A dense, humid silence pressed in around Jai and James as they took their first cautious steps into the Looming Verdant.
This was no ordinary forest.
It was a colossal, ancient wilderness—a world unto itself.
Titanic trees rose around them, their bark scarred and covered in moss like the faces of ancient giants. Their branches stretched toward the sky, weaving together into a thick emerald ceiling.
The forest floor lay beneath a mosaic of shadow.
Only thin slivers of sunlight managed to pierce the canopy, scattering golden particles through the damp air.
James, already sweating beneath his leather tunic, tilted his head back and stared upward.
His eyes were filled with equal parts awe and unease.
"Gods above, Jai... how big is this place?"
He looked toward his cousin.
"And how long is it actually going to take us to reach that blasted Dwarf Kingdom?"
His voice barely rose above a whisper, almost as though he feared the trees themselves might hear him.
Jai sighed and adjusted the pack resting on his shoulder.
"My mother told me about this route."
James waited.
"From this entrance, she estimated it's around one thousand kilometers to the kingdom's border."
James stopped walking.
His jaw dropped.
"One thousand?"
He stared at Jai.
"What the hell?"
His voice nearly echoed through the forest before he quickly lowered it again.
"That's almost two months of walking! Are you seriously telling me we have to keep marching for that long?"
"It'll probably take more than a month, bro," Jai replied dryly.
James looked horrified.
"We have to sleep at night."
Jai continued walking.
"And every time we encounter a dangerous beast, get forced off the main route, or have to hide..."
He glanced over his shoulder.
"...we lose even more time."
James groaned.
Jai's expression became serious.
"So stay alert."
He looked around the forest.
"Watch everything around you."
Then his voice dropped.
"And above all, make sure no one discovers who we really are."
James puffed out his chest.
Some of his usual confidence returned.
"If a beast attacks us, I'll just use my Space power and immobilize it."
He grinned.
"You follow up and cut it down."
He snapped his fingers.
"Simple."
Jai gave him an irritated look.
"Bro, did you already forget where we are?"
James frowned.
"There are creatures out here far stronger than ordinary Tier 10 Elemental Masters."
Jai deliberately emphasized the rank.
They themselves were only Tier 10.
At the bottom.
"The first thing we think about should always be escaping," Jai continued.
"Fighting is the last option."
James's confidence faded slightly.
For once, he simply nodded.
The two continued deeper into the forest.
For several minutes, only the soft crunch of leaves beneath their boots disturbed the silence.
Then Jai suddenly stopped.
His hand shot out and grabbed James's arm.
"Don't move."
James froze.
"What?"
Jai's eyes scanned the dense undergrowth around them.
"I hear footsteps."
James immediately lowered his voice.
"A beast?"
He peered between the trees.
"Or maybe another traveler?"
Jai gave him a look.
"Why do you think I bought the Noise Specter?"
James said nothing.
"It can detect footsteps from nearly a kilometer away."
Jai focused.
His expression slowly changed.
"And those aren't human footsteps."
James swallowed.
"How can you tell?"
"They're too heavy."
Another dull thud traveled through the artifact.
Then another.
"Too powerful."
Jai narrowed his eyes.
"It's definitely a beast."
James whispered, "How strong?"
Jai listened carefully.
"Probably around our level."
They quickly moved behind the enormous trunk of a Dreadwood tree.
Jai slowly leaned around the bark.
Something moved between the vegetation.
He stared.
Then immediately pulled his head back.
"What is it?" James whispered.
Jai's expression turned serious.
"A Borren."
James blinked.
"A what?"
"A baby Borren."
Jai carefully looked again.
The creature resembled a monstrous wild boar.
Except this "baby" was nearly the size of a small elephant.
Huge tusks curved from its jaw.
Its muscular body was covered in thick, dark hide.
Jai lowered his voice.
"It's roughly equivalent to Tier 10."
James stared through the trees.
Jai continued.
"Beasts are different from humans."
"Different how?"
"They're born with their elemental cores and natural abilities."
Jai glanced toward the Borren.
"They don't need an Awakening Ceremony like we do."
James frowned.
"That's unfair."
Jai almost laughed.
Then another sound reached the Noise Specter.
THUD.
Jai froze.
A second impact.
Much heavier.
THUD.
The ground itself trembled slightly.
Jai's smile disappeared.
"Another one?"
Before James could answer, a sudden wave of scorching heat swept over them.
James's eyes widened.
He slowly tilted his head upward.
His face immediately went pale.
Something enormous stood behind them.
Close enough to touch.
An adult Borren.
It was at least twice the size of the younger one.
Its massive body towered over the two boys.
Steam-like heat rolled from its nostrils.
Its eyes burned with a dark, molten-gold light.
James frantically tapped Jai's shoulder.
Jai remained focused on the younger Borren.
"Stop making noise," Jai whispered angrily.
James tapped him again.
"That Borren will hear us and come after us."
Tap.
Jai slapped James's hand away.
"They're carnivores, bro. They eat meat."
James tapped him again.
Harder.
Jai finally lost patience.
"What the fuck do you want, James?!"
He turned.
And froze.
The gigantic Mother Borren stared directly at him.
For a long second, nobody moved.
Jai swallowed.
"Maybe..."
His voice cracked slightly.
"...maybe that's its mother."
The Borren growled.
James reacted first.
He slammed his palm against the ground.
"Earth Dance!"
Space energy rippled outward.
The air distorted.
The earth beneath the Borren shifted slightly.
Then...
nothing happened.
The Mother Borren didn't move.
Not even an inch.
Both boys stared.
James's face went pale.
"Why didn't it work?"
The beast lowered its head.
Jai's instincts screamed.
"NOW, JAMES!"
Jai reached into his bag and hurled a concussion bomb directly toward the Borren's face.
BOOM!
The explosion filled the forest with blinding light and thunderous noise.
The Borren roared.
Its head jerked backward.
But Jai hadn't expected the attack to hurt it.
He only wanted a few seconds.
"RUN!"
Both boys sprinted.
Branches tore at their clothing as they crashed through the undergrowth.
Behind them came a furious roar.
The ground trembled.
James looked over his shoulder.
"WHY DIDN'T MY SPELL WORK?!"
"She's too strong!"
Jai jumped over a fallen tree.
"Then what Tier is she?!"
"Tier 9!"
The roar behind them grew closer.
Jai's expression tightened.
"Maybe Tier 8!"
James nearly stumbled.
"THAT'S WORSE!"
"No shit!"
They kept running.
Then Jai spotted darkness beneath a tangled wall of roots.
A cave.
"There!"
They changed direction immediately.
Both plunged through the narrow opening and disappeared into the darkness.
Inside the cave, Jai leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
James collapsed beside him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then James suddenly remembered something.
He grabbed the silver bracelet around his wrist.
"The emergency artifact!"
Jai looked at him.
"Miss Beatrice gave this to us."
James pointed toward the glowing red stone.
"Should we activate it?"
Jai stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you insane?"
James frowned.
"We almost died!"
"We just started the journey!"
Jai lowered his voice.
"We're not calling Beatrice because we ran into our first strong beast."
James looked annoyed.
"Then when are we supposed to use it?"
"When we're actually about to die."
James opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Jai leaned against the cave wall.
"We have to learn how to survive without depending on our family every time something goes wrong."
James sighed.
"Fine."
Several quiet minutes passed.
Then Jai suddenly stopped.
His expression slowly changed.
"James."
"What?"
Jai looked directly at him.
"Did you bring food?"
Silence.
James looked away.
Jai narrowed his eyes.
"James."
"Uh..."
"Did you bring food?"
James scratched the side of his face.
"No."
Jai stared at him.
"I didn't think about it."
Jai's eye twitched.
"You didn't think?"
James slowly backed away.
"What the hell are we supposed to eat?"
His voice rose.
"We have to cross a thousand-kilometer forest, and you didn't think we needed FOOD?"
"Why is this only my fault?"
"Because you were carrying half the supplies!"
James crossed his arms.
"You could've checked."
Jai stared at him.
For a moment, neither said anything.
Then both began arguing in furious whispers, too afraid to raise their voices while the Borren might still be nearby.
Eventually, exhaustion killed the argument.
Night gradually settled over the forest.
The faint purple light outside disappeared.
Soon, absolute darkness covered the cave entrance.
Their stomachs growled.
James leaned against the wall.
"I'm starving."
Jai didn't answer.
He was thinking.
Then a memory returned.
Something he had seen while running.
Red.
Near water.
His eyes opened.
"The baby Borren."
James looked toward him.
"What?"
"I saw its body."
Jai sat upright.
"Near a lake."
James's expression sharpened.
"The one we saw earlier?"
"Yes."
Jai nodded.
"It was dead."
James frowned.
"We didn't kill it."
"No."
Jai slowly stood.
"Something else did."
The two looked toward the entrance.
For several minutes, neither moved.
Finally, Jai activated the Noise Specter.
Silence.
No heavy footsteps.
No Borren.
"The mother is gone."
James exhaled.
"Good."
They cautiously left the cave.
Every few steps, Jai stopped and listened through the artifact.
Nothing.
Eventually, they reached the small lake.
Moonlight reflected across its calm surface.
And beside it...
lay the corpse of the young Borren.
James grimaced.
The creature's body had been torn open.
Blood covered the ground.
Jai crouched beside it.
He touched the blood carefully.
"It hasn't crystallized yet."
James looked confused.
"So?"
"It means it died recently."
Jai scanned the darkness surrounding the lake.
"Very recently."
Neither liked that thought.
They quickly removed the blue crystal necklaces hanging around their necks.
These were storage artifacts.
Inside each crystal was a small pocket of magically expanded space capable of holding supplies far beyond what the boys could physically carry.
They drew their knives.
Jai began cutting strips of meat from the carcass.
James helped.
They worked quickly.
No conversation.
No unnecessary movement.
Once they had enough meat, they stored it inside their necklaces.
Then they gathered as much dry wood as they could carry.
Minutes later, they were back inside the cave.
James dropped the wood onto the ground.
"Finally."
Jai knelt beside the pile.
They didn't possess a convenient fire artifact.
So instead, they used an old survival method.
Friction.
A technique said to have been passed down from the teachings of Emperor Dominatrix herself.
It took time.
And several failed attempts.
But eventually...
a tiny flame appeared.
James smiled.
"There."
Jai carefully fed the fire.
Soon, warmth spread through the cave.
They cut several strips of Borren meat and placed them over the flames.
The smell slowly filled the space.
James's stomach immediately growled again.
"That smells amazing."
"Don't eat it raw."
"I wasn't going to."
"You were thinking about it."
"I absolutely was not."
Jai gave him a look.
James looked away.
When the meat was finally cooked, both ate slowly.
They made sure not to consume too much.
The rest would be needed for the coming days.
Fortunately, meat from magical beasts naturally resisted decay.
This particular Borren meat should remain edible for roughly three days.
Jai took another bite.
His expression slowly became thoughtful.
"Someone killed that baby."
James stopped chewing.
"Yeah."
"That's probably why the mother was so aggressive."
James looked toward the cave entrance.
Jai continued.
"And whatever killed the baby..."
He paused.
"...might still be somewhere nearby."
James stared at him.
"Could you not say that right before we sleep?"
Jai sighed.
"Sorry."
He finished eating.
Then he laid a piece of cloth across the cold cave floor.
James did the same.
Jai stared at the dark ceiling above him.
The day replayed in his mind.
The forest.
The Borren.
James's failed spell.
The chase.
The cave.
They had nearly died because of a single beast.
And they had only entered the forest that morning.
Jai slowly closed his eyes.
We're weak.
The truth was impossible to ignore.
If we struggled against one Borren...
His expression tightened.
What happens when we meet something truly powerful?
The question remained unanswered.
Exhaustion eventually pulled him into sleep.
Their first day had been brutal.
A painful reminder of just how weak they truly were.
But the journey ahead was long.
Not every day could be terrible.
At least...
that was what they hoped.