The next day, Eden set out on the road connecting the village to the city. The surrounding forest was dark and dense, filled with distant sounds of monsters that made the air heavy with tension. Eden did his best to cover his tracks, using his experience as a mercenary, moving lightly and avoiding monster nests and their territories.
"No room for mistakes now. Every step here could be my last if I'm not careful," was the thought that dominated his mind as he carefully examined the ground before each step.
After half a day of exhausting travel, he emerged from the depths of the forest and approached the road. There, he spotted a group of soldiers dressed in simple but sturdy armor, marching in formation. Their faces showed signs of fatigue and alertness, while their weapons gleamed under the sunlight.
"A perfect opportunity," Eden thought as he watched them from behind a thick tree. "If I play my cards right, I can use their presence to reach the city and get an identity badge."
But approaching them directly was dangerous. Soldiers in this world trusted no one, especially strangers. So, he flashed a sly smile before slowly retreating deeper into the forest.
"Strength isn't everything here. Intelligence is what lets me live another day."
---
After minutes of tense walking, he reached the den of a Wind Fox monster. The area around the den was eerily quiet, with claw marks etched into the tree trunks. The Wind Fox, a Rank E monster, was known for its incredible speed and its body covered in white fur streaked with green lines, as well as its aggression toward anyone who trespassed on its territory.
Eden heard a soft growling sound coming from the den, but he ignored the warning and crept closer. Suddenly, a white and green light shot toward his neck at blinding speed.
But Eden was prepared. Using his unique skill "Future Sight," he saw the attack before it happened and jumped aside, narrowly dodging the strike. "One second. That's all I need to execute my plan."
The Wind Fox charged at him again, but Eden threw a small stone that hit the monster in the head, enraging it and causing it to chase him wildly. During the chase, Eden deliberately allowed the fox to scratch his shoulder with its sharp claws, leaving a deep but non-lethal wound.
"That's enough. I don't want to die before executing my plan."
After a few minutes of pursuit, Eden emerged from the forest, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Help me! Please! Is anyone there?"
---
His face was exhausted, and his wound was bleeding heavily, making him look like a survivor who barely escaped a deadly encounter. The soldiers immediately noticed his shout. The captain raised his hand and ordered his men to get ready.
"What happened?" the captain asked in a firm voice, stepping forward toward Eden.
"The Wind Fox... attacked me in the forest... I barely survived," Eden said in a strained voice before collapsing to his knees, pretending to be utterly exhausted.
The soldiers exchanged quick glances before the captain signaled one of them: "Treat his wound. We can't let anyone die here. We'll deal with the Wind Fox."
While one of the soldiers treated his wound, Eden quickly scanned his surroundings. "The first phase succeeded. Now, I need to gain their trust... the rest will be easy."
---
Later, Eden began to regain consciousness slowly. He opened his eyes to an unexpected scene: the soldiers were around him, but the place looked different. It wasn't the road where he had met them; it was a completely destroyed village. Destruction was everywhere, and human corpses were carefully gathered and covered with cloth pieces.
A soldier approached him, saying: "You finally woke up. We have a lot to tell you."
Eden slowly raised his head, trying to understand what was happening. Suddenly, the captain approached him with steady steps, his face a mix of seriousness and weariness. He sat down in front of Eden on a broken tree trunk and looked him directly in the eye.
"How are you now? Can you talk?"
Eden raised his hand to his head, feeling the carefully bandaged wound. He replied weakly: "I think I'm fine... but where am I? What happened?"
The captain gestured around, where the village appeared to have been hit by a violent attack. "You're in the village of Losar. Or rather... what's left of it. We found you unconscious on the road and decided to bring you here. We were on a reconnaissance mission when the catastrophe struck."
Eden paused for a moment, trying to process what he was hearing, then asked: "Catastrophe? What do you mean? Who did this?"
The captain sighed deeply, as if recalling a painful memory: "A monster surge suddenly ravaged the village. The people tried to resist, but they weren't armed enough. By the time we arrived, it was too late."
Eden looked at the stacked corpses covered with cloth. He felt an internal shock, but showed no remorse, realizing that this village was just another step on his path to the top.
---
The captain stared into his eyes: "Who are you? You look like a young man, so what made you risk traveling through a monster-filled forest alone?"
Eden hesitated for a moment, then said in a sorrowful tone: "My name is Eden. I was an orphan in the village, and the people gathered money and food for me to go to the city and look for a chance to awaken my mana and join the academy."
The captain felt some sympathy: "I'm sorry for what happened to your village, Eden. My name is Arin."
Eden smiled and said: "Thank you, Captain Arin. I'll do whatever I can to help you."
---
But while helping to record the villagers' bodies, Eden noticed something strange: some of the corpses were completely intact, as if their souls had been sucked out without resistance. Suddenly, a soldier approached Captain Arin and muttered something, causing Arin's expression to change to shock. The captain quickly headed toward the center of the village, where there was a flat stone with a sentence written on it that Eden had left.
Arin approached quietly, then said in a serious tone: "It seems the attack on the village was staged, not natural."
Eden felt this was a perfect opportunity. He then exploded in a cry filled with anger and fake tears: "I will kill that bastard who destroyed my village! I swear by my name, I will tear him apart! Do you hear me, Black King? I will destroy you!"
After shouting with genuine but fake pain, he fainted.