Author's Note: YAY!! I was able to finish the chapter! You guys have been awesome, so I thought I would make the chapter longer than usual. I think I'll be making the chapter, from now on, just as long as this one or longer. As the story is progressing, I feel like I can put more content into each chapter without having to feel like its dragging. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter. I naturally have a bias for my own work, so I like being able to hear from all of you.

Hopefully if I'm not a lazy bum, I'll be able to post two more chapters tomorrow. Seeing you guys enjoy reading these chapters is really helping me push out these chapters. I won't always be able to push out chapters daily, so I hope to get you guys as much content as possible.

I also want to thank everyone who voted in the poll, for who they enjoyed seeing the chapter revolve around. Even though this story is going to deal with the MC, the other characters have a part to play in the story. Each of the various characters have their own aspirations and agendas, so don't be surprised if a couple of chapters are just on the other characters' viewpoint. :)

Enjoy!

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Kendrolgo continued to follow the stream, trying to figure out where the main road was. At this point, he realized how completely and utterly lost he was. It should have just been a matter of retracing his step, and after a couple of hours he would find the main road where he would follow it to the town. This entire adventure has been one thing after another, with him. How much trouble could a simple village kid get into? Adding to the confusing experience was these random abilities he started to get. First it was the ability to meld with the surrounding shadows, then it was his new fighting abilities where he could see an opponent’s weak areas on top of handling himself in a fight, and now he could heal himself by just drinking from a stream?! ‘What next is going to happen, to me?’ He thought to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I don’t think following the stream is going to take me to where I need to go,” he said to himself. “Since I haven’t hit the main road by now, I must be going parallel to it.” He tried to rationalize to himself. Heaving a heavy sigh, Kendrolgo started to walk away from the stream. At this point, he had nothing to lose trying this new method aside from wasting time. He hoped that the two girls would have talked to someone in the town and sent for help, in looking for him in this frustratingly confusing forest. He wondered what time it was, though he wasn’t the least bit fatigued. “I guess these new abilities come in handy, occasionally.” He muttered sullenly.

With what seemed to be hours of walking in the forest, Kendrolgo started to hear movement ahead of him. Worried that it was one of the Daemonises, he shrouded himself with shadows becoming invisible. The ability started to become easier, each time he used it. Watching where he was placing his feet, while paying attention to his surroundings, Kendrolgo moved forward with stealth and precision. He placed his hands on the hilt of the two short swords on either side of his hips. If it was indeed a Daemonis, he planned to quickly take care of it before it could signal the others. The presence was some 200 feet in front of him. He was surprised how easily the noise travelled to his ears, and wondered if this was a new ability of his. The closer he got to the thing in front of him he started to notice several spots of light. Maybe it was about to attack some people, considering what need a beast would have for light when it could see in the darkness?

Picking up his pace, Kendrolgo tried to hurry and save the people who were going to be slaughtered. “I KNOW HE’S STILL OUT THERE!” A voice cried out. He was close enough to see what was in front of him, and saw that it was one of the Ladies. With the porcelain mask on, Kendrolgo didn’t know whether it was Lady Jamelia or Lady Amela. The voice sounded like it belonged to a girl, though it didn’t sound like it belonged to Malera. Who else knew that he was in the forest?

“I did not find a trace of the boy, Kendrolgo, anywhere in the forest.” Lady Amela told responded. Kendrolgo could hear the conversation clearly, and saw that there were four other people aside from Lady Amela.

A part of him wanted run out to them, telling the group how he was okay, but something made him hold back. He didn’t know why, but Kendrolgo thought it might be a good idea if he were to wait and see how things played out. There was something in the way Lady Amela’s voice sounded that put him on edge.

“Looking at the number of fallen Daemonis I found, the boy fought hard and well but likely did not make it out safely. I could still find traces of Daemonis packs patrolling the area. By the way the tracks were laid out, they were not hunting anything and just milling about looking for more victims.” Lady Amela explained to the group. “Those filthy beasts love to hunt for prey.” She spat the last part out, plainly disgusted. “If they are no longer chasing after Kendrolgo, then that stands to reason that he is dead. I think his death is a blessing, in my opinion.” She casually mentioned a tinge of relief evident in her voice.

“How could you say that?!” yelled the girl, her voice sounding emotional. “He saved my life, how could he be dead…” She said to herself.

‘What?! Did she just say that I saved her?!” Kendrolgo thought to himself, confused. At the same moment, he realized who the voice belonged to. The voice must belong to the girl from the outpost! She had never spoken, so he never heard what she sounded like. ‘Why would she suddenly start talking?!’ He tried to figure out.

Scornfully, Lady Amela replied by saying, “The boy is a blight upon these lands, and all that is sacred within the realms belonging to the Light. We are fortunate that fate has led him to die, so we no longer have to figure out what needs to be done with him. Since there is no further need to look for him, we can start our way back to the town.”

“No! I’m not going back without him!” The girl yelled at all of them, and ran into the forest followed by the voices of the three people, with torches, calling out to her asking for her to come back.

Motioning for them to stop, Lady Amela said, “let her do whatever she want. She is foolish to believe that the boy is still alive, and I need to get back to the town.” The three figures tried to plead with her, but she dismissed their attempts to convince her. “With the number of Daemonis stalking these woods, you three will easily die without me protecting you. If you don’t wish to die like that foolish girl then you will heed my advice and follow me, back to town.” Lady Amela said walking away from them, on what seemed to be the main road.

The fact that he had found the main road was only a brief realization, secondary to watching the girl run deeper into the woods. If Lady Amela was correct then the girl was in deep trouble, and he needed to get to her quickly. Glancing to make sure the other three were following after Lady Amela, he dashed after the girl.

Running with all his might, it took him several minutes to reach her. Kendrolgo didn’t want to shout for her to stop, in fear that the Lady would hear his voice. The forest was very quiet, many of the animals, likely, sleeping, with only those that hunted at night awake. When he finally reached her, he reached out for her arm and pulled her toward him while simultaneously covering her mouth with his other hand.

“It’s me!” He urgently whispered, enough for her to know who he was without bringing the attention of anything or anyone else.

“Kendrolgo!” The girl said, her voice muffled by his hand, while her eyes wandered frantically looking for him.

He nodded his head, though he realized that not only was the forest dark but he had used his ability to hide himself. Slipping out of the shadows, he could see by her eyes widening that she now could see him. “You’re safe. I saw you running into the forest.” He whispered to her, reassuringly. “When did you start talking again,” He asked her, playfulness in his voice as he removed his hand from her mouth.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes, the girl was only able to whimper, “I was worried about you…” He could tell that she was in much distress, by the sound of her trembling voice and body.

Letting go of her arm, Kendrolgo wrapped his arms around her body. “It’s going to be alright.” He said to her, as he felt her arms held onto him wrapping his body.

“The Lady said such horrible things,” she said. From the moisture on his chest, the girl was obviously crying. She must have been distraught this entire time, waiting for him to return safely.

They stayed like that for a minute or so, before he gently pushed her away from him so he could look at her. “What happened to Malera? Is she safe?” He asked her.

Nodding her head, the girl said, “Malera went with Lady Jamelia, towards the local Temple. That’s at least what Lady Jamelia said before they walked off. I stayed behind to wait for you, instead of going with them.” Her voice was regaining some strength, near the end.

It made sense for her to go with Lady Jamelia, but after hearing Lady Amela talk about him in the manner she did he didn’t know if he should go after her. Kendrolgo remembered that Lady Jamelia had wanted Malera to go with them, and likely not to just save her from the burning villages. His chest hurt, trying to figure out what he needed to do. A part of him wanted to run after and talk with Malera, but another part of him wanted to just leave her. It would be better for her to stay away from him, considering what he was and by the sound of Lady Amela’s voice it wasn’t a good thing.

“What are we going to do?” the girl asked, obviously worried about what they were going to do. The two of them were standing in a forest that had dangerous creatures roaming around.

Looking at her, Kendrolgo stroked the girl’s hair in an attempt to comfort her and said, “I don’t know if I should go back to the town.” He was doubtful about whether this was a good choice, but he sensed that things would not go well for him if he were to head to where everyone was at.

“Don’t leave me behind!” The girl squeaked in panic. She quickly clung onto him, letting him know that she wouldn’t let him abandon her.

“These woods are dangerous. It would be a lot safer if you were to head back to the town.” He tried to explain to her, but she just shook her head stubbornly.

“I’m going wherever you’re going.” She stated into his chest, his chest vibrated from the sound of her voice. She was clearly not going to listen to anything he told her, if it involved her heading back into town.

Kendrolgo could only sigh heavily, in frustration, as he tried to figure out how to convince her. “We can’t just stand here. I don’t know if we’ll run into any more Daemonises, so it would be better if we walked away from here. I know a place we could rest a bit, and has water we could drink.” He said, combing his fingers through his hair. How could he let this girl walk around with him in these dangerous woods, instead of being safe in a town alongside two Ladies of Grace. Regardless of how he felt about them, currently, they would be a safer alternative to their current situation.

The girl nodded her head in agreement to walking to someplace to rest. Her face looked very tired, in the darkness, her eyelids starting to close as she tried to stay awake.

Getting on his knees, Kendrolgo placed both of his hands behind his back, signaling for her to get on his back so he could carry her. She didn’t protest as she got on his back. Kendrolgo bucked his back, as he got up, to lift her body higher, so he could wrap his arms over her legs and interlaced his fingers, using his arms and hands into a makeshift seat. He remembered parents who did this for their kids when they got tired of walking around the village. Kendrolgo’s own step-father used to do this for him, as he was growing up. The memory of those times made him smile, though it also brought him feelings of pain as he remembered what had happened on that night. He still didn’t know what happened to his family, if they were even safe or if they were… dead. The thought of them dead made him cringe on the inside.

After walking some distance, Kendrolgo could feel the rhythmic breathing of the girl as she slept. He was happy that she was able to calm down and get some rest. From the way she looked, the girl was obviously exhausted and needed some sleep. It would be a ways before they reached the stream. Kendrolgo still didn’t feel tired, likely due to what happened to him earlier, and so carrying the girl wasn’t an issue. Even though the girl was a head and a half shorter than him, she didn’t feel very heavy. He probably shouldn’t tell her that, considering how girls acted violently, when it was a matter concerning their weight. Regardless of whether it was to tell them they were heave or light, girls seemed to take offense. Chuckling to himself, Kendrolgo continued to walk throughout the forest. Even though the moment seemed calm and relaxing, he made sure to pay attention to what was happening around him. He couldn’t afford to be complacent, especially when he was carrying the girl with him. ‘I’ll keep you safe.’ He promised her in his mind. She seemed to be very attached to him, likely due to earlier events, so he would make sure that nothing happened to her when she was with him. He felt a little childish telling himself that, considering how he nearly didn’t survive his encounter with the pack of Daemonises. Using the new abilities, Kendrolgo was able to get away, but with the girl with him escape using that method would no longer be an option. He needed to make sure that he didn’t have any encounters, so he tried to push his senses to their limits.

Once he made it to the stream, Kendrolgo turned his back to a nearby tree and gently lowered himself. Carefully, he let the girl’s back rest against the tree and let go of her legs. He moved away from her, before getting back up and walking over to the stream. Kneeling, he reached out to get some of the water in his cupped hand and brought it to his lips. Once again, Kendrolgo could feel his body being energized somehow. He didn’t understand what the connection was between the water and the energy coursing through his body. Back on his feet, he reached for his short-swords and quietly pulled them out of their sheaths. He didn’t want to wake the girl, but he wanted to test something out. Swinging the blades and cutting the air, the feeling of rightness started to touch his awareness. Being able to move the blades quickly and with power started to feel natural to him, thought he had no experience using these types of weapons, until recently when matters forced the issue onto him. Holding one of the swords with the point pointing to the ground, he swung up and continued by jumping up to follow the motion of the sword. Once in the air, he tucked in his knees to let the momentum flip his body back, and land back on his feet. He was shocked by what he had just done. Never before was he able to move the way he had, just now. Running toward the nearest tree, Kendrolgo jumped and as his foot touched on the tree he pushed off of it and spinning making sure to keep his hands near his stomach and at the last moment, before he touch the ground, he swung out with both his hands and sliced the air, perpendicular to his torso, making a circular motion with the blades. Kendrolgo was able to land on his feet, without being off-balanced as if he had done it a thousand times prior to this. How was all this possible, the way his body seemed to instinctually understand how to move without being unbalanced. He seemed to be in complete control of what was happening.

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After what seemed like several hours, Kendrolgo stopped his training so he could catch his breath. He walked back to the stream and drank from it some more, to regain some of the strength is expended. As his fatigue melted away, Kendrolgo could feel his body gaining more strength than he had. From the time he set the girl down to sleep, he had trained continuously in this matter. He would train until his body felt exhausted, and then he would drink some of the water to gain back his strength. Each time his body felt stronger than it had previously and he would be able to continue training longer than previously. This type of method was unusual and definitely unnatural, compared to others at least that’s what he thought. For some reason, the water was able to rejuvenate his body and allow him to grow stronger after training. The reason he continued to perform in this matter was to be able to last against potential threats. This became even more crucial with the girl tagging along. If he was by himself, than training like this would be nowhere near as important.

Looking around, he saw the marking left all over the surrounding trees. There were slash marks and places where his boots cracked the bark of the tree, due to his acrobatic movements. The rising of the sun marked just how long he had been training. Sweat was dripping off his body, in bucket loads, soaking through his clothes. Walking over to the river, he started to undress himself, leaving only his undergarment on, and went into the stream. The cool water was deliriously refreshing, and cooled his hot body. Splashing his face with the water, he began to wash his face and then moved on to the rest of his body. He definitely felt more definition on his body, along with the increased size of the muscles all throughout his body. Standing in the middle of the stream, the water coming just above his knees, he just let himself enjoy the feeling. Feeling the power in his body was pleasurable, considering how powerless he felt just yesterday. Taking his hands and cupping them together, he lifted a sizable amount of water and splashed his face and hair letting the water drip off him.

Satisfied with his body being clean, he quickly took his clothes and briefly washed the sweat and grime off them. Shaking the excess water off his clothes, he got out of the stream and put back on his clothes. The damp clothes clung onto his body, but he knew that they would dry off in the warm weather quickly so was unconcerned by it.

“Good morning.” The girl said, behind him.

Turning around, Kendrolgo smiled as he watched her stretch her arms to the sky and yawning. She looked much better, her face looking fully rested. As she got on her feet, Kendrolgo walked over to her and asked, “Did you get enough sleep?”

“I feel a lot better” She answered, nodding her head in confirmation to his question. She brushed off the dirt and grass from her clothes, before walking over to the stream and drank from it. She then splashed her face with some of the water, and sighed in bliss from the coolness of the water.

“We should probably start walking, though where we will be going I don’t have a clue.” He told her. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the town?” He asked her again, hoping that she would take the suggestion for her to go with the others. Considering it was only morning, he hoped that they had not left already, to who knows where, and was still in the village.

She shook her head and started to walk away, following the path of the stream.

Watching her, he just shook his head and resigned himself to taking her with him, though currently it felt as if she was letting him follow with her. Smiling to himself, he followed after her.