The Age of Horrors

The old man released the ape and ordered Basil to follow it.

The two left the restricted area of the giant blue apes and headed towards the deep valley.

Basil was in high spirits, having finally defeated the ape and now willing to do whatever his teacher instructed. As they walked through the forest, the old man showed Basil various beneficial herbs suitable for making medicine, as well as the poisonous and harmful ones. Basil listened attentively, as everything his teacher told him couldn't be found in any book he had ever read.

They eventually reached the deep valley.

The old man moved ahead, peering into the depths, then called out to Basil, who quickly responded.

"Basil, do you know what this valley is called or the type of monsters that live down there?" asked the teacher.

Basil replied, "No, I don’t. This is the only unknown place in this vast forest, unlike the other restricted areas."

The teacher continued, "Well, it’s called the 'Deep Valley of Darkness.' As for the monsters, we’ll be going down, and you’ll see for yourself."

Basil was slightly surprised but answered, "Alright, teacher."

In recent days, Basil had developed even more trust in his teacher. He now followed orders without complaint or hesitation.

The teacher used wind magic to carry Basil, just as he had done with the ape before, but this time without restricting Basil's movements. Together, they jumped into the valley.

They descended slowly, and the closer they got to the bottom, the darker it became. Terrifying growls echoed around them. Though Basil had grown somewhat resistant to the roars of beasts, the sounds here made the roars of the giant blue ape seem tame in comparison.

As they neared the ground, it was impossible to see the surface. Suddenly, large bats—about half a meter in size—emerged.

As the bats attacked, the teacher’s wind magic sliced them into pieces, leaving the ground beneath them littered with the bodies of the 'Bats of Darkness.'

The teacher canceled the magic around Basil, and they landed on the ground. The darkness was so thick you couldn’t see your own fingers.

Suddenly, a ball of light appeared over the teacher’s shoulder, illuminating the area. They saw several caves nearby, each radiating a murderous intent so strong that the very thought of entering them was frightening.

Ignoring the caves, the teacher and Basil continued along the valley's path. Several monsters obstructed their way, but they all met the same fate as the bats. This continued until they reached a large cave, which they entered. The moment they stepped inside, a roar erupted, sending shivers down Basil’s spine.

The teacher calmly said, "It seems it has sensed our presence. Let’s go, Basil."

Basil, his voice trembling, replied, "Yes, teacher." Despite his fear, Basil didn’t disobey. With his teacher beside him, he believed there was nothing to fear. That was his mindset.

They ventured deeper into the cave, encountering more bats and monsters along the way, all of which were swiftly cut down by the teacher’s wind magic. The cave was vast, branching into several other sections.

Eventually, they came to an opening similar to the cave’s entrance. Upon stepping through, they found themselves in a large space compared to the narrow path they had traveled.

In front of them stood a beast, ready to attack at any moment. But this time, the teacher did nothing and told Basil to handle it.

Basil was stunned. The beast before him stood about four meters tall, with claws that pierced the walls and horns resembling those of a bull but much larger. Its massive body could kill a person with a single strike. Yet, the teacher told Basil to handle it.

Basil rushed toward the beast, attempting to use the same strategy he had used against the giant ape in their first battle.

As he changed direction, circling the beast, the teacher called out, "Don’t think this beast is like that ape! It may match the ape in speed, but it’s three times stronger. Don’t underestimate it—those tricks won’t work. It feeds on the bats you saw earlier, which is why its reflexes are so sharp..."

Before the teacher could finish, the beast struck Basil from an unexpected angle, sending him flying into the wall and knocking him unconscious. The beast moved to deliver the final blow, but the old man stopped it and placed his hands on the beast’s head, doing the same thing he had done with the ape.

After about an hour, Basil woke up to find the beast standing in front of him. He screamed and tried to flee, but his body was too battered to move. At that moment, the teacher appeared from behind the beast.

"Don’t worry. It’s under my control. And since I’ve done this, you know what it means," the teacher said.

Basil, with a hopeless smile, replied, "I need to defeat this beast now."

The teacher continued, "That’s right. This beast is stronger than the ape, and it has several techniques that will give you more experience."

"This beast is called the 'Deep Bear,' and as you can see, it only lives in the depths of the valley, feeding on the nocturnal creatures found here."

"You’ll be training here for two months without returning home. But for now, go back and inform your mother. We’ll start tomorrow."

The teacher handed Basil a potion similar to the one from before. After drinking it, Basil felt relieved and was able to move slightly. He headed home at sunset.

Basil had dinner with his mother as usual, and after finishing, he prepared himself to convince her to allow him to be gone for two months.

His mother cherished him deeply. Ever since her husband and family were killed in a demon attack twelve years ago, Basil had been all she had left in the world. She was always worried about him, asking him the same questions every day: Where had he been? What had he done? The look of concern on her face was constant. Basil knew she wouldn’t easily agree to such a thing, but he had no choice but to persuade her. He wanted to learn magic, join the academy, and earn a scholarship to help improve his mother’s life.

After mentally preparing himself, Basil approached his mother, who was washing the dishes, and said, "Mom, I have something to tell you. I’m going to be gone for two months to train, and I won’t return home until the time is up. I know you’ll object, but I’m asking you—please, let me go."

Every word Basil spoke weighed heavily on him, and he could already hear his mother’s response before she even said it.

"Alright, why not?" she said.

Surprised, Basil quickly added, "Ah, I knew you would refuse, but I’m determined to go, so I won’t.... Wait... did you just say 'alright,' Mom?"

To make sure, he asked again, and his mother replied, "Yes, I said alright."

Basil was shocked. "Huh? You’re not going to stop me? You’re not even going to try to? You’re not going to object to me leaving at all?" He began to wonder if he had been overthinking things and that perhaps his mother wasn’t as dependent on him as he had imagined.

His mother answered, "I know your nature. You’ve already made up your mind, so nothing I say will change that. You’re going to go, aren’t you?"

With a disappointed tone, Basil replied, "Yes, that’s true, but..." He muttered quietly to himself, "I thought you’d at least try to stop me for a little while. Am I not that important?" He then lowered his head in frustration and went to his room.

As soon as he reached his room, he collapsed into bed, exhausted. His mother came to check on him, whispering as tears fell from her eyes, "As if I’m happy about you leaving, you fool. You made that face your father used to make. How could I stop you?" She closed the door and left.

Morning came. Basil had breakfast as usual and said goodbye to his mother, whose eyes were red from crying. He then headed toward the forest, bound for the 'Deep Valley of Darkness.'

He met his teacher, and they jumped back into the valley. As soon as they landed, the bats attacked them again. The teacher formed a wind barrier around himself and wrapped it around Basil, who expected his teacher to do something about the bats.

"What are you doing? Your training has already begun."

"What?" Basil replied in surprise.

"The moment you met me, your training had already started. Your first task is to hunt these bats."

"What?!"

Shocked, Basil quickly entered battle mode since the bats weren’t going to wait for him. Seeing that attacking the teacher was useless, the bats shifted their focus to Basil.

The darkness was absolute. This time, the old man didn’t light up the area, leaving Basil no choice but to rely on his remaining senses.

He could hear the bats coming toward him, so he tried to strike them as they approached. But out of nowhere, one of the bats bit him on the back. These creatures were used to fighting in pitch-black environments, relying on echolocation to detect their enemies. They emitted high-pitched sounds that bounced back, providing them with information about their target’s shape, distance, and direction. This made them the worst possible opponents for Basil.

Every time Basil tried to punch one, it would dodge and bite him in the gaps left by his stance.

Then his teacher’s voice came, "Don’t just try to hear them. Feel them—feel their presence. Use all your senses. Once you do, you’ll be faster in executing your attacks, leaving them no room to escape."

Basil listened to his teacher’s words. He blocked out everything, trying to focus entirely on the enemy’s presence.

The more he fought, the more his techniques improved. Though he was injured, his attacks became faster and more precise. After an hour of battle, he managed to defeat the bats.

Basil stood triumphantly, exhausted but relieved. But his teacher shattered that relief when he said, "Don’t stop now. There’s no time to rest. That was just the beginning. The beasts in the cave await you."