The sun began to rise, and Draven was already into his morning training.
He stood before a towering tree, taking deep breaths before suddenly leaping upward.
He reached for a higher branch, then dropped back down to the ground.
Without rest, he jumped again and repeated the process—jump, land, breathe, jump again.
After several rounds, he shifted to another training.
Picking up a large rock, he began sprinting around the tree in tight circles.
He was strengthening his legs and improving his agility for quick bursts of movement.
After three days...
Draven and the villagers continued to travel to Riftwater without changes or dangers.
Everyone was happy, especially during meals and rest times when they could talk freely with each other.
Draven was getting to know them, and at times, he was the one making the villagers laugh.
As always, whenever he threw a pick-up line at Naisha, she would just roll her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, Gil returned from scouting, riding quickly toward the group.
"We found a Red Minotaur near the lake. What should we do?" he reported.
A Red Minotaur was a Rank A beast with a higher intelligence than the Bugbear.
Hearing this, Draven eyes lit up with excitement.
"A Minotaur! I've never seen one before."
He grabbed his Morphos weapon, ready for action.
"No," Mother Venice interjected firmly. "Red Minotaurs are the same rank as Bugbears, Rank A. We'll change our route."
"But I can take it down," Draven protested.
His mind was only filled with the thrill of fighting ever since escaping his old world.
"No," Mother Venice said again, her tone serious. "I know you defeated the Bugbear. But a Minotaur is sharper and nearly as strong. Besides, we can't risk attracting more beasts nearby. Others might get hurt."
Draven understood the situation and reluctantly stood down.
Still, Mother Venice couldn't shake her concern.
"Why are these high-ranking beasts here? It's the same with the Bugbear. Their place is either Skyreach Forest, layer 5, or Riftwater Forest, layer 3."
Naisha agreed.
"Maybe something attacked their territory, scattering them. But I'm not sure."
Mother Venice unfolded a large map, showing the different layers and territories for various beasts.
"We've been avoiding the territories of lower-ranked beasts," she said, pointing to their planned route. "Let's stick to this path. Gil, inform Felix."
Gil nodded and quickly rode off.
The group continued their journey, carefully avoiding misplaced beasts and changing routes as needed.
However, as they went on, Mother Venice realized that if they continued to avoid even the low-rank beasts, their journey would be complicated and could push them further off course.
She eventually allowed Draven to fight the lower-ranking beasts.
Thrilled, Draven fought a giant gray spider.
This creature, half Draven's size, moves quickly, leaping between trees.
Draven tried to strike it head-on.
But the creature surprised him by spitting a web from its mouth.
Draven attempted to dodge.
But the web was too wide and caught his leg.
The spider continued spraying webs, trapping him against a tree and covering his body.
"Damn it! I know spiders use their butts for spraying webs!!" Draven growled, struggling to free himself.
"Oops, sorry. I forgot to mention that," Naisha teased as she leaped in and sliced through the web binding him.
With a deadpan glare, Draven muttered, "I'm going to your tent tonight to punish you."
"In your dreams," Naisha answered as they both dodged from another web attack.
Draven charged immediately at the spider, dodging more quickly than before, and landed a single, decisive blow with his Morphos.
"Crack!"
"Splrch!"
The purple blood of the gray giant spider splattered onto Draven's body from the force of the strike.
"Gross!"
Draven turned to Naisha.
Meanwhile, Naisha was looking at him with pure disgust.
"Really? Are you looking at me like that?"
He walked straight toward Naisha with a sly smile, clearly intending to do something.
Naisha ran away, already knowing what he was planning.
"Don't come near me, you gross idiot!"
Every day, Draven faced Rank F to D beasts along the way.
One was a Rank E red giant snake emitting a poisonous smokescreen.
It gave Draven a mild fever but no serious harm.
Another was a Rank D giant rat.
It was unremarkable but tough. It can dig fast and can quickly change its location once under the ground.
It also attacks using its needle tail by surprise.
There's also a wild boar who tried to ram him with brute force.
But it ultimately fell to Draven's quick strikes.
Despite his initial struggles, mainly due to not knowing their abilities, Draven easily defeated them once he adapted.
As always, Naisha gave him critical information after the fights, and not before.
Still, every victory meant fresh meat for the group's meals.
Except for the spider.
After eight days of traveling, the group found themselves stopping frequently.
"A lot of beasts, and now even monsters, are swarming all over the place. We're not familiar with most of them," Gil reported to them.
"What should we do now, Draven?" Naisha asked.
"Call me Babe."
"What are we going to do, Mr. Chosen One?"
"Tsk. All right, Draven's fine."
He paused and thought.
"We stick to the usual. Change the route again and again. What else can we do?"
"Unless, of course, you finally let me fight the Rank A beast one by one," he added with a smirk.
Mother Venice sighed but nodded.
"You're right. We have no choice. We must be even more cautious. Scouts, stay sharp and be more sensitive to any signs of danger."
Naisha's brows furrowed.
"What's going on in this place? Something's not right."
"I agree with you," Mother Venice replied, her tone laced with concern. "But for now, our priority is to reach Riftwater safely."
The villagers murmured in fear.
They clutched their children tightly as the group continued onward, taking a more winding and distant route to avoid predators.
Days passed, and the constant detours began to wear on everyone. Frustration and fatigue were evident.
Moments later, Felix, one of the scouts, came running toward them.
"Draven, we found four injured men unconscious. I think it's the work of a beast," he reported.
Mother Venice's eyes narrowed, and she quickly decided.
"Let's go to them."
Upon reaching the location, they found four men sprawled on the ground, as Felix reported.
They have medieval clothes, and two of them were wounded in their chest.
Their wounds were like they were made from the claws of a bear.
"Treat them immediately!" Mother Venice commanded.
The villagers rushed to work, sprinkling healing herbs on their wounds and wrapping them with makeshift bandages.
"Those are shallow wounds. And yet they've fainted?" Draven commented.
"No," Naisha interjected, observing the surroundings.
"It's not just the wounds. The atmosphere here is hot. Look, the leaves are starting to wilt. They probably collapsed from dehydration."
"Hmm… as you say."
Draven stared at the men, carefully observing their bodies and faces.
As he did so, he sensed movements deep in the woods.
He immediately stood up and walked in that direction.
But he found none.
"Is something wrong?" Naisha asked.
"Maybe it was just my imagination," Draven replied before observing the four wounded men again.
The villagers carefully propped the injured men up, guiding water into their mouths to help them recover.
After a few moments, the two men who didn't have wounds coughed and stirred awake.
They immediately recoiled in fear.
"Who are you?" One of them asked, his voice shaky.