Chapter 2

It was late at night, and Kaelen was training again in the grove. His frustration grew with each failed attempt to summon a spirit. No matter how many times he tried, they refused to answer. He growled in anger, clenching his fists.

Why won’t they come?

Desperate, he tried to cast holy magic again. "I request the power of our great god. I, a lowly person, ask for the light of our savior. Please shine your light upon this land, remove the darkness... Holy Flash!"

Nothing. Not even a flicker of light. His classmates could at least produce a dim glow, like a weak flashlight. But Kaelen couldn’t summon even the smallest spark.

He growled again, his frustration boiling over. But he forced it back down. His uncle and aunt wouldn’t want him to give up, to let anger take over. They would have wanted him to try harder, to keep pushing.

But deep down, Kaelen knew he was just making excuses. There was no way he could achieve this in a single night. Tomorrow was the end of the week, and if he couldn’t wield either holy or elemental magic, he would be expelled.

As these thoughts plagued his mind, he saw Aldric and his group walking toward him, their faces twisted in amusement.

A shiver ran down Kaelen’s spine.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I heard you’re getting expelled if you don’t show any magic tomorrow," Aldric said, grinning.

"What does it matter to you?" Kaelen replied, trying to sound unfazed.

Aldric chuckled. "What if I told you I know a way for you to get stronger?"

Kaelen’s eyes widened for a moment, but he quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way he could wield magic by the end of the night. Still, he played along.

"And that is?"

Aldric’s friends started laughing.

"Go into the forest," Aldric said. "That’s where you’ll become stronger."

Kaelen blinked in disbelief. "What? You’re crazy!"

Aldric shrugged, smirking. "Didn’t I hear you say you wanted to get stronger?"

"But what’s the point of going into the forest? I’ll just die in there!" Kaelen exclaimed.

Aldric chuckled darkly. "Well, if you won’t go on your own, we’ll help you."

Before Kaelen could react, Aldric and his friends grabbed him, dragging him toward the forest.

In the Forest

Kaelen stumbled as Aldric and his friends threw him into the depths of the forest. Their cruel smiles burned into his memory. As they turned to leave, their parting words echoed in his ears: “Now it’s kill or be killed.”

He was alone.

Before he could fully process their departure, sharp pain jolted through his leg. A monster wolf had sunk its teeth into him, the pain nearly overwhelming him. But Kaelen couldn’t stop now. He kicked at the beast, yanking his leg free, and sprinted away.

He ran as fast as he could, but the wolves were faster. Desperate, he spotted a tall tree and scrambled up its trunk. He barely made it halfway when he noticed something terrifying—monster monkeys perched in the higher branches, throwing cursed bananas at him. Cursed magic—magic only monsters could wield. He barely dodged the first few projectiles, more by luck than skill, but then one of the bananas exploded near him.

The branch he was on snapped under the force of the blast. Kaelen plummeted to the ground, slamming hard into the earth. The wolves backed off, intimidated by the explosion, but his situation was still dire. His body ached, his leg throbbed, and he was bleeding. He needed help—fast.

He ran as far as his legs would carry him, searching for some sign of safety. The forest around him was unnervingly silent, save for the pounding of his heart.

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The Chase

The silence was broken by the sound of Kaelen’s labored breathing as he pushed through the dense underbrush. His vision blurred, but he kept moving, his legs burning as they carried him deeper into the cursed woods. The night air was frigid, but he barely noticed over the pounding in his chest and the fiery ache in his lungs.

“I’m not ready to die... not yet.”

Fear gnawed at his mind, but it was drowned out by the sound of something larger, more dangerous, pursuing him. The snapping of branches, the low growl—Kaelen knew something far worse than wolves was hunting him now.

He stumbled, his foot catching on a root, and he collapsed to his knees. Pain shot through his body, but he forced himself to stand, staggering forward.

He was scared. Terrified.

I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die!

His thoughts raced as he glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of his pursuer: a Monster King Bear. It was massive, towering over the trees with its glowing eyes locked on him. Its sheer power dwarfed that of the wolves and monkeys combined.

Kaelen’s heart pounded in his chest. I’m scared. But wait… was it fear? No. It wasn’t just fear—it was something darker, more sinister.

Excitement.

For the first time, he felt it: a thrill that hummed under his skin, coiling around his heart like a snake. A small grin twitched at the corner of his lips despite the danger.

Is this it? Is this what they meant? Kill... or be killed?

He had spent so long trying to live by the rules his aunt and uncle had taught him. But now, their words seemed distant, their teachings little more than fading echoes. What use was kindness? What use was restraint? They were nothing but lies in this world.

A low growl snapped Kaelen back to reality. He turned just in time to see the Monster King Bear’s glowing eyes glaring at him. The beast moved with deadly grace, each step silent and deliberate, and Kaelen’s muscles froze.

In that instant, something inside him snapped.

It wasn’t a physical move—it was something deeper. A raw, burning emotion surged within him. Anger. No, sadness. No, jealousy. Maybe frustration, maybe loneliness. No, it wasn’t one of them.

It was all of them.

Burning, devouring him from the inside like a wild, ravenous beast. But this time, Kaelen didn’t stop it. He didn’t care anymore.

He let them go.

When Kaelen let go of his emotions, he felt... different. Not weird—powerful. Complete. Is this what power feels like? he wondered. It felt as if he could do anything, like the world was at his fingertips. He wanted to destroy—incinerate.

That’s when he saw the Monster-King Bear. It towered over all the other monsters, commanding the space around it like a true alpha. There were others too: a pack of monster bears, some wolves, even the monkeys from before had reappeared. Normally, Kaelen would have been terrified, or maybe excited, but now?

Now, he couldn’t care less about their existence. They were nothing to him.

The Monster-King Bear growled and took the first step, preparing to attack. It was the only one brave—or foolish—enough to move. Every other monster had fallen to their knees the moment Kaelen let his emotions out. They could feel it—the aura of death and negative emotions that radiated from him. It sent shivers down their spines, a primal fear they couldn’t shake.

Kaelen locked eyes with the beast, his lips curling into a twisted grin. "Huh, you wanna go, toy?"

He didn’t say it to anger the bear, but that’s exactly what he meant. To him, right now, they were nothing more than toys. But as the Monster-King Bear’s claws came within inches of him, Kaelen moved—so slightly, so effortlessly—and grasped the bear’s paw as if it were made of paper.

"Hahaha," he laughed, tightening his grip. "Attacking your master? You’re a bad toy."

The bear’s eyes widened as it realized the difference in their strength. Kaelen stood there, slowly crushing its paw in his hand, the bones cracking under the pressure. The bear let out a roar of pain that echoed through the forest.

Kaelen laughed in its face.

"You want to see power?" he asked, his voice low, taunting. "Well, you’ll get to see it."

In his mind, he focused on the energy swirling within him. I’ll focus my energy into my palm, rotate it, compress it—rotate faster, compress more. His thoughts were sharp, calculated. Rotate. Compress. Rotate. Compress.

An orb of dark energy formed in his hand, so small and dense that it looked like a void in the air, surrounded by a blood-red aura. It was impossible to see the energy rotating, it moved so fast.

"See true power, little ones," Kaelen said calmly, his voice dripping with menace. "Demonic Death Bomb."

Without a second thought, he threw the tiny orb at the group of monsters.

The explosion was instantaneous, sending shockwaves through the forest. Trees were obliterated, and the very ground beneath him shook. The orb left nothing—no rubble, no ash—just pure destruction. The remaining monsters collapsed, not from the explosion, but from sheer terror. They passed out in fear, unable to comprehend the power they had just witnessed.

Kaelen stood in the midst of the devastation, unfazed, like it had been nothing. His mind reeled with the realization.

Wow, he thought, such a powerful attack... and it only took about a twentieth of my energy.