"A trip to the forest?" Narcha frowned. "For what?"

"I need to get something I left behind near the place we first met." Red explained.

"You want to go all the way back there?!" The warrior was startled. "What did you even forget?"

"It's a secret." The boy wouldn't reveal the items he had hidden no matter what.

"Ugh, you..." His secrecy clearly bothered Narcha, but she nodded her head in the end. "Fine. I'm gonna talk with the others, and over the next few days we can get a group to set off."

"You can't tell the others." Red shook his head. "This is meant to be a secret."

"What, so you just want the two of us going on this trip?" The woman scoffed. However, once she noticed Red's silence, her expression changed again. "God, you're serious?"

"The only reason I'm asking for help is that I'm not confident in setting off on my own." Red explained. "If you didn't owe me anything, I would have still risked it by myself."

"Are you crazy, kid? Why would you take all these risks?" Narcha asked with a serious expression.

"I'm asking you for help, though. Am I not?"

"But making that kind of trip is dangerous!" She argued.

"Why, are you not confident in dealing with the bandits?" Red frowned.

"Of course I am!" Narcha almost seemed offended. "But making that kind of trip into the forest is not that simple. I might have the combat part figured out, but what about scouting? That place can be a maze if you don't know it well enough, and I'm not an experienced hunter like Rog!"

"I can handle the scouting." The boy assured her.

"You?!" The warrior looked baffled. "You've barely been on a single hunt with Rog. How could you possibly know anything about the forest?"

"I do not know much, but our path is not complicated." Red explained. "As long as we follow the river, we'll eventually arrive at our destination."

The youth still remembered the hill-cave he had exited from, as well as where he had hidden his stash. If they found the appropriate landmark, then Red could retrieve his items.

"That's a very roundabout trip." Narcha complained. "It would take us more than 3 days if we decide to follow the river."

"But it's still doable, right?" The boy stated.

"It is..." The warrior didn't deny it. "We will probably come across some bandits, but as long as none of them have opened their Spiritual Sea, I can handle it. There is another problem, however..."

"What problem?" Red asked.

"What do you intend on telling the others?"

"We don't tell them anything." The boy shook his head. "We can leave a message for them to find after we're gone."

"That might cut it with the others, kid, but it definitely won't work with Eiwin." The warrior shook her head. "Do you remember how worried she was the other day? Even if you say that we'll eventually be back, she'll definitely come looking for us. Hell, she'll probably rope Rog into following too."

Red had expected as much. Eiwin was very protective of her fellow Sect Members, and due to the rising bandit problem, the youth couldn't blame her if she worried. Still, this was something that the boy needed to do one way or the other.

"We might not be able to shake Rog off our trails, but they don't know where we are going." Red explained his reasoning. "As long as we remain a step ahead, then there'll be nothing to worry about."

The youth knew the hunter was highly skilled in tracking, but he wasn't a clairvoyant. There was no way he would be able to lock onto their trails in such a short amount of time. The forest was very extensive, after all.

"You put a lot of thought into this, huh?" Narcha commented. "How soon do you need this done?"

"As soon as possible." In fact, Red hoped to leave tonight, but he knew there were preparations to be made.

"I need to get more than a week’s worth of supplies ready, and if I have to avoid letting anyone know..." She trailed off in thought. "Earliest I can do is tomorrow night."

The youth nodded. That was the second-best option.

"We can meet here tomorrow night." Red continued. "I can lead us through the path Rog used to go through town unnoticed."

"Whatever you say, kid." Narcha still looked a bit skeptical of the plan, but she acquiesced. "Just make sure to be prepared. I can fight bandits off, but I can't nanny you at the same time."

"As long as you do your part, I'll do mine." The youth said before walking back to his room.

Now that everything was set, Red merely needed to wait. Unfortunately for him, it was doubtful that he would get much rest under the Moon's gaze.

...

The next day arrived without much fanfare. The boy had tried his best to sleep, but the pressure on his mind was unrelenting. Although he fared much better than the previous day, it was impossible to relax with the gaze upon him. This was not the first time Red had gone without sleep, but it was not an ideal situation. Preferably, the youth wanted to be fully rested before departing on a long journey.

'I can't arouse suspicion. Not right now...'

With some effort, Red rose up from his bed and went outside. He found Domeron sitting on his reclining chair as usual. The boy walked up to him.

"Have you figured it out yet?" The man asked once he approached.

"..Not yet." Red responded.

"Then why are you here?"

"I think I could use the training either way."

"...Fine." Domeron nodded after a sigh of resignation.

The two of them walked to the training field. Red stood in the center of the obstacle course, ready for his training. Concentrating, the boy started to dodge the obstacles. But soon enough, it became evident what the lack of sleep had done to him.

It didn't take long before Red was hit straight in the back and sent to the ground. Domeron sighed in disappointment once he saw that.

"You're slow." The man shook his head. "This is all pointless."

"It's fine." Red got up quickly. "Please, let's continue."

"Why, just so you can get hit again?" Domeron scoffed.

The man's laugh was only met with the youth's silent and determined gaze. For a second, the swordsman was taken aback, but in the end, he simply nodded.

"Fine, but I won't go easy just because you're tired."

They restarted the training. This time Red managed to dodge far more swiftly, even in his tired state. Soon enough, the boy had managed to get through the twenty-second mark and left Domeron stunned. However, the man's expression suddenly changed, as if realizing something.

There was a sudden acceleration in the swinging bags, and Red was taken by surprise. One of them hit him in the belly and sent him tumbling to the ground.

"You cheated..." The boy looked up at Domeron and frowned while holding his body in pain.

"You're the one who cheated!" Domeron angrily shot back.

Red immediately realized what the man was referring to. The reason he had been able to dodge for so long in his tired state wasn't because of his skill. Over the last couple of days, he had simply memorized the patterns Domeron used to swing the obstacles. That allowed him to predict what was coming next and preemptively dodge the attack. The man was quick to pick up on it, though, and immediately threw him a curveball.

"This is not a game to see how long you can last, kid. This is training!" He argued. "It's about learning how to move in combat."

"If an enemy just keeps stupidly throwing the same attacks at me, shouldn't I take advantage of it?" Red questioned sincerely.

Domeron looked dumbfounded at that question. After a few seconds of silence, though, a dangerous grin came over his expression. The boy suddenly had a bad premonition.

"I underestimated you, kid." The swordsman continued. "You're more clever than I thought. But you're right, I need to adapt the training depending on the student. Since this is too simple and stupid for you, then I'm sure we can turn up the intensity a bit."

Domeron walked away from the obstacles before standing in the middle of the training field.

"What are we doing now?" Red cautiously asked.

"Well, you told me before you used to train with real weapons, right?" The man replied. "I can't do that yet, but I think a more direct approach may benefit you."

Domeron pointed his wooden sword at him.

"We can use wooden weapons." He laughed. "I hit you, and you try to dodge. How does that sound?"

It sounded awfully dangerous, but Red wasn't one to back down from a challenge. At least, not when his life wasn't on the line. He approached the swordsman, his wooden baton in hand.

...

Unfortunately for him, the boy had underestimated Domeron. The only frame of reference Red had for training was Viran. The warrior was brutish and fierce during their sparring sessions, not really caring whether he hurt the youth or not.

Domeron's attacks weren't as strong, but they were faster and more precise. Every time the wooden sword struck against his skin, Red felt a stinging pain, but the man didn't relent with his strikes.

The youth would have thought that this was a form of punishment if Domeron hadn't actually been instructing him throughout. Even as the sword struck, the swordsman still barked instructions at Red, which the boy found very useful.

By the end of it, he was completely spent and his entire body was aching. Even a few welts had begun to form on his skin. Domeron stepped back and looked at Red with a smug grin on his face.

"So, how did you enjoy today's training?" The man laughed at the boy's state. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to the obstacle course?"

"I prefer it like this." Red replied.

"Haha, I thought you would say tha-" Domeron trailed off as soon as he registered Red's reply. He was clearly stunned. "What did you say?"

"I'd like to do this again." The boy repeated. "I feel like I improve much more like this."

The swordsman was speechless. It was evident this was the last thing he was expecting to come out of Red’s mouth.

"You're weird, kid, but I suppose all proper cultivators are a bit weird." Domeron shrugged. "Still, I think it might be too much strain on your body to do this every day."

"As often as possible, then." Red requested.

"Fine." The man relented. "But you're going to have to convince Eiwin and Goulth about this. They won't be happy."

"What's going on here?" A woman's voice sounded out in alarm from nearby.

Indeed, Eiwin wasn't very happy about Red's state.

...

Red was ultimately excused from training for the rest of the day. Eiwin had been worried about the boy's wounds and argued with Domeron about his recklessness. Red, however, defended the man, saying this was something he had approved of. In the end, the woman could only relent and respect the boy's decision.

"You might be eager to improve, but pushing yourself too hard may be detrimental for you in the long run." Eiwin advised him. "With cultivation it is important to strike a balance, too."

Red could see the sense in her words, but she was unaware of the youth's predicament. With the threat of death hanging over his head the entire time, he could only search for the quickest way to improve. Pain and wounds were negligible in comparison to that.

When the boy went to Goulth to get his wounds treated, though, his reaction was much different.

"Is that moron trying to kill my disciple?!" The giant roared. "Is he just jealous?! I'm gonna go and beat him up myself!"

Only Eiwin and Red's combined efforts finally calmed the man down.

After that, the youth's teachers excused him from practice for the rest of the day. The boy used this opportunity to catch up on his sleep in preparation for tonight's journey.

...

Red was abruptly woken up by a familiar sensation. The gaze settled down upon him again, indicating the arrival of the night.

The boy knew that the time to act was arriving.