"What the hell do you mean with: yea why? that place is also known as the adventurer's graveyard! Almost every single adventurer that dared set foot in it has died! And those that didn't die went completely insane!"

Chill there beasty boy, sheesh if you continue like that you may end up popping a vein or something. However, I must admit that said place isn't all that nice. Monsters roam everywhere and de disorientating feeling of walking in circles, yea I can see people going crazy from something like that. Especially so if they are as weak as this bunch.

"I mean exactly what I said, it was a bother getting out of that place with the whole disorienting magic or whatever that was going on"

"But the monsters! the monsters in there are of at least rank B! that means you must be an A ranker or above. Even if that is the case many A rankers have lost their lives in there, also how come you didn't even know were you where!?"

I rolled my eyes, now that it has come to this I will have to make up a clever lie to get out of this one. I don't want to just say I went on a rampage for gods know how long and ended traversing two kingdoms.

"I was fighting a strong mage criminal and in despair he used a weird teleportation spell and then I was there, happy? As for A rankers dying inside the forest, I don't care and I don't feel like explaining how I got out either"

It seems my words were unexpected for the beast-men since his gaze turned hostile in a second but I couldn't care less, if he tried anything funny his head would go on vacation and his body wasn't invited.

"Anyway since we are done here, I will be taking my leave"

I tried to get out of there before they decided to continue their questioning, however, before I could take a single step the ground started trembling. Not too far away from us, ten to twenty meters away, the ground began rising as if pushed from below. Maybe it sensed its kind being eliminated or it simply heard the noise, whatever may be the case a massive rock monster rose from the ground.

Its body was made of a shiny black material known as obsidian with a height of maybe fourteen meters. Unlike earth's obsidian which tends to be brittle obsidian in this world is extremely tough due to the existence of mana, compared to metals it as hard as steel and extremely inflexible.

"oh my god! it's a king goliath!"

The elf mage held an expression filled with fear and despair. It is only natural that he does, after all, the little rock monsters had given his party a bad time, now this quote on quote king goliath appeared which is many times stronger. I can tell this guy can't be compared with the other monsters since the mana wave its body is exuding is at least twenty times stronger.

My expression flourished into a grin as I could feel my blood boil with excitement. This guy was strong and for sure it will give a good fight. With practised movements, I unsheathed Naru and Pyrka while pumping mana through my body, finally a worthy foe.

"Wait! you can't be thinking of fighting a king goliath!? That thing is ranked A+ and even S rankers have trouble dealing with them! Our only option is to try and escape!"

Isabella bulwark showed a panicked expression caused by my actions.

"Don't worry even if I can't kill it I won't die, you guys should start running, I will catch up with you later"

Without waiting another second I dashed towards the goliath at full speed. It took me less than two seconds to reach its massive frame and swing at it. A metallic clang was heard as sparks flew into the air but the goliath was completely unharmed, thankfully my weapons weren't harmed either. In the next instant, the humanoid looking lump of obsidian swung its right arm downwards towards me. Despite its frame, the thing was relatively fast but not faster than me and so I dodged with ease.

We entered a dance where I would swing and dodge while it tanked and tried to crush me. The battle had entered a delicate stalemate were any error on my side could have disastrous results. In time I made a mistake and was sent flying with blood dripping out of the wounds caused by my broken bones sprouting out of my skin. As I flew I could see the group of running adventurers stop and gasp due to the scream of pain that escaped my lungs.

Bunch of idiots, they should continue running, this much isn't enough to put me out of commission. After living in the maze forest for over eight years my core has developed further and its capacity alongside its regeneration can't be compared to before. Thanks to that I managed to heal myself before I even hit the floor. However, the goliath had another attack in store for me as its headpiece opened up to reveal a large core, maybe as big as my own body in diameter.

A powerful black beam was shut my way at light speed. If I had been on my feet at the moment I could have dodged it by predicting its trajectory before it fired but I was prone when that happened and so, as soon as I stood up, the beam hit me straight on. I barely managed to get into a defensive position with Naru and Pyrka in an X shape but such an action was useless as the beam ignored it and began corroding my body. The beam only lasted for a second or two before it was gone, thankfully I could still heal the damage, or so I thought.

As I pumped mana to heal my wounds I felt as if the effect had been reduced moreover I felt sluggish in comparison to before even though I was burning the same amount of mana. That beam must have poisoned me or something which is strange since my body and healing factor always rendered them useless in less than a second. judging by the fact the goliath was unharmed and now I was weakened I decided to run. Live to fight another day, just you wait, you lump of rock I will get you next time.

With a sprint, I ran towards the party that was still frozen in place as I made my scape. As of now, they were around fifty meters away from the golem and it took me but a second to get to them.

"Hey you bunch, I would suggest running if you like living"

As they woke up from their stupor they followed and began running. I decided to slow down and deactivate overload but as soon as I did pain shot through my body causing me to reactivate it on instinct. The mana consumption was low, about the same as my mana regeneration rate, but I didn't feel any strengthening, whatever that beam did to me still persists. It is bothersome but at the very least I am in no risk as of now since with my mana regeneration I can keep it suppressed using overload.

After running until the goliath disappeared from our sight the party collapsed on the floor breathless. I, on the other hand, was completely fine thanks to my cheat soul ability, as soon as I begin feeling tired I will end up activating it or strengthening it by instinct, the end result is that I pretty much have as much stamina as mana since I can transform the later into the former. However, as of now, my mana reserves are at the halfway mark thanks to the fact it's regeneration as being consumed to keep that poison way. If I had to give it a numerical value then ninety-nine percent of the mana is being consumed and only one percent is going into my reserves. At this rate, it would take around a month to recharge back to full, what a bother.

"How, how are you still alive?"

The elf asked me with a worried expression and a gaze as if he was looking at something that the rest couldn't.

"Why you ask? I am tough like that"

I gave a slight laugh but I understood what he was talking about, he was probably referring to this stupid poison that I can't seem to get rid of.

"The curse of withering life isn't something you can shrug off by being tough!"

Ah! so it's not poison but a curse, in other words, magic, that's why I can't seem to get rid of it naturally. What a bother, how am I supposed to get rid of a damned cursed? Do I go to the temple of a god and have it cleaned or something like that? maybe this elf can cleanse it? doubt it, if he could he wouldn't be this agitated.

"Curse of withering life, I see, hey do you know how to cleanse it? or at least do you know where I can get it cleaned? After all, it sounds very bothersome"

I tried to play it cool but the incredulous faces of the bunch around me made it hard to accomplish as I had to repress my laughter.

"Like hell, I can cleanse something like that! If I could I would be working as curse cleanser for the church earning a shit load of money! And no I have no idea where you can get that cleansed if I had to guess the pope of one of the religions of the gods might be able to. Aside from them, no one comes to mind"

I see, so this thing is really bothersome to get rid of. If that is the case I will need to be careful since my mana regeneration will be suppressed until I can find a solution. Thinking about it only makes me depressed so I let out my frustration in a sigh before speaking.

"Nothing to do about it. Anyway, could you guys guide me to a nearby town or city as thanks for saving your lives twice?"

It's twitching, the elves face is twitching as he tries to smile. I will just act as if I didn't see anything.

"you! how can you be so nonchalant about it! that curse is a death sentence, at most, you will last a day in agony as the curse forces your body to expel its life force! You will wither!"

So that's how it works. That is useful information.

"Well I feel fine, and since there is no one nearby that can cleanse it, then worrying about it is a waste of time. Hey, Isa, I can call you Isa right? Anyway, please set the way, I want to sleep in a comfortable bed as soon as possible"

I heard a popping sound or maybe it was my imagination, I didn't care either way as I began walking in the direction I remember a town might be from the map.