Shaden’s first instinct was to throw his bag of clothes straight at the monster. But in an instant, the mass of hair sliced the bag in four; the contents of the small bag fell to the floor in pieces.

Without looking back, Shaden began to run in the opposite direction.

Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot—

His father had complained sometimes about his hellish training. How they almost gave him traumas and made him sick. As an adult, he had been very mature about it, thinking of the past as nothing more than a bad memory.

Shaden had expected to be whipped. Or chased by mad dogs. Or some kind of torture in the dark, blindfolded and harshly trained until he grasped what it meant to become a shadow.

The monster let out a shriek made up of children’s nightmares.

He would have never expected his tutor to become a monster out for his blood. He looked back and instantly regretted his decision. The red pair of eyeballs were fixed on him as the monster’s limbs slid through the trees, slinging itself to gain momentum. Like some kind of creature from ancient, eldritch tales made to inspire horror into the hearts of everyone.

He had been panicked, but he was no kid. The monster looked freakishly terrifying, but in the end, it was just nasty-looking hair. With glowing eyes.

He was definitely faster than the monster, but the endless number of trees hindered his running. But at this pace, the monster would never catch up.

But then again, Shaden was exhausted from running already. In contrast, the monster—did it even have a concept of stamina?

And worst of all—he didn’t know the way home.

Without further ado, he cast stealth magic on himself and hid behind a tree. Then again, the signs had stated that the monster could sense his dagger. He took it out from his inner pocket and held it in his hand. It was the only weapon he possessed, and also—according to the signs—the only compass to lead him home.

Silently muttering a curse, he pressed his body against the bark of a tree and silently waited. He continued to circulate to heighten his senses, and in the distance, he heard the soft slither of something move across the terrain. Then all sound completely disappeared.

The monster wasn’t coming for him. Just to make sure, Shaden ran much further away from the monster’s direction and kneeled to the side of another tree. The only sounds he heard now were the soft chipper of insects in the grass.

He sighed and sat down. Terrible for him, the sky was dyed red, signaling the fading of the sun. In an hour, the place would turn completely dark. And the wilderness also held the threat of monsters.

Shaden placed his dagger on the dirt and crossed his arms. Apparently, this tool would get him home. But how? With a wary ear for monsters, Shaden tried tossing the dagger on the ground. Perhaps it acted like a compass and would point in the direction he had to go to.

Yeah, nope. It didn’t do anything.

Shaden placed his hand on his head and laughed at his stupidity. This was a magical world with magical tools. So naturally, the dagger would somehow show him the direction if he poured his mana into it.

Logically, it also meant that the moment he activated the dagger, the monster would be able to sense him. It would explain why it wasn’t devouring his face at the moment.

It was too risky to use it now. It would be a terrible idea to try and escape in the dark, and his body wasn’t in its perfect condition. He could use his mana to force his body to keep its healthy condition, but he knew that it wouldn’t completely remove the tiredness he felt.

He cursed his grandfather for not teaching him how to camp in the wilderness. It was becoming cold; the chilly autumn winds had begun to spread across the area. If his magic hadn’t been near-infinite, this mission would have been impossible.

However, he had telekinesis and a basic understanding of earth magic. Ignoring the hungry growl that came from his stomach, he created a hole in the ground—

—as a pair of bloody eyeballs appeared from behind the trees in front of his vision.

“II’MM ANN EXXCEELLENT HUNNTER, YOOUU SEEE??!” whispered the monster as its thick, strands of hair slithered in front of it. “YOOOUURR FOOTTSTEEPPSS ARRE SOOOO EASSSY TO TRACCKK!”

Damnit.

Snatching his dagger from the ground in an instant, Shaden activated stealth and escaped the area as he heard maleficent laughter behind him.

Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

Seriously, this could scar a child for life. If he was frightened now, he couldn’t imagine what children who were actually seven would feel.

As he ran, Shaden organized his thoughts. The monster had specifically mentioned his footsteps. Calming his beating heart, he activated his mana-hands and grabbed onto the branches on a tree nearby. He felt relief as he felt his feet leave the floor and hover in the air. With this, the monster wouldn’t find him.

Or, it could track the bent branches that Shaden had grabbed onto. Or smell him.

“Argg,” Shaden muttered. The sun was being replaced with night, and the endless forest grew darker and darker.

If only he had night vision. He had neglected completely as he had light spells he could rely on, but now, when light was not an option—

As quickly as his mana-arms would take him, he flew through the trees, his hand gripped on his dagger. At this moment of anxiety, the only thing he could rely on was the little blade he held and the abundant mana he possessed.

There were too many things he was unsure of. Would the monster be able to smell him? It certainly looked like a beast. What if it tracked his traces of mana? Most likely not, as his mana was pretty much the same as natural mana…but what if? When mana was converted into magic, it always took on a different characteristic. If the monster was able to sense that…then his mana-hands would give his location away.

At this point, his stealth wasn’t doing anything. While it hid him, it didn’t hide the marks he left on his surroundings.

He determined that the best course of action was to use the dagger and madly travel towards the location it directed him to.

Praying under his breath, he poured his mana into the dagger.

Instantly, he felt a slight pull from the dagger. Like a magnet being attracted to metal nearby. While the tug was fairly weak, it definitely was trying to point towards a certain direction.

Ignoring the blood-curdling roar that came from the back, Shaden continued to pour his mana into the dagger. He twisted his wrist to see how the dagger would feel when he directed it towards certain directions. To his shock, the dagger felt like it pulled directly forwards when he pointed it towards his southwest.

Hadn’t he traveled in a straight line so far? Why was the dagger stating otherwise?

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Dread filled him as realization dawned on him. With a strong pull, he hoisted himself to the top of the tree, making sure he kept his balance. He took a quick glance around the area, and his fears were confirmed.

A thin layer of mist covered the whole forest as far as the eye could see. He hadn’t noticed it as the trees had been so dense, but now he was sure of it. This forest would never be an ordinary forest. His grandfather had told him that the Limen residence was hidden from the outside world. Naturally, something would be preventing outsiders from coming in.

Damnit. Damnit.

The sun was setting. The area grew darker. He would become lost if he didn’t use the dagger, but if he did, the monster would find him right away. If he didn’t use it, there was still the high probability of the monster finding him, nevertheless.

“Hah…”

Realizing he had no choice, Shaden lit up the area with a giant orb of light.

〄 〄 〄

“How long do you think it will take him?” questioned Lytha. She took a swig of wine and sighed in satisfaction. “Longer than my brother? Shorter? Will he even make it out? He hasn’t gone through actual training, has he?”

Her father slowly chewed on his slice of meat and swallowed it with sullen eyes.

“I am worried,” he stated.

His daughter rolled her eyes. “Father, you’re acting too out of character. You weren’t like this at all to us.”

“If he hates me because of this, I will never—”

“You were the one who was bragging so much about him,” Lytha interrupted. Her long, black hair flowed behind her as she walked around the table, balancing a cup in her hand. “I wouldn’t have come here if the boy was some—weakling.”

Her father glared at her. “He is a good boy.”

Lytha shrugged and took another swig. “He better be. I’m busy. Even if he isn’t what you promised he would be, I’m still getting my share of pay.”

Her father silently continued to chew, and she snickered. Time had transformed him from a cold-hearted, emotionless man into a grandfather who doted on his grandson. Or perhaps, he had always been this way. No…he had always had emotions. He had just repressed them until now.

She shook her head and drank deeply. This place always made her uneasy. So quiet and lifeless. A part of her admired her father for being so dedicated to the ancient pact. A part of her still resented him for raising them in this place.

She understood why. It still didn’t make her feel better.

She drank some more.

For the sake of the family, she had come to train the boy.

〄 〄 〄

The monster growled as a sudden light enveloped the whole area like a miniature sun. With its writhing hair-limbs, it slowly approached the light and observed its surroundings.

Its goal wasn’t to kill the boy. It was to push him until he was able to escape the area by himself. What Shaden didn’t realize was that the monster wouldn’t be able to find him as long as he kept his stealth active. Even if his footsteps were clearly trackable. Through this way, inch by inch, one would be able to return to the residence and pass the test. The exact methods of escape varied from person to person, but this was the most common way of doing so.

If the person was caught, they would be put to sleep and be returned to the area with signs. Once they woke up, the test would begin again.

Though if they failed too much, the monster could get hungry and simply devour them.

But never in the history of the test had the monster experienced something as bizarre as this. Its lacking mind struggled to process the meaning behind the sudden stimulus, and its caution rose as it slowly slithered to the source of the brightness.

Of course, while tracking the boy’s footsteps.

Then it felt it. The sensation of the dagger being used, the sweet scent of magic as it beckoned it towards the dagger. They were of the same origin, and its instincts screamed at it to rush towards the weapon.

It howled and ghosted through the trees. Though the signal had vanished right after, its mind remembered the exact location where the dagger had been used. Being programmed to madly chase after the dagger, it mindlessly climbed up through the forest and appeared on top of a tree.

The light above it made it easier to see its surroundings. With its pair of glowing eyes, it scanned the area—

—as its body exploded in a dome of fire, heat, and magical fuel that turned that section of the forest instantly into ash. The waves of heat burst through the area and a miniature dome of smoke and fire rose up like a mushroom cloud.

“Bullseye,” muttered Shaden as he made a movement of blowing the smoke off his fingers. Since the forest was so big, he probably didn’t have to worry about some parts of it getting damaged. But just to make sure, he conjured the moisture in the air and soothed the flames down. It took a gargantuan amount of mana to accomplish all of this, so Shaden felt very tired by now.

His solution had been simple; if he couldn’t escape the monster, then he simply had to destroy it. Hopefully, his grandfather wouldn’t mind.

He climbed down the tree he had been sitting on and ran towards the now-ash section of the forest.

A small crater had formed at the scene of the explosion, around fifteen meters in diameter. Smoke rose up from it, and at the bottom, a giant pile of hair twitched around lifelessly.

It hadn’t been burned?

Shaden became alert again. Creating a mana hand, he nudged the pile of hair and checked for any signs of life.

The monster’s eyes were gone. They had probably been burned during the explosion. But its hair still remained, which was very mysterious.

Shaden jumped and slid down the crater and approached the corpse slowly.

“Hello?” he asked.

No response. He eventually mustered up the courage to touch it. Positioning himself so he could escape at a moment’s notice, he picked up a lock of hair with his hand and lifted it.

Nothing. The monster was clearly dead. But the hair was completely undamaged. Like an item drop in games.

No, this world wasn’t a game. Which meant one thing: the hair was simply that strong of a material.

Shaden took out his dagger and cut through the hair.

“What?”

He hadn’t expected the dagger to actually cut through. While raising an eyebrow, he returned his dagger into his pocket and tried to rip a strand of hair with his hands.

This time, his expectations were met. The single strand of hair was as strong as a steel wire. Perhaps even stronger. This was some quality material.

For the last time, Shaden conjured a sharp piece of ice and stabbed the pile of hair numerous times. It remained undamaged.

“It would be a waste to leave this here,” muttered Shaden. But as it stood, he would never be able to carry all of this back home. He also had the feeling that he wasn’t supposed to destroy the monster and felt slightly guilty about it.

But what was done was done. They had done something unexpected to him, and he had simply repaid them. Taking out his dagger once more, he cut a lock of hair off from the pile and stuffed it inside of his pocket. It felt very good on his fingers, like silk. An excellent quality of hair, he thought.

It would prove to his grandfather that he had defeated the monster.

He was very tired. He wanted to sleep right away.

He looked at the giant pile of hair. It looked very comfortable.

Without giving it much thought, he jumped into the silky pile of hair and closed his eyes. It smelled surprisingly nice. Subconsciously, he pulled the hair around him and fell asleep.

〄 〄 〄

The gates automatically opened as Shaden approached them. With light footsteps, he treaded into the large estate and spotted two figures in the distance. One of them was his grandfather. The other was a beautiful lady with impressive features.

Was the test already over? When he was returning to the estate, he had been watchful for new enemies that could have appeared. Sure, he had spotted some woodland creatures along the way, but nothing that seemed like an actual threat. Compared to the eerie atmosphere, the number of scary monsters was just too little—and Shaden had utterly destroyed the only one he had seen.

His grandfather looked very proud. While the lady in black looked confused. He saw them speaking to each other and approached them.

“You are very early,” said his grandfather as Shaden neared him.

“I need to apologize first,” said Shaden. He took out the strand of hair he had cut from his pocket and dangled it in front of his grandfather. “I kind of destroyed Hairy. Is that alright?”

The lady’s jaws dropped slightly while his grandfather smiled.

“Why…yes. It is alright. So, Lytha what do you think?”

“I admit…that he is above my expectations.”

The pretty lady coughed and cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you, Shaden. I’m your real tutor. You really do have your father’s looks.”

Shaden cocked his head. “Do you know him?”

“Yes. He was such a lousy younger brother.”

Younger brother?

“Then…are you my…aunt?”

The woman nodded. “Looks like you have more fight in you than your father.”

This beautiful lady was his aunt?

His father was around thirty-five.

“You look like you’re in your twenties,” commented Shaden.

She smiled broadly.

“Thank you,” she said. Then with her hand, she ruffled Shaden’s hair, and Shaden almost tripped over from the sheer force of her strength.

“I like this guy!” she told her father. “We’ll leave right away.”

Her father nodded. “Take good care of him, Lytha.”

Without hearing out Shaden’s opinion on the matter, she lifted Shaden up with one hand and slung him over her shoulder. By the time Shaden realized what was going on, they were already walking away from the gates.

“Don’t bully him too much!” called his grandfather.

For some unknown reason, Shaden felt a chill go up his spine.

“I will!” Lytha yelled back. “We’re going to have so much fun,” she told Shaden with a smile. “Don’t you agree?”

“I…hope so.”

The only thing he was confused about was,

Why had his father never mentioned his sister?

〄 〄 〄

Demund looked at his phone and smiled.

Alina had just sent him a picture of her acceptance letter to TISE High, with a simple ‘Thanks so much!’ at the bottom. He tapped his fingers on his phone and sent her a brief congratulatory message.

He sighed and enjoyed the bright scenery around him. His senses were heightened, and he felt like he could run a hundred kilometers.

He couldn’t wait to return to school.