Are the trees in a pattern? Alphonse stopped and noticed that, unlike before, these trees seemed different. It was like they were growing in a certain direction, almost as if they were manually placed here.

Alphonse continued to walk forward.

Where the hell am I? I’m so fucking lost right now… His mind was jumbled. It was impossible to tell where he was in this dense forest. All the landmarks were exactly the same.

Guess I just keep moving forward. It was impossible to become even more lost, right?

The iron trees were getting narrower on each side, as if it was funneling him forwards. Soon he made it to the end as it opened up into a sizable clearing. In the centre of the area was a gigantic squarish boulder. Alphonse looked around and decided to just go for it.

That fucking chicken better not appear. His grip tightened around the handle of his trusted mace. Alphonse remained vigilant as his eyes peered into the tree line.

Alphonse looked at the boulder. Strange small red symbols were clearly rushed, as it was basically just scribbled. Why is it red? He lifted his finger and gently dragged it through one symbol, a faint red residue stained his finger. For them to write in blood… They must have been in a hurry. Little dashes led from symbol to symbol. It must be a map. Alphonse looked at the trees that had been scribbled. From there, it led to the enormous boulder that he was currently at. It then moved towards and through a mountainous area and finally ended at what appeared to be a cave. It was hard to tell as the blood ran thin.

The Veiled Cavern. Alphonse’s eyes lit up as he thought of the mission and concluded. Shit, am I lucky? He was terrified to even think of the possibility, knowing his luck it was probably a trap.

I’m definitely not strong enough to go on my own. Should I wait here and hope people arrive? Alphonse thought—It was a tough call—risk his life going on alone or wait for backup that might not even arrive.

Well, I’ll wait for now. I’m getting hungry. He placed his hand on his stomach as it grumbled, begging for him to feed it.

If only it didn’t hurt every damn day. Alphonse left the boulder and entered the iron forest once again. ‘This time I won’t get lost…’ Alphonse picked up a nearby rock and struck one of the nearby trees to mark an arrow. Then, the sound of rock scraping metal was heard. ‘Ah, I’m a dumbass… Wait a minute.’ He had a sudden idea, if the rock wasn’t able to leave a mark then… His mouth suddenly opened wide.

[ Swallowing Bite: Activated ]

His shadowed teeth felt no resistance despite the tree’s iron like bark as it revealed the wood behind it. It was a strange vibrant purple, soon a thick yellow substance began oozing out of the tree. Hey, this doesn’t taste so bad. Alphonse chewed the iron bark for a bit before swallowing, the yellow sap was absolutely delicious as his eyes widened in delight. It tasted so sweet!

[ Iron Tree Consumed | 0.6 Constitution added. ]

Holy shit, it’s not just food then?! Alphonse began snacking on the incredibly tough iron tree as if it was tofu.

The notification pinged inside his mind as he gobbled the thick tree. His hunger was steadily reducing as his stomach was being stuffed full of the iron tree.

Oh shit!

The once thick tree crashed to the ground with a resounding crash, the sheer weight of it caused the trunk to sink into the ground. Smashing off of the metal roots below as sparks flew in all directions.

At the ear piercing sound, Alphonse quickly slinked away as he ran back the way he came. If anything came over because of the noise, he would be screwed. With a full stomach, Alphonse returned to the tree line with the boulder.

His vision moved onto other plants and flowers. If it worked for the iron trees, then it should work for them, right? Alphonse thought as he crouched down. A sickly eggy smell was emitted from the flower as he recoiled backwards. Yeah, I don't think I should eat anything I see without knowing what it is...

It’s getting late. He noticed that the sun set quickly here. Although he didn’t have a watch to look at, he was sure that the sunlight lasted a few hours less than what he was used to.

I need to set up camp. He thought back to when he was eating the iron tree as an idea popped into his head. Alphonse began chewing the branches off of the tree and shaped them into sharp spears, placing them into the ground, creating a makeshift fence perimeter.

After a few hours, it was already pitch black outside, but his camp was finished. He pounded many lines of razor sharp iron stakes into the ground. Two iron wood trees that were close by protected his back. It also acted as his escape route if anything got through his wall of spikes.

Tiredness washed over him as soon as he sat down on his bed of leaves. It wasn’t the most comfortable feeling, but it at least provided him with something.

I wish I could start a fire right about now. Alphonse let out a large breath, causing his oxygen to mist from the cold air. Thanks to his higher constitution now the cold wasn’t that big of an issue anymore. There was a slight chill, but it wasn’t unbearable.

People should arrive soon. I wonder if it will be Dillan and Ellena. I hope they’re okay.

Alphonse soon closed his eyes and dropped asleep. His body was tossing and turning and suddenly part of his exposed skin met with the frigid cold iron bark as he shot awake.

My god that’s cold. His teeth chattered, and goosebumps formed on his skin. He attempted to go back to sleep again, but the sound of leaves rustling and slight panting made him go on full alert.

He slowly got to his feet. With only the moonlight providing light, he suddenly saw two bead-like orange glows from within the forest. His heartbeat quickened as those beads inched closer every second. One by one, more eyes popped open. It looked like they were appearing out of thin air. Then, like a high-powered engine, a deep growl directed itself towards Alphonse as his blood ran cold.

The powerful car sized stature of the beast loomed out of the darkness, blood stained its jaw as it continued downwards like a scarlet curtain. The enormous paws powerfully stomped the ground with every step as a cold mist was projected forwards with every breath.

Shit. Alphonse’s heart clenched. His tiredness and drowsiness evaporated as his veins pumped blood through his heart and flowed around his body.

The startling sound of a loud howl filled the forest, and almost like an opera, more howls joined in as they celebrated a potentially new meal.

With his back pressed firmly against the safety of the iron tree, his gaze leered forwards while Alphonse's grip tightened on the leather straps that were woven neatly onto the mace.

Dire wolves… He recalled the monster manual’s information. They were pack animals with enough jaw power to bite through plate armour.

The wolves looked at their prey and slowly moved all around Alphonse. They are flanking me… His head turned as those orange, beady eyes surrounded him. He didn’t have to wait for long as the first wolf pounced forwards, jumping over his makeshift fence. Alphonse fell to his knees as he pulled up a sharp spear-like stick and held it up at an angle. Alphonse felt the weight of the wolf in his hands. The spear had penetrated straight through the wolf’s chest as hot, steamy blood flowed down onto his arms. The fresh blood tantalised his taste buds but he didn’t have the time to savour it as the wolves had already made another plan. Instead of jumping over, they began using their large bodies to nudge the spears to the side.

“No you don’t!”

His feet propelled him forward as he swung his mace overhead. The wolf didn’t have time to dodge, as it currently had its large body wedged in between metal spears. The mace accurately struck its mark as the dull feeling of striking something solid… and then soft, transmitted into his hands. He had no time to look at the flailing body of the wolf as the others were quickly trying to enter.

For a split second, his eyes wandered to the car-sized wolf… It calmly watched him, with no intention of making a move, as it coldly watched its brethren die.

Alphonse flashed a smile as his mace smashed into the skull of another wolf. Blood splattered onto his face, he fell into a trance as his arm kept on swinging.