Another 2 weeks had passed after Lisa had slain her first monster. The pair had continued travelling through the forest leading towards the city of Lagonica where they would stop to resupply. Lisa had continued fighting all sorts of monsters that the forests had. It was a less peaceful area compared to the Kaspian plains which had been cleared of monsters by the Varangian army. Each one of these fights allowed Lisa to understand how to fight under pressure as well as all sorts of fighting styles. Charles still believed it was far too early to teach her any of the numerous fighting styles all warriors would choose from eventually. For now, she simply needed to know the basics of fighting that would get them through their journey to Vulcan city. It was on another one of these days, right as they were nearing the city of Lagonica that Lisa would face another test Charles had planned for her.

They encountered another small group of goblin scouts, this time, however, they were riding on dire wolves and some of them were armed with bows. In total, the group consisted of 3 archers and 3 melee fighters.

"Alright, this should be a good test of your progress. See if you can take them all down using what you've learnt these few weeks."

"Leave it to me."

Lisa was beaming with confidence as a quick twirl of her weapon caused the scythe to enlarge in a bright crimson colour, the ash and small sparks causing the goblins to flinch a little. Immediately, Lisa took a right and used the huge trees as cover from the arrows as she got closer to the group. A few arrows that managed to come close to her were quickly blocked with her scythe. Soon she descended upon the archers who attempted to flee. She quickly cut one of them down as the other two took off on their mounts.

"Oh no, you don't!"

Lisa had learnt from a previous incident that striking while your enemy was in disarray was key to winning the battle. She had previously given time for a pack of dire wolves to regroup and counter-attack which forced Charles to step in before she got hurt. She wouldn't make the same mistake here. Despite the goblins having mounts to travel faster, believing Lisa would chase them, she instead readied a ball of mana before shooting it at the two fleeing archers. They were soon thrown off their mounts and temporarily incapacitated from the fight. Just as she attempted to finish them off, the 3 melee fighters blocked her path as she began her fight with them. While she could easily beat them individually at her current level, facing three at the same time was quite annoying given how agile a goblin was.

She then decided to copy a move she had seen Charles use with his blade on a similar number of enemies. Readying her scythe, she took a wide swing around her just as the goblins moved in for an attack. In an instant, she struck all three goblins down. By that point, however, the two remaining archers had repositioned and fired at her. Caught off guard, she was almost hit by an arrow, although she used a quick burst of mana to blow them away. She then quickened her pace using mana before finishing off the undefended goblin archers.

Charles who was watching from a distance, looked at the finished fight, a smirk on his face as he watched Lisa easily demolish a group of goblins when she could barely deal with one before.

(She's progressing really well. I'm surprised she even copied that move you did.)

"Yeah, her growth is really fast. This is something most adventurers take at least months to accomplish on their own. Her potential exceeds even our understanding. The way she can now effortlessly weave mana attacks with her normal combat style is impressive."

(Sounds like someone's a proud teacher.)

"Well, I am pretty good aren't I?"

The banter between these two continued on just as Lisa approached him, her posture and body language clearly showing a sense of pride and joy.

"I did it! I managed to take down a group of them myself!"

Her voice was full of excitement. It reminded Charles a little of when he first started out as an adventurer, securing that first kill and accomplishing his first quest. These were all moments he had forgotten in the fires of never-ending conflict and battle. Seeing someone else experience such joys as he did filled him with a sense of nostalgia.

"Yeah, nice job. Just in time to arrive at the city of Lagonica."

"Time passed faster than I expected...hey Charles... even if it's just a little bit, have I grown stronger?"

Charles was taken aback by such a question, he believed she knew the answer to that question better than anyone else. It was obvious how much she had grown in a little over a month. It was quite astounding in fact. Charles knew she was simply looking for reassurance, all of this was still new to her and she wasn't sure of the progress an adventurer was supposed to make.

"Yeah, of course, but that doesn't mean you can start slowing down. Things will only continue to get more difficult from here on out. I hope you're prepared."

Hearing that statement from Charles, someone who Lisa respected in strength and believed to be someone strong, filled her with a sense of pride that gave her the determination to keep moving forward. For the sake of her own goals, she needed to be stronger.

"Don't worry, I'm prepared."

The two eventually reached the gates of the city of Lagonica, they needed to line up due to the influx of people entering the city. Lagonica was a sort of second business hub apart from the capital. Many orc merchants who purchased goods from the port would bring them to Lagonica and sell them. Therefore, many lengthy checks were conducted as they were entering the city. When it was Charles and Lisa's turn, however, they simply showed their adventurer tags and seeing as they had minimal baggage, were let into the city.

"Wow, I'm surprised they let us into the city just like that. Adventurers really do have an easy time with these sort of things."

"Yeah, which is why being one is so advantageous."

Entering the city, the vibrant and bustling atmosphere soon overwhelmed them, the streets were full of orc civilians and merchants selling their goods as well as trading. The city was more orc dominated than the port but there were still a decent number of adventurers from other races. The two then headed to the city's adventurers guild to trade the mana cores they obtained for money. In total, they were able to obtain 3 silver ducats and 15 copper coins.

"Well, I guess that will last us a night in this city before we move out."

Charles stared at the coins in his hands with a relaxed attitude as the two made their way to a tavern to grab a bite. Lisa still stared at the coins she had asked to hold with awe and wonder.

"Woah...I made this money didn't I?"

"You sure did. You'll have to make a lot more in the future. When that happens, this will be nothing."

"Wow...I've always been given allowances but I've never made any money myself before."

"I'd be pretty surprised if a royal princess made any money herself."

The two chatted away as they entered a tavern in the afternoon, it was packed with adventurers and merchants. The two found an empty table and sat down as they placed their orders. The noisy and rowdy atmosphere of the tavern brought back more memories that Charles couldn't help but laugh at.

"Something wrong?"

Lisa questioned as she noticed him chuckle a little out of nowhere.

"Nope, just remembering something from a long time ago."

"Aren't you about the same age as me? You talk as if you're some old man."

Lisa joked about Charles's sentence sounding like he'd been around for much longer than his age suggests, yet he knew deep down that he might as well be an old man in terms of how long he's been around. Sure, he spent most of it sleeping somewhere, but it didn't change the fact that he was from a different era.

"I wonder why too."

Just as the food arrived and the two chatted as they ate, Charles explained that Lisa's final step in basic training would require her to learn proper magic, which was a step up from mana manipulation.

"Magic involves the use of spells and the elements. Since every person is born with different elements, we will need to test yours before we can continue. We'll also need to get you a spell caster before you can use magic properly."

"That thing my father says our nation is wealthy from trading?"

"Yeah, the crystals needed to make the spell casters are from Pavone. The largest sources of it at least."

Charles knew that the continent was actually full of the crystals, yet for some reason, Pavone had a monopoly and no other nation seemed to have enough crystals to sell as much as Pavone does. It was a mystery he and Pandora couldn't figure out no matter how many books they studied during their time in Pavone.

While they were enjoying their meal after a long time of eating grilled fish and other staples of the adventurer diet, Charles's attention was caught by a particular group of adventurers discussing something. They were a small group of around 4 with 2 humans, an orc as well as an elf in their party. They seemed a little tipsy which Charles had always looked down on people like that, he believed alcohol dulled one's senses and made their speech crasser.

"You know... I heard the entire Ravens party got done in yesterday."

A man with orange hair dressed in typical cloth armour spoke as the rest of his friends listened in with their expressions turning grimmer with each word he spoke.

"That whole group of B class adventurers? No way! What in the world happened?"

The whole tavern soon began to listen in on the conversation. Apparently, the Raven party he was talking about were quite well known in Lagonica for being the strongest adventurers in the city, since most of the A-class adventurers preferred staying near the capital since all the good loot and dungeons were there. The city was just beginning to learn of the downfall of their strongest party. Many dismissed it as rumours, yet some told of the horrific tale of their deaths.

"I heard they perished after an encounter with a forest guardian."

The rest of the tavern soon erupted in shouts as many debated the truth of that statement.

"I thought that thing was just a myth."

"My mother used to tell me about it as a bedtime story to scare kids! Don't spread lies here kid."

The man tried to dispute their claims, arguing that he personally witnessed their deaths when he joined them for an expedition. Though some still remained suspicious.

Charles continued listening with great interest as Lisa soon questioned what was going on.

"I've heard of forest guardians before too. It's quite a popular bedtime tale to scare kids so they don't wander into the forests alone. To think that some people believe they are real is quite shocking."

Charles remained silent for a moment, something was up, Lisa could feel it. Yet she waited for Charles to respond instead of questioning him.

"No...they're real..."

He spoke in a soft enough voice that only Lisa was able to hear him, she stared at him in shock as he confirmed what she had just denied a second ago.

"Are you sure...?"

Charles turned to face her again as he took another bite out of his bread.

"Yeah, forests guardians are a real thing. I've seen more than one in my life."

"No way... so they're really real? What are they like? Is it just as the story paints them to be?"

Charles was a little surprised at Lisa's reaction, no fear after hearing such a thing, her curiosity once again triumphed. It was a trait he still couldn't wrap his head around, yet it was one he appreciated very much.

"If you're curious...would you like to go and see one for yourself?"

Even Lisa was a little caught off guard by such a statement, she seemed to still be brimming with curiosity. Even though it would probably be a very scary experience especially since she grew up afraid of the forest guardians, she always wondered what they were really like, even as a kid. She couldn't really pass up the opportunity to witness one in real-time.

"Really? Do we get the chance to...?"

"Yeah."

Pulling out the map from his pocket, Charles outlined the route they were taking.

"Forests guardians reside in the Elvian forest. We just so happen to be passing through there after we leave Varanga."

"Then let's go!"

Lisa stood up from her seat and slammed the table in excitement, causing the entire tavern to stare at her before she awkwardly sat back down, her face ten times redder than before.

"Calm down, we'll head out first thing in the morning. For now, you should get some rest and prepare for tomorrow."

"Yeah, got it. Although I think we should check out the city before we do that though."

"Sure sure."

The two spent the rest of the day strolling around the city and observing all the sights it had to offer. The orc customs were quite new to someone like Lisa, the various street performers and customs she witnessed filled her with a sense of curiosity that she couldn't bottle up, as if she had been storing it up for 19 years just to unleash all of it now. It was a nice change of pace for Charles, the past month or so had been nothing but training and helping Lisa get accustomed to the adventuring life, now he had a bit of time to relax and enjoy the city. Orc cuisine was actually quite to his liking, probably due to the absurd amount of meat dishes.

Soon the night arrived and Lisa went to bed early at the inn. Charles roamed the streets, unable to sleep. He watched as various activities were conducted under the cover of darkness. The city was still quite vibrant at night, although nowhere near as glamorous as during the day. Charles witnessed various vices being carried out, the ugliness of each city truly came to light during the night. He had always been disgusted by such actions, because of how much destruction they brought with them.

(Seems like all the filth of this city has gathered together. What a mess.)

Charles tried his best to avoid looking at such things, in the past he would simply leave it to Martin to carry out the righteous work. He was always more suited for such things anyway.

It was only after walking down a specific street that Charles stopped for a moment, he turned the corner after hearing some whimpering noises. It was only then that he witnessed a sight he wished he had never seen. A few people of different races, orcs, humans and even an elf was present. All of them beating and mocking a poor elf boy, his clothes were torn and tattered and his figure was ghastly pale. He was likely homeless.

Rage. He could feel it building inside of him as he walked closer and closer to the men. Soon, they noticed him and stopped their beatings to face him.

"What do you want!? Take another step forward and you'll be asking for trouble."

The ringleader it seems was another elf. They all appeared to be teenagers. Charles could feel the hate in their eyes for the poor kid on the ground, beaten and bruised.

When Charles didn't respond, the leader simply took out what appeared to be a spear, it then ignited with flames as the boy smirked.

"You're asking for it! You'll be just like this guy over here."

The rest of them cheered him on as he readied himself to fight, all the while Charles remained completely still a few metres away from them. Just as the boy got ready to lunge at Charles, he soon turned to face Charles as he raised his head. Before any of them could move a single step further, however, they found themselves unable to move.

"Wha-"

The boy found his throat to be in pain when he tried to speak, the flames on his spear faded as his weapon dropped to the ground, he turned to see the rest of his friends had also been frozen in place with fear written all over their faces. It was only then that he turned to face Charles. He squirmed in fear at the overwhelming presence that Charles gave off, it was an aura that made him want to just get down on the ground to stop looking at him. Charles's posture was calm, yet his mind was still filled with rage. He gave off an aura that prevented any of the teenagers from even moving an inch.

(Calm yourself! Your Lord's awakening is leaking out too much aura, you'll attract too much attention if you continue.)

Immediately, the pressure Charles was giving off disappeared, the teenagers who had been frozen in fear soon collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Charles went up to the ringleader who appeared terrified.

"Listen to me. You are to never commit such an act ever again. If not, I will find you and you will not be as lucky as today."

He didn't wait for a response before leaving to help the elf boy who was still battered and bruised on the ground.

"Are you alright?"

His voice was completely different from before, it was filled with a warm sense of care and concern.

"Yes...thank you...for helping me."

The boy's voice was still weak and he struggled to speak as Charles took out what appeared to be a potion from his golden globe of mana. He then poured it on the boy's wounds which then began to rapidly heal.

"That should do it. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah...how did you...?"

Before the boy could continue, Charles carried him up in his arms before inquiring about his parents. The boy explained that his parents were adventurers who had recently left on an expedition and hadn't returned. Those teenagers had constantly told him they were dead, when the boy tried to stand up and defend his parents, they did this to him.

"I see. For now, I think we should take you to the city hall. You'll be in safe hands there. Uh... what's your name?"

"Fredrick...I'm 14."

"Alright then Fredrick, let's go."

Charles then brought the boy to the city hall where he was handed over to the local government officials who promised to take care of the boy and try to get a hold of his parents.

The next morning soon arrived and Charles together with Lisa departed from the city towards the border of Varanga towards the Elvian Forest.