Para Woods is located on the boundary of Liloy and Labason Kingdom. It's a very dense forest inhabited by scary monsters that would only show up at the start of dawn. These monsters were only exclusive in this forest and nowhere else on the entire continent.
Many of these monsters specialize in curses and black magic and even if you were able to safely traverse out of the woods, you'd suddenly find yourself in a random location.
One example was when a group of merchants traveled through the forest and after they were able to escape, they suddenly found themselves in the territory of the Galas Kingdom which was a thousand miles from where the Liloy Kingdom was.
And one other example was when a soldier peed on a small lump on the ground. He suddenly shrank into a 5-centimeter man.
There were a lot of stories regarding the forest. Rumors have it that it was once a village of witches that had been massacred and became wicked spirits that haunt people who enter the forest or there was a portal in the heart of the forest that had spawned all of these monsters and which is why they can only be found in the forest.
One thing for sure was that it was a dangerous forest that should not be trespassed at all costs.
"You've said all of that and why are we still gonna enter the forest?"
"Because this is the route to the hidden valley."
"The hidden valley? What's that?"
"Oh you'll soon find out, but for now, we must remain silent at all cost, the fewer monsters we encounter the easier it is for us to reach the heart of the forest."
As they continue to traverse the woods, the scenery became gloomier and darker as they entered deep through the forest. Xerel had to cover his nose with his hands due to the stinking odor, he couldn't tell if it was decaying animal or disgusting manure but one thing he could tell was that whatever this smell came from was bad news.
"What's with this awful scent?"
"It's the smell of a decomposing corpse."
"A corpse but how is it that bad of a smell? What kind of corpse is that?"
"A corpse of a Sigbin."
"A Sigbin?"
The two trailed the scent of the corpse and what they saw almost made Xerel throw up.
In front of him was a decomposing body of a fleshy animal with near-human features, long limbs, and sharp claw-like nails. Its body looked like it had died a few days ago. It was being curled around by the dark withered tree that thorned all over it.
"What happened to that monster?"
"It probably tried to leave the forest."
"Was it killed by these thorny branches?"
"Yeah. The reason why these monsters have settled in this forest is that they can't get out of it, if they tried, the thorny barriers will bind and kill them. What's more, is that any being from outside of the forest enters, the thorny branches will open a path but once you enter, you can't get out. Even if we survive in the daytime, the enchanted Forest inflicts a curse on those who have settled at night and prohibits them from leaving. We will become invisible to the eyes of the travelers and we can neither call for help nor touch them as we will become ghosts. The curse will disappear at night but having the barrier locking us in, the chances of leaving the forest may cost us a limb or two."
"Then what's the point of us entering the woods?"
"Do you think I don't have a plan?"
"Sigh~ fine..."
When Lazarus went near the thorny walls, the branches and vines opened a pathway for him to enter. He entered the path and from behind Xerel observed as the Mana around Lazarus distorted.
'Something is off about this place.'
Xerel clicked his tongue and entered the woods. Immediately, he felt a strange Mana blanket his body which he could immediately tell was a curse even before the window panel could pop up in his head.
Ting~
[YOU HAVE BEEN INFLICTED BY A CURSE!]
[Buyag- You become invisible to external senses (Day). Weakens the senses and dulls movements. Randomly affected by a debuff every 5 minutes. Skills/Spells have a 40% chance of failure upon activation. You are vulnerable to dark elements. The magical defense has decreased by 60%. The physical defense has decreased by 50%.]
"That's one scary curse. Well anyways~"
Xerel opened his inventory and drank an elixir. The curse that blanketed his body quickly vanish and he felt rejuvenated from the effects of the elixir.
"Pssst. Here."
Xerel threw a vial to Lazarus who looked confused but still caught the bottle. His eyes immediately grew wide at the vial in his hands as he look at Xerel in shock and awe.
"You!...how can you simply throw away such a valuable item like it's some sort of rock?"
"I already told you, I have a lot of supply with that stuff. Drink it, it will remove the curse that the enchanted Forest has placed upon you."
"Urrghh...haaah~"
Lazarus had second thoughts about whether he should drink it or not. Drinking it would make their travel a lot easier but the value alone of this vial was worth a kingdom's treasure. It was too much a waste to simply use it like this but knowing that Xerel simply sees this stuff as nothing more than a bottle of water, he couldn't help but sigh out loud. In the end, he drank the contents of the vial. Although his mind was telling him to stop, his body was enjoying the heavenly taste of the golden fluid as it coursed through his tongue and down his throat.
'Such a waste!'
He swallow the last bit of the vial as his eyes teared up from the thought. He threw away the bottle to try and not think about it deeply.
Takataktakat.....
"..!"
"Something is coming our way!"
"Shit! Do you sense it too?"
Lazarus and Xerel draw their weapons out as they stared at the distance. Xerel's body sensitivity to his surroundings had fallen sharply but his Mana sensitivity remained sharp as ever. In his field of view, he could see the world like a thermal camera.
"Hordes of four-legged monsters are coming are way, should we hide?"
"Those are probably Sigbins, they are the weakest monsters around this forest and they usually group up in 5-10 members. To think that there are more than that amount means that something must've scared them."
"Hmmm.....let's fight it!"
"Are you crazy!? We can't waste our stamina fighting those weak monsters when there are a lot harder ones we have to deal with. Let's hide and let it pass through."
"You still didn't realize it?"
"What? Huh!?"
Lazarus' face squirms in disbelief after seeing Xerel's body exude a strong presence. The one's frilled and weak body had abruptly changed to a sturdy and powerful one.
"What happened to you? You were merely a child when I first met you now you're already showing the strength of a 2nd-rate soldier. Have you been hiding your powers from me?"
"It's hard to explain it but I promise you that whatever you thinking about right now just you know that I'm on the side of good."
"..."
Lazarus didn't respond and decided to observe Xerel.
Khiieeekk! Khieeeek! Khieeeek!
Their loud shrill resonated in the gloomy forest. From a standpoint, they look like naked and malnourished humans running on four hind legs but when you look at them closer, their facial structure resembled that of a chimpanzee and a bat mixed.
Fangs similar to a saber tooth, and nails in each finger similar to sloths. They were rabid wild beasts ready to maw anyone that comes their way.
Ting~
[Sigbin
Level: 27
Rank: Enchanted Rare 1
HP: 2,700/2,700
State: Alert, Scared]
' There's about a thousand of them with each ranging from level 25 to 40. Seeing their scared statement means something is chasing them. I'm still getting the user to this weary atmosphere so releasing my mana too far may cause a strain on my body. For now, let's deal with all these monsters.'
Towing!
Xerel struck the first blow at a Sigbin in his front. His rapier was able to pierce through the skull of the monster due to the imbued mana sharpness that he placed.
[YOU HAVE KILLED A SIGBIN!]
Ting~
[+27,900 EXP]
[YOU ARE THE FIRST HUMAN TO KILL AN ENCHANTED MONSTER!]
[YOU HAVE GAINED A TITLE]
[Repeller- Damage against enchanted monsters is increased by 10%. Experience gain is increased by 150% (2 Days duration after obtaining the title).
+10 Dark Element
Repel-(P/A)(Buff): Absorbs inflicted curse/hex and converts it to True Damage. Converted damage empowers the next attack landed by the user. (Stacks 3 times).
Mana Cost- None
Cooldown- 40 seconds]
'A title that increases both damage and experience gain and a handy skill that has no Mana usage? I hit a jackpot!'
Xerel couldn't help but grin in exhilaration. The swarm of Sigbins was like sewage rats but Xerel didn't falter from the sheer number.
'Their numbers are too much for Xerel to handle. I should help him.'
Lazarus was ready to pull out his weapon when Xerel suddenly gestured for him to stop.
' I've had this scenario stuck in my head and have always wanted it to try but since I had always faced singular enemies that are too powerful, I wasn't able to try it out but now, with these swarm of monsters just below my level, they can become great training dummies for me.'
Xerel inhaled and exhaled a stream of air and his body's temperature quickly rose. His body shuns in pinkish-red and he started gathering all the Mana in his surroundings.
He turned the Mana into small yet sharp blades similar to a dagger that numbered about eight of the same blades.
They revolve around him like guards and moved according to Xerel's will.
'My mana proficiency is still too low for me to conjure detailed and powerful weapons. I could make one type of sword that has the details of fine craftsmanship and Nuclear-level destructive power but that'll take me too long to make so for now, small blades with heavy firepower will be enough to deal with this guy.'
A Sigbin lunged at Xerel with its sharp claws and the blades responded by lining into a defense that blocked the sigbin's approach.
Kwang!
Its sharp metallic claws sparked with the blades and dark energy splashed along with the spark which turned into the essence that seeped through Xerel's body.
[//. ](0/3)
In the bottom right of his vision, he could see a bar that was filled up a bit.
'Ah, so my body can automatically absorb any dark energy that is near me and fill it up with this meter. So it's going to be easier for me to indicate how many stacks of the [Repel] I can use. Such a great feature, why do I have to receive it from a weak skill but not for my other skills?'
Xerel pondered in thought and quickly focused his senses on the incoming Signs. They surrounded him from all angles and jumped at him simultaneously, Lazarus was watching and had no choice but to jump in for help.
"There's too many of them for you to handle alone! I told you to hide and not fight them, why the hell are you so stubborn?"
Wielding his long sword, Lazarus was ready to weave it at the signs but suddenly, he could see the swarms of sigbin that covered Xerel profusely shake.
Khieeeeyyaa!!
The scream of pain resonated as all nearby sigbin turned to mincemeat due to the powerful revolving speed of the blades. It acted as both defense and offensive property for Xerel.
Xerel was covered in green blood and goo but he wasn't unscathed. He look at the bar in the upper corner and couldn't help but slightly grin.
[//////////////////] (3/3) (Repel is full)
"Let's try this out."
Xerel's rapier was exuding a dark flame that looked ominous and calm at the same time. Xerel was in no time to deal with the sigbin that scattered around him so he left it to work with the blades.
Each blade pierces through the heads of the signing instantly killing them. He gained 7 levels as a result but his attention was focused on what was coming in front of him rather than the level-ups that he gained.
Ghuooooohhh...
"It's coming..."
"Yeah, I feel it too."
"Do you know what it is?"
"Yes, it's an Aswang. A humanoid ghoulish monster that feeds on blood. Its regenerative powers are on par with a Vampire Lord. It's not sentient and only acts by instinct but mind you, it's still a powerful foe, it's immune to magic and has arguably high physical defense, and the only way to defeat it is to behead it or destroy its core."
"So it's a meatshield dummy. Very good!"
"What? Even a knight can't defeat it in a 1v1, you're slightly stronger than the average Joe, how come you're already that arrogant?"
"It's not arrogance, it's confidence."
Xerel smiled boastfully and Lazarus couldn't help but put his palm in his face.