At some point in time, the place had been surrounded by trees.

Aleen could not understand how he failed to notice that they were surrounded. It was as though the trees appeared suddenly around them.

Besides one remaining path that was in front of them, everything else was filled with trees.

Suddenly, an eerie chilly gust of wind touched his neck.

Aleen felt all the hairs in his body standing up.

Immediately, one of the trees moved a branch.

“Careful!” Aya shouted.

The branch extended creepily and pierced towards Aleen.

Aleen quickly jumped aside and evaded the branch, but more branches attacked from the other trees, sealing all his paths of escape.

“Damn it!” Aleen cursed angrily and send his mind into the storage ring. He then held Claire with one hand and used the other to brandish his sword.

With a quick spin, he cut some of the branches attacking him and created a gap between the attacks. He then used the gap to avoid the remaining branches.

Fortunately, the branches were pretty fragile. Aleen noticed that they weren't tougher than a normal branch.

But their numbers were frightening. Aleen was sure that even with his level-two body’s toughness and defenses, the trees could make use of the overwhelming number of attacks to finally kill him.

Aya and Lily were also being attacked by the trees, but they were faring much better than Aleen. After all, Aleen was carrying Claire, so he could not attack with all his strength.

“We must leave this place immediately!” Aleen shouted at Aya while cutting another branch. “… Any idea?” He asked.

Aya shook his head with a frown.

Aleen bit his lips and looked around frantically. He knew they were unable to endure long under so many attacks.

But he quickly realized that, besides the path in front of them, there was not another exit.

Gritting his teeth, he made up his mind.

“Let’s go there!” He pointed towards the only remaining path. He knew that the reason because this path remained behind was probably something bad, but they did not have more options now.

Aya nodded.

The pair, together with Lily, joined strengths to break through the attacks of the trees and charge towards the exit.

Aleen circulated his mana at the limit and filled his muscles with lightning. With a cry of rage, he cut through the branches and reached the exit after brandishing his sword repeatedly.

Without hesitation, Aleen and Aya used the opportunity to escape from the trees. In an instant, they left the trees behind.

But when Aleen turned around to observe the situation, he realized that the trees were not chasing after them.

They were quiet, as though they had completed their mission.

Aleen put on an expression of surprise, but before he could understand what was happening, a strong sense of danger filled him.

He jumped aside without hesitation. An instant later, he felt something cutting the place where he was just a moment ago.

When he moved his gaze to see what was happening, he saw a man standing there.

The man was taller than Aleen, with a slender body and a handsome face. He was wearing medieval noble clothes and his skin was completely pale, as a dead body.

When he felt Aleen’s gaze, he smiled.

“Impressive. Not many can evade my attack.”

Instantly, Aleen felt a strong pressure crashing against him.

His body chilled completely. It was as though a predator was looking at him with a hungry expression. He was certain that with the slightest movement, he would end dead.

The man curved upward his mouth leisurely. He then looked at Aya and Lily, and finally, he moved his gaze towards Claire.

When he saw Claire, he frowned. “Hm? Is she the source of the power that drew me here? How strange, she looks like a normal human, but there is something powerful inside her.” He then grabbed his chin and fell deep in thoughts.

Aleen stood protectively before Claire and pointed his sword forward. At the same time, Aya and Lily moved beside him.

“Who are you?” Aleen asked.

The man looked again at Aleen and smiled gently. “Oh, I forgot that you also were here. Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Baron Leo Von Atlarmar. By the way, I’m sorry if my children frightened you, I just asked them to keep you here, but sometimes they are a bit heavy-handed.” He said pointing to the trees.

“It was you…” Aleen said with a heavy expression.

Leo Von Atlarmar made a sadistic grin. “I never thought that I would see three level-two in this game. How weird, I don’t understand what is the administration thinking to send you here.”

Aleen fought against the pressure being emitted by the man and tightened the hand holding his sword. He put on a serious expression and readied his stance. Even if he knew that he could not win against him, he was ready to fight until the end.

However, Leo seemed to find his determination entertaining, because he licked his lips and walked around them slowly while thinking about the best way to play with them.

Then, he spoke.

“You see, I think I’m a good person, so I will not bully you with my strength. You can leave.”

Aleen's expression turned dark. He gripped the sword with so much strength that his hand turned white. If he could not understand that something was wrong with the man's words, then he was a fool.

Even so, he asked. “… Do you truly mean it?”

“Of course.” The man replied. “You only need to leave the girl behind and I promise you that I will not chase after you.”

Aleen struggled to suppress his rage.

“Of course, I’ll not force you.” The man continued. “You can also fight me if you don’t like my proposal.

“You too, girl.” He then pointed at Aya and smiled. “I can allow you to leave, but the other girl must stay. If you bring her to me, I can let you go.”

Aleen's expression turned unsightly. He turned towards Aya, but she was looking at the man with her usual deadpan expression.

“… I’m sorry, I cannot do it.” She said.

“Is it so? Such a shame. I never thought that your bond would be so strong. What about you, boy.”

Aleen did not hesitate to answer. “I’ll not leave her behind!” He said firmly.

“I see, I see.” The man smiled gently, then, the pressure coming from him intensified tremendously, and a powerful wave of mana spread into the surroundings. Aleen and Aya felt the air around them becoming heavier before hearing the man speak in a bloodthirsty tone. “I guess that I have to kill you then, right? Well, it’s fun in its own way.”

But when the man was about to attack them, a cold voice sounded from the direction of the trees.

“I’m sorry, but you will have to wait for your turn. They are mine.”