When I docked at the island's shore, I saw only tall trees standing very close to each other, leading into a very, very dark forest.
There was an oppressive feeling, and each step deeper into the forest became heavier.
Entering it, I looked like an ant compared to the trees from a distance.
But I went straight ahead, aiming to find the notorious monster.
The deeper I ventured into the forest, the more I saw new and strange creatures.
There were huge ones, as tall as skyscrapers, and also some smaller ones that were quite brutal.
There were many different beings, clearly demonstrating why no humans could live here and why so many die.
It's like a bug trap for humans.
Whoever enters here doesn't leave alive.
The creatures are incomparable to those on other islands.
I continued exploring the island, which was quite large.
Not comparable to Lubai, but the Mubae Kingdom would be a fitting comparison.
Aside from new plants and creatures, I found nothing special, so I decided to set up a camp for the night.
To satisfy my hunger, I killed small animals that looked similar to ours and thus ended my first day in the Forbidden District.
The next morning, when I woke up, I was tied up and hanging freely in the air.
Naturally, I was a bit surprised, but it wasn't completely unexpected.
After all, it's a forbidden place for certain reasons.
Shortly afterward, many small monkeys gathered around me, and I asked them to let me go.
Yes, normally monkeys can't talk, but after all the strange creatures, it could have been possible.
But as expected, they just stared at me with their big eyes, without responding.
Suddenly, someone emerged from the background and asked me, < "What are you doing here? You're a human. You have no business here, and you should know that. The fact that you made it to the island alive is a miracle in itself." >
With a sad expression, I replied, < "I came here to become stronger. I really don't want any trouble. Now that this is cleared up, could you free me from here?" >
< "You trespassed into our territory and now wonder why you're in this situation. Tsk. You humans are all the same. You do what you want and then act like nothing happened." > said the creature, which didn't look human.
< "Look, I don't know what's happened to you, but I haven't done anything bad to you. Let me go, and you won't see me again, okay?" > I offered.
< "That's what you'd like. I have something better in mind. You'll see." > it said.
< "I don't have time for this." > I replied and easily freed myself from the restraints.
Since I was tied up quite high, I fell for about 30 seconds before I pushed off the trees just before impact to avoid hitting the ground.
It was impressed by me and followed me.
It was quite fast and managed to keep up with me despite my increased pace.
After some time, we reached an open area, and I stopped in the middle of the clearing, thinking that maybe this creature could be the notorious monster.
I then challenged it, saying, < "If you want me, you'll have to fight me man to man!" >
< "Man to man? What if I told you I'm not a man?" > it replied.
< "Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were a woman." > I responded, with a slightly embarrassed and ashamed expression.
< "And who said I'm a woman?" > it asked me.
< "Wait! Are you trying to tell me that you...? I don't want to offend or anything, but I'm convinced there are only two genders," > I said.
< "No, you idiot, I'm neither. Neither man nor woman! To be precise, I don't know what I am." > it said, stepping out of the shadows.
< "I don't know what I am myself, but I have a special ability. I can transform into anything I want. That means I'm a shapeshifter or something." > it stood before me and transformed from a puma into a copy of me.
It remained a few meters in front of me.
All around us was only a densely overgrown area of trees, about 500 meters high, and we stood in the open space without trees, directly facing each other.
< "But don't worry, I don't copy others' strength. I can only transform into something I've come into contact with. My strength, however, is my own." > it explained to me.
< "May I ask one more question?" > I asked it.
< "What would that question be?" > it asked curiously.
< "Can you, um, increase your thing down there or...you know, enhance certain things in women?" > I asked with a perverted smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Overwhelmed by the question, it replied, blushing and completely flustered, < "That...you'll probably never find out." > and got ready to fight.
We then began to fight.
I immediately felt that it was very, very strong.
Maybe even as strong as Algris, but even if Algris and it teamed up against me, they wouldn't stand a chance because the power difference between us is too great.
When I realized the power difference, I treated the fight as a training session and tried to focus and control the power of my other voice.
I came here to gain control over this power, so I wouldn't be controlled by my other voice again and become a danger to others.
But in the middle of the fight, we heard a loud noise.
We looked around to see where the noise came from and saw something gigantic moving in our direction.
Whatever it was, it pushed the 500-meter-tall trees aside as if walking through tall grass.
I didn't know what this large creature was, but the being beside me apparently recognized it immediately and ran away, saying, < "If your life matters to you, run for your life!" >
From its face, I could see it was full of fear, so I decided to hide among the trees away from the open space.
I stood relatively close to the open area behind a tree with a slight hollow.
The view of the open space was great, as I wanted to see the creature that the being feared.
In my hiding spot, I waited for the creature that was approaching us, and it was huge.
Estimated to be 380 meters tall, it looked like a cross between a human and an ape.
The gigantic creature was covered with long hair all over its body, except for its face, hands, and feet.
Its body was elongated.
A broad upper body, very long arms, and very long legs.
Its physique alone was intimidating enough, but the first look at its face paralyzed me with fear.
It was a terrifying sight.
An emotionless face, with a flat nose and a large, wide mouth, which was torn open halfway along the cheek, revealing the inside of the mouth.
This wound stretched from its left eye to its right eye.
Along the wound, there was no skin at all.
Only its skeleton could be seen underneath.
Moreover, its aura was so oppressive that breathing became difficult for me.
The aura made it clear to me that if it discovered me, it would tear me apart in the most gruesome way within seconds.
As I gasped for air, my body wouldn't listen to me, and my heart began to pound harder.
At that moment, I understood why the being ran away in fear, and I wished for nothing more than to have run away as far as possible, just like it.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise coming from directly behind me.
Shocked, I turned to see where the noise came from, and it was a squirrel-like creature.
When I turned back to look at the gigantic creature, it suddenly stood right next to me within seconds.
In shock, I almost stumbled, but I caught myself at the last second and held my hand over my mouth.
The 380-meter monster stood directly behind, or rather beside, my tree, like a spider on all fours on the ground.
With one arm, it held onto my tree, and its head was slightly tilted to the side.
If the gigantic creature had been just 2 meters further forward, it would have spotted me immediately.
At that moment, I felt a fear like I had never felt before.
The fear overwhelmed me so much that I almost instinctively wanted to come out of hiding so that the monster would just kill me and get it over with.
But just then, the monster moved toward the squirrel-like creature.
Without a second's hesitation, I ran in the exact opposite direction.
I only heard from a further distance the agonizing screams of the squirrel-like creature that had been caught by the gigantic monster.
With the creature's agonizing screams, I heard a deep, slow laugh from the gigantic monster as if it was enjoying the screams.
At first, I ran slowly to avoid being noticed, but the further away I got, the faster I ran, until, after the shock, I remembered that I could teleport and moved as far away as possible.
When I had calmed down a bit, I decided to sleep somewhere on a treetop because the monster had traumatized me, and I didn't want to be awakened by it.
It was getting dark, and after some searching, I found a treetop that was taller than all the others and looked like a broad nest.
Before I could decide whether to stay here or not, I almost collapsed from exhaustion, so I decided to spend the night here.
The next morning, I was awakened by a whistle and saw that the being was sitting in front of me again, looking into the distance.
I turned over and asked it half-asleep, < "What do you want here?" >
< "During our fight yesterday, I realized the power difference between us and that you are much stronger than I am. Still, you didn't kill or hurt me. So I believe you don't mean me any harm." > it replied.
Sleepily, I asked, < "Then what do you want here?" >
< "I have a request! Unfortunately, I have no one else to ask. It's about the gigantic monster you saw yesterday. It killed my sister." > it asked me.