Months passed as Kaden kept up his training regime. Season changed and it got cold. Just as Kaden had expected the temperature changes didn’t really matter to him. It gave him good training method for formations, though. He only had some simple ones from Angis’s journal and whatever he had see in Trohin’s hideout.

Kaden didn’t really yet understand how to arrange the formation lines to create some new useful effects, but he could imitate ones he had seen and adjust them. This did give him some experience about what did what, but not quite enough. This was the lack of teacher and resources. A true disciple of a formation master would likely get to see and study large amount of different formations. This was something that Kaden just didn’t have access to.

As for what he did have, was his own observations while meddling with structures of the few formations he had. While he did not require extra heat, he was tinkering with a few seals in attempt to create heat generating formation. He could easily see its effect in the coldness. His true intent was to make it able to ignite things. Explosively.

Kaden wanted to make explosions. This thought fascinated him.

While setting things on fire was a point of interest for Kaden, he had wanted to make things explode too.

He had spent some crystals in some formations that should have condensed the mana and then explode, but the effect was not that good. Mana didn’t really like to be condensed that way. As for cores, he didn’t really have too many to spare and the one time he tried, his formation broke apart. He had put the problem to sidelines and switched his approach to the heat formations.

As for the heat generating formations, Kaden wanted to use them to store his fire mana. Then eventually release it in stronger form than he could himself do and even explode. He had also been trying to comprehend some kind of timing system from Angis’s journal, but that was far more difficult matter.

One thing that disrupted Kaden’s concentration on his studies was that it had become more and more common to run into intruding saints in the forest. Even the ones at the remnant those months ago could be counted among the intruders too. They just happened to be the first ones he ran into.

From what Kaden could tell, it was just random people with various goals. Perhaps the war with Sacronan had progressed far enough that the beasts in the current area were being supressed by the saints again with more troops available. How annoying.

That was just a guess, but Kaden felt it made sense. With less beasts in the most external areas, it was easier and more worth it for people to go hunt deeper in the forest. This obviously included the area where Kaden lived.

He had killed several people already, but more came every now and then. All these people were weaklings, though. Strongest one’s he had seen had been mid stage Channel Opening. It wasn’t really even worth the effort to kill the people as far as benefits mattered. Despite that, it was still Kaden’s policy to kill them, if he had the chance.

It was yet again that Kaden could hear fighting from distance. Humans.

“I should go kill these ones too”, Kaden thought and stopped his experiments. He really detested these interruptions. They should just die.

While he did want to continue his studies and cultivate. It just didn’t sit right with him that saints wandered around him like they owned the land.

Once again Kaden left out to look for source if the disturbance. He wondered, if he should hang corpses on the trees as a warning. Beasts would likely eat them, but perhaps something would be left. Then he realized it could also attract problems rather than prevent it.

There was also the matter of protecting his territory. Kaden was the dire beast of the area. A few had tried to take it from him, but they were all dead and their corpses only served to nourish him further. Despite that, intruders were intruders. There was something truly annoying about intruders.

Specifically these ones. Kaden saw some signs of fight, but not really blood or corpses. The intruders were gone! He would have to run around and search for them! What were they even doing. Perhaps they were rushing past and just angered some beasts along the way?

“I’ll just go around a bit more”, Kaden thought. “If they just ran past the area, I can’t be bothered to go after them.”

What he found was somewhat unusual. He couldn’t figure out what was happening. There were more of those signs of minor fights here and there.

Then heard a ringing sound. A little ringing sound that he couldn’t exactly pinpoint or say what it could be. He thought maybe it was related so he decided to carefully go look for the cause.

Eventually he found the place where the sound seemed to be coming from. It was slightly more open area, but despite the extra visibility he could not see whatever caused the ringing, but it was where he could hear it best.

“What the hell is this?” Kaden wondered in confusion. He started to have a bad feeling. Then suddenly there was an almost instinctual reaction! It’s a trap!

Kaden leaped backwards, but it was too late. While he had been in confusion something had triggered and sent a rope like mana to tie around his leg. It was already too late by the time he noticed it!

There was something hidden underground! Thats where the mana rope came from. It would not cut no matter what Kaden tried to do in short term. It only extended and tied itself further along his leg, but eventually stopped. It seemed to be due to distance.

“It has to be a formation hidden just under the ground!” Kaden thought.

Despite realizing the problem, he didn’t rush to dig the ground. He would have to go closer to the formation and be tied even more. Instead he started throwing balls of fire hoping to damage the formation. There was no effect other than setting the nearby area in flames.

Then Kaden heard approaching sounds, but there was no hiding place he could reach due to being tethered to the formation.

“Here is another one!” Said a voice that was closing in and then two people appeared from beyond trees and bushes. “Be prep… What? Its some kid?!”

Kaden stood and stared the pair, one man and one woman. Both seemed to be at Channel Opening. Fighting two such people might be possible, but was going to be difficult with something tied to his leg.

“Who are you, kid?” Asked the man with some confusion. “How did you trigger the trap meant for beasts?”

“Morin, something is wrong”, said the woman to her companion. “What does a youngster like him do here? He is dirty and has ragged clothes. I think he lives here.”

“How can that be Caili?” Morin said. “Beasts should have eaten him. We would already be dead, if he is child of some higher beast capable of disguising as human.”

Kaden was happy to hear that they were not outright hostile and didn’t really understand why and how he was there. He had somehow inadvertently triggered a trap meant for beasts. Likely these two used such formations to attract and restrain beasts. Probably very similar to the collars the saint army had used on him before.

Once a beast would be captured it was easy to kill it and take its core.

“I’m sorry, I don’t really know how this happened!” Kaden said with a calm voice intending to appear harmless.

“At least he talks”, Caili pointed out and then talked to Kaden. “What are you doing here?”

“I am very poor!” Kaden told them. “I was once serving a formation master. With his help I grew in strength, but then he decided he didn’t need me anymore and dumped me here to die! These days I have to risk my life here to hunt beasts!”

The pair were frowning a bit. Kaden wasn’t sure, if they were buying his lies, but it didn’t matter much. He only needed them to trust him far enough to release him from the formation and he would immediately pull out their entrails and then consume them with Devour. No one would even know what happened once their bodies were gone.

“I’m not sure how, but it seems I have stepped into your trap!” Kaden continued spewing lies and to sound harmless while doing that. “Could you perhaps release me? I can even pay you for damages, I have some cores in my camp.”

“It’s just a kid”, said Morin. “He doesn’t even have weapons. I guess he lives in some hidden dark crevice somewhere.”

Caili raised her hand to stop Morin for a moment. “Why don’t you get out of here?” Caili asked Kaden.

“That so called master of mine is prideful bastard”, Kaden lied some more and tried to sound disgruntled. “I’m not entirely sure what I did, but he would absolutely kill me, if he ever noticed me still around. He dumped me here and expected me to die. To go against that expectation would mean he would correct it.”

Caili frowned. “What is the identity of your previous master?”

“What a distrustful woman”, Kaden cursed in his mind while keeping amicable smile on his face externally. “Not sure, if you have ever heard of a formation master called Cleff? I’m only saying his title as a ‘formation master’ in most indirect way as possible. He wasn’t very skilled and felt he could solve all problems by himself. Remember that pridefulness.”

Kaden only had to say a name that would not be known and for that he picked a random name from his memories.

“I understand me being here is rather odd, but our meeting here is a pure coincidence, so would you release me”, he continued.

Caili kept frowning, but no longer acted. Morin decided that was an ‘ok’ to release their unexpected captive. Kaden kept smiling as he watched Morin wave a device above the ground where the mana rope came from. The formation literally dug itself way up and deactivated.

“Thanks”, Kaden said and slowly walked forward towards Caili, who he viewed to be more dangerous. “I would like to reimburse your efforts that I accidentally messed up.”

After taking a few steps. Kaden suddenly released his core completely and activated even his hair plume to quickly annihilate these enemies. With his face grinning in glee, he leaped towards shocked Caili with his flaming claws ready to disembowel the woman. He screeched as his claw was just striking down the woman who barely was just taking a defensive position.

*SLAP*

An enormous force struck Kaden’s face. He directly slammed against an nearby tree to his side. He coughed out blood as a shock traveled across his body and ratled his organs. His face hurt, but due to his strong body he had not suffered too much damage. Only blood was flowing from his mouth.

His ears were ringing. He also could not focuse his sight and balance was also something he could only dream of at that time. Despite all that, he knew he was in deep shit. There had been no warning and he had not even seen what hit him, but he knew it was very powerful. More so than he could handle. He did not care where he went, only that he would have to escape. He leaped away with all his strenght.

“I would have thought you would be unconscious after that”, said a voice just next to Kaden in midair.

*SLAP*

Another strike on Kaden face. This time stronger. Blood and some shattered teeth were spewing out of his mouth as he flew in air and landed back into the opening. He was laying down on his stomach and vomited blood. His head hurt. How had the force not broken his neck yet? No, that was not important.

Without actually able to see much and his mind in quite hazy state, he tried to push himself up while leaking blood on the ground from his mouth.

“Shit, kid, you are tough as nails”, said the voice again. “Who told you to try kill my workers? Its not as fun when you are the one being beaten, right?”

Kaden felt a kick on his stomach. Yet, again he found himself flying across the area. This particular time he was spewing vomit mixed with blood.

Once he eventually slammed against the ground, he was laying there facing the sky. His view was darkening a bit as he was unable to keep his eyes open with his swollen face and pain radiating from everywhere. He was barely able to breathe after he coughed out whatever was in his mouth.

“I like this kid”, said the voice. “He is still awake and not dead. Take him too.”

About that time Kaden lost consciousness.