After resting he finally decided to check the ring before making a move. Sending his perception into the ring he found a space the size of a small room with a few things inside. There was a sword, a dagger, a talisman, and some books. Without even thinking about it he made the dagger appear. Although it was his first time holding it, the dagger felt familiar, like it was something meant for him. It was about nine inches, slightly curved, and pitch black. He smirked and swung it a few times to get a better feel for it before placing it in its sheath and switching it with his old one on the small of his back.

He next looked at the sword briefly then the talisman, recognizing it as a teleportation talisman, he knew he did not need to fear for his life during this test. Finally he looked through the few books to see what they were. He found a sword technique, a dagger technique, a movement technique, a strange absorption method and a book labeled The Forbidden Forest. He decide to read the book about the forest immediately as to better understand his situation.

The Forbidden Forest was known as a danger zone of the highest magnitude not just on the Southern Continent but the entire world. It was still okay in the outer regions, but the deeper one went the more danger. According to the book very few people have ever returned after entering the fog that separates the outer regions from those deeper in. The lucky few who did were of the King Domain or above and even the Kings were heavily injured so the danger could be understood.

It's not just the strength of the beasts but also their intelligence. Beast that have made it to the Peak of the Territory Domain have intelligence no lower than humans, demons, or other races and those that make it to the King Domain gain the ability to have a humanoid appearance. No one knows what really lies in the depths of this forest.

The Forbidden Forest could even be called the Beast Empire of the Southern Continent. There were several rulers even in the outer region; each of them at least at Peak Foundation Domain, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Every hundred years or so the beasts flood out of the forest into the rest of the Continent.

“I wonder what those people were thinking by sending me here.” Flynn spoke aloud then closed the book and returned it to the ring. “I should find a water source before doing anything else.”

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After moving for about three hours, he finally arrived at a small river. Looking at his refection in the crystal clear water, with hair so black it looks like it absorbs light around him and dark eyes. Standing a little more than 160cm and a little thinner than kids his age he was still one of the strongest of the children he grew up with. He couldn’t help but think about his short past

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When he started to feel Element of Darkness around the age of five he originally didn’t know what was going on since it was common knowledge that normally one should only try connecting to the elements at the age of ten, those in his usually family started at nine and you were a genius if you could do it at eight. Since he connected subconsciously and way before he should he never let anyone know. It wasn't that he didn't dare but that he simply didn't want to, but how could he hide it from his mother since she also had the same element. She sensed the absorption one night and found him cultivating under the moonlight.

Although she pretended she didn’t know, she still said that once he was older and connected with his element that only hard work would make him strong, that talent would only take him so far and without hard work it would actually impede his growth. After having obtained the Element of Darkness, he naturally felt at home when it was night. Absorbing the elemental essence around him from sundown until dawn for five years he was able to enter the fifth tier of the Element Domain as others were just connecting to the elements.

When he turned ten his mother taught him personally and his strength rose slower but his foundation was deeper so although others in the family gradually caught up to him in Tier but few could match his strength. Just absorbing the elemental essence is the basic of basics. She showed him how to purify the essence before absorbing it and making it his own. It wasn't a technique of the family but some thing she obtained on her own when she was younger. She also taught him how to use a dagger and trained him to use his body without completely relying on essence. Until he surpassed the Foundation Domain he would be unable to use many darkness abilities in the presence of light and the first time he ever saw her dagger it was already an inch away from his eye before he even knew what happened.

“The only time your enemy knows you used a dagger is the moment it takes their life.” She told him.

For the next three years he worked hard building his skills with the dagger and absorbing the elemental essence. During that time he also connected to the Element of Space and Element of Mind, but since he couldn’t understand the spatial element he focused on strengthening his mind because if it reached a high enough level he would be able the split his mind after reaching the Foundation Domain instead of later. Dividing his mind would allow him to do multiple things without losing any concentration on either of them. It would also strengthen his perception allowing it to evolve into Spiritual Sense. As the power of his mind grew his skill with the dagger also advanced faster than before. Shortly after he turned thirteen he entered the eighth tier of the Element Domain.

For the past year he wasn't allowed to increase his Tier at all. His mother; Anya, had him suppress it and focus on using a sword. Since he wasn't allowed to use his dagger unless he was killing and leaving no witnesses he needed another weapon and naturally chose a sword, the emperor of all weapons. He would be allowed to cultivate once he started his final test to become a candidate for the position of patriarch of the family.

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After hearing a sound he snapped out of his reminiscence and stared at the other side river and noticed he was being stared at by a green wolf about two meters in length and about a meter and half tall. It was a Gale Wolf that was inching closer when it realized it was noticed.

Facing a beast that should be at least in the Foundation Domain, Flynn still showed no fear. Since he had been training his mind for the last four years his thinking ability had increased at least two fold. He realized that he could not use the shadows to his advantage since he was out in the open under the sun. The Gale Wolf was known for its speed so running away was not possible.

The beast started moving the moment Flynn took out the sword from the Cosmos Ring. Although he wasn’t an expert with a sword currently, with him having practiced for the last year and with the state of his mind he knew the basics and believed he could win easily enough and with the talisman fear of death was unnecessary. As the wolf leaped across the river Flynn started moving as well, aiming to catch the beast in the air in order to end the fight as soon as possible. What he didn’t expect was that the moment he leaped into the air the wolf opened its mouth and a powerful gust of wind blew against him blowing him back to the ground.

“So much for trying to end this quickly” he thought to himself.

Being distracted by his own thoughts he almost failed to notice the wind blade that the wolf launched the instant it landed. Concentrating the essence in his body towards his feet, he shifted to the right; he avoided the wind blade by the smallest of margins and dashed forward as the wolf charged at him. Knowing he could never defeat a Foundation Domain beast in a head on fight, especially since beasts are stronger than most other races; especially humans, at the same tier, let alone one in a different domain such as this Gale Wolf, he decided to use distraction to gain the advantage.

By manipulating his own shadow he made it charge forward while he followed behind. The wolf thinking the boy was foolish, struck out with its claws only to feel no resistance as the shadow disappeared leaving nothing behind but a sword aiming for its throat. The wolf was surprised but still dodged the sword and avoiding a fatal wound but the blade still scratched its hide as it sailed past. Turning back to look for its prey as its rage soared, he found the boy with a dagger and that was the last thing it saw as the boy slashed both its eyes effectively blinding it.

Flynn hastily retreated as a wind blade cut through his previous position. His breath was unsteady as it took more essence than he thought to move the sword with his mind and manipulating his shadow at the same time. He rushed forward to grab his sword as the wolf let out a savage howl causing the wind to pick up and dozens of wind blades to strike out in all directions. Stepping back after picking up the sword he dodged the wind blades that came in his direction.

He ran forward as the wolf turned to flee and once again controlled the sword with his mind. Aiming at its right hind-leg, the sword pierced deep with the tip coming out two or three inches on the other side. Coming up on the left side of the wolf, he plunged his dagger into its left shoulder. The wolf felt the pain turned around and bit down on Flynn’s left leg as they both tumbled from the momentum. Reacting quickly he removed the dagger from the wolf’s shoulder and drove it into its skull piercing its brain before it could rip his leg off.

It whimpered shortly then fell silent. Clenching his teeth in pain he removed the wolf’s mouth from him leg. The feeling of removing the fangs from his leg almost caused him to pass out. Getting up and limping towards his sword and pulling it out before storing it and the wolf inside his ring he moved to the river. He began washing himself and cleaning his wound. He had never felt such pain in his life but knew that screaming out would only attract more trouble than he could currently deal with, especially now that he was wounded. He had to move before more beasts were attracted to the scent of the blood. Feeling dizzy from the pain and the rapid loss of essence, he quickly finished and headed upstream looking for a quiet place to rest and recover.

“It looks like I'm not as strong or smart as I thought.” he grumbled while spreading out his perception and moving as fast as he was currently able.

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After walking roughly half an hour Flynn spotted a cave and decided to rest there. Spreading out his perception he searched the cave for signs of other life but found none.

“I suppose staying here should be fine. At least until I advance to the Foundation Domain, it’s too dangerous to move through this forest unless absolutely necessary adding the fact that I have plenty of time before I have to leave, there really is no reason to rush around.”

Collapsing against a wall, the pain was becoming unbearable. He immediately started absorbing and purifying elemental essence and using the essence to start to close his wounds. It was the first time he needed to heal himself to such an extent and it was taxing on his mind and body. After an hour or so he was able to completely close his wound and the pain gradually faded.