A look of annoyance crossed Vincent's face, coupled with an expression that clearly said, "Just who do you think you are?"

Even the other boy looked ready to curse at any moment.

Vincent opened his mouth to speak, but before words could come out, a familiar male voice called out to him from far ahead:

"Hey! Vin! Cali! What are you guys doing over there?"

When I heard the voice, I frowned as a wave of irritation washed over me. It was the voice of someone I really didn't want to deal with right now.

'Gosh… this sick bastard?'

Cali, the black-haired boy, turned around to the approaching boy and waved him over. "Are you done, Damon? We've got a new party here that just arrived at the Grove."

"Oh?" Damon was fiddling with the zipper of his trousers as if he had just finished taking a dump somewhere.

He took a look up at us, and when his eyes landed on me, I could see veins grow on his forehead.

He immediately halted, scoffed, and muttered, "Ha… look at this son of a bitch."

I arched a brow and stared back at Damon coldly.

At this point, Dion laughed awkwardly as the atmosphere turned heavy.

He tapped my shoulder frantically while alternating his gaze between me and the three boys in front of us and said, "Uh… we've been traveling for a long time... it's best we keep heading on to the Grove. Don't you think? Haha."

Everyone, especially the first years, had probably heard of the duel between the Bondless and Damon back at the Bastion, and how it had ended.

So, my bad blood with Damon was not a surprise.

Dion, who was just trying to keep the peace before things got out of hand, began moving while pulling me along with him. "Vin, Cali. I'll catch up with you guys later over at the Grove, okay?"

But at that moment, Damon, who stood in front of us, stepped to the side to block our path.

"We aren't in Lumieria anymore. There are no rules out here. You really think I'm just gonna step aside and let you walk away after what you did to me?"

He gestured aggressively, waving the hand I had cut off. Although it was now fully healed, there was a thick scar on his arm where the limb had been reattached.

I closed my eyes, rubbed the bridge of my nose and sighed.

'I really don't have the bandwidth for this cliche shit.'

It had been well over two months since my transmigration. I'd been through a lot since then, and right now, I wasn't the same spineless kid who would cower and shake at the knees at the provocation of someone like Damon.

I was no longer at the same grade as normal humans, but a Grade Two. And despite the fact that he was still a few levels higher than me, I had learned to have a little faith in my own abilities.

Besides, I wasn't feeling great today, and my mood was... off. If Damon tried to start shit with me this evening, I would actually kill him this time.

I lifted my head, shot him a bored look and said, "Move."

Damon immediately bristled and began taking steps closer to me with his hand folded into a fist. "You…"

However, just then, much to my surprise, Dion's demeanor changed and he shot Damon a chilly look. "He said, move."

Dion's voice was unusually flat, and I was fairly certain… no, I was definitely sure I could feel his murder intent.

But it was not just him. Everyone in my party had stepped up behind me and shot Damon the same cold look.

Damon halted and glared at Dion. "Or what? Who do you think..."

He was still talking when Evelyn cut him off. "Or what?" She tilted her head and ran a hand through her hair in annoyance. "Dude, do you want us to rip your head off?"

At that moment, both Vincent and Cali walked up to Damon and grabbed his arms. "Come on, Damon. Let's not do this here."

Then Vincent leaned over and whispered something into Damon's ear while also alternating cautious gazes with Evelyn.

A few more tense seconds passed…

Finally, Damon scowled, then shrugged himself off the two boys and stormed off, muttering something under his breath that I couldn't quite catch.

As I watched his retreating figure and felt the heavy tension in the air slowly dissipate, I couldn't help but be taken aback by the reaction of the others.

Evelyn suddenly slung an arm around my shoulder and grinned. "Don't worry. No bastard is messing with you when I'm here." She gave me a playful squeeze, giggling a little as she spoke.

Dion let out a breath and nodded towards the path ahead. "Come on, let's keep going. I'm really tired of being sober."

As we continued walking, and while the others dissolved into conversation and chatter, I felt a little embarrassed. Even though I was ready to handle things myself with Damon, I have to say, when the others stood up for me, I felt… good.

Although… it was a really strange feeling for me.

***

We walked on for almost an hour later.

The sun had begun to set, and by the time the first stars appeared, we reached a point where the sparse forest came to an abrupt end.

The quiet hum of the forest gave way to a noisy, bustling camp.

On the uneven ground, dozens of people huddled around campfires, while most just lay on the bare, chilly ashen ground.

A few hundred meters away, tents made of thick canvas, mismatched fabrics, and heavy animal hides began and were tightly packed together in cramped rows.

Even further back, the tents stopped, and large, sturdy shelters made of rough-hewn wood resembling small barracks were sparsely erected and heavily guarded.

These barracks were all built in a wide circle around the massive tree which sat in the center of the clearing.

Truly, upon looking at the tree from here, it really did look like a woman. Its trunk twisted into a graceful, feminine silhouette, and it even had large breasts that were formed by thick, bulging knots in the wood.

The red and white leaves of the canopy were dense and tightly packed, blooming outward in a perfect, rounded puff like a massive afro.

It was both scary and beautiful at the same time.

Looking at the massive, noisy camp, a wave of relief washed over me and my party members because finally, we had reached the Puppeteer Grove.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.