It’s been a month since I met the shade wolf. And since then I have been fighting wolves right and left. And only since last week I’m starting to encounter foxes. That would mean that Alt’s territory is near. Little cub is still in coma. But I’m pretty sure that it is fine.

Four days ago, I fought a two tailed fox. More I get close to the third boundary more the creatures get stronger. At first foxes with single tail didn’t use any magic but as soon as their tails got increased to two they started to use magic.

So far strongest fox I encountered was three tailed fox which could us fire element magic. Even though I say fire element all it did was to shoot fireball from its mouth. But problem is that fireball it shot was, well frankly scary.

After getting in contact with a tree it didn’t just burn it, it actually melted it down. Its fireball had corrosive properties.

But still in the end I managed to kill it.

Since yesterday I have been seeing what I believe is the third boundary. It is a five thousand meters tall wall made out of thorn. I think it will take at least a week to make it there and cross it.

For some reason this last week will be an eventful week.

During last month I started practicing Arc’s breathing technique. Frankly I almost forgot about that one.

Since it uses pure energy to temper the body, it is slower than tempering it with qi I think. But it is better than nothing.

After four more days of walking I enter the vicinity of the wall. And up close this wall looks gigantic. I can’t even see the top.

But more I get close to the wall more my biological alarm is ringing like crazy. And I can cut the tension I’m feeling with a knife. This is getting worrying.

On top of everything I keep getting feeling that something is watching me. I haven’t encountered a single life form for last two days. This foreboding sense is very uncomfortable.

I’m think I will face something before the wall. I just keep getting that kind of feeling.

After two more days of walking I come before the wall. But what’s waiting for me there is not only the wall but something else too.

Front of the wall stands red-furred four meters tall five tailed fox looking at me like it was waiting for me. And from it I feel tremendous amount of danger. My instinct is shouting at me to run. But at the same time same old primal urges rise up and tells me to fight it and to kill it.

“Do you have any idea how long I waited for you?”

“So, you can talk huh? How long did you wait then?”

“I waited for you here for two fucking weeks.”

“So, did Alt send you.”

“Know your place you vermin. You have no right to refer to my ancestor with that kind of familiarity!”

“I will call that pipsqueak how...”

It loses it even before I finish my sentence and starts to hurl fireballs at me. I dodge those fireballs. But this one’s fireballs aren’t corrosive but simply explodes like a grenade on contact. And this fox is using its tails to cast five fireballs at the same time. So, this fox is like a Gatling gun.

It takes everything I got to dodge its fireballs. Only after bouncing around like a clown do I manage get behind a tree to gain cover. Even after I got cover it is still shooting like crazy.

This dude got issues. Only after firing for almost five minutes does the crazy fox finally stop.

“Come out vermin and die like vermin you are!”

“Fuck you.”

As soon as I said that the fox starts to spam again.

While this deranged fox was spamming fireball like crazy I managed to improvise a weapon. Since this idiot is using long-ranged attack I got no other choice but to follow the suit.

But what is the long-ranged weapon I know of. Gun is obviously out of question. So, that only leaves bow. But what can I make bow out of.

Only thing coming into my mind is my left arm. Since it’s made out of branch I believe I can make bow out of it.

So, I pump some mana into it. While doing that I enforce my will on it to take a shape of bow. And as I pump mana into my left arm it starts to branch out of from my wrist and extends downward and upward curving back.

Now that I managed to make the bow’s body, next is the bowstring. I think I will make the string out of my mana.

This time I will my mana to take a shape of string connecting the two ends of my bow’s body and they connect I compress my string to make it sturdier and at the same time flexing the bow limbs.

And finally, arrows. As for my arrows I convert my mana into fire elemental mana and will it to take a shape of arrow head. As my arrow head takes shape I pump more elemental mana into it and compress it more to make it more explosive.

After that I pump some mana into my left arm, making it extend out a straight branch and break it off. That takes care of the shaft and head.

As for the fletching I make that out of mana. Now I got my improvised long-ranged weapon. My only concern is whether if it will work.

Just as the crazy fox finishes firing again I come out from behind the tree. I immediately nock the arrow then draw. With a little bit of aiming I let go.

My arrow whistles through the air and hit the fox’s shoulder.

BOOOM!

As soon as it hit the fox’s shoulder my arrow lets out satisfying boom. And the explosion swallows the fox.

The smoke gets wiped away with a gust of wind and reveals the fox with singed fur and angry, hatred filled eyes staring at me.

This time instead of fireballs it starts to spam wind blades. Since they are hard to see I activate my mana vision. That’s much better.

Even though I don’t need to worry about the explosions anymore, wind blades are much faster that fireballs.

I get cut few times while dodging it. I try to hit it one more time but it cuts down my arrow with its wind blades.

So, once again I got no other choice to take cover behind the tree.

“Come out and die, you vermin!!!”

Dude’s got anger issues.

Now that I no longer can use my bow, that means I need to force it into close quarter combat. After coming to that conclusion, I change my gears to my new ones.

After suiting up I come out from behind the tree again. As soon as the fox sees me it starts to spam wind blades again. But those are useless against my armor.

I jump into action as soon as I confirmed my armor works against its wind blades. With my charged greaves I lunge at the fox. I execute my first technique as soon as I get in range. But it somehow just blinks right in front of me and appears behind me.

This time it starts to spam fireballs again. Even though fox’s fireballs don’t really hurt me, the explosions throw me around like a ragdoll.

Shit this fucker is too hard to kill. But at least with that blink I got to know that it may be weak in CCQ.

To get out of the explosions I cast my fire breath as soon as I face the fox. As my flame heads its way fox dodges, thus ending the spamming.

I finally get a little bit of breathing room and takes cover, again. I make my bow again and shoots another arrow at the fox. Once again hitting it in the shoulder. But this time fox blinks ten meters to the right to get out of the explosions range.

As soon as it materializes I pushes myself with my greaves and come in to range again. This time it panics. So, it seems he can’t blink indefinitely.

after getting in range I punch it with fully charged first technique.

BOOOM!

Again, with a satisfying boom my punch explodes beneath the fox’s chest. But it doesn’t get throw upward or lets out a peep.

As smoke settles it is looking at me with its anger and hatred filled eyes.

SHIT. It didn’t work. My assumption was wrong. Before I could react, it swipes at me with its right leg and throws me away.

I hear my ribs breaking as I was flying. I stop only after crushing into five trees. Shit. That broke all my ribs.

While clenching my teeth and waiting for my bones to heal I take look at the fox. This time it’s not spamming spells. This time it is simply walking toward me.

So, I summon my wolf and my wolf pounces at the wolf as soon as it saw it. Unfortunately, all my wolf manages to achieve is distract the fox for a little while.

But that is more than enough for me to heal and start to cast my last trump card. FIREBALL. I think my overcharged fireball is my only chance at killing it.

So, I cast my fireball and start to pump more mana into it while compressing it at the same time. And while doing all that I pump mana into my left arm to build myself a branch shelter. It may not mitigate the damage fully but I’m sure it will help.

My wolf dissipates after struggling for three more minutes. But that was more than enough. after my wolf dissipates it finally looks at me and sees my branch shelter and sneers.

“Do you think that will protect you from me, vermin?”

“No, it is supposed to protect me from this.”

After saying that I throw out my overcharged fireball at its feet.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

My pitch-black fireball explodes as soon as it touches the ground. Unleashing devastating explosion and oppressive heat. My shelter manages to mitigate the impact from the explosion but it fails to endure the oppressive heat and starts to burn.

After the heat got through my shelter it fails to penetrate my armor. But then heat starts to boil my armor. As my armor starts to heat, it starts to burn me inside.

SHIT! It hurts a lot. Even with my little tree providing all the vitality it can, it still hurts like hell. Still I got no other choice but to endure through the pain and heat.

Five minutes. My fireball finally goes out after five whole minutes. I think I clipped a tooth while clenching my teeth.

And only after twenty minutes do manage to gain clarity and my pain subsides. This time it hit me hard since it exploded so close to me.

After getting up I look to where the fox was and I find it still alive. As I got into stance and prepare to execute my second technique, it falls and takes its last breath.

I confirm my kill when I felt its life force entering my body.

“Fuck. I got reminded how weak I’m once again.”

“Good thing you know that you’re just a weakling.”

Tree is right. But still pisses me off being told by the firewood like that.

“What? Are you sulking weakling boy?”

“Fuck off. Just tell me how to cross the third boundary.”

“Just go through the wall. I will let you pass.”

I walk to the wall. Now that I noticed it, even though my fireball consumed every tree in hundred meters radius this wall is still fine.

As I touch it, it is cool to the touch. Not even warm. It starts to recede from where I touched it. I walk for five hours through the thorn tunnel before coming out the other side.

And as soon as I come out the other side my danger sense hits the roof as I see giant nine tailed fox in front of me.

“Alt?”

“IT IS ALTRANDIL, YOU CRETIN!”

Shit that almost busted my eardrums.

“Chill dude.”

“I see you managed to kill my welcoming committee.”

“You call that a welcome.? If so you are one twisted dude.”

“Whatever give it to me now!”

“How do I know that you won’t kill me after I give it to you? You just tried to get me killed.”

“I gave you my word that I will let you pass through my territory safely. I never said I will let you pass through others though, right?”

Shit. Pipsqueak is right. Then I got no other choice but to hope that this pipsqueak will keep his word.

“Here take it.”

I throw the fang to Alt. As I threw it, it starts to float and disappears.

“Just keep heading west and you will leave this forest in at least year and a half, at most three years.”

“Okay. Then farewell.”

“Scram already, you cretin.”

Fucking pipsqueak. You are on my kill list now.

…

“Why do you insist that boy lives World Tree?”

“That is none of your concern, cub. Just make sure no one kills him in your territory. Or else.”

…

End of Volume 1