
This "man" was of course,Holden.Holden had traveled through the hellish forest for an entire 5 years!He was now a 12 year old however he neither had the mind,experience,nor body of a twelve year old,he was simply 12 years of age yet it seemed as though he had lived close too 16.
He had endured multiple harsh winters and trained his swordsmanship all the while.He had trained his body and swordsmanship for years and had killed hundreds of beasts even killing a few belonging too the D-tier.Holden hadn't absorbed any incredible or unique abilities.However,most animals' abilities had entirely too due with survival so he had gotten heightened senses,explosiveness,and strength.
He had reached close too the peak of a normal human and still had time to grow.He was easily six foot and had a frame racked with muscles and scars that simply defied his age.Holden had rarely spoken a word for years and his voice was dry and deep from un-use.
Holden yelled and a rough gravely sound came out.
He slowly gathered himself,picked up his backpack,and tore the well worn map he had been using religiously.
He had finally arrived after 5 years of hell.