The old man slowly opened his eyes and turned the fish over the fire like always. Only the slightly pushed down earth under his feet revealed how much power he was gathering in his legs at the moment. Reli had finished his meal and was now laying lazily next to the black golden-paw bear. Hectic footsteps came from the forest. From the corner of his eye, the old man could see two faint silhouettes appearing in the distance. They stopped right before the open ground, where many beasts were resting after they had drunk enough out of the big pit. No one talked and the silence seemed to cool down the air around them significantly with every second passed. The old man’s eyes sparkled dangerously and just as he was ready to burst out with all his might against the strangers, one of the strangers finally spoke hastily.

“Hahah, old cripple. It seems that you’re still doing pretty well since the last time we met.”

The strident voice of a middle-aged man rung out and attracted the attention of the all beasts, laying around the old man and Reli. A small troop of golden-ears monkeys looked curiously at the two strangers and circled around them. The monkeys were only half as tall as a grown man, yet their muscular arms were bursting with strength. Seeing how small rocks easily shattered under the steps of the monkeys, the two strangers nervously took a small step back. Next to the middle-aged man was a woman fully covered in black clothes. Only her visible brown eyes showed that she was a bit younger than the man.

“Oh teacher Khasas, it has been a long time indeed. Why are you wearing such ragged clothes?”

The old man turned his head towards the two and smiled warmly with a surprised expression. He took a big bite of the fish flesh and didn’t show any intention of inviting the newcomers over.

Reli tilted his head and leaned on the furry belly of the black golden-paw bear. The bear seemed to want to take a nap and turned his head in another direction before closing its eyes. Reli recognized that teacher Khasas. The old man once tried to explore an underground cave with that man but for some reason, they broke up that attempt. Just there is something strange about the woman next to teacher Khasas. Reli was sure, he hadn’t met her before and yet the woman had been looking at him most of the time since their arrival.

“Ah, you see. Life in this damned place isn’t easy. At least I can still find food every day and that stupid illness seems to lose its effect lately. This must have something to do with the barrier. If the legend is right, then this place will be opened in a few days. Oh, how wonderful it is. Finally, we can escape this cursed land and be free. Hahah, don’t you agree, old cripple?”

Teacher Khasas let out a loud laugh and sat down on the wet grass. He didn’t mind talking to the old man from this far distance.

The woman stood still and kept her eyes on Reli. That makes the boy feel very uncomfortable and he in turn also looked intensely back at her. Not only into her eyes but also at every single corner of her body and clothes. The Woman gaze became weird, pending back and forth between the old man and Reli. How could she know what the old man had taught Reli.

“If you ever feel a threat from someone’s gaze, be vigilant and keep track of every movement they do. Find their vulnerable spots. When you have a chance, strike!”

The boy always took the old man’s word to his heart and did exactly like what the old man had always told him to do.

“Are you really happy that the barrier will disappear and everyone can enter this land soon? Even your old enemies? Hahah, but yeah. Maybe we are already forgotten by history and no one care about our worthless life anymore.”

The old man let out a carefree laugh as if the coming event didn’t matter to him. He shot a glance at the woman, then looked meaningfully at teacher Khasas.

Sensing the old man’s gaze, teacher Khasas smacked lightly on his head and laughed.

“I almost forgot. This is lady Kim. We have met just a few days ago while hunting for the same beast. The illness has got her pretty bad, so she can’t speak or expose her skin under the sunlight. Since the barrier will disappear soon, we thought it will be a good idea to team up and leave this place together. That’s why we come looking for you. Do you have any plan yet? Let’s go together. It will be safer for us all this way. What do you say?” A harmless smile appeared on teacher Khasas’ face, while he leaned forward slightly and clapped on his thick thigh. Next to him, lady Kim nodded with her head as a sign of approval.

“You sure have faith in me. What advantage can a sack of old bone like me offer? Not to mention I even have a young child with me. We will probably only be a hindrance on your journey.”

The old smiled faintly and shook his head. He continued to eat, seemingly not paying much attention to his surroundings.

“What are you saying? Hahah, who in this forest doesn’t know of your strength. Even if you have lost the power of a Sage, your plain fist can still smash a huge beast into mincemeat. By the way, the boy isn’t ordinary either. Someone who can survive the death curse of this forest is destined to become extraordinary.”

When he mentioned Reli, teacher Khasas smiled kindly, yet his eyebrows twitched faintly for fraction of a second.

“Reli, do you heard what teacher Khasas said? Hahah, he is right. You’re destined to become a formidable figure in the future. Come and eat some more, so you can grow up even faster.”

The old man waved gently at Reli and sliced a big portion of fish flesh for him. Reli looked in the old man's kind eyes and understood his intention immediately. Even though the little boy’s tummy is still full from the meal before, he sat firmly next to the old man and gulped down as much as he can.

Looking at how the pair of the old man and young boy barbarically devouring that big fish, teacher Khasas clicked his tongue and shook his head. He knew almost everyone developed bizarre behaviours after living here for a long time. Even a sophisticated person like himself ended up looking like a homeless beggar. Well, he was indeed homeless and pitiful in some sense. But all this suffering would end soon in a few days and this young boy over there would be his key to glory. All these years he had been exploring this forest. It was too big and there were many dangerous places he couldn’t reach. Despite all that he had found many clues about the secret of this mysterious forest. He knew for sure that the legend about it was very true and there was even more behind the story.

“Those beasts are really obedient to you, old cripple. You must have trained them very well. I wonder which one is your favourite?” Teacher Khasas watched all the beasts moving around for a while before asking the old man in a respectful demeanour.

“Oh, they are here on their own will. I’m not powerful enough to tame them. We need to be careful. They are really wild sometimes.”

The old man nodded at teacher Khasas and showed an earnest expression like someone, who couldn’t hurt a fly.

Teacher Khasas’ mouth twitched and turned his head to lady Kim. She was still standing, not moving even a single muscle. A helpless smile appeared on teacher Khasas’ face. The old man was very on guard against them so he needed to think of a different approach.

A shrill scream of a flying beast resounded through the air. Nore dark clouds were forming in the horizon. Some beasts started to howl and went to find cover under big trees. Every now and then a freezing wind blew over the big open ground next to the river.

“Grandpa, it’s getting cold. Please wear this.” Reli ran into the wooden house and brought out thick animal hides. He covered himself tightly and quickly sat down behind the old man’s back.

“It seems like heavy rain is coming. My wooden house is small but at least it can give it us a dry place to rest. You’re welcome to join us.”

The old man waved at Teacher Khasas and lady Kim, before bending down to unfold the animal hides.

Seeing the groups of beasts moving far away from them, lady Kim and teacher Khasas let out a sigh of relief. Their mind was on guard the whole time, knowing they would have only little chance of surviving the collective attack of those beasts. “

Aya, old cripple. Finally, I can see some humanity in you. I thought you would leave us sleeping in the rain this time.”

Teacher Khasas walked quickly towards the old man and the woman was following him closely.

“What about the rest of the fish, Grandpa?” When they were passing by the fire, Reli’s childly voice rung out behind the old man.

“Ah right, I almost forget about it. Teacher Khasas, please pick up the fish. You can have some of it later if you like. And lady Kim, please put out the fire.”

The old man looked up with a kind smile before crouching down next to the animal hides again.

Teacher Khasas and lady Kim looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Lady Kim bent down to gather some sand while teacher Khasas carefully reached out to the hot fish.

Right at that moment, a faint light flashed through the air and red blood splattered over the fire. Lady Kim turned her head abruptly after hearing teacher Khasas’ shrill scream behind her back. Meeting her gaze was a sharp blade, closing in with unimaginable speed. She hastily bent her legs and leaned backwards. The blade passed her nose by a hair’s breadth, leaving a stain of warm fresh blood on her face. She knew it was teacher Khasas’ blood. And soon her own would dye this cold earth if she couldn’t regain her balance. But there was no time to think. The sharp blade changed its path and sliced down towards her left leg. Lady Kim swiftly bent her waist to the side and supported her whole weight on the right arm, while pushing her body away from the path of the blade. However, when her body was still upside down, a vicious kick landed straight in her face, blasting her through the air. With a loud bang, she crashed headfirst against a thick tree-trunk and rolled down on the muddy ground. After kicking lady Kim away, the old man redirected the force in his legs and jumped towards the still screaming teach Khasas.

Meanwhile, Reli had distanced himself from the fighting ground and hid behind the still sleeping black golden-paw bear. The moment the old man told him to eat more, he knew they would have a cruel fight waiting for them.

“Always eat as much as you can before fighting against someone. You don’t know how long the fight will last, how many enemies will appear in the end and when you will be able the refill your lost energy.”

That was what the old man always said to him and made sure that it became Reli’s habit.

Teacher Khasas has lost both hands from the old man’s sneak attack. Yet after suppressing his pain, he was now fighting intensely against the old man and showed no sign of losing. It turned out he had hidden a weird weapon in his shoes. It had many ironlike strings and he could manipulate them to greatly increase his moving speed.

“I was right. You’re from the same faction as them. I should have killed you in that cave back then.”

The old man glared at teacher Khasas with an emotionless face. In his right hand was a curvy thin sword. It was hidden in the animal hides, which was brought to him by Reli from before.

“So what if I’m from the same faction like those bastards. I couldn’t care less about the feud between you and them. But how did you find out? I’m sure I haven’t used my weapon once after entering this place.”

Teacher Khasas shouted furiously. Even though he had bandaged his handless arms quickly with his clothes, fresh red blood still sipped through them and dripped on the wet green grass.

“I only broke through to the Sage level during their last pursuit. No one else knows about it, except them.” A bitter smile appeared on the old man’s face. If only he had reached that level sooner, the story would have ended differently.

“Hahah, so that was it? I can’t believe that small detail has exposed my identity. But whatever. Old cripple, even if I’m from the same faction as them, I have no ill intention towards you. I only want the boy. No, we both can benefit from the boy. Listen. No new-born has ever survived in this place. It was a miracle that the boy survived but, in a sense, it was destiny. That herbal mixture you have fed him. The places you have bought him to. All of that was a lucky coincidence. I have explored almost every corner of this forest. I have read every book containing stories about this forgotten land. I came here with a theory in my mind and with the boy, I can finally confirm its validity.”

More and more cuts tore open teacher Khasas’s but he didn’t stop to persuade the old man. His weird strings tried to grab the old man’s sword but he had a hard time keeping up with the fighting pace.

“None will get the boy.”

The old man rotated his body and created a whirlwind of sharp blades, pushing teacher Khasas away from Reli’s direction.

“When the barrier disappears, let’s hand him over to the faction and you will get rewarded handsomely. I can guarantee you a high position within the faction. The feud between you and those bastards will mean nothing and the faction might even grant you a portion of that new power.”

The action of the old man agitated teacher Khasas madly. He couldn’t understand why the old man was set on protecting the boy. His wide red eyes stared intensely at the old man’s stern face but all the responses he got was a series of vicious sword strikes.

“What the fuck is your problem? He isn’t even your child. Just a random baby. Unwanted by its parent. Left to die in this cursed forest. I knew your old ass is crazy when I heard you screaming with the baby on the top of that mountain. But don’t you want power? Don’t you want revenge? Wasn’t it the reason why you wanted to kill them all? I know you have found out the secret of this forgotten forest. The boy is the key.”

Teacher Khasas clung to the sharp sword blade with both arms while the old man slowly pierced the sword through his chest. With his bloody face leaning forwards, teacher Khasas stared intensely at the old man’s emotionless eyes. Their eyes were almost touching each other as he ferociously roared at the old man, spitting bloody salvia all over his face.

The old man raised his left hand and slowly grabbed teacher Khasas’ pale neck. He shifted it slightly to his left side and whispers word for word in teacher Khasas’ ear.