She started waking up as the shimmering sun passed through the tops of the trees and reached her sleeping face.
'What is this soft thing?'
She said as she felt a furry surface under her.
It had been months since the last time she slept in a bed. And she couldn't figure out what is she sleeping on.
She slowly opened her eyes, and to her dismay, it wasn't a bed or a carpet but a beastman.
She quickly backed away, and while backing away, she accidentally kicked the beastman to his head, and the beastman woke up.
He was a male in his teens. He had yellow eyes, orange ears, and a tail that resembled those of a red fox.
"Argh!"
He exclaimed in pain from the kick to his head.
He looked around him to check the environment he was in, and when he saw her, he smiled a big smile that scared her.
"Hi, my name is Shual Adom. What's your name?"
He said familiarly and startled her.
"I...I'm Mary Mob."
She answered in fear.
He got his face close to hers, squeezed his eyes in suspicion, and asked.
"Why are you afraid of me?"
"Why did you grab my hand?"
Mary asked.
"My deal with Thomas was that I would help him find his daughter, and if you are his daughter, then I can't let you get away."
Shual answered.
"Ah, okay..."
Mary nodded her head in understanding.
"So, why are you scared of me?"
Shual asked and reminded her she never answered his question.
Her face reddened, and she answered.
"You wake up with a man you never met before besides you and tell me you're not scared. You're okay with this answer?!"
"Hmm, okay...? Well, anyway, where are we?"
Shual said to her, unsure of what else to say.
Mary looked at the giant trees of the forest, the dark green leaves, and the black trunks.
"I think we are in the Demon Forest."
She answered, unsure of her answer.
"So. How do we get to the new lands from here?"
Shual asked her.
"We need to head t... Why do you keep asking me questions?! Do you think I'm your traveling guide?"
Mary questioned him loudly.
They heard a rustle from the forest around them. And Mary understood she messed up.
"I don't know where to go and..."
Shual started answering, but then she put her finger to her lips and shushed him.
"Don't you hear a rustling sound?"
Mary asked as she reached for her sword, and Shual looked like things finally made sense for him.
"I've heard a rustling sound ever since we got here. I thought it was normal for this place."
Shual answered and took a fighting stance.
A horde of demonic lions jumped out from their hiding spots and started attacking them.
They had large teeth, six green eyes, two tails, and black fur. And they were three times the size of normal lions.
"Stand behind me."
Mary unsheathed a sword similar in design to her father's sword and was ready to fight.
"No need."
Shual said confidently and stepped forward.
"What are you doing, idiot!"
Mary shouted at him as she saw him walk calmly toward the mightiest lion in the pack.
He and the leader of the lions, who was twice as big as the others, locked eyes and stood facing each other for ten seconds.
Right at the tenth second, they both dashed toward each other, but the leader didn't evaluate his situation correctly.
Demonic creatures can sense the life force of beings and, based on that, see their potential. Since strength is usually decided by potential, it is a reasonably reliable method of evaluating your enemy. But against Shu, who got special training to surpass his potential. It was unreliable and could even bring to the creature's death.
Shu punched the leader in the face, and the leader kept running into Shu's hand for a bit until his body started to compress against Shu's hand and shot backward from the force of the punch like a spring.
Mary's eyes widened as she saw the beastman jump to defend her and crash his opponent effortlessly.
"You are so strong. Aren't you just a low-potential nobody?"
She said.
"I may have low potential, but I surpassed my limits and gained the ability to live to the age of thirty-one!"
Shu answered proudly.
"This is nothing to be proud of!"
Mary shouted at him again.
For a few moments, the two of them looked at each other until Shu broke the silence.
"So... how do we get to the new lands?"
Mary sighed and started explaining.
"Well, if we are in the Demon Forest, we need to head to the Mountain of No Returns and then slide to the Broken Valley. From there, we should sneak into one of the carts of the..."
Mary was explaining, but she used too many names of places and terms Shu didn't know. And so he lost her when she mentioned something about a cart.
"What was it? I think I lost you."
Shu said, and an expression of pain was visible on Mary's face. She dreaded the thought of repeating that long explanation.
"Sigh... Just follow me."
She said, and they both started walking together.
********
In another place.
A man with black hair and blue eyes was walking with two guards behind him and two in front of him.
"Hey, trash. How does it feel to be captured? As a god and all."
One of the guards asked the person in the middle.
"I was wrong. I am no god. If even a mortal with no potential can beat me, with only martial arts no less, I am nothing but a weak mortal."
The man in the middle answered.
They reached a large and secure building.
"Whatever, man. Welcome to your new house. Anquan Jianyu."
The same guard said.
"The most secure jail on the continent sounds interesting. If only I would have had the time. Hahahaha!"
The man in the middle started laughing, and a storm started conjuring around him.
"Phil, go call for backup from the castle!"
The same guard said to another one of the four guards.
The guard he talked to chanted something, and crow-like wings appeared on his back.
He flew towards the large prison.
"Tommy, you said you could beat me in a fight. Help me!"
The same guard said as he drew an ax from his belt and swallowed a pill that gave him features of a wild boar, such as tusks, boar ears, a muscular body, and a snout.
The other guard unsheathed a sword. And they both started attacking the prisoner.
The third guard left at the scene started chanting attack spells to subdue the prisoner.
They weren't a match for the prisoner who effortlessly created an unbreakable shield to defend himself, smoke so that no one would see him, and a sword just in case someone found him.
The prisoner ran away, and the guards were left in front of the prison, unsure where to look.
"Sorry, Blade, I wasn't very helpful. I didn't even lend one hit."
The guard named Tommy said to the guard who was talking with the prisoner.
"It's okay. I wasn't expecting much anyway."
The guard named Blade said.
"So what do we do about Alexander?"
The guard who used attack spells asked.
"I don't know, Will."
The guard named Blade said.
********
'It's a good thing I got this power. If I didn't have such a versatile gift, I would have never been able to escape.'
Alexander thought to himself.
He made a map with his gift to see where he was and saw the name of the giant forest in front of him, the Demon Forest.
He went further in, towards a large mountain that on the map he could see its name, the Mountain of No Returns.