"How so?" I asked, incredulous.
"You're a Dracknum, aren't you? Prove that you deserve the name you bear," the patriarch's deep voice cut through the air like a blade, heavy with expectation and solemnity.
I swallowed hard. In that moment, it felt as though every memory I had of the Dracknum family suddenly took on a new meaning. I understood what he meant, but that didn't make the situation any less absurd.
I looked around, feeling the weight of solitude wrap around me like a cold cloak. The patriarch and Luminus were already walking away, their figures swallowed by the dense shadows of the forest. There was no one else. Just me and the trees, which seemed to have eyes.
The wind blew, carrying with it a faint whisper that sent a shiver down my spine. The sound of creaking branches swaying in the wind felt like muffled laughter, as if something hidden in the darkness was mocking me. The shadows seemed to move—or maybe it was just my imagination.
'And to think I was starting to believe they weren't that strange', I thought, trying to keep my composure.
"What kind of family abandons their ten-year-old descendants in a dangerous forest without a single item or weapon to defend themselves?" I shouted into the void, my voice echoing among the trees, a mix of anger and helplessness.
'Leopold, what kind of lunatic family have you dragged me into?' I asked myself, almost as if I could hear his distant laugh.
The Dracknum family, as the memories had shown me, wasn't just a noble lineage; they were hunters in the truest sense of the word. It didn't matter if the target was monsters, demons, or men. Their descendants were forged to survive in a world where brute strength and cunning were often the only things standing between life and death. They were born warriors, cartographers, and adventurers—there was nothing they couldn't do, so long as it involved the hunt.
It made sense. They lived on the edge of the Demonic Forest and had to deal, from time to time, with hordes spilling out from that endless darkness. This trial, brutal as it was, was an integral part of their legacy.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. My chest rose and fell quickly, but I forced myself to steady my breathing.
'It's just a forest', I tried to convince myself. But even in my mind, the words rang hollow.
I knew it wasn't just a forest. It was a battlefield. A test. A trial that had claimed the lives of many before me.
The trees around me loomed like black towers, their twisted branches clawing at the sky, blocking out any light that might escape the night's suffocating darkness. The ground beneath my feet was slick with damp leaves, and every step I took sent the sharp crack of breaking twigs reverberating through the oppressive silence, like screams in the void.
I drew a deep breath, trying to calm the storm raging in my mind. My eyes scanned the darkness around me, but everything looked the same: impenetrable shadows, gnarled trees, and a trail that split and dissolved into the shroud of the forest. Indecision was as dangerous an enemy as any predator lurking in these woods.
Instinctively, my hands reached for the ring on my index finger. 'Could this help me?' I wondered, clutching the small object with a glimmer of hope that it might offer me some advantage. But as soon as I tried to activate its functionality, something strange happened. The familiar glow I expected in my mind didn't appear.
'Appraisal function is locked.' A chill ran down my spine, and a cold knot of dread formed in my stomach.
'Leopold… that old man is as crazy as the rest of them', I cursed silently, frustration and helplessness swirling together like a storm.
Then, as if he'd been waiting for the perfect moment to make his presence known, a message beamed directly into my mind from the ring. Leopold's voice was calm, almost amused:
"It would be far too unfair for you to have the Appraisal function on this journey. This trial is yours and yours alone. Best of luck. Your dear summoner, Leopold Stargazer."
The message vanished, but its weight lingered. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to process the situation.
'That old man…' I muttered under my breath, suppressing the urge to scream. There was nothing else to do but move forward.
The first step was the hardest. My legs felt like lead, and every movement was labored, as if the forest itself conspired to hold me back. But I knew that standing still would only make things worse.
With each step, the sense of being watched grew stronger. The forest felt alive—not in the tranquil, natural sense, but in an oppressive, suffocating way. It was as though the woods were breathing, and though I couldn't see anything watching me, I could feel unseen eyes locked onto me, unblinking and relentless.
A sound broke through the silence—a faint rustling of leaves coming from a place untouched by the wind. My muscles tensed, and my gaze snapped in the direction of the noise. The silence that followed was even more suffocating, as if the forest was waiting, testing me, watching how I would react.
'Alright, I thought, pushing down the rising tide of panic. 'First, I need a strategy.'
Alexander's memories began to resurface, like a slow tide carrying fragments of books and lessons about tracking and survival. The calm, and excited voice of Alexander reading a certain book echoed in my mind: "Observe your surroundings. They'll always tell you more than you expect. Find patterns, but always prepare for chaos."
I looked around, trying to absorb every detail. The trees, with their twisted branches like claws, had partially exposed roots—potential traps or hiding places for something far more dangerous. The ground, covered in slick, damp leaves, made every step a gamble, each one capable of betraying me with a sudden slip or sound.
'If I don't have weapons, I'll have to improvise', I thought, scanning for anything that could give me an edge. My eyes landed on a sturdy branch wedged between two rocks. It took some effort, but I managed to pry it free. Its ends were jagged and uneven, sharp enough to pass for an improvised weapon.
Every sound around me felt magnified by the adrenaline coursing through my veins. The faint rustling of leaves, the distant crack of a breaking branch, even the sound of my own breathing—everything seemed threatening, as if the forest itself was alive and watching me.
I stared down at the branch in my hands, turning it over in my fingers. It was sturdy and sharp in places, but ultimately, it was just a stick—an aspiring weapon at best. My frown deepened as I analyzed my makeshift choice. Even with adrenaline spurring me on, I couldn't shake the doubt that it would make any real difference against a beast, or worse, something lurking in this forest.
It's not enough, I thought, exhaling slowly to keep the rising panic at bay. I gripped the branch more tightly and held it up to my chest, as if that act alone could imbue it with more utility. "I'll definitely need something better."
'Alright', I thought, forcing myself to focus. 'It's time to learn my second magic.'