****(POV)

I trust in him, but sometimes I still worry a bit. I look in the distance wondering how he's doing. It is normal for a mother to do so. Then before I know it my husband interrupts my reverie, usually with:

"Stop worrying already! He's a member of The Unnamed God Sect now HAHAHA! His future is boundless! You should worry about us more! Who knows how we'll fare in the upcoming war?! Well, chances are we'll be left alone. After all the Border Town is kinda meaningless in the grand scheme of things."

Funny how our positions used to be reversed. I was always the one encouraging him to let him live his life. Simply because I knew that this town really was too small to contain his ambition.

Part of me always wanted to deny him his dream. To have him hunt/bake with us instead of training swordsmanship. I never did.

Let's just say after that trip to the forest my husband changed a lot. From a protective father, he became the boisterous one that always kept bragging about his son. Well, he still does from time to time haha.

Two months ago, this became even more exaggerated. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was simply baking a pie as I usually do. The smell coming out of the oven was so tempting that the neighbors were seen hanging outside hoping that I offer them some. Of course, I didn't haha.

That is when I heard a knock at the door.

I simply waited for whoever was on the other side to go away but the knocking never stopped. Every few minutes there would be a knock. Finally losing patience, I opened the door to see who it was.

In front of me was an unknown man. An unkempt beard, actually it looked as if he had tried cutting it with the giant claymore he was carrying. He smelled of metal. He quickly opened his mouth: "Hey there! Are you the legendary pie baker of the Border Town?"

That's when I simply closed the door. I didn't have any time for people begging for food. No matter who!

Then started some more knocking. I figured he'd get bored and leave eventually. He didn't.

After a few hours, I finally went to open again while shouting at him: "I am not selling any pie and you can't have any for free."

Then I slammed the door in his face once more. Then…he started knocking again. Opening again, he showed a helpless expression: "Ma'am, I think you are misunderstanding me! Your husband and son are sending me! I'm supposed to escort you safely to meet them! It was teacher Zero's suggestion!"

Honestly, this was clearly the weirdest thing. My son had been gone for a while and my husband had been hunting. What was the teacher part about too? There was no way this guy was trustworthy.

That is when I saw him take a dagger. One that I had given my son for his birthday. Either my son was already in trouble, or he was really who he was saying he was. Inspecting him from head to toe once more I decide to follow him, hoping for the best.

I stepped outside ready to stake my life, but then he simply went: "Ma'am! We should bring pies! They are all hungry! At first, we were supposed to simply come back but they wanted to participate in the feast."

"They? Who are you talking about?"

"That…it's hard to explain haha. You'll see, friends."

I go inside once more, then I bring a few pies in a bag.

"That...how about we bring them all ma'am? They can really eat."

I brought a huge bag, filled it completely with food then he picked it up while smiling and showed me the way. Before long I realized where we were heading. The Save Archaic Forest! This seemed extremely shady.

At that point, I was starting to reconsider, but my husband was there too. The man hadn't tried to use force against me, but the situation was somehow surreal.

We trekked across the wood. It was eerily quiet. No monster to be seen at all. Seeing me uneasy the man muttered: "Haha, don't worry. This is sect territory, there won't be any danger here."

"Sect territory? Which sect?" This part confused me.

"The Unnamed God of course!"

What?! Wasn't that an up-and-coming new one? There is no way they would have the power to invade this place without anyone noticing.

We kept going until finally, we reached a clearing. I could hear the clanging of weapons. I could see my husband moving about, all sweaty. I was about to call out to him, but then I saw the rest of the situation.

How was this possible?!

He was fighting…my son! Alongside creatures straight out of nightmares….

A shadow fox that kept dashing from shadow to shadow.

A deer looking extremely grotesque with flesh appendages coming out of its mouth, one filled with sharp teeth.

A mantis with deadly blades on his arms.

A giant snake, completely white.

A flaming boar charging all over the place.

Ants, lots of ants!

Then finally a giant black wolf with lightning crackling around its body.

My son was just standing there, blocking every attack. Sometimes dodging a bit. They kept attacking him relentlessly without any success. At some point, he turned toward me. We made eye contact.

He smiled softly before ordering them all to halt.

There was something wrong with this picture! Something very wrong! Why was a hunter playing alongside its prey?! Actually...they were the hunter in this case...

I was simply frozen. There is only so much that a human can accept.

"It's been a while, mom." He was giving a radiant smile. One that I wouldn't have mistaken. That truly was my son. Somehow in the short while I hadn't seen him, he had changed so much!

On the side, the man that had guided me was already triumphantly showing them the pies.

Then came a scene I will never forget. All these creatures that were obviously proud and strong beast kings…. started cheering and dancing too.

The fox kept a semblance of calm and was chastising them, but its tail was betraying him by wagging non-stop.

The mantis kept…teleporting up and down in joy!

The deer was licking its lips. It looked horribly wrong. Licking with countless tongues with barbs on it…!

The giant snake was looking at the pie stack as if it as a treasure.

The flaming boar was already in the process of offering its help for reheating the food. It was lying down on its back showing its belly. The way it did it made me believe it was used to it.

The ants were cheering with their front legs and bolted away as soon as they were given a part.

The black wolf was the only one that truly remained calm. It looked pensive, however.

My only thought then was …what the hell is happening?! Then my son came closer and explained everything.