In the same forest where Rex was wandering, other people were moving through the trees, busy with their own tasks. A group of knights could be seen fighting creatures that looked like harmless rabbits at first glance, but these monsters were nothing cute or friendly. They were the true nightmare of this forest, known by the locals as the White Devils. There were five knights in total, each wearing red armor that covered their entire body. Only their faces were visible, and all of them fought using swords as they surrounded the White Devils.
The captain of this group was a man in his late sixties. His beard and hair were mixed with gray and white, his face wrinkled from age and long experience. Despite his age, he moved with practiced ease, cutting through the White Devils as if he had done it a thousand times. While the others struggled with the creatures, one knight among them seemed especially aggressive, slashing the monsters with surprising fury, as if he held a personal grudge against them.
Soon all the White Devils lay dead on the forest floor. The old captain sighed and shouted, "Stop everyone, we're done for today." Hearing him, the others lowered their weapons and relaxed. The old man wiped the blood from his forehead and muttered, "That was a lot of work." One knight walked up to him carrying a bottle filled with water. "Here, captain, have some water," he said. The old man took it and drank deeply. "Thank you, Jack. I needed that."
He then looked around at his men and asked, "So, how was your training today? Did any of you gain a level?"Jack stepped forward proudly. "Yes captain, I gained nine levels from today's training."The captain nodded. "Good. We will come back here tomorrow for more training. For now, let's return to the castle."Everyone nodded and formed up behind him. The old man's name was Rufus, a knight of the Blue Kingdom. According to him, this forest was one of the best places for training, so he often brought his knights here. Together, the group began making their way back through the forest toward their castle.
Meanwhile, deeper in the forest, Rex was fighting a giant centipede. Why? Because the creature was nearly thirty feet long and stronger than the wolf he had fought earlier, and Rex wanted to see if this creature also contained a stone inside it. And if it did, he wanted to see what color it would be.
The centipede fired dozens of needle-like spikes from its body. They shot forward at incredible speed, cutting through the air with sharp whistling sounds. Just as the spikes were about to strike him, Rex lifted his hand. A small white dot of energy appeared on his palm, and the world around him slowed down. The spikes froze in midair, suspended like insects trapped in ice. The centipede was unaffected, but the attack itself was locked in time.
Rex flicked his hand sideways, and all the frozen spikes were pushed away in different directions, clearing the area around him. He then made a gesture as if gripping a sword, and a purple energy blade materialized in his hand. He swung it toward the centipede.
Sensing the danger, the centipede panicked and curled its massive body inward, forming a cocoon-like shield around itself. It vibrated rapidly, trying to harden its shell to defend against the attack, but all of this happened within just a few seconds.
Rex's slash carved a glowing purple line through the air, crackling with energy. The centipede seemed unharmed for a moment as the energy dispersed on contact, but then its entire cocoon split cleanly in half. The two massive pieces fell onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Rex exhaled calmly and dismissed the purple blade. He walked to the creature's remains, knelt down, and placed his hand inside the centipede's head. A moment later, he pulled out a familiar crystal.A green stone.
"It's green… hmm. This is making it hard for me to rank these creatures," he muttered. "Looks like I really need to find some civilization to understand the basics of this world."
Without concern for anything else, Rex continued walking through the forest, moving forward without hurry and without fear, letting the world unfold around him at its own pace.