Volume 2 Chapter 1: Part 1: His Journey Through The Forest

"Hyah!" Onyx screams out as he cuts down another monster. And he doesn't stop as he slices diagonally, cutting down the ones next to it.

How many are there? Onyx wipes the sweat from his forehead as he stares at the monsters in front of him. It's been a few days since entering the forest of death. And just from these few days alone, Onyx has one thought in his mind,

The name does not do it justice at all! This forest should not be called the forest of death at all! It should be called the forest of endless slaughter or maybe the forest you have to get out and never come back!

Every day, it didn't matter what Onyx was doing or what time it was: the monster would attack him without any break! They kept coming after him as he looked like easy prey!

Despite the constant assault from the monster, nothing ever did happen to Onyx.

Even right now, there's a pile of corpses around Onyx. That's how many monsters tried to attack him.

And there's still a horde in front of him!

"Tch!" Killing the kobolds in the front, a few more jump out behind him, trying to sneak attack! But Onyx quickly turns his body with full force!

With the momentum, his swing instantly takes everybody from the front and the back out.

Thank goodness I have this sword. Yes, the monsters came in droves. But that didn't matter. Onyx took down the monsters in a matter of seconds.

And this is all due to the sword Vargar gave him.

The sword he got is sharp. Sharp enough to cut through the monster from flesh to bone in all. It's like a knife going through butter.

"Roar!" But even if Onyx cuts down the monsters as quickly as possible, that didn't mean he was dwindling the numbers. With the kobolds being cut down: Onyx thought he would get a break.

But what comes next is even more monsters coming after him!

"Aww, come on!" Onyx screams out loud! The number of monsters coming this time is just so...no words can describe the emotions Onyx felt right now.

The only thing Onyx can do in this situation is to cry! Teacher, how can you say I can handle this by myself?! There's no way he could relax at all.

Every day, he's facing death in some way or another!

Onyx felt so exhausted. Not just from fighting with the monsters. It's that he fought with the monsters day in and day out. There are no breaks for him to get any sleep at all. The amount of sleep he could get these days is two hours.

Monsters would attack him afterward.

Seeing how he's going to get surrounded again, Onyx did the only thing he could possibly do in this situation,

Run.

I'm outta here! Onyx quickly dashes away from all the monsters. No way was he going to continue to fight that. But why would the monsters let Onyx go? They begin to chase him down now.

The game of cat and mouse starts. It lasts until the sun sets. Eventually, the monster gave up on Onyx.

He was too slippery for them to catch.

"Thank goodness." Onyx sighs in relief. He's on top of the tree right now, watching the monsters. He's waiting for them to leave before coming down.

Seeing the coast was clear now, Onyx jumps back down. Instantly, he leans on a tree. The game of tag added on to the monster he fought was too tiring for him.

I should be close.

Onyx takes out a map to find where he is right now. The next day after entering the forest, Onyx opened the second letter. What was in it was a map.

Also, instructions on what to do during and after getting out of the forest. It even tells Onyx how long it'll take to get to the next city.

I've been following the path correctly. So two more days at the least. Contrary to all that running and fighting, Onyx followed the instructions for the most part.

Even with all that fighting and running from the monsters, Onyx remembers where he needs to go. And if Onyx strayed from the path, he would retrace his tracks and go from there.

I should set up camp now. Seeing how the sun set, it was time for him to get some rest. Onyx goes through his duffle bag and takes out a vial containing red liquid.

Without any delay, he quickly sprinkles it around his campsite.

Good. This should keep the monsters away for a while. What Onyx sprinkled on the ground was monster blood. It's from a strong monster as well.

With it, weaker monsters would be wary and not come towards the campsite.

It should last me about an hour or two. But contrary to what people thought, Onyx remained vigilant about his surroundings. The smell of the blood will only last about an hour.

What's more, monsters who are stronger or some that don't care will just rush in.

That's why he has to be quick. He goes into his bag again and takes out some dried jerky and fruit. I have to eat it quickly. The moment he chews on the meat: a grim expression forms on Onyx's face. The only comment he can say about it is;

Tough. The dried meat was tough and difficult to tear off. It's like wood. No, maybe even a sheet of metal. Onyx can feel his teeth are about to break from it.

But he still has to eat it. He needs something in his body if he's going to continue with his journey.

I wish I could cook. Onyx continues with the grim expression as he swallows down the rest of the meat. In the bag, there's a small pot for him to cook. There are even some spices in it too. But the problem was the smell that came after.

Dammit! Why can't you guys leave me in peace?! On the first night of his journey, Onyx tried cooking. That immediately came back to bite him! He cooked up a great stew. But the delicious aroma from the stew causes a horde of monsters to rush at him!

Onyx spat out the stew and ran for his life! And that's why he couldn't cook no matter what.

Despite the number of problems he faces in the forest of death,

"So sweet." Onyx's grim expression turns to bliss as he takes a bite of the fruit. The fruits are something he picked up as he traveled. Despite the high number of monsters coming his way, one thing that came about was the vast amount of edible foods.

A large number of herbs were scattered around. Onyx would use them by grinding them up and putting them on top of the jerky, making them taste better.

...Well, more edible.

Finishing the meat up, Onyx looks down at his duffle bag. Teacher really prepared everything for me. The amount of dried meat packed in his bag was enormous. Even after eating three meals for the past four days, it didn't dent the supply.

And the food isn't the only thing in the bag. Inside are torches, a small tent, a blanket, and a hunting knife. The pack contains everything Onyx needs to survive the entire journey.

Even though he has everything he needs, Onyx's expression turns dark. Not because anything was missing. Rather,

I miss everybody.

The journey made Onyx miss his family and his teacher. But more importantly, Irene. It felt weird not seeing her face for such a long time. The only thing he has is the necklace.

A couple necklace with Irene.

As these thoughts cloud his head, Onyx quickly slaps himself in the face!

Onyx, there is no time to be down on yourself! You faked your death in order to protect her. And you will meet them again! You just have to become stronger than everybody else!

He continues to psych himself up.

He can't be looking down. Not when his journey is only beginning. What is his mission?

To become stronger to defeat the Holy land!

Getting his priorities back on straight, Onyx decides it's time he should go to bed. He takes out a blanket and wraps himself up. His mind slowly falls, going to sleep.

...

In the morning, a panther-like monster creeps around near Onyx's campsite. And it spots Onyx sleeping there. Seeing how defenseless he is, it begins to creep towards Onyx. It's canines, razor sharp and ready to kill.

It's hungry, and it found easy prey. That's the face the panther makes as it stares down at Onyx. Drool drops down from its mouth, ready to devour him.

The monster pounces at Onyx!

"Don't you even think about it." Onyx's cold voice rains on its parade. He swings his sword forward, stabbing the monster right into the chest. The monster's body goes limp, dropping its body onto Onyx.

Onyx sighs.

That's one way of waking up. Onyx pushes the monster's body off of him. But then he notices the clear morning sky. His eyes go wide as he screams out,

"I sleep throughout the morning! Woohoo!" Onyx raises his hands up in triumph! He finally sleeps through the night! It isn't two hours, not four, not even six.

It's a full-on eight hours!

So that's why my body feels so light. Onyx felt like a large boulder was lifted off of his shoulders.

I should clean myself. With Onyx energized now, it's time to get some cleaning done. His armor's covered in dried-up monster blood from the last few days. Plus the panther blood, he needs to clean himself.

Monster blood reeks. If it wasn't for the constant monster attacks: Onyx would've cleaned a long time ago.

Onyx quickly dashes off, remembering the location of the river. As Onyx wipes off the blood from his body, he can't help but plaster a giant grin on his face.

I'm finally free from this smell!

He looks down at his blood-covered armor and begins to wipe it down. It has done so much for him. One strike from these monsters was enough to end him if he wasn't careful.

But not with this armor.

The armor took care of all of the attacks. As Onyx wipes the armor, he notices that there aren't any dents or scratches. Even after taking so many hits, it's spotless.

That just goes to show how strong the chimera bones are.

Cleaning everything, Onyx feels so happy. He takes out some clothes and gets dressed.

It's time to eat. Onyx takes a bite of the dried-up jerky. He doesn't care whether or not it's tough as leather. He's happy. Tears fell down from his eyes as well. The smell of blood or dried-up jerky?

Onyx prefers the first option gone. As he continues to eat the food,

"Roar!" "!" Hearing the sound of monsters, Onyx quickly drops the jerky and puts his hand on his blade. His eyes turn sharp and vigilant.

Monsters are coming from the north. Twenty? No, twenty-five.

As Onyx continues to fight with the monsters for the past four days, he gains something important. Vigilance and caution. He can estimate the number of monsters coming at him from a mile away.

What's more: he can sense what kind of monster it was given the intensity of the roar.

Four large types, and the rest are small. Is there a battle going on? Onyx's expression tenses up. Something's wrong with the number.

Why would there be so many of them grouping up? It's too odd. Usually, the larger ones won't group together like this.

So this is too odd.

Should I go? Onyx makes a strained expression. There will be two outcomes for him if he goes.

One: if there are people there, Onyx can ask to travel with them, making his life much easier.

Two: if there aren't people there, then Onyx will be walking into a horde of monsters, and the game of tag will start anew.

Thinking about it for a bit more, Onyx decides.

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