The world beyond that boundary wasn’t all that different from his own domain. There were trees, dense plant life, and the same big blue sky that could be found anywhere in his domain. But everything wasn’t all as it should be.

The air was thicker outside the boundary and the sun didn’t seem as bright.

Sean looked back at where they’d come from and saw nothing except the forest.They couldn’t see the shimmering boundary from the outside looking in. It was as if it had never been there to begin with.

“The boundary disappeared for me, same on your end?” Sean was asking for either of the brothers to answer, though he knew Nate would be the one to speak up.

“Quite correct, my lord,” Nate said. “The boundary of your land has all but disappeared. It must be some type of magic which is far from my expertise, I would ask Sir Alastair when we get back in regard to the boundary.”

“We push on anyway. I believe there should be a lake in that direction.” Sean pointed away from the barrier and toward west where the image of a lake had appeared in his mind. “We’ll return to the boundary once we’ve checked it out, but we will have to be fast. Apparently there are monsters beyond the boundary.”

They continued their march through the forest, but at a much slower pace; the thickets and shrubbery on the ground was denser outside of the boundary and much more difficult to navigate through. Multiple times they stopped to all contribute to cutting the path forward.

“We're almost there. It’s just around the bend,” Sean said. Both of the twins let out sighs of relief upon hearing the news. They were both breathing heavily, which was strange because they looked physically in shape. Sean had barely broken a sweat in comparison.

They were around the sloping hill in no time and the lakefront was in sight. The lake stretched a few football fields across and a bit less than that long. It was easy to see even through the dense foliage because the sun reflected off its surface.

“We made it, my lord!” Nate the ever vocal presence bathed Sean in compliments. And Nick the ever quiet added one too, though Sean could tell the ladder was simply glad for a rest. Nick had been expending the most effort cutting the way through the forest.

“We can rest here for now, but be on the lookout for animals. Once you've caught your breath we can return. I’ll explore the surroundings a bit,” Sean said.

“We won’t be too long, my lord,” Nate replied, doing his best to hide the grimace on his face.

Sean left the two at the edge and left to explore the lake by his lonesome. He made sure to unsling his bow as he moved. He’d only used a wooden bow a few times but it was better than nothing if something was lurking in the forest.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Let’s see how good my senses really are,” he murmured.

Sean closed his eyes and began to focus his mind on his ears.

It wasn’t lost on Sean that his senses had been abnormally good the past couple hours. He wasn’t sure how much of a difference it made, but he definitely felt a change, otherwise he wouldn’t have detected the snake before it leapt at Nick.

The sense ability came with the ranger class. He had chosen ranger as his class for the hope it would save him while out hunting and it had in a way. But he didn't know the extent of his abilities. It could be a placebo situation or maybe he got lucky. Did he have to activate the powers? Were they always there and he just hadn't been focused to detect the change? So many questions, and so few answers–stupid system.

There! A sound!

Sean was slightly elevated above the lake–he’d walked up the hilly side while using his new senses–and from there he could see much of the lake front. Down near the rocky banks across the river, Sean saw the movement of a large brown creature that looked like a bear but wasn’t a bear. He knew it wasn’t a bear because it had bright red fur. His new eyes picked up the bright color quite easily.

System what is that?

[Bear type monster.]

Figures. I guess you weren’t lying about the monsters. Time to go.

The thrill of the hunt and being in the wilderness had quickly overstayed its welcome. If creatures like that were roaming beyond the boundary then it was best to get back.

Sean rushed down the hill and back toward his subjects. With his upgraded senses he could not only hear them catching their breath, but he could also smell the fumes of sweat emitting from them. I wonder if I can turn the smell off?

“Oh! My lord, your back rather quickly. Nick was about to start a fire to cook the snake. I’ve brought some–,”Nate said.

“Time to go,” Sean frantically whispered, cutting him off. The two hunters noticed the urgency in his voice and immediately packed and cleaned the site with great haste.

Sean had his bow out while he watched. He was listening for signs of the bear.

“Ready, my lord,” Nate said.

“We’ve already cut a path for ourselves. Let's move quickly.”

With great haste the trio followed the path back, moving with greater ease than when they’d come. Nate led the group this time around. Nick brought up the rear with a short sword drawn. And Sean had his bow with an arrow prepped, ready to release.

“Stop,” Sean hissed. It brought the group to a quick halt. “I hear something big up ahead, but I can’t see what it is through the trees.”

“Do we take a detour?”

“They’ll hear us cutting bushes,” Nick replied quietly.

“Then what,” Nate said. “The boundary is that way.” He pointed in the direction Sean heard the loud sounds.

“Run,” Sean said.

“What?”

“Run now!”

They took off back toward the lake with God knows what on their tail. All sean knew was that it was moving toward them and fast.

I hope it's not the bear.