The Magical Beast Forest spanned for six kilometers. The plant and animal life were plentiful, yet the aura of death remained constant.
The depths of this land was known for being dangerous. Colt wouldn't dare go there; thus, they were on the edge of the Forest they call The First Ring.
The Magical Beast Forest was segmented into five different areas or rings, with the First Ring being the safest and the Fifth Ring the most dangerous.
The Fifth Ring was also known as the Heart of the Forest; it was where the King of the Forest resided. The Magical Beast Forest's current Master was one of the few Demons one could find on the Continent, a Gargantusk.
Colt had no idea what kind of monster it was, but he heard it was huge and scary. It was a colossus monstrosity. Its strength surpasses even that of a True Dragon.
While the sun was still up, Colt was atop a tree, observing his squadron take down a Tier-6 Ogre.
Only five were sent out, and they were not taking care of the beast with ease. Subjugating a beast takes tactics and time.
There was one Shield wielder at the front, two sword user, a spear user, and someone using the bow. Colt rested his head on his palms as he observed the Shield wielder take the attack with a roar.
The Ogre's stamina seemed to have lost its limits and staggered. It was distracted, and the archer fired an arrow which pierced its eyes.
Roarrrr!
The Ogre was in pain and held onto its eyes; this became the cue for the two swordsmen to dart ahead and strike the back of its knee, making it fall to the ground, and then the spear wielder charged and pierced its head.
The group of five was burned out as they felt tired. They were trying to catch their breath when all of a sudden, the Ogre moved. It moved and tried to get its hands on one of the soldiers.
But just as it was about to grab someone, a figure blurred and reappeared. Mary cut the Ogre's hand with her white sword.
The Ogre screeched in pain as she said, "Make sure to kill it before doing anything else."
Slash! She then proceeded to behead the monster. She then casually cleaned her sword.
"Thank you…Knight Mary, you saved my life." Jev, the Shield wielder, said his thanks with a lowered head. He was ashamed of this blunder.
"Don't let do something so foolish again, especially with the Lord being here. Expect extra training later tonight—go and rest for the time being." Mary said before moving away and returning to Risa's side, who was quite the distance away.
Colt was on top of the tree, watching them fight against monsters. With him was Lopre, who was anxiously waiting for the silent Colt to speak a word.
'Is what I'm doing good? Is everything up to the Young Master's standard?'
It had been an hour since they began fighting. Currently, it was now the seventh squad of soldiers. Everyone had managed to kill a slew of monsters. However, Colt had not flashed a smile throughout.
'The letter said he's here to find a gift and observe us…I didn't think this would be more nerve-wracking than when I faced against ten Rank-9 Undead to save my men.'
"How did you get them to be so obedient? I didn't peg them to listen to you so easily."
"It was by the help of Lord Fluff's Generals. They were the ones who instilled discipline to these men." Lopre answered quite concisely.
Colt turned to Lopre and smiled, "No matter, you did a good job. Just make sure they can follow up in the killing blow; if it's an enemy you want to kill, take its head without fail. Sometimes even stabbing someone twenty times is not enough."
"Yes, Master."
"...Continue your training; I'm going to the Second Layer to search for Hylda's present. If I don't return before it gets dark, don't look for me."
Colt jumped off the tree with Fluff in hand. The soldiers who were fighting continued, and Colt approached Risa, who just finished slaying an Ogre with the help of Drako.
She was out of breath but quickly regained herself. A smile was on her face as she cleaned her sword, "This is more enjoyable than I thought. Thanks for your help, Drako."
"You are getting better at handling my gift, human. It appears your talent is indeed genuine; it appears accepting your offer was the correct choice, after all." Drako nodded its head while it spoke in a deep voice.
"Congratulations on your first kill, Risa." All the while, Risa celebrated; Colt walked over with Fluff, "I didn't think you'd actually reach Rank-5 Warrior while I was away, and it appears you learned a lot while I was away."
"Hehe, you'd be surprised how much I've improved…" she stuck out her chest, as she showed her pride only to get a forehead flick from Colt, "Ouch, that hurt, brother! What was that for?" Risa complained.
"That's for being cocky, don't let it get to your head; I might change my mind in helping you get the Regal Void Butterfly."
"But you promised!"
"I promised to help you in search of a Second Soul Partner if you reach Rank-5; the Regal Void Butterfly was only if you reached Rank-7."
Risa remembered his words and failed to argue anything back. Risa decided to be on her best behavior. Drako failed to understand why its partner only realized this fact. Nothing comes good from antagonizing Colt, or so it thought.
'Despite her laziness, she's rather energetic when it comes to Magical Beast.' Colt didn't know whether to be happy or otherwise.
"My Lord, we need to move. It would be best if we get our objective before it gets dark." Mary stated as she held onto her sword and shield and carried the Chick on her head.
Colt also thought the same and agreed with her sentiment. According to their earlier agreement, Colt and the rest would come out of these Forest just before getting dark.
"Meow!"
While on the move, Fluff informed Colt of the presence of two Generals heading towards their direction.
"I knew I can count on you." Colt said, and the Chick pouted for some reason.
Soon, red and orange cats joined them. It was a Fire Cat General and an Earth Cat General.
"Nya, nya, meo!" The Fire and Earth Generals welcomed Fluff and Colt in their training grounds and promptly assured them about what's to come.
The cats were set out to every corner of the Continent to train and enlist beast to Fluff's army. So far, however, there was still no member of the army. However, Colt could tell that these cats were already Tier-9, stronger than him and Mary.
These cats were legit strong.
"Take me to the Nether Flame Pegasus…" Colt could care less, however.
Colt said, and the cats took the lead. While this happened, Mary was the only one who remained confused, for she was the only one without knowledge of the cat language…
Colt turned to look at her dumbfounded expression and decided onto something, "Learn the cat language with my daughter when we return. You would be talking to these guys in the near future. Communication is vital.
"…Yes, My Lord."
Colt and his crew would later arrive in a burnt land and boiling lake. Colt and the rest have found the Nether Flame Pegasus.
All the while this happened, two figures had set foot before a hill…it was Krisa and Ellaine.