While on the way towards the forest, the hunters talked about a lot of stuffs to while away time. From the discussion among the men, Andrew could get an idea of everything going on in the village. Although the village was close to the capital it was still affected by the war. They were usually scuffles between the residents of the village and enemy soldiers of whom escaped from the war into the kingdom. Some of the adult men in the village were usually conscripted to fight in wars and hunting was not a easy feat since there was a heavy possibility of dying the next moment. Recently hunting was getting harder since they have to go deep into the forest where the real danger lies before being able to catch a real game.

But due to the fact that they were taking Andrew along with them this time around, they intend to just pace around the outer area of the forest without going too deep and although the danger was lesser doesn’t actually mean there wasn’t any danger at all. A lot of strong men have been killed at the entrance of the forest due to a moment of collapse in concentration. It could be due to wild animals, plants or natural hazards.

You would feel like what kind of plants could kill a warrior but due to the strange environment of this world even the plants seems to have mutated to be man eating monsters using poisons or other means to capture and kill their preys and although they could be easily disposed of if noticed before time they where a real pain in the neck cause you can’t always concentrate on the surrounding when dealing with other stuffs or running from the pursuit of strong wild animals. Andrew learnt that the boar which he saw killed was nothing but a young boar after asking some questions and was a newly born stray boar which has gotten lost from its mother if not no matter how he tried he wouldn’t have been able to drag it down to the village and the village sentries would have stolen it from him due to the fact that it cost up to thirty gold pieces because it’s not just huge but also rich in nutrients and are usually eaten by nobles. This shocked Andrew a lot and thought himself lucky thinking about the situation which would have occurred if he had encountered the adult boar while moving through the forest to the village and he gulps hard almost choking on his saliva. He didn’t notice the eyes of the warriors when he told them about how he had transported the boat to the village and sold it. They where shocked about how his frail body must have been able to move the boar.

From the conversation also, Andrew got to know their names. Apart from the leader whom was called Michael, there was also George whom was Michael’s senior brother, Simeon, Joshua and Jerry. Apart from Michael being the strongest in the group, he was also the strongest in the whole village. He has defended the village multiple numbers of times from attacks from both bandits and enemy soldiers and he was deeply liked by everyone in the village. Seems like a really hearty group as they all talked and joked around while walking to the forest. On getting to the entrance to the forest, the previous chatty environment vanished instantly and was replaced by deathly silence. All the men became somber at once and the situation came as a shock to Andrew but nevertheless he looked ahead. Seems like he was really lucky transporting the boar out of the forest safe and sound and also while cutting down trees for his apartment since all the wood were extremely sturdy and strong, and although he was always at the entrance and didn’t go too deeply there where still situations of animals coming out of the forest although extremely rare like there was some boundary of some sort dividing the forest from the outside land.

Turning around Michael’s eyes met with Andrew and said in a low but audible tone towards him, “Hey kid, we have gotten to the forest, follow our lead at all times and stay in the middle of the group. If we are locked in battle don’t try to wander off but stay somewhere safe so as not to hinder our movements and cause worry. Although there is nowhere safe, at least one of us would be keeping an eye on you during such situations to prevent any mishap from happening. Hope you understand?”. Noticing the severity in Michael’s tone, Andrew starts regarding the issue highly while nodding his head to testify that he understood what has just be said to him.

Michael turns to look ahead then unsheathes the cutlass by his side which was extremely sharp and cool to the touch, seeing him doing that, the rest of the men followed up with the same action. Unsheathing their weapons which they used in fighting then stepped into the forest. Andrew tagged along with the axe he carried which seemed almost not too different from his size. The routine of cutting down trees to build his house made him more accustomed to the use of an axe. Seeing him pick such a weapon that was almost his size, the men did not mock him but their eyes seemed to portray acceptance.

Entering the forest, the group of men where vigilant at all times as while surveying the environment they would have to find animals to hunt. It puts greats strain on them as it was almost impossible to think about two things at the same time. But that was what they were doing, Michael was at the front ready for any incoming danger while George and Simeon took the rear, while Joshua and Jerry took care of both sides with Andrew placed in the middle of this formation. They went through the outer parts of the forest this way without rest for a while. The sun was high up and the vigilance made them to be stressed beyond limits. While on the way they passed by a stream and decided to stop for a bit of rest after surveying the surroundings for a bit. Andrew being thirsty runs off towards the stream wanting to drink a bit of water to quench his thirst cause the water was bright and doesn’t seem polluted even if it was polluted he has drank worst. Storming off, Michael sees him and attempts to stop him by screaming, “Kid, come back here. We don’t know what could be hiding in the water”. Before even concluding what he was about to say, a string shaped object flew out of the stream at an amazing speed towards Andrew.

Michael notices this and his eyes narrows down then at a speed close to god defying he gets close to where Andrew was which shocked Andrew a lot as his eyes and mouth opened up wide, I did be sure that you could fit a whole hen according to the normal earth’s standard into his mouth. After getting to where Andrew was, Michael slashes down with his cutlass and able to redirect the trajectory of the tongue with a little cut on it. Although deep, it was not cut off entirely. Michael screams out towards the other men, “Where are y’all at. We got a real problem over here. It’s an adult toad”. Immediately after saying that, something bigger than or about the size of an elephant came out of the stream. You did wonder how was it able to fit in the stream but seems the impossible thing was easy for it as Andrew faces his first true threat and looks back to see the faces of the warriors. Seeing them super tensed, he realizes they have met a really formidable foe.