Chapter 41 : Entering the Forest of Truth (1) A radiant arc of glistering yellow came out from nowhere. It traveled at an astonishing speed and connected with the chest of an Armored Bear standing 4 meters tall. The thick arch of energy pierced through the bear's solid muscles and crashed onto the ground, leaving behind a smoldering carcass with a cleanly cut hole from which gory innards spurted forth. "Your Highness, are you alright ?" "I am. Resume the march." It has now been a month since the Lyssandra King's escort entered the Forest of Truth. At first, they didn't encounter any monsters and their scouts didn't detect a single hostile presence in the surroundings. They progressed at a steady pace for the first week, until they suddenly got attacked by a whole group of War Wasp during their sleep. This nightly attack surprised the whole camp, it would have ended up in a massacre if the King didn't bring only his best men to this expedition. All of them were the elite forces of the Kingdom, these troops hiding as mercenaries were in reality a powerful contingency formed of both the Royal Guards and the four Duchies' elite knights. They have always been prepared to face any kind of encounter at any time since they entered the forest, and each of these powerful knights was on high alert even during their sleep. Thus, they easily repelled the monsters without suffering any losses. From this point onward, the clashes with the local monsters have been more and more frequent, until they had to fight once or twice every day just to progress a few kilometers further inside the forest. "Your Highness, the scouts found out multiple nests of C-rank+ beasts ahead of us. They also saw a deep river traversing the forest just behind their territory. If we want to pass through it, we have to prepare for an intense confrontation with the locals beasts." "Hm... Is there a path we could take to avoid these beasts ?" "It seems difficult, Your Highness. The shortest path to reach the river is by going through the territory of three packs of C-rank Volcanic Wolves strong of dozen members each. They also seem to be socially mixed up, so if we attack one of their group we'll have to expect the two others to rush to our position. If we decide to go a kilometer downhill to avoid them, the scouts detected a few D-rank Brute Ants patrolling, which means that a colony is close by. The scouts we sent couldn't get more information without getting detected by the numerous Brute Ants patrolling the area. Lastly, if we decide to pass through the river uphill, we would enter the territory of unknown but seemingly stronger beasts that even the Volcanic Wolves tend to avoid…We expect them to be at least B-rank, if not more. " Matthias gave a complete report to his King about what the scouting units they sent a few days ago detected. The four dukes were also listening to the report, and they didn't hesitate to give their honest opinions when asked by their sovereign. "Duke St Claire, you often go on expedition to exterminate Brute Ants in your territory. Do you think we could take care of a colony by ourselves without much difficulty ?" "With all due respect, Your Highness, I do not think it would be wise for us to antagonize a Brute Ants colony in our exhausted condition, especially with so little information." "What do you mean St Claire ? They are mere ants and only D-rank monsters, can't we just brute-force through their territory ??" As usual, the first one to argue with Duke St Claire was the muscle-head Duke Beaumont. "Those you call 'mere ants' are responsible for hundreds of casualties among my soldiers every year. Brute Ants are more than 'mere ants', they are extremely robust, their chitin is resistant to cutting weapons, their mandibles have enough strength to crush an iron armor plate, and their numbers are overwhelming. No matter what rank the Adventurers Guild gave them, a Brute Ants colony is far more threatening than three pack of Volcanic Wolves." Beaumont opened his mouth and was about to reply, but St Claire didn't give him the time for it. "Moreover, their queens are among the smartest monsters I faced in my life. When two colonies share borders, instead of waging war and killing each other as other territorial monsters do, they instead merge their forces together and share their resources to create a bigger colony. That is how they constantly expand their territory and the reason why they are so hard to be dealt with if we let them be for too long. Attacking a Brute Ants colony without proper information about their numbers or the size of their colony is nothing but pure foolishness." Duke St Claire is a refined noble who never lets his emotions show on his face, and yet when he talked about these monsters that caused so much damage to his Duchy he couldn't help but externally show an extreme disgust towards them. This didn't go unnoticed by the other people present, and even the stubborn Duke Beaumont decided to not argue further after seeing such a rare expression on St Claire's face. If these Brute Ants could make the stoic Duke St Claire so angry, they were definitely not just 'mere ants'. Duke Beaumont understood that he was wrong and they shouldn't be taken lightly. "I understand. It seems like our only choice is to continue on this path and face Volcanic Wolves then. While I am not enthusiast about facing three packs of fully grown Volcanic Wolves, it seems like the best of our options so far. It is surely more prudent than going downhill and facing a Brute Ants colony without proper intel." "What about uphill, Your Highness ?" The young Duke Baillard asked. "I would rather not try our luck by adventuring ourselves in an unknown territory that even fierce monsters tend to avoid. From what I understood of the last report, even the best of our Scouts were paralyzed by fear and couldn't explore further inside the forest." The King was gazing at the mountain peaking through the sky while giving his opinion. This was the first time Humans explored the Forest of Truth. After a whole month spent here, the King felt that the closer they got to the inner part of the forest surrounding the Hydra Mount, the more terrifying were the monsters. The King knew that they couldn't climb more than that, as the inner forest uphill of their camp was probably the home of monsters that even the best of his men would have trouble fighting. His goal was to reach the Protector Spirit residing inside the forest, not to reach the Hydra Mount. "It is a wise choice, Charles. I myself do not feel comfortable at the idea of getting too close to this mountain. We should avoid climbing too much, going uphill with our current forces seems suicidal." The opinion of Duke Eddington, the only noble in the Kingdom that can call the King by his first name without losing his head, had a lot of weight on the other Dukes. "Matthias, Duke Baillard, do you have anything else to add ?" "No, My King." "I don't, Your Highness." Both men answered immediately. They were probably the most loyal subordinates in the whole Kingdom, no matter their King's order, they would follow his will faithfully until giving their last breath. "Alright, it has been decided then. We will continue on the same path and pass through the Wolves domain. Tell the soldiers to rest well tonight, as the battle tomorrow will be fierce. I know our men are exhausted from battling without rest for an entire month, but we are close to the Protector Spirit. I can feel it, and the gems getting brighter the more we progress in this direction confirms my guess…We have to pass this river. " The King stood up, and once again his gaze fell on the Hydra Mount towering over the gloomy forest. "We have no choice but to advance, no matter what is awaiting ahead of us... May Zenon's blessing protect us all, we will definitely need it." ___ At the foot of the huge mountain the King looked at, a young elf was seated cross-legged on the cold granite floor of a large cave. Sparks of different colors were appearing and hovering around his whole body, as if he was attracting the surrounding elements to himself. The longer he stood immobile cultivating these elements, the worst his pained expression became. He was sweating profusely and his whole body violently shook every time a colorful spark appeared. Only when the pain was not bearable anymore did he finally open his eyes and let loose of himself. "You held long enough today Tom !" "Yes, I could even feel plants spirits inside you Tom !" Two cheerful dryads were standing just next to him, trying to improve his mood. They were his close friends, Ra and Re. "Thanks, but... it's still not enough." Tom had a sad face and was clearly disappointed about today's training. Without saying anything else, he went out of the cave to bathe in the hot sun rays and take some fresh air, before deciding to wash his body still quenched in sweat. He plunged inside the small pond of clear water at the front of the cave, calming both his body and mind after the difficult training he had just done. This cave used to be the den of a terrifying Slime, but after cleaning it up it became a hideout that Tom uses as a temporary base for training. After his childhood friend burned everything inside (including the seemingly invincible Slime), Tom decided to purify the whole place as well as the pond of water surrounding it. As a full-blooded elf, it pained him to see the state of this place when he first came here. During the years, everything around the cave had been badly affected by the Slime presence until becoming a rotten and putrid swamp disgusting enough to even repel the forest spirits. While Tom was plunged into the cold water that was now as clear as the blue sky above him thinking about his training, he couldn't help but recall his last encounter with his friend. He was shocked to see how powerful she became in just a few years. Despite having honed his skills by surviving alone in the forest for many years, he was literally powerless compared to her. At that time, without knowing it, a spark inside him has been ignited. He didn't feel jealous or envious of his childhood friend, but rather, he felt sad and angry about himself. While he was searching through the whole region to find the Leaf of Reciprocity, his friend trained hard and became so strong that she could even defeat a Giant Slime by herself, in less than a minute. After this unexpected meeting, his friend just asked how he has been doing and didn't stay long. When Tom asked what she was doing here, she casually said that her master asked her to take care of the Slime that was residing inside this cave, as if it was nothing special. This was yet another shock for Tom ; he remembered the Oracle's words and he knew that while he had to find the Reciprocity Leaf, his friend left the village to climb the Hydra Mount and look for a powerful being here. But what kind of being could make her friend so strong after only a few years ? He also recalled the last words said by the Oracle, aiming for him : 'As for you, little boy, your own path you need to find. In the dense forest, a unique plant is living. The Leaf of Reciprocity, it has always been called. Before the Third moon crosses the Second, find it you will have to. Once you grabbed the plant, an exchange will be needed. A companion, you will find. And your new path, will be written.' He struggled in this dangerous forest for many years to find this plant, and when he finally did... He couldn't even defeat the Slime guarding it. At the most crucial moment, he couldn't anything but flee until being saved by his friend. Tom was ashamed of how pathetic he was at that time. He often thought about what would have happened if she didn't come. Maybe he would have been able to escape the cave without making any noises, but then what next ? He couldn't defeat the Slime head-on like his friend did, and even if he prepared the best plan possible, it would have been very unlikely for him to end this fight unscathed. He estimated that at best, he would have been grievously wounded, and only if he was lucky enough to find a way to destroy the slime core. No matter his predictions, if his friend didn't appear out of nowhere Tom seriously doubted that he could have reclaimed the Leaf of Reciprocity before the third moon crossed the second. "Ahh... I am still so weak..." Tom had his mind full of 'what if' situations, and he couldn't help but feel bad about himself. This was his best quality, but also his worst default : he was never satisfied with himself. The villagers always considered the young Tom as a shy and humble kid, but in reality, since his parents died he always underestimated himself. For any other villager, surviving alone for so long outside of the Oracle's domain would already be a great feat, if not a miracle. But for him, just surviving was far from enough. After his friend left in a hurry without letting him the time to ask her anything else, he felt hurt. She changed so much in these years, and yet he remained the same weak elf that he was when they were kids. This event made him open his eyes to his situation. It made him understand how weak he was. Since being a kid, Tom always wished to make the people around him happy. When his parents died, he has been adopted by his childhood friend's father, the village chief. Until recently, Tom felt as if his life since he received the Oracle's words was on autopilot. Like his friend and all the other villagers of his clan, he also wanted to meet the Chosen One. However, he always thought of him as an otherworldly savior and never as just a regular person. He didn't think about it at that time, but he now understood the meaning of the Oracle's words : if this Savior was not the one his clan awaited and decided to not help them, they would be left to themselves. For this reason, Tom had to be stronger by himself. He always thought that searching and finding the Leaf of Reciprocity was the best way for him to help the Chosen One…But not anymore. He acted as a kid waiting for a miracle to happen ; he now understood how wrong he was. He should become stronger to protect his clan and his people before all, not to please an unknown individual coming straight from a thousand-year-old prophecy. Thus, since the Slime incident, Tom pushed his limits to the maximum and trained himself until passing out every single day. When he was not training, he was out in the forest hunting magical beasts and monsters. The little remaining time he had was spent on crafting weapons, arrows and the various utilities he needed such as potions and pills. As for the Leaf of Reciprocity, only after fully cleaning the Slime den and purifying its toxic surroundings did he finally decide to use it. While he went on a quest to find it, he didn't know anything about it. He didn't know if he had to eat it, or just wear it as an ornament. The only clues he had were the Oracle's words. 'Once you grabbed the plant, an exchange will be needed. A companion, you will find. And your new path, will be written.' He guessed that 'finding a companion' was reuniting back with his childhood friend after so long, but he had no idea about the exchange needed. He spent many days thinking about it, trying to use the plant in different ways but no matter what he did, the Leaf of Reciprocity seemed unaffected by everything he tried. It couldn't be burned nor could it be frozen. He couldn't cut a part of it even with the sharpest blade made of the strongest Ancient Wood he could craft. Just the fact that even the Giant Slime couldn't digest it was saying a lot about the resilience of this mythic plant. Boiling it or planting it didn't produce results either. He was about to give up, when one day he accidentally discovered what was the sacrifice needed : his blood. It was a day like any other, except that this time he came back from his daily hunt deeply wounded. He fought a Rock Tiger head-on when a second one attacked him from behind and bit his shoulder. Tom didn't notice that the Rock Tiger he hunted was a female, and he forgot that this time of the year was the mating period for many magical beasts. He should have anticipated that numerous males would roam the area not far away from a female. This mistake almost cost him his life. Fortunately, only a single male showed up and despite being grievously wounded, Tom had enough experience and force remaining to escape successfully. He hurriedly went back to the cave to stop the bleeding and heal himself. After using his little remaining strength to apply first aid healing, he strapped his shoulder and the part of his chest that got bitten. Once the bleeding has been stopped and his life wasn't in danger anymore, he collapsed on the cold floor to rest. When he woke up, he felt a strange warmth surrounding his body and strangely enough, he didn't feel as bad as before collapsing. The healing concoction he swallowed before losing consciousness shouldn't have been that powerful, and today his dryads friends were not here so they couldn't have healed him during his sleep. He looked around the cave to see where this warmth came from, until noticing something disturbing : the Leaf of Reciprocity, drenched in his blood just next to him, was emitting a dazzling silver tinted green light. When he saw his dried blood covering the entirety of the flow, he finally understood what the Oracle meant by 'Once you grabbed the plant, an exchange will be needed' : his own blood was the catalyst needed to activate the plant. He felt rather dumb for not having thought about using his blood as an exchange earlier, but for his defense, how was he supposed to know that this weird mythic plant he knew nothing about needed blood to function properly. Tom quickly felt something change inside of him, and in a flash of lucidity, he suddenly got a clear idea about what he needed to do from now on. 'And your new path, will be written.' He recalled the last words of the Oracle, before a green aura shining inside a bright silver light enveloped his whole body. Tom was still too exhausted from his injury to be aware of what was happening around him, but when he got enveloped by this aura, the warmth he felt earlier became a soft and reassuring feeling. This aura was so appeasing that Tom had trouble keeping his eyes open. He couldn't resist this gentle and delicate green light covering himself, and he peacefully closed his eyes. His heart finally in sync with his inner desires. This day marked the birth of a legend that will live through the eras and will still be recounted thousands of years later ; the awakening of the Emerald Hero.