"Everyone, form up, now!"
The guard's shout startled Ragryno and the others in the carriage. It was night, and most had been asleep at the time. Ragryno wanted to ask the guard what was happening, but the man no longer paid him any attention.
"Do you feel that?" Zack spoke suddenly, his expression unusually serious, a stark contrast to his usual behavior.
Ragryno tried to tune into his senses. He closed his eyes and focused, but he felt nothing at first—until he attempted to perceive with his new organ, the mana.
It was strange, a skill he had learned while training with Zack and Livia. He could clearly sense not just people, but the mana flowing through their bodies. He could feel the incredible firmness of Livia's mana, or Zack's utterly chaotic mana that seemed to… shift every second without actually changing.
What else could you expect from time-aligned mana?
Diving deeper into his senses, Ragryno detected the mana of the guards, scattered along the caravan and nervously scanning the surroundings.
There was something else, something strange and incomprehensible—everywhere. His mana senses hit an invisible barrier, something he couldn't break through no matter how hard he tried. It was as if an inexplicable dome had appeared over the entire caravan.
Involuntarily, Ragryno stood up and moved toward the carriage door, only to be stopped by Zack, who grabbed his arm.
"Where are you going?! Didn't you hear what the guards said?" Zack's face no longer carried its usual smile. His freckled face, framed by red hair, showed only one emotion—concern.
"I felt something… A barrier is surrounding us," Ragryno said, turning to Zack.
"The density of this barrier is unbelievable. It feels like it's made of multiple layers, each stronger than the last," Livia, usually quiet, suddenly spoke up. She was staring out the window, directly at the eerie forest just a stone's throw away. Ragryno followed her gaze.
In the moonlight, the massive tree trunks loomed like a fence, enclosing the area. Beyond them lay only impenetrable darkness, watching the column of carriages pass by. Ragryno couldn't shake a growing feeling of dread. Fear burned like a slow fire in his chest, threatening to consume him from within.
Something was in that forest. He knew it, even if he couldn't explain how. It was a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, the instinct of danger honed over years of survival in the slums. Maybe it had dulled slightly over the past two weeks, but now it was roaring back to life.
"Hey… Zack, did your father ever mention what lives in these woods?" Ragryno whispered, trying not to move too much as fear tightened its grip on him.
Zack frowned, clearly troubled. He silently looked out the window and froze as if he had seen something. Ragryno felt Zack's grip on his arm tighten even more.
"Shadows. Shadows of the past."
As soon as Zack said those words, Ragryno's sense of danger peaked. A cold chill ran down his spine as he felt a new mana presence inside the barrier. And this one surpassed all others.
"It's here! To arms!" came the voice of a guard, who hurriedly entered their carriage.
The three of them instantly tore their gaze from the forest and looked toward the door. They didn't need to be told twice. If they left the carriage now, they would face the monster... It was standing right at their doorstep.
Ragryno closed his eyes again, trying to sense the mana of the creature, but Zack squeezed his arm even tighter. It seemed like Zack understood what the elf was trying to do. Ragryno looked at him and saw fear written all over his face. Zack slowly shook his head, signaling Ragryno to do nothing, and pointed to the couch.
Ragryno nodded slowly and sat back down. His breathing quickened as fear took hold. The back of his neck tingled with an unbearable itch, as if an invisible blade hovered above it, ready to strike at any moment. It was hard to stop himself from opening the carriage door, which had mysteriously shut the moment the guard left.
But soon, new sounds filled the air—the sounds of battle. The guards cursed loudly, steel clashing against steel. Each blow made Ragryno flinch. The shouts of the guards were soon joined by a low growl that chilled his soul.
Ragryno glanced at Livia, who sat across from him. Her face was calm, but after two weeks of traveling together, he had started to understand her better. Her right leg was trembling violently. She frequently brought her right hand to her neck and scratched it. Though her face showed little emotion, her actions betrayed her inner turmoil. She was incredibly nervous.
Turning to Zack, Ragryno saw his chest rising rapidly, and he barely blinked, as if too afraid to close his eyes. His body trembled slightly, reflecting the same feelings as Livia.
Ragryno, in turn, was doing what he always did when scared. He didn't know where he'd picked up the habit, but he gnawed on his nails, which were already in terrible condition. With each guard's scream or the monster's low growl, he clenched his eyes shut as tightly as he could. Even sensing the terrifying mana outside for a moment, he realized that this foe was in a completely different league—even compared to the guards.
That could only mean one thing—the guards weren't going to win, and soon they would be alone. The clang of metal gradually subsided, replaced by the horrifying screams of the guards, tearing through the silence of the night. Ragryno couldn't hold back any longer and decided to check on their auras using his mana sense. He noticed that most of the guards were no longer detectable. He glanced at his companions. Their faces had grown pale. They probably knew who was winning.
"We need to run," Livia suddenly said, her voice like thunder after the long silence.
'Run?! How can we escape from a monster like that?!' Ragryno wanted to say, but fear left him unable to speak. However, the girl seemed to understand his thoughts just by looking at him. She turned to the forest, and this time Zack responded in his place.
"The forest?!" Zack whispered, clearly not on board with the idea. Livia gave him a cold stare.
"Got a better idea?" she whispered back.
Finally, Ragryno gathered his strength and tried to speak.
"If we run into the forest, the monster will surely follow us. I'm certain of it," the elf said as quietly as he could.
The situation felt hopeless. The monster had clearly dealt with the guards. Since Ragryno and the others in the carriage were too afraid to reveal themselves, they had stopped using their mana senses, so they couldn't tell if the creature had been killed in the fight. This uncertainty weighed on them. Even the carriage felt too cramped now for the three of them. For some reason, Ragryno had an overwhelming urge to get out of there, take one peek at the monster, and quickly hide again.
But something held him back besides fear—the smell. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood, a smell Ragryno knew all too well from the slums, where it lingered on every corner. That foul, acrid stench seeped into the carriage, prompting the three of them to exchange glances.
"I still think we need to get out of here. The monster will eventually check the carriages, and ours stands out too much," Livia said with firm resolve. Her hand no longer nervously reached for her neck, and her leg had stilled. Ragryno was amazed at how quickly she composed herself, while he could feel the pain in his fingers from constantly chewing his nails.
They began to quietly argue amongst themselves. Livia's plan was simple: they would run and head for the forest, splitting up along the way. Fate would decide who the monster pursued. Zack's plan was to wait at least until morning, trying to ride out the danger in the safety of the carriage. His main argument was that the creature hadn't opened their carriage door, even though it had been standing right in front of it.
Ragryno couldn't come up with anything himself. He supported Livia's plan to flee, because if they stayed, they would be relying on the slim chance that the monster wouldn't bother them, which seemed unlikely. But he didn't like the idea of running into the forest, which unsettled him even more.
Livia had a solid and irrefutable argument for that, the same one she used with Zack: "Criticize all you want, but suggest something better."
Ragryno, of course, had no better answers, so he had to accept Livia's idea. They reached a compromise. They would wait another 20 minutes to mentally prepare themselves and then run into the forest, splitting up along the way. At the very least, they could lose themselves among the trees, and as Livia had pointed out, the monster would choose its target.
But their plans were doomed from the start. They heard the door of another carriage, the one right behind theirs, open. Young voices followed. Others had decided to leave before them.
The three of them exchanged glances and decided to wait and see what would happen. They didn't have to wait long before the screams started. The other kids were shouting something about bodies, but soon their cries turned to screams of terror. The creature had spotted them. Ragryno's mind filled with images of what the monster might look like, but he quickly pushed them away, deciding not to clutter his thoughts.
Without warning, Ragryno felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch. Turning around, he saw Livia's determined face.
'Oh no, don't tell me that…'
"We need to run now! If you both don't want to, stay here by yourselves!" Despite her assertive tone, Ragryno heard a quiver in her voice that she struggled to control. Her fists were clenched so tightly that they turned white. Even though she managed to stay composed, it was clear she was also frightened.
As if to confirm her words, Ragryno heard other compartments opening. It seemed they weren't the only ones smart enough to realize the danger. This was even more reason to act, so they decided to leave. Livia was the first to approach, opening the compartment as quickly as possible. Before them lay a horrifying scene.
On the ground were the corpses of soldiers. Some were torn to pieces, while others were untouched, but their open eyes revealed only the terror of death. The grass where they lay was stained red, and a crimson river of blood flowed between them. Broken swords scattered on the ground indicated that weapons hadn't helped them in this battle.
'Why didn't they use magic? Or couldn't they?'
Ragryno was jolted from his thoughts by Livia's scream, filled with terror.
"RUN INTO THE FOREST!"
Ragryno hesitated slightly; doubt still lingered in his heart, but the urge to escape the cursed carriage drove him to jump after his companions. An enormous field stretched before them. The forest was behind them, so they had to first circle around the carriage. As they began to run, Ragryno noticed even more bodies scattered around, including their driver.
The three of them started running to circle the carriage from the front, but Ragryno couldn't resist the overwhelming urge to look back. He needed to see what had attacked them. His curiosity was irresistible, and he couldn't help himself. He deeply regretted this when he turned his head and saw a three-meter-tall monster.
The creature had a humanoid build, but that was where the resemblance to a human ended. The first thing Ragryno noticed were its massive arms, with huge maroon tusks hanging from its hands, stained with the blood of its victims. The arms were covered in growths and suckers, which further terrified the Elf. Sharp spines ran down the monster's back, clearly marking its spine.
The most horrifying feature was its face. It had a massive head with four red, netted eyes. The monster's mouth was round, filled with an enormous number of fangs and teeth.
And right now, this monster stood over another group of people.
Ragryno immediately turned and ran faster than he ever had. He felt an incredible surge of strength and ran with his eyes closed, tears streaming from the tension. His heart raced uncontrollably, and the terror he felt kept his eyes shut tight. Thus, he entered the Shadow Forest.
Ragryno's mind raced with questions. Why had this happened, and why to their convoy?
He only opened his eyes when he felt he had crashed into a tree. His face and body ached intensely. He wasn't sure how long he had been running or when he had separated from the others, as he was alone now. The cries behind him spurred him to his feet and made him look around.
It was pitch black; even the moonlight seemed unable to pierce through the massive tree canopies, leaving Ragryno disoriented about where to go and what to do. But he knew there was no going back, not with that horrifying monster rampaging behind him. Taking a deep breath, he carefully moved forward into the darkness.
Soon, the sounds faded, and everything plunged into silence. He could only hear the pounding of his heart, racing furiously, and the dry rasp of his throat begging for water. He felt exhausted. The mere sight of the beast had unsettled his nerves severely. But he couldn't afford to rest; the itch at the back of his neck persisted.
He was still within the creature's reach, at least that's what he told himself.
He stumbled through the dark, occasionally tripping over tree roots, until he saw something he desperately hoped for: moonlight streaming onto a clearing between the colossal trees. He decided to head there.
As he walked, his fear gradually subsided, and the itch at the back of his neck eased. But with it came a renewed sense of fatigue, not physical, but mental. His mind had been working overtime ever since the monster attacked their convoy. Limping along, he finally emerged from the darkness into a large clearing bathed in moonlight.
However, the clearing wasn't as serene as he hoped. In its center stood a large, grill-like structure. Apart from flowers and grass, there was nothing else on the clearing.
'It looks strange, but it'll do for now.'
The young man approached the grill and wearily sat down on the ground. His legs throbbed, and every breath ignited a painful sensation in his throat. Fortunately, he was accustomed to unpleasant smells from the slums, and he couldn't hear much of his own discomfort, which was somewhat of a useful skill... probably. He could still feel the blood, though.
He decided to lie on the grass, feeling his muscles slowly relax, and a pleasant ache ran down his back, making him slightly more coherent and able to think.
'What happened?'
He remembered successfully creating a mana sphere, but it exploded because Ragryno couldn't stabilize it. Almost immediately, a guard had burst in, and then that horrible monster appeared, quickly dispatching them. But why had the monster shown up at all?
Ragryno found it puzzling, as well as what kind of creature it was. Although he couldn't read or write, he wasn't entirely ignorant. His sources of information were mostly rumors. He remembered tales of a Rank 3 monster, which was quite rare nowadays. The guards in their convoy were mostly Rank 2 fighters.
But the guards assigned to their carriage had Rank 3, or so he felt when scanning the surroundings with his mana sense. What did he actually know about ranks?
There were five ranks in total, each vastly different from the previous.
Rank 1: When a creature gains its magic and learns to control it.
Rank 2: When a creature starts creating its own techniques and can control its magic at a minimal required level. This was the most common rank among people and other races in the world.
Rank 3: When a creature understands its own power and can manage it effectively, usually the maximum for ordinary people without exceptional talent.
Rank 4: Very few creatures reached this level, with power so unimaginable that they not only understood their magic but also refined it to near perfection.
And Rank 5 was even less known to Ragryno. He mostly heard about it from bards who sang of ancient heroes defeating some great evil threatening the world in ancient times. In short, they had god-like power.
'Damn, I should have stolen a couple of history books... Oh, right, I can't read. How annoying.'
He wasn't even sure if this information was accurate. And whether it was sensible to ponder this in his current situation. But then he recalled the massive monster effortlessly destroying a group of armed men. That creature was clearly stronger than a Rank 3 guard.
By a significant margin.
The thought gave Ragryno chills. He had faced a Rank 4 monster, capable of destroying cities, according to bard songs and many rumors. It was so unthinkable that he still couldn't believe it. But one crucial question remained, one he desperately wanted to answer.
'Why would such a monster attack such a weak convoy?'
The young man sat up, feeling the uncomfortable itch of the grass against his back, and looked at his hand. Could he have caused the monster's attack? No, that was absurd; he was just a Rank 1, what could he have done? Or maybe it was his unusual magic?
'Enough of this. I'm just spinning in questions with no answers. What should I do now? Maybe I should look for Livia and Zak?'
It was challenging, as he hadn't seen which direction the two had fled. And not just them. Others likely ran into the forest, finding it safer than staying near the carriage with the monstrosity possibly at Rank 4.
'How can I even determine someone's rank?'
He suddenly realized that when scanning a person or creature with mana sense, information about their rank seemed to come to him naturally. It was so automatic he hadn't thought much of it before. And another question arose, with no answer. Ragryno sighed heavily and surveyed his surroundings.
The forest was quite silent. The clearing where he was was rather distinctive, but no immediate threats were visible. The gentle breeze rustling through the trees created soothing sounds that calmed Ragryno. Why not sleep?
The forest was so peaceful, so tranquil. There didn't seem to be any dangers here. Especially on such a lovely clearing. A smile spread across his face as he shifted slightly, leaning against the massive grill. The coolness of the grill relaxed him even more. All worries vanished, and previous questions were forgotten. This place was very pleasant!
If only there was some apple cider to refresh him in a moment.
'And why were we so afraid of this forest? I'd live here; it's really that wonderful!'
The relaxing air smelled slightly sweet. The gentle moonlight fell on his skin, revealing a flow of something red and beautiful, like ruby dust. And finally.
Ragryno looked ahead into the darkness behind the massive tree trunks. Two orange lines emerged, approaching him. They looked like the most beautiful amber he had ever seen.
The only downside to this place was the persistent itch at the back of his neck. Soon, the two lines came into view and Ragryno realized they were eyes.
A small humanoid creature stood before him. Its body was slightly transparent with a greenish tint; the word that came to mind to describe its skin was "ectoplasm." What a stupid word!
The creature moved slowly towards him.
"Hey, buddy, you wanna lie down here in the clearing too? I know it's a great spot," Ragryno decided to speak, but the creature didn't react at all.
Ragryno shrugged. His new friend was oddly unresponsive, which was somewhat disappointing. He wouldn't have minded seeing Zak now to sit and talk about magic. Who was Zak?
The creature came closer but then stopped, and Ragryno realized why. His hand had somehow drawn a short sword that someone had given him... but where? Why had he drawn it? Maybe it was a gift for his new friend? Yes, probably.
"Sorry if I startled you, buddy. This is a gift for you, here, take it!" Ragryno said, tossing the short sword to the shadow. It caught it and continued approaching him.
'What's wrong with me? Why does my neck itch so much?'
"Hey, buddy," Ragryno called out, "Can you scratch my neck? It won't stop itching no matter what I do!"
He pointed to the back of his neck.
"Damn, it's hard to breathe through my nose, sorry for causing you problems," the elf said, touching his nose with his fingers.
He noticed a strange red liquid on them, similar in color to apples. Oh, right! So that's how apple juice is made! How did he not realize that before? What an idiot!
'Damn, I should offer him some of that apple juice, but how exactly does it turn from an apple into water? Maybe he knows?'
Out of the corner of his eye, Ragryno noticed his hand acting strangely again when his new best friend was just two meters away. It reached for a pouch, which someone had given him. The hand pulled out something small and sharp. And then.
Then it thrust a small knife into his leg.
Pain shot through his mind, shattering the illusion instantly. Ragryno felt like his body had been scalded with boiling water, and he jumped to his feet, a knife handle protruding from one leg.
'What? How? What was that? But more importantly…'
The shadow in front of him stood still, holding the weapon Ragryno had gifted. He understood what had just happened, but it didn't make him feel any better. However, right now, those thoughts wouldn't help. The shadow suddenly lunged at him. The itch became unbearable, and he leaped aside in advance.
The blade missed Ragryno's flesh and struck the iron grill instead, causing a small crack to form on the weapon.
'I knew those blades were awful!
The young man noted to himself as he got back on his feet. He felt a searing pain throughout his body, and while the shadow tried to figure out why its weapon had cracked slightly, he quickly assessed himself. There was massive bleeding on his left arm. His veins had burst. Blood was also dripping from his nose and ears. His eyes were terribly painful and completely dried out.
He felt all this, but most of it was hidden by the black, tight-fitting suit he had been given at the church. It was definitely not suitable for combat, so to ease the upcoming fight, Ragryno quickly shed the black top, exposing his torso. He also finally pulled the dagger out of his leg.
'Damn it, why couldn't I have injured my hand instead?!'
Now he had bleeding on his leg as well, and he had no idea how he was going to fight this shadow in such a state. He was already injured before the fight began.
Finally, the shadow came to its senses and looked at the young man. Without hesitation, it started to slowly move toward him, which gave Ragryno something to understand.
'Either it doesn't know how to run… or it's toying with me, one of the two. If it's the first, I'm in a good position. If it's the second…'
A smile appeared on the young man's face. His heart raced, and adrenaline slowly spread through his body. His tired muscles regained the strength needed to face the monster. Scanning the shadow with his mana senses, Ragryno realized it was at Rank 2, so although the chances were slim, they did exist.
'In the second case, it will regret cornering a rat from the slums… Even a rat can bite back when it's trapped.'
With these thoughts, the first but most dangerous fight of the Elf's life began.