I rested for the night. Everything was quiet and peaceful. My teammates slept like a baby.

The morning came, and I promptly got up. It was strange because there was a read sun in the sky. Was it an illusion? How had they built it?

These questions passed through my mind for a moment, but I quickly dismissed them.

I checked my things and saw that everything was ready. I had already checked them before coming here, but giving a second look wouldn't kill.

The team dismantled the tents and left the camp.

Leaving the place, we assumed the usual formation and were attentive.

Hunting abyssal's on the fourth floor was a pain in the ass. We would need to be very careful not to die.

We left toward the opposite direction of the abyssal's city. We left the camp behind and began to journey.

This floor had many other monsters besides the abyssal's, and some of them were pretty strong.

There were almost none of them near the city because the abyssal's had killed most of them. But there were plenty in the opposite direction.

Leaving the camp, we walked through the forest, and calmly advanced.

Lana was a clear-headed leader and knew how to get things done.

We walked for an entire day, and only had minor encounters. Small monsters that were quickly killed.

It was not even worth it to stop and harvest them. They only had some parts that were not that valuable.

After walking for the whole day, we finally stopped to rest.

We made camp and defined the order of the people who were going to watch the camp in the night.

I would take the first shift with Lily, and the second one would be Lana and Beirut.

Silver would rest today, but tomorrow another person would rest and he would have to watch.

I seated on a tree near the camp, and Lily was sitting beside me. She was looking at the opposite direction, looking for enemies.

“Where are you from?” I asked her.

“I… I am from the south.” she answered.

“Hmm…. So maybe you have heard of the Solas clan?”

She flinched at my question and said. “I have heard of them…. They hold quite a power in there… but at least they have a good reputation.”

“Good reputation?” I asked puzzlingly.

My clan was just like the others when I left, only caring for their things.

“Well, not the whole clan, but the Solas saint.” There was a glint of admiration in her eyes while saying this.

“Who was that saint?”

“Oh… You're from the south, but have never heard of him?”

“It's been a long time since I left the region.”

“That is it then. Well, the Solas saint is a genius that has broken through in the concept of life and has a high achievement in it. He healed people in cities, and even created special plants to cure illness.”

I was flabbergasted by this news… I already knew who that person was. The only one good enough in my clan to do something like this was my brother!

I nodded to her and continued to look around. Lily realized the change in my mood and didn't ask me any questions.

My shift ended and I entered the tent. There was plenty of time to sleep, 4 hours.

I laid on the bed and began to roll over it. My mind was full of things, and receiving news from my brother made me feel his absence.

My eyes slowly closed and I drifted to dreamland.

***

Lana was watching over the camp with Beirut. They attentively looked around, looking for monsters.

“Hey, what do you think about Ullach?” Lana asked Beirut.

He briefly looked at her and turned his attention back to the forest. “He is a good boy. A bit young, but he will learn more over time.”

“I didn't mean in that way. I am talking about his behavior in fights. Don't you think he is too aggressive sometimes?”

“That's normal, some people are even more reckless then him when fighting.” Beirut answered.

“You know what I mean. We already had a problem with an aggressive person, I don't want to have another.” She looked at the distance as if remembering some things.

Beirut placed his hand on her shoulder and said. “Don't worry about it, everything will be fine.”

***

Morning came and everyone got ready. They were approaching a dangerous area, so there would surely be a combat today.

Everyone already had their weapons at hand, in case something happened.

They could clearly feel the powerful auras in the surrounds. There were broken threes and claw marks on the ground.

Silver tracked the monster, an began to lead us to it.

Arriving near, we could see a corrupted abyssal bear on the distance. It had black fur, full of festering wounds, and its claws had almost sickles in place of its nails. The monster was 4 meters tall on all fours.

Everyone paused for a moment, and Lana nodded toward Lily. Lily silently chanted some incantations! And runes appeared around her.

This was one strength of the mages, they could use mana to create runes with their knowledge and concepts, to enhance their attacks.

She pointed to the ground beneath the bear, and the creature paws entered the soft mud.

She had created a quagmire!

Silver took the opportunity and attack the bear with one arrow after the other. I also took the opportunity and launched a fireball at it, just like Lana.

The attacks hit the monster, but they only destroyed its fur and singed its skin.

“PREPARE!” Lana shouted.

Beirut jumped to the front, and Lily retreated. I stayed beside Lana and waited. Silver was constantly bombarding the monster with arrows, but it only flinched and didn't stop.

After a few moments, the bear freed itself from the quagmire and darted toward us.

Beirut used a technique that I had never seen. A brown aura appeared around him, and his skin transformed in stone, making him grow bigger and bulkier. Fortunately, his armor and clothes expanded with him. After seeing the process, I realized that it was his mutation!

The bear head-butted him intending to throw him away. Beirut placed his shield in front of him and received the blow. The responsibility of shielding his team.

Instead of being launched in the air, the extra weight held him to the ground, and after skidding for a few meters, he stopped the bear charge.

Me and Lana, that was just behind Beirut took the opportunity and attacked him from the sides.

I reinforced Purbás and slashed at the bear.

The sword left a shallow cut in it. Even the fire was extinguished by the energy the monster was releasing.

I retreated after the bear tried to smash me using its monstrous paw, and attacked again.

We released an attack after attack on the bear, but the creature was too resilient. Even the wounds that we made on it were regenerating. After seeing that the battle was not going so well, Lana jumped above the monster.

She lifted her sword to the skies, and a red horn and demonic wings appeared on her back. The bear that was waiting for her to land was left without knowing what to do. A big red flame appeared on her sword, and she slashed downwards. The bear realized the danger it was in, but it was already too late.

The creature was too slow to evade the flame slash, and it hit the bear on its side. There was a huge gash left on it, and the fight was easier from there onwards.

After making the huge attack, Lana was too exhausted and stayed beside Silver on the back.

The fight was concluded after 30 more minutes. The bear struggled until its last breath, and almost killed me during the process. If I hadn't evaded the attack, even my regeneration would not save me.

The body hit the ground, lifting a curtain of dead leaves.

Silver hit some arrows on the bear's eyes to make sure it was dead. The bear moved for a bit, and after struggling on the ground a little, it truly died.

Silver went forward and harvested the monster. After some time we left the region.

There were many combats during the day. I was still holding back my strength because I saw no need to show it yet.

The night arrived, and Lily placed some concealing formations. We were now in the heart of a dangerous environment and needed to hide, mainly at night.

After placing a few formations, we decided that Lily would sleep today, and everyone else would watch the camp in pairs.

The first pair was me and Lana, and after our shift, Silver and Beirut would take our place.

Lana was a bit strange with me today, although it was not a big difference, I could see it.

We watched our surroundings in silence. I couldn't hold it in anymore and asked.

“Is there something wrong leader?”

She turned her eyes to me and said. “Nothing much, just a bunch of old memories.”

I nodded and continued. “You know, the good thing about memories is that they are just the past.”

Her body shook for a moment and she said. “Thanks.”

Time passed quickly, and it was almost time to change shifts.

We got up while Beirut and Silver were leaving the tent. Everyone suddenly stopped in place. There was a threatening aura just out of the formation.

It was coming from the south and heading north. Everyone stopped in place and held their breaths.

The danger was not coming from a lone beast but a group of it.

Although the monsters were strong in here, individually they were not a mortal threat to our team. But in big groups, it was a different story. These monsters were in the fourth tier, and even a tier 6 could only run from a big group.

After waiting for some minutes, we finally released our breaths. Thankfully, the monsters didn't realize our existence.

I slumped into the bed. My back was full of cold sweat, this was a close call.

We went out to hunt the next morning. Just after leaving the camp, I trembled at the sight. There was almost a road formed by fallen trees.

The monsters that passed through here last night were surely strong.

We hunted in the following days and even returned to the camp once.

Time slowly passed, and three weeks flew by. We were now a concise team, and the friendship between us had grown. Even Lana had stopped treating me strangely after that night.

“Hey buddy, is there some hot chick waiting for you at your city?” Beirut asked me while slapping my shoulder.

“Leave the poor boy alone.” said Silver while chuckling. “His mother must be surely waiting for him with a bottle of milk.” everyone laughed heartily.

I remembered Althaea and wondered where she was. She was more of a mother to me than my biological one.

“There is no one waiting for me outside of this hellhole. What about you guys?” I asked.

Silver pointed at himself with his thumb and said. “I have a daughter waiting for me in my hometown. I have been sending some money to her mother.”

Beirut scratched his head while saying. “Well, I have only a brother. But he is older than me, and have his family already.”

Beirut elbowed Lily on the ribs and said. “What about you little girl?”

“Well, I have a clan in the city. My mother must be anxious to see me again.”

After Lily said this, everyone looked at Lana while waiting for an answer. She only looked at us with fiery eyes and everyone shut their mouths. “We are close to the exit of the fourth floor. We are going to take a month of vacation, after all, the invasion will be happening.”

Everyone agreed with her. Staying here during the invasion of the abyss was suicide. Although the invasion was still a week away from happening, it was better to leave earlier than never.

I suddenly stopped in place after sensing something. The scent of blood.