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Leo awoke as the light hit him squarely in the eyes, as if the sun was positioned to blind him specifically. He rose from his makeshift bed, as he felt energized and well rested from sleeping on something that wasn’t the forest floor. Leo saw a small bag by his side, he looked in to see his new clothes and some other miscellaneous supplies. He closed it up and slung the bag onto his back, as he heard a commotion from down the hall.

Leo saw Koram walk out of his room, as the elf wore a tailored outfit of forest green dyed cloth and brown leather. Budmuk came down the hall soon after, carrying a large backpack that seemed to be easily double his height.

They both moved with haste around the house, as they double checked their supplies and watered the plants. Koram and Budmuk walked out without Leo, which forced him to rush after them. The group moved through Irontree, as the town started to stir and awaken.

They arrived at the trail of destruction that Leo left, as it seemed to be a perfect path towards the mountains. He noticed that, despite the damage he’d done with his attack, nature had already started reclaiming itself, as grass and moss started to grow on the exposed dirt. It took the group the better part of an hour to reach the end of the path, as they now had to go through dense forests.

“This is where the journey really starts. Don’t separate from each other and don’t do anything dumb. If we keep to that, we should be through the woods in roughly two days,” Budmuk said.

“Don’t worry, this time of year isn’t particularly active for any dangerous creatures. Dragon activity would also cause most monsters to be more cautious and reclusive,” Koram assured Leo.

The group started their trek, but their pace slowed greatly as they moved between the trees. Leo couldn’t help but notice that they were able to easily navigate through the trees and rough terrain. This let the gap between him and them grow, as they moved much faster than him. They, thankfully, didn't pay enough attention to him to notice his smashing through whatever slowed him down, as it was the only way he could keep pace.

The forest teemed with life, as Leo looked out at trees and plants like nothing he had ever seen. The shadows cast from the leaves moved and swayed, as if it was an elaborate art piece. The budding fruits and flowers looked fascinating and enticing, as if every plant was made to be adored. He hadn’t given the forest much notice on his first visit, but without multiple broken bones, it became much easier to appreciate the beauty of it all.

With the grogginess of morning having passed, Leo heard Budmuk and Koram strike up a conversation about the notable lack of Cadav moss growing. He listened in with some interest, but Leo soon realized he didn’t have any idea about this moss or how it grows. Instead of listening to their conversation, Leo examined his newfound body once more. He had been walking for hours and didn’t feel the slightest hint of exhaustion, yet he could never have imagined making this journey before.

Thankfully for the group, narcissism was less distracting than moss, as Leo noticed the sound of snapped branches approaching them. Unfortunately, while he had noticed the noise, he wasn’t experienced enough to act in time. He was attacked before he could call out to them. Fortunately, Leo’s panicked yelp of fear alerted them of the approaching horde of snakes.

Several of the snakes latched themselves onto Leo’s arm and chest which caused him to fall to the ground. He saw seven snakes slither past him, as they went for Budmuk and Koram. Leo tried to stay as calm as possible, knowing that a panicked thrash could kill his newfound companions. He tried to keep calm while three snakes had latched their jaws onto him, attempting to pierce his flesh. Leo noticed that, despite their best attempts, the snakes were unable to pierce his skin.

Leo tried to distract himself from his situation by looking at the others. His plan to distract his nerves was successful, because despite how scared he felt by the giant snakes, he couldn’t help but be entranced by what was his first glimpse at magic.

Four snakes darted to Koram, preparing to tear through the Elf’s flesh. Leo saw Koram’s eyes turn a brilliant green hue, as Koram raised an arm towards a nearby tree. The leaves shook as the snakes closed the distance, until Koram threw his arm downwards. The once ordinary leaves shot forward with the speed of a bullet, slicing through the snakes with no resistance.

Three snakes shot towards Budmuk, as his eyes turned a dark forest green. Nearby tree bark, grass, and vines quickly approached him and wrapped themselves around his arms. His new botanical arms looked disproportionately large compared to his size. He grabbed two of the approaching snakes and smashed their skulls together, then dropped their now dead bodies. The last snake shot forward, but Budmuk was unable to grab it. He was able to give it a strike to its stomach, which sent the snake off course, unable to land its fangs into the dwarf. This gave Budmuk the opportunity to headbutt the snake, as he killed it with one strike of his skull.

Leo was able to get some sense of how to fight from Budmuk’s attacks, but he couldn’t figure out when he would need to seriously fight. As the other two wrapped up their fights, Leo knew he needed to finish off his own attackers. He didn’t have access to the fancy magic they used, so he’d have to kill the snakes in a way he would hate.

Leo placed his hand around each snake's head while they pathetically tried to pierce his skin, and squished their heads into a red paste. Leo stood up as he finished off the last snake, his clothes now a horrific tapestry of gore. Koram and Budmuk had quickly rushed over to Leo.

“What did I tell you! We shouldn’t have brought him along. The venom is gonna kill the boy in an hour at best,” shouted Budmuk.

“NO! We could still save him! Quick, let’s run back. We can possibly throw together some antivenom in time,” Koram pleaded, as he grabbed Leo’s arms to inspect the bites.

“Wait, Buddy, there’s no bite marks,” Koram said, his worried tone now being superseded by confusion.

Budmuk came closer and inspected Leo’s arms and chest. He saw the tears in the clothing, but Leo’s skin didn’t have the slightest scratch. Leo stood there as the two inspected him, unable to say anything as they talked amongst themselves.

“Well I’ll be damned, the boy will live,” sighed Budmuk.

Leo swore he saw a slight smile crack on the dwarf’s hardened face.

“I told you I could handle myself, just have some faith in me,” Leo said to the knockoff doctors who inspected his body.

“Maybe I did underestimate you, good work, kid,” congratulated Budmuk. “Well if everybody’s fine then we let’s keep makin’ ground before nightfall.”

Leo agreed, as the group carried on with their march forward. Before they left, Leo couldn’t help but look at the bodies of the monsters that attacked them. Their scales were a mixture of dark purple and red, alongside fangs that seemed closer to blades when fully exposed. Leo also noticed how emaciated the snakes looked, almost like they hadn’t eaten in a while. His train of thought was interrupted by his status screen, which showed he had gained more experience from the latest fight.

[SERPOISOUS X 3 | GAINED 1,500 EXP]

He happily followed Koram and Budmuk. He felt happy that he now had options for dealing with enemies that didn’t involve mass destruction. He hoped that with time he could find more ways to fight off enemies safely.