"Great Elder, is it fine to leave them alone in the forest? With the current situation, there are still monsters that roam our borders. It would be dangerous to leave them by themselves." Sylios pointed out, concerned about their well-being.
"It seems like the young man kept hiding his strength very well. Have you not seen him in action?"
During their time spent together, Sylios has not seen Wilhelm act, he has neither seen his strength nor had the idea of what he is capable of.
"You didn't notice anything weird?" Lydia asked.
"I apologize but I have not found anything weird during the time I have spent with them."
"Isn't it weird that they walked in from the borders of our forest? Weren't your squad sent there to exterminate some monsters?"
Now that Sylios thought about it, he was awfully calm when they faced the monsters that they encountered.
"Wilhelm, he was extremely calm when he saw the monster we subjugated. He also had knowledge about monsters. Usually, humans would freak out when they hear monsters are roaming around."
"That's right, when we announced the monsters, humans rarely visited our borders since they fear being attacked. You do know that monsters love to sneak around and jump at you."
"That makes sense... So why did they insist on exploring the forests? And why did you allow them to roam the forest without escorts?"
"It's not that I allow them to roam the forest without an escort, it's just that they don't need an escort but if you are that concerned about them, I'll allow you to follow them."
Sylios was glad that he got Lydia's permission. He cant deny that he eas concerned about the two. With their short time they spent together, Sylios was attached to them.
As the matter of fact, he was concerned about Runa the most. There's just this feeling that he wanted to make sure that that girl is safe.
It was pretty weird on his account but who can blame him? Runa is just a sweet person and her curiosity is the one that made a bond between them.
The girl acts as if she doesn't know that world. She was full of questions and each time you feed her curiosity her eyes just naturally brightens.
"May I ask why you are so concerned about them?" Lydia asked but she already had the gist of his reason. She just wanted to confirm it.
"You see, I had a sister once..."
"I see... You still haven't gotten over it huh?"
"I will not forget it..."
"They are heading to Welrok's lair... If you move swiftly you'll be able to reach them before sunset."
"Thank you, Lydia."
"Call me great elder, cheeky little brat."
...
Meanwhile, Runa had to witness some claws aiming at her neck but thanks to the barrier Wilhelm placed on Runa, it was stopped before it could pierce her throat.
The claw was struggling to pierce through the thick barrier.
Wilhelm after sensing his barrier activating quickly swapped his position with Runa. It was a fast substitution but he got to see who or what attacked his student.
It was all skins with no fur attached, had an antlers skull with two large and sharp fangs on its jaw. Its eyes look intense and it was simply horrifying to look at.
"A Crawler huh," Wilhelm casted wind magic above the horrid creature creating a strong wind pressure than pinned it down to the ground.
Runa was horrified when the creature began to struggle and started to create an ominous sound.
Wilhelm increased the output of the force applied by the wind pressure he created to pin it down. The moment he securely restricted its movements he then looked at Runa. He gave her a smile, assuring her that everything is under control.
"Everything is fine now!" Wilhelm said, then he began to beckon with his other hand telling her to come closer. Runa didn't hesitate and stand beside Wilhelm.
"This is a Monster, its the same as what we saw back then but this one is a different class. In the book 'Scriptures of Monsters' we have classification by stars. Each monsters that was known by the world were recorded in the and are rated according to their danger level."
"This one is a Crawler a 2* monster having a danger level of a 3* monster, it lurks deep inside shadowy forest and sometimes caves, they are restless creatures that hunts night and day. Their average size is about 2-3 meters tall. These creatures loves to ambush their prey by massacring them with its sharp and poisonous claws."
"The reason why the danger level is that of a 3* monster is due to its ability to move without making a sound. The adventurers refer to them as the silent killers. Which, logically makes them scarier since they lurk in dark areas and you'll never guess when they are going to attack."
"Were you frightened?" Wilhelm asked.
"I was, I almost feel like my soul left my body because of hoe scary it looked!"
Wilhelm chuckled, "Well, next time, you should try your best to not feel surprised. Not that it's easy to get used to it though."
Runa was wondering what her Master would do, he had the scary monster under control. Will he let it go just like what he did with the Wyvern? She wanted to ask and thus she did.
"What do you plan to do with him Master?"
"Erasing it."
"What do you mean?"
Wilhelm touched the end of its claws.
"I who speaks with the world undestands its nature, everything once came from the ashes of the world, like the smallest grain of sand or the tiny speck of gravel, the ground holds memories of the past and it is everyone's future. I'm simply going to return him back to the world... [ Crumble ]"
The body of the monter began to crack like a glass as if it was never had a flesh. Although, it did not struggle, there were no sceams of pain. Only a eyes full of confusion. Then, it slowly began to break into pieces and finally become ashes.
Runa could not understand what Wilhelm just do, was that magic? It should be, because, how could a something suddenly turn into dust.
"The spell is one of the highest form of earth magic and is considered as a forbidden spell. It allows the user to turn everything into dust but in order to use it, you must possess a great amount of mana. The condition of the spell to make it work properly is to have a hundred times mana than the target."
"Crawlers are creatures that has no mana, which makes them difficult to detect even for magicians but they are very defensless against magic attacks."
The more they explore the world, the more dangerous it seems. Runa knew that without her master, she would've died the moment she set foot in the forest where deadly creatures reside, that include monsters that lurks everywhere.
"Don't be afraid." Wilhelm told her, he noticed that she was starting to overthink. "Everything is part of nature, we live, we die. The most important thing you need to focus on is how to survive."
Wilhelm had been aware of the danger that awaits those who were born in this world.
"H-how do I survive?" The question she asked meant that she wanted to live, who wanted to die anyways? Now that Runa forgotten her past, she became fearful of dying.
"Be strong... Strong enough to live." A short answer but it was meaningful. Wilhelm has already planned to have Runa experience the world by herself. He believes that in order to truly strong one must understand their own self.
If she keeps living under his wing, she'll be reliant and that's one thing he wanted to avoid. Similar to those birds that pushes their hatchlings down the tree in order for them to learn how to fly. Wilhelm will do it too, one day. He hope that by then, Runa will build herself up and find her strength on her own.
...
Meanwhile, on a place that was known to be the most dangerous area every discovered. Khazkhan the valley of Corpse,
"Shumar..." The voice echoes the silent place.
Bright red eyes, as if they were tiny flames that brightens it.
"Father... What is it?"
"I have felt it... One of my children, one of your siblings... Was killed by a painless death."
"A painless death?"
"Yes... As you know, I could feel all of my children's suffering and joy... I could see through their memories... A pleasant death he had experienced..."
"Who died, Father?"
"A lost child of mine..."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to go near the turtle's lair and search for this magician... I want you to investigate whether he is a threat or not."
"But Father, every intelligent creature in this world is a threat to us..."
"You need not to remind me..."
". . . I will do as you wish, Father."
"My oldest child... Come back home..."
"I will, Father."
When Shumar left the dark and silent place... The scenery of a wasteland inside a great valley was all he could describe the place. Bones of creatures big or small, rotten corpse being eaten by his younger siblings. They were all unintelligent monsters and he does not consider them as his real siblings.
Only those who have self-conciousness and intelligent are those he consider as his siblings. The rest are like distant relative that he does not care.
It's been a year since his father was reborn. Their numbers are steadily inceasing dramatically day-by-day. Shumar is one of the superior monster that survived their last conquest or The Great War.
With the lost of their father in the past war they were forced to flee to a barren land where they were hidden from the world. No one would come near the place since it was nothing more than a waste land. And, since they have dealt a devastating blow against their enemies.
Other races have decided to recover the damages before they search and wipe out the remaining monsters. Lost children are those monster that has no intellect, after the war, where there was no king to command them, they all scattered through out the world. While those who have intelligence kept themselves hidden.
Shumar has recieved a report that the Oracle from the elven territories has announced the revival of his father. There were also evidences that alarmed the human territory. And, since the elves and the humans have been allies for as long as time could remember. The elves informed the humans about the coming of the monster king.
Shumar and the rest of his siblings have gathered enough force to attack the borders of the elven and human territory. Their target are the villages that resides near the borders. With their captive of women and young children, they could reproduce more unintelligent monsters to increase their strength.
He was doing his job perfectly when his father called him to do an odd job. Shumar was not against the order but he wanted to know why.
So what if he killed one of the lost children a painless death? His father also claimed that it was pleasant. With amusement in his tone, Shumar was even more curious of the man. A magician or so his father say but since their location is almost like a hundred miles away. It would take him a few hours moving at top speed.
Shumar is a monster but has humanoid features. His father, the monster king, looked exactly like a human saying that it was his desired form. Superior monsters like themselves could adjust their body at free will but they can't fully copy other races exact features.
Only the king could do a complete imitation and the rest will still have monster-like traits. For Shumar, the perfect creations in his eyes are those with a pair of hands and legs. Humans, elves, dwares, and other similar races are blessed to have the same body of their gods and goddesses. How envious he was, having a humanoid feature but couldn't hide his bat-like wings, he finds himself looking like a horid creature that was patched up together, an imperfect being.
While they only have ugly features that was no where near perfection, like a cheap imitation of those who lives in this world. And all they know is that they suddenly existed in the plains. Having the urge to kill creatures other than their own. Like they were born to kill, natural born murderers.
As Shumar soared through the sky he had kept in mind that all he have to do was to investigate, that he has to supress his natural urge to kill. The more he thinks about it. What kind of magic did the magician used? Almost all magic he knew are all destructive and painful. No spell in mind that could make something die without pain. He will have to find out for himself...