The Forest of Aulistia, also known as the largest low-level forest, resides in the middle of the continent's western region, Olimpia. A forest where monsters range from level tens and possibly over the twenties. Living within this forest is around fifteen species, one of them being the most dangerous and highest in the food chain, gray wolves. They may not sound like much, but they are a much stronger pack than the wolves near Lexigon. Their population is estimated to be around the thousands, though separated into hundreds of groups around Aulistia.

There are two other dangerous species, but they cannot match the terrifying numbers of a wolf pack due to their small population. And due to the wolves having such numbers, they tend to go out in tens or more per pack.

The Forest of Aulistia spreads out fifty miles all over, just ten miles away from Lexigon. The forest used to be sixty miles all over, but now it is fifty, thanks to nearby civilization.

However, I'm unlucky enough to stumble upon one of these wolf packs in this large green forest, which is surprising since my luck could be called godlike, but oh well.

The moment I saw the wolves, I immediately turned around and ran full speed ahead. I could've fought them head-on like I used to, but knowing that these wolves’ levels are two times higher compared to the wolves back at Lexigon, I knew full well that doing so would be a bad idea, but I also knew that if this keeps up, they'll catch me and I’ll have to fight them with zero stamina.

So, instead of running any further, I draw my short sword with my right hand from my leather sheath on my left. I stomp my feet down to quickly stop my momentum and turn my body around to my right. Just in time to see a gray wolf jumping right at me, towards my face. I make a small and quick sidestep to my right, hold my handle with both hands, then glide the blade through the wolf as its body goes flying past me and then flops on the ground, dead.

Your blade has slashed through the body of your enemy! 346 damage!

Gray Wolf has been slain!

I slowly breathe in and out as I'm surrounded by wolves—nine out of ten of them, one of them already slain by me. The gray wolves slowly approach me and growl as they catch up to their prey, but even if they did, I smile. I continue to stand in my fighting stance as they approach me until suddenly, two of them, one from the left and one from the right, lunge at me. I quickly turn to the left one and slash at the other…

“Lightning bolt!” A small ball of lightning flew by a wolf from my six, right at the one from my right. It hit the wolf, and it whelped in pain. Its stunned body went flying past me as I slashed through the body of the other wolf, the same way I did to the first.

Your blade has slashed the body of your enemy! 321 damage!

Gray Wolf has been slain!

The wolf from my six quickly turns, but it is too late as a firebolt hits it, sending it flying and slamming into a tree. As that was happening, I sprinted towards the paralyzed wolf and thrust my blade down through its skull before it could recover.

Your blade has pierced through your opponent's skull! 189 damage!

Gray Wolf has been slain!

Charles, who shot the fireball at the wolf, walks towards it and then aims down his wooden staff at it, “Lightning bolt.”

A small ball of lightning forms then shoots straight at the laying wolf; it whelps in pain but doesn’t die. “Lightning bolt.” Another bolt of lightning hits the wolf, but still, it doesn’t die. “Lightning bolt. Lightning bolt. Lightning bolt.”

The wolf continued to whelp until the last one finally killed it.

Charles's Perspective:

Your Lightning bolt has directly hit your enemy! 32 damage!

Your Lightning bolt has directly hit your enemy! 41 damage!

Your Lightning bolt has directly hit your enemy! 45 damage!

Your Lightning bolt has directly hit your enemy! 46 damage!

Gray Wolf has been slain!

Congratulations! Your Lightning bolt has ranked up to Rank B! +3 INT +1 AGL

Congratulations! Your Bolt Mastery has ranked up to Rank C! +4 INT +2 WILL

Main Perspective:

Charles turns to his next target, but the wolves already begin to back away when he does.

After pulling out the blade from the dead wolf’s skull, I turn and see the alpha wolf. Unlike the other wolves of this pack, the alpha stands its ground and growls as it stares threateningly at me, but as it did, I raise my blade and point right at it. At that moment, it stops growling and finally begins to back off as well.

"As I thought, the alpha wolf also has the Natural Instinct skill." I think to myself.

The wolves' pack finally runs off a minute later, leaving one charred wolf and three gruesomely killed ones.

I sigh as I clean the blood off my sword and then put it back into my sheath. I walk up to one of the dead wolves and pick it up.

“Alright… time to bring them back to camp.”

“Is this the third time?” Charles asks as he also picks one up, the charred one.

“Pretty much, did you get some skills up? Or a level at least?”

“Two skill ups, one on my Lightning bolt and one on my Bolt Mastery. How about you?”

“Nope, just the usual.”

We proceed to pick up two corpses each, then begin walking back to the camp.

It has been three days since the events of Lexigon. After Charles woke up yesterday, I explained everything that had happened. To my surprise, Charles took everything in easily, and from there, we began talking about the forest and nearby towns. Apparently, the Forest of Aulistia, the one we’re in now, is a forest named after a girl who used to reside here but sacrificed herself for the sake of her lover. It has been said that this forest grew itself in no less than five days and continued to expand until civilization began to control its growth rate.

It is a pretty interesting story but wasn’t something I wanted to know about.

There is a town around a hundred miles from here known as Baricka. We could go there; however, the problem… is me. What do you think would happen if someone were to see my class and race? They would be pretty surprised and scared, most likely. Every town has a Scribe who checks one's status before allowing them in, which is a problem.

Of course, there is also another reason why we aren’t going there. Charles insisted that we train here first before heading out, which I agreed to. And thanks to Lilith, Charles's arm is fixed now.

So here we are, taking these wolves back to camp for food.

“I’ll be honest. You’ve changed a lot, Aden.”

“Weird hearing that from you, Charles.”

“Is it?”

“I don’t usually hear you talk about changes.”

“This is an exception. Your change in personality and how you’re taking everything… is rather worrisome.”

“Huh, still doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“Of course, it doesn’t. All of our friends are dead. We’ve been kidnapped by the person who killed them. And it’s only been three days since then, yet, look at you. You don’t seem bothered by it at all!"

"I mean, I just don't feel anything anymore. Don't get me wrong. I was pissed off back then. But now, I don't feel anything."

Charles stares at me for a moment until answering, “It's the red orb again, isn’t it?”

“...I’m surprised we haven’t talked about this sooner.”

“We’ve been talking about stats and skills all day yesterday, including killing monsters.”

“Anyways, when are you going to use that new skill?”

Yesterday, Charles just leveled up to a level fifteen Mage and obtained a new skill called Fireball. From what he told me, it is an upgraded version of Firebolt. Compared to Firebolt, Fireball takes a little longer to charge and cast, but to make up for it, it explodes on contact, making it do even more damage.

Fireball

Description: Shoot a large ball of flame that explodes on contact! An upper-tier of magic compared to Firebolt!

Requirements: Mage (Level 15), Firebolt Rank C.

Type: Skill

Effects: Deals 25% more damage when skill makes contact with a target. Any target caught in the skills explosion does 80% of its total damage.

Usage: 150 Mana

Cooldown: 5 seconds

Cast time: 3 seconds

Deals 5% more damage per rank. Mana usage decreases by 5 per rank. The higher rank, the larger the spell will be.

It sounded pretty powerful, but after hearing Charles talk about the higher tiers of magic he could obtain, this isn’t really comparable to the rest.

Anyways, as it says, it’s a skill that explodes on contact. It gives around plus three intelligence and two strength. I don’t really get why it gives strength, but let's ignore that. It has a higher mana cost than firebolt, three times the amount, and a cast time. From what Charles told me, the bolt series doesn't really have any casting and cooldown time. The only thing that Firebolt and Fireball have in common is that they both grow bigger depending on your intelligence and rank of the skill. From what I've heard so far, Fireball is a tier two magic skill.

It tells how much bigger or different spells can be, similar to the monster tiers. For example, the Meteor skill is a tier seven magic skill. A powerful skill that can ultimately change the tide of battle. But of course, there’s a more powerful skill called Black Hole, a tier nine magic skill that can suck in anything, including light, which is an incredible skill. A skill that even devils or angels tend to fear. The highest tier of magic is ten, which you can imagine are spells that can change the world. We called them World Class spells. Spells that can scale high enough even to match gods.

Well, I think you get the gist of this magic tier stuff… wait… have I heard of this before? From an anime, maybe? Wait…

What’s an anime?

Anyways, after talking for a bit, our conversation went off-topic. Charles and I laugh as we begin to talk about recent news we've heard back when Lexigon was still flourishing with life and tell jokes to each other as we march to the campsite.

“Do you remember that owner that had a pet monster mimic?” Charles questions as he tries not to drop the corpses he's carrying.

“Did he get eaten?” I question as I turn my head to him.

“Yes, he did.”

“Knew it! Freaking told you that was going to happen!” I yell out. The bushes near us seem to shake slightly as if my yell startled something inside them. But the shaking stops and the forest goes quiet again a moment later.

“You mean, I told you.”

“What!? No… did I?”

“Of course you did!” We laugh, releasing the stress we've gained from fighting the wolves. “At least they managed to get the owner's bones out of the mimic.”

“I’m surprised the mimic hasn’t crunched those, imagining they would taste good for a monster like me, that is.”

“Demi-monster, you mean.”

“You should try some with me,” I said half-jokingly.

“No!”

“What? Not going to try?”

“What you suggested is called cannibalism.”

“Aww… come on.”

“I would rather turn myself into a monster before trying that.”

“Imagine if you had turned into a lizard.”

“Like you! You idiotic lizardman!” Again, we laugh. A calm breeze passes by as we do so, making the entire area give off a calm feeling.

“It feels good to talk like this.”

“Yup!” After another five minutes pass, we finally make it to the usual stone campsite. From there, we can see Lilith lying down on the stone surface with both of her eyes closed. It didn't seem like she minded us at first when we stepped near her, but the moment she started sniffing, her eyes opened. She sits up and sees the burnt-looking corpse Charles is holding.

“Hello, Aden! Oh… Charles, can I have that?”

“Suit yourself.” Charles walks up to Lilith and drops the burnt wolf next to Lilith. She then begins to tear off some burnt skin and devour the insides.

“You're not going to devour the whole thing?” I question as I see her gruesomely eating the dead wolf.

Yesterday, when I asked Charles what he got for his level up, Lilith asked if she could have one of the dead wolves we managed to kill. We gave it to her but instantly regretted it when we saw her open her mouth wide, wide enough to devour the whole wolf instantly.

I still fear it to this day... ugh...

“I prefer slowly eating my prey.” She responds as she takes a chunk of meat from the corpse and takes a small bite.

I make a shrug and turn to help Charles skin the wolves as if used to seeing the gruesome sight, even though I wasn't.

Lilith's Perspective:

I'm happy that Aden is talking casually with me now. Of course, it still isn’t enough since I can still feel anger within Aden, but I'm certain he will calm down soon enough. For now, I'm just going to eat this snack to help satisfy my hunger. It isn’t big enough to make me full, but it was enough to calm my appetite.

Main Perspective:

As Lilith slowly ate her wolf, Charles and I finished skinning the wolves and hung them on a rack. Charles inspects his creation but makes a look of disappointment.

“I’ve seen better.”

“Hey, this is the best we could do. It’s not like we’ve got a master carpenter here.” I got to be honest, though. I’ve seen better as well.

The wooden strap-like barks aren’t tightened right on the rack, making it look like it’s going to collapse at any moment. Not only that, the sticks holding it up to don't even look that thick, making it more worrisome.

“I guess you’re right. Well, it doesn't seem like it's gonna fall over or anything, so I think we’re fine.” Charles says as he continues to look at it cringingly. “Anyways… All we need to do now is let all the blood drip out of those corpses for the rest of the day, then from there, we can take them down and prepare them for dinner.”

“Aww… DINNER!? I’m already hungry!”

“Stop your childish attitude. For now, we’re going to gather some herbs and berries.”

“I get why we need some berries, but herbs? You’re not a herbalist, though.”

“We aren’t getting herbs for medicine.”

“...Oh, okay, it’s for the food.”

“Exactly.” I awkwardly laugh for a few moments until I feel something clang onto my right shoulder. I immediately know it is Lilith.

“Oh? So you’re a chef, Charles.” Lilith questions with interest.

“A novice, but I know my way around the kitchen,” Charles responds as he inspects the wolves until he finally says, “Lilith.”

“What?” Lilith questioned annoyingly. She is most likely busy trying to make sure I didn’t notice her cuddling me. I do notice but decide to ignore it.

“Can you summon Drezzan?”

“It’s going to cost you. Give me one of those wolves. Then it’s a deal.” Charles sighs at this.

“Alright.” Charles unties one of the wolves from the rack and gives it to her.

“It's not for me. It’s for Drezzan.” Lilith snaps her fingers, and a huge summoning circle appears right in front of us. I watch in amazement at the summoning circle.

No matter how many times I’ve seen how these summoning circles worked, it still amazes me. You can summon an entity that will aid you in your everyday needs. I wish I could do that. It would make life a lot easier! Sadly, we need to be a… wait.

“Lilith,” I say her name.

“Yes, Aden?”

“You’re… not a mage, right?”

“That is one of my classes, but my main class is Witch.” She answers with a smile.

A Witch, also known as the equivalent of a Warlock. The two are of the same class, though one identifies as a female while another has the same skills and stat scaling. However, Witches are more in-depth with summonings, while Warlocks are more into combative magic. Of course, it doesn’t mean one can only go summoning or combat. Lilith has taken both routes and has already reached the max level. Not only that, she has every skill mastered. Which literally means she can’t get any stronger... I think.

“Ahh… I see. Thanks, Lilith!” Lilith smiles at my response.

As I say that, the summoning circle shines purple and begins to spin. Strange symbols move independently and turn in rhythm with the entire circle. From there, the summoning circle is then overlapped by a vast shadow.

I look up and see a dark purple portal opening up in the sky. The portal expands wider and wider as the summoning circle continues to spin faster… until all of a sudden, the portal instantly closes as a red-skinned giant falls through it and lands hard on top of the summoning circle. The red-skinned giant, also known as Drezzan, smiles as he stands up.

“Drezzan Rugorim, the first orc warlord, here at your service!” Drezzan answers excitingly.

It still surprises me, really. Back at Lexigon, Drezzan used to be this silent and obedient red giant. But now, he’s this over-energetic and excited one. The truth is, Lilith ordered Drezzan to act like that, so he wouldn’t go and mess up every single thing he did. I should be glad because if Lilith hadn’t ordered Drezzan to limit his power, I would‘ve died. This is what Lilith tells me during the time I tried ignoring her.

“Drezzan,” Charles says out loud as he approaches him.

“Haha! If it isn’t the smart meaty boy! How may I help you?” Drezzan responds as he looks down at Charles.

“Can you teach me how to butcher?” Charles asks as he points a finger towards where the hanging wolves are.

“I see… well, that's going to cost ya.”

“Already have it,” Charles answers as he holds up one of the skinned wolves. Drezzan licks his lips and gladly takes the wolf’s corpse off of Charles’s hands.

“Well, well, if this isn’t a gray wolf? Haven’t eaten one in ages!” Drezzan then proceeds to shove it down into his mouth and messily chews it as some of the organs fall out of his mouth.

“Drezzan,” Lilith answers annoyingly. She looks at Drezzan in disgust.

“Ahh… apologies, Princess.” Drezzan apologizes as he finishes swallowing everything in his mouth. I turn my head and give off a face saying, you're one to talk.

“So, is it a deal?” Charles questions.

“Yeah, it’s a deal. I’d prefer training Aden more, but deals are deals.” Drezzan sits down. “Alright, how about teaching you the basics first?” Then, Drezzan begins teaching Charles how to butcher.

“For an orc warlord, he’s really… non-aggressive,” I say as I see Drezzan teaching Charles how it’s done.

“That is because he matured more than the other orc warlords,” Lilith answers, standing right next to me.

“Matured? What do you mean?”

“He’s one of the oldest orcs in history. Of course, he’s going to mature the most. He’s been in the Netherwhelm for decades.”

“Netherwhelm?”

“That is where evil and chaotic souls go when they die. It is also the place where we witches and sorcerers summon our familiars. Or you can say demons.”

“I know what the Nether Whelm is, but how does it work? Actually, never mind that, how does one become evil or a chaotic spirit?” I'm curious, all of this stuff fascinates me, and besides, it will help pass the time.

“Very well, first off, becoming evil or a chaotic soul is rather easy. You must either have killed someone for wicked reasons or have committed a sin that the deities cannot forgive.”

It does sound easy when you think about it, well… if you’re a murderer, that is.

“Second, the dark soul must choose one of the three choices….” Lilith walks up in front of me as she explains this to me. I sit down, looking up at her as she teaches me.

“The first choice, they can stay in hell, rot there, and forever be forgotten. Second, they can be reborn, but you will have a dark future ahead of you once reborn. If neither of these isn’t to your liking, then third….” Lilith smiled as her eyes glittered with excitement.

“Become a person’s familiar and fight for them until they die or for as long as your soul can still glow.” As Lilith finishes, I turn to Drezzan, smiling as he's teaching Charles.

“Can you have more than one?”

“Of course.”

“How many do you have?” Lilith went up close to my face and responded.

“That. Is. A. Secret ~ ♡.” I sigh at this.

It sounds like more things to figure out! Why can’t life be easy…?

“Aden!” Charles calls out. I turned to him.

“What is it?”

“I’ve just finished the list for the herbs I need!”

Five minutes later… I regret everything.

I'm back in the forest, looking through patches of green as I march through it.

I don’t know what the hell I'm doing. I am supposed to look for this thyme thingy plant. It looks weird honestly, I don't even know if it will be appetizing. Well, if Charles wants it, I’ll get it for him… that’s if I could even find the damn green thingy.

I'm walking through patches of greens. Picking one after another, seeing if it’s the plant I’m looking for, sadly, they weren’t.

I keep on looking until I stumble upon an entrance to a cave. I stare at it for a small moment but then continue looking for thyme.

I don’t have time for exploring- what?

You have entered the dungeon: The Stone Golem’s Cave. Total Level Range: 10-20