I can somehow sense it. The monkeys running to our direction are dangerous. Aside from the message, simply looking at them is enough to show the difference in strength between us. The monkeys are 7-8ft tall and are quite built. The scary thing is that despite their large figure, they were agile and even had weapons.

Based on their speed, we will be caught even If we ran away. The best thing to do now is stand our ground and look for an opportunity.

“Faeran, fire your strongest attack at my direction when I tell you ok?”(Sania)

“Nuu”(Faeran)

I left Faeran in the tent and ran to the sea. It didn’t look like they were after him since they changed their route to me. I moved to a slightly shallow part where the water was 2ft high.

There were 5 of them and most had red colored fur. One had a slightly bigger build and had yellow fur. It had an intimidating presence around him and is probably the leader of the group.

They entered the waters to catch me and in a matter of minutes, I was surrounded.

Good, with this, Faeran can move freely. For now the only think I can do is observe their behavior. It doesn’t seem like they are here to kill. If they did, I would have been dead the moment they caught me.

The monkeys looked at me for a bit before laughing. Their expression said it all. They are confident that they have already won and only see me as a thing to waste their time on.

One of the monkeys moved forward. It made gestures telling me to attack it, so I kicked it in the face. I only used 50%-60% of my strength and it didn’t look like it did any damage. The reason for not using my whole strength is to make them think I am only at that level, not to mention that I couldn’t even dream of defeating one with my full strength.

Their reaction upon seeing my kick was as expected. Most of them erased the thought of me even being a threat to them, but the leader is quite smart. It was still cautious about any hidden traps I might have in my arsenal.

I lifted my leg and stomped on the water. Using the force from the initial motion, I sent a back kick to the monkey’s chest, which only made me push myself back.

I ran back to the monkey and started hitting him on different places, but none of them had any effect. I moved around splashing water everywhere and luckily, it didn’t seem like they expect a thing.

I acted like I was desperately trying to attack, and slowly but surely drenched the monkeys around me in water. I crouched and started pounding on the water. It looked like I was just venting my anger on the waters, but it was already the final phase of my plan.

Upon seeing me act like that, even for a split second, they lowered their guard.

“NOW!”(Sania)

At my signal, a ball of lightning appeared on top of the monkeys and started releasing lightning attacks. By the time the attack hit one of the monkeys, I already jumped from the water.

While on mid air I took my clothes off and used them to separate my skin and the monkey’s skin. The attacks continued and when I was about to fall, I used one of the monkey’s head as a platform. I used the clothes to separate us so that the lightning won’t flow to my body.

The attacks continued and even if Faeran can release one attack at a time, the water helps spread the attack to the other monkeys. I jumped from the monkey’s head back to the ground and watched as the monkeys got charred from the attacks.

The attacks were sent at an interval where the monkeys couldn’t fight back. It would be a different story if they were alert the whole time, but sadly, their foolish personality led them to their demise.

Faeran sent a total of 56 lightning attacks before jumping to my arm and fainting. I felt guilty that I had to use a young one’s strength to this extent, but it was the only way we can both get away from the situation.

2100 exp gained

2100 exp gained

2100 exp gained

2100 exp gained

Level raised by 4

At the same time that the message popped out, I heard a loud voice.

“KUKIIIIIIIII”(Kinsman Ape(Alpha))

There was still one alive, and it was the leader of the monkeys. Its body turned dark from the attack, but it was still moving around. It looked enraged from what happened and drew its sword. It started running to me, at a speed exceeding mine.

How is he still alive? He was subjected to a number of lightning attacks while drenched in water, so how?

I ran to the north and tried to hide from the monkey. Even while its body was covered with burns, even if it was bleeding all over the place, it still caught up.

It waved its sword to my neck. I was able to dodge it, but it still made a small cut on my skin.

Recieved 4 damage from kinsmal ape(Alpha)

I was still carrying Faeran and it looks like the monkey is also targeting him, so I can’t fight and can’t leave Faeran anywhere.

I tried kicking the open wounds of the monkey, but it only gave him the chance to grab my leg. He raised me up and threw me to a tree. When I looked back, the monkey was already running to me with a sword pointed to my heart.

Recieved 32 damage from kinsmal ape(alpha)

I rolled to the side, but it changed the trajectory of its attack from a piercing motion to a cutting motion. I desperately tried to avoid it, but it was too fast. It was able to sever my left arm.

Recieved 78 damage from kinsmal ape(alpha)

I tightly hugged Faeran with my remaining arm and ran…even though I knew it was a meaningless effort.

How could it still move like this? The attack earlier should have burned its organs, yet it could still exhibit such strength…

I felt a sharp pain on my right leg. I ignored it and continued running, only to fall on the ground. I couldn’t move my right leg and when I looked, a sword was embedded on my leg.

Recieved 24 damage from kinsmal ape(alpha)

The monkey caught up, and at this point, I couldn’t think of anything that could save us. It grabbed my neck and looked me in the eyes. I could see all the rage in his eyes, it wanted to make me suffer, it wanted to get revenge for its comrades.

I threw Faeran away as far as I could and taunted the monkey.

“Heh, if you just killed me instead of playing around, your friends would still be alive right now.”(Sania)

The monkey somehow understood my words and slammed me to the ground. He stomped on my remaining arm and broke it. At this point, my body was starting to go numb.

Recieved 34 damage from kinsmal ape(alpha)

The monkey violently pulled the sword from my leg, severing it from my body. It raised its sword and looked like he was gonna finish me in the next attack.

Recieved 19 damage from kinsmal ape(alpha)

“…I should have leveled up a bit.”(Sania)

Those were my honest opinion. It wasn’t just leveling up, it’s getting stronger as a whole. I was naive to think that I could survive in this world as I am now and look at what happened.

Time seem to slowed down. I could see him moving a lot slower than before, but the same could also be said to me. I could only think, think about what I could have done better, think about what I couldn’t see in this world, and think about going to the afterlife without anyone waiting for me.

Now that you think about it, I only had the time to think about my family yesterday when everything seemed peaceful. This day was just me thinking about Faeran and my safety. I was only focused on prolonging our life, or at least give the new born animal a chance to live his life.

I am a failure as an adult. I even made Faeran tire himself out just to fight the monkeys. If I was just stronger, if I was at least strong enough to not make a young one help me in a battle…

I looked at the blade and it was still half way there before piercing my heart.

They say that time slows down when you are at death’s door. I didn’t experience it in my past life, but to think that it is actually real. So my death is already certain…I just hope Faeran can escape. I already lived long enough and this new life of mine is just a small extension of my past life, but Faeran is different. He is literally a new born child.

There are a lot of possibilities for him in the future and I am sure that being a deity will be a factor to help him survive.

The sword was now a few centimeters away from my chest.

I wonder how Faeran will live now. I suggest that he avoid dangerous creatures such as this one until he grows up. Can he survive on his own? What if he seeks revenge and kills himself because of it? I need to guide him. I want to teach him things, I want to see him grow, I want to see his future.

The sword touched my chest at this point, and I didn’t have any strength to move away.

“I want to live.”(Sania)

On the same moment, my body stopped moving…and so did the monkey’s body. I couldn’t move, not just from my injuries but from the suffocating presence that is walking to our location.

WARNING: ???

NAME: ???

TITLE: THE PHANTOM FORTRESS

Location: Lezan Forest

Recommended Level(Party): 225 or higher

Recommended Level(Solo): 300 or higher

I could hear loud sounds from a far and as it got closer, the ground started to vibrate. The monkey and I were like statues that couldn’t move. The sound got closer and closer and before I noticed it, the monkey disappeared in front of me.

My body stiffened from the presence and as it walked closer, all light disappeared. It was a gigantic figure that completely blocked the light from the sun. It was tall, it was wide, and I couldn’t see how it looked like from the ground.

It didn’t seem to notice me and continued walking. As it walked, right before my eyes, it disappeared. It vanished like it wasn’t even there to begin with and even the suffocating presence was gone.

I am alive, and the enemy is gone. I didn’t know what the monster’s goal was, but it didn’t change the fact that it save me. It may not have even noticed me, and it was probably just walking randomly, but it still saved me.

This is probably what you call a miracle. My death was already certain until it showed up…No, with the state of my body, I’ll still die. But at least, Faeran is safe now.

Because of the severe state of my body, I slowly lost consciousness.

___

When I woke up, I was in the same place before I slept. My body was still aching but I could feel my limbs again. I didn’t have that much strength, but my condition was a lot better than before…is it the influence of the familiar contract?

I stood up and looked around. Everything was a mess, the trees were destroyed, small holes on the ground which is probably made by the monster’s foot, and dead animals. It looked like the bringer of calamity just passed through and destroyed everything.

I started walking to the direction where I threw Faeran and in after a few minutes, I have reunited with my familiar.

Despite the recent events, Faeran was back to full health, I guess being deity has its perks. He was walking to my direction before jumping on top of my shoulder. Faeran pressed his body, and it feels really relaxing to have his soft fur on my cheeks.

I was still staggering a bit, but I can move around. I didn’t know which way to go now. I don’t know if our tent is a safe place and I’m not sure if venturing in the forest is safe. What if animals on the same level of the monkey show up? Or worse, what if stronger ones show up?

Faeran sensed the current stress I was experiencing and started running to a tree again. He presented fruits to me. Since I was hungry, I ate the fruits and patted Faeran for always doing his best for me.

We ate the fruits, and rested for a bit. The place was quite silent, and it seems like there weren’t much life around us. The sun was starting to set and we were still under a tree.

What do we do now? How should we move from now on? I don’t know what do anymore. Everything is happening to fast, it hasn’t even been a week since I entered this world and a lot of dangerous things already happened…I could have died earlier too.

I looked at Faeran who was sleeping on my lap. He was sleeping comfortably like the recent events didn’t even happen. I caressed his fur and started thinking.

“The answer is simple, get stronger.”(Sania)

If a strong monster appears, then we just have to be stronger than that. If something bad happens, we just have to be strong enough to survive it. Not everything can be solved by strength, but as of now, we need to at least be strong enough to protect ourselves.

I spent the rest the rest of the day thinking. I didn’t want to kill if unnecessary, but that is the only way we could get stronger for now. We couldn’t spar, there isn’t anyone that could train us, so only killing the one in front of us is the answer I could think of.

I could have created weapon if I have the materials, I could have used the poisonous fruits if there was any, but the best solution was to get stronger. In the end, I have made a few rules before killing an animal.

First is that it had to be at least strong enough to fight us. Second is that anything that shows hostility is an enemy. Third, anything too weak is not a target unless a group of it shows up and becomes a threat.

___

The next day, we started moving deeper to the forest. The animals were quite strong, but not at the level of the monkeys yesterday. The animals were quite aggressive so I gained a lot of experience from killing them, but it seems that I needed a lot more to level up.

My fear started to fade seeing that the animals were at a level that we could handle. The first day ended with us gaining a few levels.

The following days were the same. We continued to move deeper in to the forest as we kill anything that becomes a threat to us. Luckily, we haven’t encountered anything that is out of our reach.

As we got deeper and deeper, the scenery slowly changed. From trees that were a few meters a part, the forest we are staying right now was fully stacked with trees. There was only a small amount of light reaching the ground because of the trees.

The type of animals also changed a bit as we continued. We have fought different types, and gained not only levels but also fighting experience. From time to time we would encounter a strong enemy, but we could win by outsmarting it…good thing the animals up to now were easy to read.

At some point, I got tired of fruits, so I started cooking meat. I have killed already, why would I stop now?

Using Faeran’s magic, we could create flames and with it, I could cook. I have also tested a few plants to see if I could use anything to add flavor to the food. The yellow fella leaves add a sour taste if you use it to marinate the meat. The sap from Desan flowers, are quite sweet and Faeran really liked it so I pack a few on my bag…yes, I have a bag now.

I have created new set of clothes and a bag to carry it. I also created clothes for Faeran but he dislikes being clothed so I stopped. All in all, we have gotten used to living and adapting to everything around us. The only thing I would like is that there should be more lakes so we could bathe more.

We usually move around only after the area doesn’t give much exp to us. We stay near lakes for obvious reason. We could eat anything, but it doesn’t mean we could get water everywhere. If we aimlessly move around we might die from dehydration.

I slowly created tools for crafting, and as of now, I am using a sword created from an Alpheous Ursus’ bone. It was quite hard creating the first set of tools and weapons. Imagine only using sharp rocks to carve the shape I want, not to mention the possibility of breaking the materials while making something.

As of now, I am wearing clothes from an Alpheous Ursus’ skin. It took me a while to get the desired look for the clothes, but I am quite happy at the results…Am I starting to become a caveman?

By the way, Alpheous Ursus is an 18ft tall bear with black fur and some white fur on the end of its limbs. Its back was covered in white scales and had a few spikes coming out of its shoulder…ok, so it no longer looks like an animal.

___

3950 exp gained

“That’s the last one.”(Sania)

“Nuu”(Faeran)

We are walking in a canyon right now. It has been 1 month since we have gotten out of the forest and 7 months since we came to the beach. We are just walking around without anything in mind.

The monsters around the canyon are no longer a threat to us…actually, it wasn’t a threat even on our first day in the canyon.

The monsters here are usually hard shelled ones or flying ones.

“Ok, let’s take a break. What do you want to eat? Enral Dasypus or Vanzal Aquila?”(Sania)

Faeran moved to the eagle with his tail moving like always. Well, I guess an eagle is easier to cook than an armadillo.

After eating, Faeran slept on my lap. The sun was still high, and I could clearly see the things around me. We are near a river in the bottom of the canyon and the way to the top of the canyon is behind us.

The water was clear and odd looking fishes were swimming there. The river was quite deep since I couldn’t see the bottom despite the clear waters, and there were even fishes as big as a car moving around. I looked at the sky for a bit and closed my eyes to relax.

While Faeran was still asleep, I decided to check my stats.

NameSania Pendragon

Age0GenderFemale

Level43Charisma???

HP1395/1395MP487/487

Strength135(+50)Defense168(+35)

Dexterity287Agility255

Magic power128Magic Defence89(+15)

Required exp for the next level39745

PASSIVE SKILLS:

UNRIVALLED BEAUTY - Increases charisma by 100%

UNRIVALLED TALENT - Increases experience gained by 1000%

UNLIMITED POTENTIAL - There is no level cap

FAMILIAR CONTRACT(Fenrir) - Increase in lifespan. Awakened magic veins and increased affinity with lightning magic.

ACTIVE SKILLS:

COOK(10)DOTE(10)LIGHTNING BOLT(10)LIGHTNING STORM(6)

SWORD WAVE(5)LIGHTNING FORM(3)LIGHTNING SWORDS(1)

"It'll take a while before the next level and why is the lightning swords still at level 1? I have been using it for a week now."(Sania)

As I opened my mouth, I felt a presence from the top of the canyon. I looked up and saw someone on the edge of the canyon. Since it was the first time seeing a person on this world, I got excited and started running on the steep canyon. Of course I left Faeran and the bag below.

When I got up, a number of armored people were pointing spears on a young man at the edge. They got shocked after seeing me and started talking in a language I couldn't understand. The young man hid behind me and the armored men pointed their spears at me while their bodies were shaking.

"...I don't understand what you're saying and I don't know what kind of situation this is, so for now, sleep."(Sania)

I discharged lightning currents around me and everyone around fainted.

"I guess my first impression isn't so good."(Sania)

_________

Author's Note:

Spoiler : About the battle with the kinsmal ape(alpha), you would notice that the damage exceeded her hp when she was at level 12. Her level raised by 4 so her maximum hp increased a bit before the one sided battle with the kinsmal ape(alpha).

Spoiler : Sorry for the sudden time skip. I felt that I had to do it since if I prolonged their training it will look repetitive. There are still a lot of place, a lot of levels, fighting styles before they reach the top so for now, please forgive me for the sudden training arc and time skip.