Once it was midnight I walked alone to the rims of the undying forest. where the old ma was still diligently guarding the entrance.

“You have proven yourself, Basara, I apologize for troubling you will all that,” said the old man.

“It is alright, I got a good experience out of it, but please don’t try to do something like that again, I had enough problems with just this,” I said to the old man who laughed at my words but didn’t say anything about it.

“Finally you are here,” said Lady Lissandra who showed up from nowhere.

She was rather alluring under the moonlight. Her body was looking lustrous and eye-catching as the various curves on her showed how splendidly well proportioned she was. A body honed to perfection, just about the right size of muscles with the right amount of flesh to make her look both strong and beautiful…

“Yes, my Lady I have received your letter,” I said towards her as I gave a polite bow.

“No matter, follow me,” she said

“Where to?” I asked.

“Inside the forest, I need your help,” she said

I squinted my eyes at her statement but followed after the Old man Nodded.

I still have the coin, so if I end up in trouble I can just use it to call upon a teacher for help.

“Stop acting all tensed up, I won’t eat you.” She said as she walked forward.

I used monochrome vision trying to locate anything out of the ordinary.

“I guess that wandering the forest at night shouldn’t be that much of a good idea Lady Lissandra,” I said

“Not for weaklings that is, this time is the time of hunting treasures… I had my eyes on something from this forest and I really need it” she said

“What thing?” I asked

“A moonlight butterfly’s wings,” she said

‘so there still exists that creature… if it is indeed here we must capture it, Basara, it is needed for your advancement” said Nocturne

‘What is this moonlight butterfly?’ I asked

‘It is an enormous creature that feeds on the Qi from the moon, it is mostly harmless and would not attack unless threatened, but still, it uses the energy of the moon to dispell its foes, you must be careful you barely meet the minimum to fight against it.’ Siad Nocturne

“Aren’t they dangerous these creatures?” I asked

“Indeed,” she said

“Then why not ask one of your servants? They should be of more help, and are a safer choice than asking a stranger for help” I said

“Indeed they are, but none of them has a grimoire.” She said as she stopped.

‘Huh!’

“I saw it, that day, I saw you using that book. You even managed to summon that unholy weapon. But you didn’t use it in the arena… why?”

“if you had seen me using it why not show yourself up?” I asked

“Answer my question first,” she said while squinting her eyes.

“Sigh… this is a weapon that is incompatible with life forms… if I were to use it, I might have accidentally killed you… or something like that” I said as I scratched my head

“Interesting… can I see it?” she asked.

Nocturne didn’t say anything and so I called the book.

Once the black book appeared, it looked more… lustrous, and newer.

‘How come it looks like this now?” I asked Nocturne

‘The state of the book represents your state, once you are in a perfect physical and mental condition you will be able to read more from its pages and understand more about its secrets.’ Said Nocturne.

The book floated on top of my right arm, while Lissandra’s eyes were wide open.

I pressed my hand on the pages of the book and the scythe was pulled from within.

Fearsom, eerie, and death beckoning the scythe’s blade was vibrating loudly that my ears felt like they were ringing.

“What an awful looking weapon…. Said Lady Lissandra”

“Indeed it is…” I said

“May I hold it?” she asked.

‘She must not touch the blade with her hands, the shaft is alright, that is if she could withstand the weight’

“Here,” I said as I gave it to her “try not to touch the blade… considered it to be extremely poisonous.”

She nodded then she took the weapon. However, the moment I passed her the scythe, her entire body was almost thrown out of balance as the weight of the weapon pulled her down.

“Oh my god! so heavy!” she said as she was barely able to hold the weapon right.

“How come you are able to hold this with ease?!” she said as she was appraising the weapon while its shaft was implanted on the ground”

“I just happen to be able to do it. Perhaps as its owner I don’t feel the same weight” I said

“Probably… or it is probably because of those rings you have on your arms… tell me the truth, are they real ones? I believe that you one have two real ones and the rest are fakes. A sort of psychological attack before a match?” she said

“You can assume what pleases you most,” I said towards her.

She puffed her cheeks but didn’t pursue the matter.

“Here you go,” she said as she handed me the weapon.

“As for your question, those servants are not mine. How can I explain this…” she said as she walked forward.

“Our house is a house of royals, we are supported by nobles. These nobles represent one’s power. The more one controls the more one would be able to exert this power. My twin brother has a lot of nobles under his hand, considered to be the next heir to the house many gave their support to him. As for me, I will finally end up as a gift to some random noble’s house once my brother ascends the throne.”

“What do you mean?” I asked

“Sigh… once brother manages to take the reigns and rule the kingdom, I will be kicked to the sides, no one wants someone to compete with him for the kingdom. If I were to be wed to a noble’s house I will no longer have the right to claim the throne, and if brother manages to take control of the kingdom fast enough. Then I will not be able to say no.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“So your objective is to take control over the kingdom before your brother?” I asked

“Many would think that way, but no. there is no way for me to do that, Brother has a lot of supporters, and he is a male, so being an heir is a sure thing. What I require is to become an enforcer before brother’s certain ascent to the throne.” She said

“Why an enforcer?” I asked

Lady Cassandra paused for a moment before saying.

“I never had any intention of becoming a ruler. All my life I studied the sword, wanting to become someone to leave a mark in history, not as a commander but a soldier. Someone that walks the way of the blade, and ends up carving his name with blood” she said

‘A difficult dream…’ said Nocturne.

“remaining within the safeguard of the palace, waiting to be wed is no different from being a prisoner to be traded for benifices. I understood this when I was young and therefore I took the blade. My master thought me many things, however, I still was not able to defeat you. I held the sword since I was 6 and still was not able to defeat you, you who were told to have started learning under Lord Shen for only three months…however, I know of Lord Shen’s style of demonic lotus, you didn’t use that to defeat me… tell me Basara, who truly is your master? Can I meet him?”

I sighed before saying

“He is an old bag of bones right now… so sorry I don’t think you could.”

Nocturne then laughed as he heard this saying

‘Well said’

“I am sorry for your loss,” she said as she walked forward.

“Once I become an enforcer, I will no longer be bound to my family. I know it is only me escaping from my duties, however, it is all I have right now.” She said

I nodded at her statement and we continued on walking forward.

Looking around us I saw many things giving a faint luster to the darkness of the night.

‘there exist a lot of treasures here…’ said Nocturne

“I remember you needed a golden root of Yggdrasil, do you intend on making a Qi refining pill?” I asked

“How would you know?” she asked a bit surprised.

“I have the same intention,” I said as I remembered Nocturne saying that he wanted to make one.

“However, that root can only be useful to make a single pill…” she said, “I will try and ask father to get me one.” She said

“There is no need, there is one right under you,” I said with a smirk.

“Huh,”? she looked under her but squinted her eyes “Are you making fun of me?” she said

“No! I wouldn’t dare. But really there is one, please step aside.” I said as I dug the ground.

Then revealed a lustrous shining root that was an underground extension of a nearby tree.

“Oh my god, it truly is a golden root!” she said with awe. “Hang on we need proper tools to unearth this least we damage it,” she said, “Ah damn it, we will need to go all the way back to get some proper tools.” She said “Could you wait here I will go and get them?” she said

“No need,” I said as I crouched placing my hand on it she tried to stop me saying

“You will ruin it if you use your hands!”

“I can uproot it, but you will have to keep what you see a secret,” I said

‘Are you sure about this Basara? If she understands that you are using the flames of creation you might find yourself in deep trouble later’

“Do you promise?” I said

“I vow on my honor that I shall not divulge your secret,” she said wanting to know how I will do so

Then a wave of black light covered the root digging it out without damaging it in the least.

“Here you go,” I said as I handed it to her.”

‘What are you doing Basara? Didn’t you find this? It should be yours. one is enough you might sell this for points…’ said Nocturne

‘Points are irrelevant, do you remember what that woman in the house Dantess said… she wanted the favorite of one of royal lineage, and now I am doing that in a more convincing and a better manner. This way she will feel indebted to me and will be willing to pay back her dept later in the future. I am not giving it for free, and I think she will understand that too.’

“Why are you doing this?” she asked

“Consider it a gift,”I said with a smile

She didn’t hesitate before getting her hands on it and covered it with a cloth she brought with her.

“Thank you, I will cherish it well,” she said “But tell me… how were you able to see the root? Can you sense Qi?”

“That would be a secret and I really have told you many things right now,” I said as I walked forward.

“Indeed, sorry for prying too much…” she said, “You are just too interesting.” She said as we walked forward.

“So tell me, where is that Butterfly you spoke about,” I asked

“I was told by someone that there exists a lake close to the center of the forest. there are several moonstones there and today is a full moon, the resonance between those moonstones and the moon creates the perfect environment for a moonlight butterfly to roam the place. My informant had told me that he saw several of them going about that place and I intend on getting my hand on one of them” she said.

“We are rather close to that lake though so we should walk in a slower and more confined manner, many beasts roam the place and it might get dangerous”

‘It is rather strange that though I feel the presence of several beasts, they are all heading away from us…’ said Nocturne.

“I thought this forest should be filled with monsters,” I said

“Normally, yes. However, I bought this with me” she said as she brought a small black with several red lines. It looked like an ignited ember.

“This thing chases away lower beasts, its smell is strong enough that it gives them the feeling that a strong predator is nearby.” She said then placed it back on her backpack

‘That is indeed a good way to chase away lower beast, yet using it is the same as using a beacon that will summon stronger and more powerful beasts towards your location… said Nocturne

I remained silent the entire time.

Once we reached the clearing we saw an enormous creature that was floating around a huge colocation of with stones.

It looked like a giant creature that had winges made of roots. Its body was rather small, almost resembling a human made of roots while its wings looked like to encroach to the skies.

“That is the creature we need to hunt.” She said

“Well getting up there will be a huge trouble,” I said.

“Not really if we cant get there we need it to come down to us.” She said

“Hmm, I don’t have any long-range attacks, but I remember your saint slayer ability can send waves of Qi to long distances… can they reach there?” I asked

“yes ic a manage… however, killing that thing is not the problem… its actually getting away from here once we do so.”

What do you mean?” I asked

“This member is about to die down, thankfully the creature over there is not bothered by its scent otherwise it would have escaped or even worse attacked us. However once it goes off, the various beasts that were chased out will come back here and will probably hunt us down.”

“Can’t you light another one?” I said

“It won’t work, it only works once on these things, using it a second time will be just a waste.” She said

Sigh, we should have brought more members

“So while you are fighting that thing, I will be protecting you from the incoming monsters right?” is an aid as I understood her reason for bringing me with her.”

“Right, I couldn’t bring my servants because they will probably just let me here to die, and couldn’t ask another house due to their affiliation with my brother. The rest were weak even if loyal. It only leaves you, from the House Ling who is affiliated to the king himself, and has a servant strong enough to defeat the princess.” She said with a smile.

‘Sigh, I feel like I was used.’

“Don’t worry about compensation, I will give you half the spoils,” She said with a wink.

You can’t go against that…

“Alright let's see, how long do we have before the coal’s effect ends?”

“About three to four minutes, I am glad we managed to get here that fast”

“I need just two minutes,” I said as I sat down in the lotus position.

Closing my eyes and sensing the Qi around me I forced my pores to open and absorb the energy within the world. In doing so the whole world brightened up as various colors were visible around me.

With a strong vibration, the energy within me erupted as a strong pulse of Qi blew outwards.

I achieved a breakthrough to the fifth level. With it, my sea of consciousness erupted with energy as several parts of the enormous black sun were pulled apart from it.

Five in total. They were dimmer and less powerful than the central sixth one.

Opening my eyes I could feel six different new… things within me

One on my forehead, One on each wrist, and another one on each thigh.

And the final one in my abdomen.

‘What are these?’ I said as I asked Nocturne

‘Congratulations, you have finished refining your fleshly body and now began with your spiritual one. The five different parts, head hand leg are your meridians, while the one in your abdomen is your Dantian, it serves to store Qi while your meridians serve to release it. Now you will no longer need to use your breathing technique to circulate Qi around you, you may store it in your Dantian and exert it to your meridians for usage, however, don’t do this right now, you need a lot of training before it. Your physical body has not reached its most optimal condition, feeding it less or sleeping less will not hinder you, however, I would advise you to eat more and train more, further refining your muscles and body” said Nocturne.

“You achieved a breakthrough? Congratulations. What level are you right now?” she said”

“Oh I just reached the fifth” I answered

“The fight?! You mean you defeated me while you were only on your fourth level… sigh, this is shaming me more, anyway, we have something to deal with we can talk about this later.” She said as she looked at the hovering creature.

“Once it begins attacking it will not stop until either of us dies. Make sure to not let any creatures get too close to us, I will be needing my wholehearted concentration to defeat this.” Said Lady Lissandra

And just like that, various howls resounded throughout the forest where hooves and various beasts got closer to where we stood.

“Are you ready?” she asked

“Whenever you are, I said as I brought forward my weapon.” We were back to back, where one side faced an enormous butterfly while the other faced numerous creatures… How come a private discussion turned out to be something like this? But it doesn’t matter when worse comes to worse I still have Nocturne to get me out of this mess… I hope.