Sariel purchased about ten loaves of bread and stuffed them into his bag. He planned to spend a full day in the forest hunting and leveling up.As he was about to leave, he remembered he needed to thank Lilan's mother. He wasn't sure if he had done so already, so he decided to visit their house.He knocked on the door. "Hello. It's me, Sariel."When there was no response, he knocked again. "Maybe you're busy, but I just wanted to say thank you for the food."After waiting a while, hoping the door would open, he heard no sound from inside. He assumed they must be out and decided to return later.He made his way to the gates, which were opening for someone. The guards bowed as he passed.It was Jasper and Louis. Sariel hadn't spoken to Jasper in a while and considered greeting him but decided against it since Louis was there.He didn't want to waste time with her trying to convince him to become her slayer trainee.As he turned away, something hard struck his forehead."Ouch!" he exclaimed, looking up to see Jasper standing on the roof of a tall building, juggling pebbles in his hands."Sup," Jasper said with a grin.Sariel muttered to himself about Jasper's speed, thinking about how ridiculous it was.He asked Jasper, "Sup... You're a slayer, right?"Jasper replied, "No, not yet. Still a slayer trainee."Fucking insane.Sariel inquired further, "Can you use imperia?" setting up for another question.Jasper extended his fingers, and a flow of red energy streamed out like visible vapor."For sure," he confirmed.Sariel pressed on, "When you use imperia, does it burn?"Jasper looked puzzled. "No, but it did hurt a lot when I first generated it."So System had told the truth. Despite this, Sariel was still apprehensive about trying to use imperia again; that kind of pain was not something someone in their sane mind would want to experience again.Jasper then asked, "Why do you have residue of imperia on you? There's no way you could have learned to generate it…"Sariel replied with a smug grin, "I did."Jasper's eyes widened in disbelief.Generating imperia wasn't easy, and System had implied it could be deadly for a first-timer.At that moment, Sariel heard a voice much closer than he expected. "I'm surprised you can even see imperia."He turned quickly to see Louis standing near him, smiling. Her outline was white as well.Although he knew she wasn't dangerous, she gave off manipulative vibes. She seemed to view him as an interesting toy, and her interest in training him was likely driven because of how different he was.Louis reassured him, "I'm not dangerous. No need to run away from me like last time.""You knew...?" Sariel asked."Yes," she replied.She sighed in annoyance. "Damn, what a waste…" Her gaze dramatically fixed on the edge of a roof."Is there someone up there?" Sariel wondered. "Are there more people like Jasper who like to stand on roofs?"Louis, still focused on the roof, asked, "Hm, no. By the way, you're looking to grow stronger, aren't you?"Sariel replied quickly, "I don't want your offers."Louis seemed disappointed. "What do you want then? To grow stronger on your own?""Obviously," he said."I'm guessing you are freelancing?""Yeah.""So you have to pay the entry and exit fee. I could make you enter and exit for free." She smiled, though it felt like there might be a catch."How?" Sariel asked."I can write a letter of allowance since I'm from the Museigen clan.""What's in it for you?""In the future, be friends with Jasper and maybe punch him if he ever does anything stupid."The request seemed simple, though odd. Sariel wondered, "Why me?""Jasper has taken a liking to you," she explained. "He isn't someone who gets along with people easily."Sariel agreed, thinking the letter was worth it. "No problem."Louis took out a scroll and wrote on it, adding her signature. "Only go to the forest of Eginsis. Anything else would be too much for you." She handed him a map.Sariel checked the map and found the forest. It was the same forest he had been visiting."Thank you," he said.Louis walked away with Jasper, who waved as he joined her.Too easy.Sariel approached the gate, and the guards shot him unfriendly looks."20 volus," one of them said.Sariel showed the scroll. The guard's face tightened as he read it, then he said, "Okay.""Open the gate," the guard instructed.The gate opened, allowing Sariel to leave.He walked out, and many of the outside guards made sure he saw their disdain.Sariel ignored them and continued forward.**Sariel reached the forest much faster than he did before. It was so amazing he had to take some time to giggle about it.I'm a damn machine...He drew his knife and pressed on. It didn't take long for him to encounter a blue-horned deer.It was just slowly walking on the dry leaves. It would sometimes pause and eat a leave or two.Whenever he fought these creatures, he had to be cautious. But things were different now. He wondered how he would fare now that he was level 12.He charged at the deer. It heard his footsteps and charged back, preparing to impale him with its horn.In close range, Sariel kicked the side of its head. Though he got scratched by its horns, it didn't matter. With its horns now facing away, he stabbed the deer in the neck and jumped back.The deer, panicking despite its injuries, charged at him again. It was slower this time, allowing Sariel to easily pierce its head with the dagger.The deer fell, dead.That was... easy. Too damn easy."Holy shit. I'm a menace."He wondered how strong he would be if he was level 20. He probably wouldn't even need a knife he figured.He couldn't waste time gawking at his accomplishment. He had to absorb the soul sphere.He felt a bit stronger, but nothing much. It was disappointing even.Now at level 12, a level 4 soul sphere wasn't very useful. He needed to hunt stronger animals.He ventured further into the forest. He would see more blue horned deers, centipedes, rabbits, and sometimes big birds. Red birds that probably weighed 60 pounds.But there level wasn't good enough for him. He wanted something level 8 or higher.Soon he heard the sound of a stream of water.He was sweaty and would love a swim. Hunting could be done after. He had the whole day to hunt after all."To the water," He muttered in a high and mighty voice.Following it, he discovered a river.It was pretty big and not so clear. It didn't seem dirty though. Even if it was dirty, it wouldn't have changed his mind.Without hesitation, he dove into the river, ready for his next move.SPLASH.The water was freezing—an ice bath. Despite the cold, it felt refreshing to be submerged.Sariel floated on his back, gazing up at tiny, strange crustaceans moving among the trees."I-I a-am gon-na ge-get accustom t-to th-the col-cold so-soon for sure," he shivered.Not likely. He tried to stop shivering but after 10 seconds he had reached his limit.This wasn't fun, it was torture. He was getting out of this water.He swam to the stony shore, water dripping from him.As he began drying himself with a towel from his bag, he heard odd sounds.Behind him, a black shark with horns across its face swam menacingly toward him.Level 18It was a fish, so it couldn't walk on land, right?But what if it had some kind of long range attack?He backed up slowly, keeping eye contact with the shark. As it neared the shore, it crouched low, moving more like it had legs than a tail.The shark fully emerged from the water, walking onto the shore on muscular, scaly feline legs."Oh… of course that's the damn case!"He sprinted away. The creature dashed at him with frightening speed, kicking up dust. It was gaining on him quickly.The shark leaped through the air, its tongue flicking through its wide grin. The sight sent chills down his spine.The shark zoomed in, its mouth opening wider than its body."Var!" In a flash, a massive bat-like creature with feathers swooped down and snatched the shark.The shark screeched and struggled, but it was in vain.Sariel heart was still beating rapidly. And despite being 'saved.' he kept running for a while.Then he stopped, breathing heavily. "Okay… I just got saved because a giant bat-like creature was hungry. Nice..."How dangerous were the other forests if this Egnisis was the least dangerous?He didn't know, but he learned his lesson. He needed to stick close to the forest entrance.He took a couple deep breaths, not waiting for a full recovery. He didn't want that bat thing to come after him.He ran past countless trees and bright, massive plants, desperately trying to reach the front of the forest. But he kept encountering more trees, over and over.He had lost track of how long he had been running—whether it had been tens of minutes or over an hour was impossible to tell.Realization dawned on him: he was lost.He couldn't believe it. He was lost. Really lost. How the hell did he let that happen?He opened the map, but it wasn't detailed. So there was nothing to guide him outside of the forest.His luck was truly trash. He walked in circles, annoyed with himself.There had to be tricks to help when lost. He just had to try to think of what they possibly could be...Climbing a tall tree could help, he thought. But what if that simply made it easier for predators to spot him"Growwwh!" The air vibrated, and the trees shook.His lucky was worse than trash. It was fucking hot shit!His heart went cold and he turned to his left, where the roar came from.He saw something he never expected.Lilan and Kai were running, terror etched into their faces. A massive white bear with silver shells swiped its powerful forelegs, shattering the trees in its way.Why the hell are they here?! Those damn kids… DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN!He knew he couldn't protect them; he'd die trying. He was so stupid--He remembered how he gained his first levels. Memories he wanted to forget.While Neil, Natasha and William were busy fighting the apex monster, he was being chased by a random spider monster.While fleeing, he had spotted a child crying over her dying mother. The monster had chosen to go after the child instead. Even when the dying mother begged him to save the child, he ignored her and ran away.In the end, the monster didn't get the kid in that moment. So it came back for him.Despite running away, the monster had catch him. And... The child came back to save him. The child got fatally wounded saving him.And because there were more monsters around, she asked him to absorb her soul so he could survive.He didn't get it. He was a stranger, a stranger that didn't even risk his life for the child.Some people were just too selfless he guess.Because of that, he couldn't abandon kids. He didn't want to be the same coward he was back then. He didn't want to hesitate.Sariel's body moved on its own. His legs propelled him forward.This was madness! Suicidal! He knew that, but he had to try to save them."Argh! Agh!" Kai panicked when he saw the bear's claw aimed at his throat.Sariel threw a stone at the bear's eye.The bear snarled as the stone pierced its eye.Thankfully, the creature's eyes were disproportionately large.Sariel shouted to the kids. "Get up! Move!"Lilan turned, grabbing her brother, who was paralyzed with fear. But she was too slow.Damn it.He rushed forward, grabbing Kai. "I got you!"Lilan's eyes widened in horror. She threw herself at Sariel, pushing him down.His hair shook violently as something grazed past. The bear's foreleg nearly took his head off."Run now!" He shoved her away.Sariel drew his dagger.The bear inhaled deeply before unleashing a fearsome bellow.He gulped. He was dead meat. Fucking dead meat.He felt unreal. Like he was in a dream. The weird chill all over his body was getting worse.This was fear on another level.The bear pounced. Sariel crouched low, charging at its stomach. The claws came for his neck almost too fast for him to react. He slid and rolled, the skin on his forehead getting cut.He quickly got up and drove the dagger into the bear's belly. He tried to, at least. The bear's flesh was too tough."Fuck!"Sariel dropped to the ground just as the bear tried to bite his head off.Maybe his luck wasn't so bad—The bear swiped him into a tree, breaking it.His ribs didn't feel broken, but they hurt.His heart threatened to burst.He barely had time to breathe. The bear swung its claws at him again. He desperately parried each blow, unable to match its strength, deflecting the strikes just enough to save himself.Clang!Clang!Clink!Clink!The bear sprayed his face with saliva, the stench of rotten flesh overwhelming.It increased its pace. His arms were beginning to ache, on the brink of snapping.This was insane. Ridiculous. He was going to die. He wanted to live, not die. Not like this!Clang!Clang!How many more seconds did he have? 6? 3?Suddenly, his vision blurred. Blood filled the air, and he found himself in the air, staring at the sky.Realization hit him mid-air.He crashed onto the hard ground moments later.His chest felt like hell. The bear's claws had torn out chunks of flesh from his chest.It hurt so much.It hurt..."It hurts... Help me..." He wasn't sure why he said that.Who was there to help? No one—"I am coming to help!" Lilan shouted.Why was she there? Why didn't she run away?That fool.The bear's hostility shifted to Lilan. She tried to strike it with a tree branch, but the branch snapped uselessly. The bear turned its head, ready to tear her apart.He didn't want help from a child. He knew he wasn't a good person at heart. But so what? He had to get up now!With a desperate burst of strength, he forced himself up and thrust his arm into the bear's mouth, stopping it from reaching her.SNAP!His humerus broke with a sickening sound. His flesh tore open, exposing his shattered bone.He gasped, agony coursing through him. Grabbing his dagger with his other hand, he plunged it toward the bear's throat. The blade barely penetrated its flesh.The bear dug its teeth deeper into his flesh, thrashing its head violently, trying to tear his arm from its socket.He screamed.He tried to drive the dagger deeper, but his strength wasn't enough. He needed power. He needed imperia.Intense heat and air poured from his nose, and he willed the strength to flow through his arms.A surge of fiery energy jolted down his neck and forced its way into his arms, breaking through unseen barriers.It burned like absolute hell… but he could feel power filling his bones, flesh, and veins.He adjusted his grip on the dagger's handle, and in a single swift motion, the bear's head went flying into the air. The creature's body twitched and collapsed, bathing the ground in its blood.