In the far south was a vast forest of trees, it's wood aging to decay at every passing moment. In the air, the crows flock together in hopes of surviving. Unaware of their world's apocalyptical end.
In the borders of the forest, a young man with blonde hair and a youthful charming face stepped forward, the grim and damp wind blowing over his bloodied clothes.
"What a cynical and depressing atmosphere..." Rio muttered as he stared at the vast forest before moving his eyes to the tall mountain behind the dense trees.
The tall mountain was situated at the very back of the forest, it towered over everything in it's surroundings. It's summit was covered by grim and dark clouds, evoking a daunting presence.
That mountain was his destination. Well not specifically, at the bottom of the mountain was a cave. That was where he could get the skill he had wanted to get ever since he came to this dimension.
The skill, by itself, was not really powerful. However, it had great potential. In fact, great was an understatement.
It more or less had to do with it's creator, Faust Strider. Faust Strider was an inhabitant of this world. He was a genius in the making, a prodigy even among prodigies. However, the sudden invasion of the demons left him constantly battling in his wake, unable to rest and regain stamina, in the end he succumbed to his death by the combined attacks of 3 Infernal Demons.
His body was gone, decayed into ashes by the marching of time, only a remnant of his will managed to escape unscatched. If he were to have survived the ordeal, he would had become the ruler of this world.
Alas, fate was cruel. His death left his genius potential unawakened.
Rio sighed at the tragic end of the man. He knew those things because he had read it clearly in the novel. If the novel was accurate, in the future a small guild leader would have found the inheritance and rose to fame, all the while spreading his 'master's' history.
"Well, enough of that," Rio spoke as he shook his head. He looked at his clothes before looking directly at the forest, "Let's get this started with already."
Rio walked over the dried grass lands, his foot stepped over the cold barren ground as he slowly made his way to the tall mountain.
—
In the middle of the vast forest, the dense cluster of decaying aged trees covered the place from the little light the world had, making the whole place more darker and gloomy.
A young man with blonde hair walked over the grassy terrain as he carefully navigated his way through the forest, his eyes warily staring at the surroundings in case of a sudden attack.
The forest was dark to the point a normal person would not be able to see anything when they walk further. Rio was only able to carefully walk his way through until now due to two factors.
One, he was a Miracle Invoker. A Rank C at that. At this rank, every part of his body was enchanced. His smell, touch, eyesight and hearing. His body was already at it's peak. If he were in modern society, he would easily be the strongest human in the world.
Two, his skill «Auto Sense» was able to help him greatly by warning him in advance of other presences, making him easily avoid the small demons that roamed around the forest.
Rio suddenly stopped as he stared straight ahead the darkness. The darkness was getting worse. It was as if the further one goes, the more darker it would get.
He looked over his surroundings before stopping his eye on a nearby tree. He glanced at the aged small branch of the tree. He could use that. He walked over it and broke off the small branch.
He held it to his face and pointed his finger on the tip, instantly a small fire conjured on the tip of branch, brigthening the surroundings as embers of it's wood fell.
"Let's just hope demons won't get attracted to the light..." Rio muttered as he looked at the torch in his hand brighten the surroundings lightly. The torch barely brightened the place but for him it was enough.
He was already putting himself in a risk by using a torch to brighten the surroundings. If he used a far bigger light source, that was just asking to kill himself as it would attract all kinds of demons at the surroundings to him.
While he could easily kill off small demons in seconds, the same could not be said to the bigger and sturdier demons. In this vast forest, who knows if a demon like Cyclops roam free, or worse, a demon far stronger than a Cyclops.
Rio tensed at the thought of encountering something stronger than a Cyclops. The Cyclops earlier already proved to be a force to be reckoned with, as it forced him to use a foreign skill that exhausted almost all of his magical reserves.
Anything stronger than that would more or less kill him in the matter of seconds.
He shook his head lightly as he continued to walk forward. He couldn't go cold feet now, he was already here. Retreating or cowering would make all his efforts be reduced into waste.
—
"Is this the place?" Rio muttered as he stared at the cave infront of him. The place was covered by the darkness, there wasn't any trace of light. He couldn't see anything beyond the surface of the cave.
He was partly unsure if this was the place he was supposed to go to. The novel only mentioned that the small guild leader who found the inheritance had gone into a cave in the vast forest of darkness.
For all he knew, the cave he was standing at right now could just be a cave among hundreds of other caves in the forest.
'No matter the case, I should atleast try this one out before doubting myself. I'm already here anyway.' Rio mused as he stepped forward, walking over the grassy terrain as he made his way inside the dark cave.
—
"Is this really the place?" Rio spoke in confusion as he wandered around the inside of the dark cave while holding a torch.
He didn't know how long he was inside in the dark cave, but he knew for sure he was travelling inside for about a while now. So far, he didn't see anything notable.
It was just pure, and eerie darkness engulfing the place.
Even his «Auto Sense» didn't sense any presence within. It was like there was nothing inside at all. Maybe he was mistaken after all and got inside the wrong cave.
He was contemplating whether to turn back now or just continue on until he reached the end, ultimately he decided on the latter. Something was fishy about the place. The place was devoid of anything.
His instincts were telling him he shouldn't retreat and back down now or he will lose all of his chances. He didn't see any reason to not trust his instincts, and beside he was not losing anything anyway.
Suddenly, the fire on the torch he was holding vanished.
"Huh? Odd, why did it vanish suddenly..?" Rio wondered aloud as he looked at the wooden branch he was holding. The branch had still a lot of wood left, it was far from exhausting itself. He also didn't feel any wind that blew out the fire.
The fire simply just, vanished. It was extinguished for no apparent reason.
However, the suprises didn't end there. Rio suddenly felt the magical reserves within his body being taken away. Something was slowly draining the magic in his body. He felt himself slightly weakening from the draining.
"Is this really the path to the inheritance?" Rio mused aloud as he continued to walk forward. There was something at the end of the cave taking away his magic. That something was most likely connected to the inheritance he was searching for.
As he continued to walk further, he felt the draining on his magical reserves within his body amplify. The further he walked, the stronger the drain. Likewise, the weakening of his body became stronger.
Despite that, he continued on. There was no point in turning back now, he was already at the place. He only had to preserve more. If there was anything he knew himself that he was good at, it was preserving.
His ability to preserve was honed by the countless misfortune his previous life brought to him. In his previous life, there was not a single day he was able to rest peacefully without any worries. Everyday he woke up, the cruel projection of reality confronts him.
He didn't have the chance to have some rest nor fun. He was like a slave of society, maybe to stretch it further, a slave of destiny and fate.
"Ha.." Rio panted as the weakening of his body further amplify. He checked the magical reserves within his body and realized that it was gone. There was nothing left. No wonder he felt like an ordinary human.
He looked at the surroundings, noticing that he couldn't even see anything anymore. He was more or less a blind man in the darkness.
To make matters worse, something heavy was pressing down on his shoulders, making him stagger and unable to properly move. A part of his mind wanted to give up completely, but despite so, he continued to walk on.
He walked forward, his foot stepping over the rocky terrain, in each moment getting closer to his destination, however in every moment also close to dying in his wake.
For his every step, his body weakened and the heavy force upon his shoulder strengthened. Even with staggering steps, he didn't give up. Even with a weakened body, he preserved on. Even if he couldn't see nor feel anything anymore, he continued on.
At some point, he couldn't even think anymore. The thoughts in his head vanished. The memories of his other life vanished. His skills were all sealed, unable to be used. Even his identity, 'Rio' vanished, yet despite all of that, he continued preserving.
He walked upon the grim and dark cave, soullesly staggering in every step as everything within him vanished. Like an empty man without destination, he threaded the cave of despair, searching for the solace of hope he desperately wanted, unaware that at the deepest end was nothing but a hollow illusion of despair.
Even if he had forgotten everything. Even if he was no longer himself, he would continue on, threading upon this empty path, for as long as he lives, he will find the answer he wanted to find. Nothing would stop him, not even the Gods themselves.