The Yuk Forest was nothing special as it was filled with towering trees, the growls of beasts all over.
Reaching the entrance into the forest, the escort knights dismounted and secured their horses to a nearby tree.
Per their orders, two of the knights were to enter into the forest with Erian although they were to not engage with any beasts.
All beasts were to be left to Erian, even if a tier 2 were to unexpectedly appear in the forest.
The knights had their orders to verify his kills and extraction of essences from the beasts. If otherwise were to happen, they were to return his body no matter its state.
"Hold it, I am going in with Erian." Devan informed the two who were already at Erian's side, ready to enter the forest.
"But..." One of the knights tried to protest, looking at his comrade for help on what to say.
"Please, don't... don't make it difficult for us."
"That's exactly what I am doing. Just rest here with the horses." Devan said, tapping the shoulder of the knight, a smile engraved on his face while his eyes told a far different tale.
"Won't hurt to teach my little brother here, how to properly hunt?"
Who were they to object to a request from the Devan Valohart, a name on the whitelist of beast slayers.
They didn't have any plans of disobeying orders, unfortunately their hands were tied, Devan stood before them now and not Alaric.
Shaking in their boots, sweat snaking down their faces, their usual armour felt hotter than usual. They were of higher ranks than Devan, yet the pressure he gave off was choking and frustrating.
They could stand before Alaric and not tremble, but here they were drenched in their own sweat before Devan.
Was that how one became, after defeating a tier 4? He was just a man like them. Was it his beast weapons or something else? In a stupor, they watched Erian and Devan enter the forest, finally having a sense of relief.
Inside the Yuk Forest, Erian and Devan carelessly made their way through the forest. They followed the sound of where the growls were from, chatting away as they went.
After about 20 minutes they had never reached, however the growls never grew fainter, remaining loud as before.
The sun was barely out, its scant rays of sunlight blocked by the towering trees. In the darkness of the forest, they could hear footsteps approach and quickly retreat in fear.
The beasts could see two beings, one a prey and the other a predator.
Their hunger and blood thirst had to be satisfied, their solution standing right before them.
They could have pounced on them from the moment they entered the forest, having an entire pack this time round.
Yet each step forward and across an invisible white line, they would feel their cells moving in the opposite direction.
Their instincts would run wild, screaming to them about their death if they dared cross the line- causing them to immediately pull back.
"Erian, I guess your first will be a pack of tier 1 beasts." Devan said to his younger brother, standing back to back with him.
He was aware that they feared the pressure emanating from his tier 4 beast weapon- made with the essence of a Titan. They would freely attack, if he climbed up one of the trees or got a fair distance away.
Yet, no matter what, he wouldn't let his brother face such a battle on his own. Unsheathing his large great sword strapped at his back, the ferals retreated about 3 feet away.
"Take them, I'll handle this side." Devan said as he shifted places with Erian, now facing where they did.
On Erian's side were about 10 ferals while Devan had a fair share of 20 to 30 of them. He didn't expect to let his younger brother deal with ten on his first hunt, he was nowhere near the cruelty of their father Alaric.
Activating the skill in the tier 4 boots Devan wore, made with the same essence of the wind titan he had defeated. The same essence had been used to forge his entire armour set, making him as light as a feather.
It was a skill he had suffered with, in battling the wind titan and he was glad to have it now.
Taking nearly two seconds, Devan bolted from his position to those of the ferals, taking 3 down in an instant.
Already having their will to fight against him shoved into the gutter, the beasts made a run for it.
Gripping tight onto his tier 2 sword, made with the essence of a brute, Erian evaded an attack. The beast tumbled onto the ground, with it down Erian went for his first kill.
His sword up high and about to swing down at the beast's head, Erian's gut screamed at him to look up.
In the sky, another feral with claws out was nearing him. They weren't ready to lose one of their own.
Dodging the attack from above would be fairly easy, just like he had just done. It was a simple sidestep which left opponent's out cold, as their own weight and force knocked them against the ground.
About to back off, he heard a growl from behind and it was up close- Erian was being trapped.
He had underestimated these ferals, a double attack wasn't something he expected.
Fortunately, Erian had read something he could use- a back flip.
From his assumptions, what was behind would be coming on with an attack from below while this came from above.
He was out of time as the claws of the ferals were an arms length away. Bending backwards, he trusted his legs to do the job and so with a single swing of his arm- he was up in the air then behind the feral.
With a loud thud and whimper , both ferals clashed hard, toppling over till one lay at his feet..
Sword in hand, Erian jabbed it right into the beast's head, killing it off in an instant. His first kill was confirmed, but the others were already close and growling at him.
Gripping his sword, he flipped through pages of books in his head, searching for one he could use.
Whoosh! The ferals were now faster and aggressive than before. One had already latched out towards him, claws aiming for his head.
Jumping into the air, Erian swung the flat side of the sword knocking the feral's claws away. With a follow-up kick from his right leg, the beast crashed down.
Erian didn't stop there. He rolled in the air, performing the hop-and-slash attack just as the book had taught.
He swung down his sword hard, landing and splattering blood everywhere.
He had pierced through the feral's sliver spine, killing it instantly before driving his sword through its brain. Quickly, Erian swung his sword to the left, splattering blood as he severed a leg from another feral.
As the rest came at him together, Erian sidestepped the first and swung his sword in time to slice and dice the other.
Soon he stood still, more than half of the beasts dead around him. Huffing and puffing, he faced the four remaining beasts, one whimpering in pain from its lost foot.
As he took a step forward, covered in blood, bruises, and cuts, his grip on his sword weakened.
His hands went numb, his body grew cold, and his temperature shot up.
A sudden, searing pain brought him to his knees, his sword the only thing keeping him upright. It wasn't a favorable situation, but there was nothing he could do.
He had never felt anything like it before. Soon, he was out cold on the bloodstained ground, the beasts' growls fading away.