So thus, Amon decided to leave that place. There was no need to remain stuck there forever.

And he actually did that an hour ago. But poor him. He didn't have a good start at all.

At first, everything was going smoothly.

He moved carefully through the forest, choosing familiar terrain, following paths where the trees were slightly thinner.

His senses were sharp, every sound making him pause. The black forest was silent. But not the peaceful kind of silence. It was the kind that felt like it was waiting.

He was cautious, observing everything.

Amon kept walking, sword in hand, eyes scanning his surroundings. For a while, nothing happened.

Then he heard it. A low, familiar growl. Amon stopped instantly. His eyes darted around his surroundings warily.

His body tensed, and he slowly turned his head. Another growl followed. Closer this time.

From between the black trees, shapes began to move.

Wolves.

Not normal ones. They were monsters. Amon had killed this kind of monster before. But there was one difference. Most wolf-type monsters had grey or dark blue fur. These ones were different.

Their fur was pitch black, blending perfectly with the forest. Their eyes glowed faintly, sharp and hungry. One appeared… then another… then many more. They were bigger in size.

Amon's heart sank.

"…Shit," he cursed. He had expected to run into monsters, but to think there would be this many.

There were too many.

At least seven. No– they might be eight. Maybe more hidden between the trees.

He knew immediately. Fighting them head-on was impossible. He took one step back.

The wolves lowered their bodies, muscles tightening. Then they charged at him, driven by hunger.

Amon, of course, turned and ran.

His boots slammed against the forest floor as he sprinted forward, branches scratching his arms, roots nearly tripping him. Behind him, the sound of claws tearing through soil echoed relentlessly.

"The fuck!" Amon glanced back and kept running.

They were fast. Too fast. T

Amon clenched his jaw and glanced back again.

One wolf leaped.

Amon spun mid-run, sword already prepared in his right hand, and slashed.

Slash!

His sword cut cleanly through the air, slicing the wolf's neck. Black blood sprayed as the body hit the ground lifelessly.

'That was easy?' Amon thought for a moment. Killing the Wolf monster was easier.

But he didn't stop. He kept running.

Another wolf lunged from the side.

Amon ducked, rolled, and stabbed upward. His sword was covered with mana as the blade pierced its chest.

Growl– whimper.

Thud!

It collapsed lifelessly. But for every wolf he killed, two more replaced it. His breathing grew heavier.

"Damn it…! How many are there?"

The monsters looked like first-rank ones, so they weren't a problem individually. But their numbers were too much. He couldn't handle them all at the same time.

He ran through uneven terrain, jumping over fallen trees, sliding down small slopes, using the forest itself as his ally. He moved sharply, changing directions suddenly, forcing the wolves to scatter and regroup.

Amon gathered shadow and mana into his legs.

His body surged forward faster.

But using shadow while running strained him badly. Still, he continued to run. He pushed on. He was not going to stop.

Another wolf leaped from above, dropping from a tree.

Amon reacted instinctively.

[Shadow Clutch]

Dark shadows burst from the ground, wrapping around the wolf mid-air and crushing it violently before flinging the body aside.

[Mana Bullet]

A compressed sphere of pure mana shot forward and pierced its forehead.

Amon staggered. "That's… too much…"

His mana was draining slowly, mainly because of running for so long. He had been running for a while now, and these wolves had no plan to leave him alone.

He couldn't keep doing this forever.

The wolves were relentless. Their growls echoed all around him now, surrounding him, hunting him like prey.

Amon's thoughts raced.

'I can't outrun them forever. I can't fight them all. I need an opening,' he thought grimly.

He spotted a narrow path between thick trees. A natural choke point.

Without hesitation, he sprinted toward it.

The path forced the wolves to come at him one by one. The first rushed in. Amon brought out his hatchet with his left hand, shadow covering it.

The hatchet left his hand at blinding speed.

Spin!

The hatchet spun through the air, cutting it with a sharp swish sound. It formed a dark trajectory in midair.

Slash.

The second followed. He moved his sword and then.

Stab.

The third hesitated and that hesitation cost it its life.

Amon fought while retreating, every movement precise, every strike meant to kill. His arms burned. His legs shook. Sweat blurred his vision.

But slowly… their numbers thinned.

Still, they didn't retreat.

Not yet.

Amon burst out of the narrow path and ran again, his chest burning, lungs screaming for air.

Black blood. Both his and theirs stained his clothes.

"This place…" he gasped, "…really doesn't want me alive."

Yet even as fear clawed at him, something else burned stronger.

Determination. He gripped his sword tighter.

If this is how my journey starts… then fine. No way in hell he was going to get beaten by this place.

He jumped. He hid. He ducked. And he killed them one by one. Even when he was tired. Even when his breathing became heavy. He didn't stop.

Amon Vale kept running. Fighting, surviving, step by step, deeper into the dark forest. In direction of the mysterious place.

---

Amon had already killed all those monsters. Not only that, he even stored a few dead bodies in one of his storage rings.

'This will be good for eating. No problem with food now.'

He had food for a few days, so his journey was going to be smoother.

Now he was walking, not running anymore. Though he was tired, he didn't stop to rest.

He needed to go as far as possible and find a place to stay for the night.

It might take two to three days to reach that place.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how lucky he was. The reason? He never found something too strong. Something beyond his capabilities to face.

"I've been exploring this forest for more than a week, but I never found a very strong monster. Which is weird. This place is so huge and dangerous-looking. I should have met at least a single rank-three or rank-four monster."

He looked up at the sky. It was already afternoon. He needed to find a place for tonight. He had no wish to spend the night in the open, so he was going to find a cave.

After hours of relentless searching, his efforts finally bore fruit. At the end of a narrow uphill path made of loose soil and jagged stone, he found it. A small cave hidden at the base of the slope, half-concealed by the earth itself.

Though there was still some time before night caught up, Amon decided to stop for today.

'The chances of finding something as good as this are very low. So I'll stay here.'

But he didn't know what he was going to confront tonight.

It was going to be a little horrifying experience for him.

---

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[A/N: Sorry guys for only one chapter. I was outside whole day. Tomorrow as well I will be going to watch a movie and spend weekend with my friends. But I will try to post 2 chapters tomorrow.]

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