Looking at his legs, he realized he was in the middle of the forest practically naked. Kuroi immediately fell down as he struggled to coordinate his movements. His legs shook after he slowly attempted to stand up.

"I need clothes for the time being..." Kuroi looked around. He had to crawl on all fours to reach the pile of people. Their clothes had been preserved, and some hadn't even been damaged.

[Do you want to save the transformation in this clothing?] [Yes/No]

Kuroi accepted the offer, meaning that when he wanted to transform into a human, he would be wearing such clothing. A white cotton shirt, with several leather belts with silver locks over it, though they were meant to hold weapons. A black spacious cloak, yes, with some small holes in places. Kuroi picked up the cloak, examining it with his disdainful gaze. He silently agreed to be in such human form.

"At least like this..."

And regular chestnut leather pants, with a hole on the right knee. It didn't bother him; Kuroi accepted it, continuing to put on the pants on his left leg.

On the ground lay a small puddle of blood and rain, all of it reflected from the sky creating a mirror. He bent down awkwardly like a puppet, his arms hanging down because it was very difficult for him to move in a humanoid body.

"Is this me? Seems unchanged..."

His eyes changed color to bright purple, his ashen short hair stood out as pink among the green color. Thin limbs, a sagging body - Kuroi looked like his copy from another world only more skinny and without any athletic training.

"This body can be broken in two parts..."

Kuroi whispered to himself, experiencing slight discomfort.

Poof!

Kuroi transformed back into a crow, he was tired of processing a huge amount of energy. He even managed to take a few breaths in the form of a crow out of exhaustion.

"It's time to go back, they've been waiting for me," he thought to himself, sighing weakly. Kuroi descended, not wanting to show Garvus the grotesque human body - there was no point in it.

Garvus silently sat waiting for his master, seeing Kuroi approaching, he stood up, lowering his head down.

— Are you worried about what was there?

Kuroi asked Garvus.

— Yes,

the fox replied briefly.

— Nothing, there's a huge number of dead humanoid monsters lying there. They were killed by stronger monsters.

Kuroi tried to phrase his dialogue in more suitable terms - the animal hardly understood who people were.

Garvus nodded approvingly, he silently waited for Kuroi to take action. The crow silently nodded his head forward, showing the direction. He wanted to get out of this place, find a small civilization, finally figure out where he was.

What world is this? Who rules this place? What states exist? Are there people? These questions swirled in his head.

For a few hours, they silently walked through the fairly high trees, dense paths. Some wild animals ran away, such as deer. This night was warmer, Kuroi slept in the company of a huge fox.

They found a huge slanted cave, the boulder leaned to the ground, it looked like a big sharp tooth. As soon as Kuroi heard the fox's quiet snoring, he opened his shining eyes, looking at the starry sky.

[Side quests!]

[Your humanoid body is weak!]

[Transformation task - Get stronger!]

[Run 5 kilometers!]

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[Try to take 50 steps!]

[Lift the boulder 20 times!]

He saw these tasks a long time ago, even after he transformed into a human. He didn't have time to complete these assignments. Now he just tried to fall asleep; these reminders only complicated this process.

"To run 5 kilometers in a human body. I can't even take two steps; it looks difficult..."

The crow lay on the white fur of the fox, he sighed heavily, looking around. Making sure the fox was asleep, Kuroi slowly got up, he left the cave, hiding behind the trees.

"Just gonna try..."

Poof!

Kuroi transformed into a human, he slowly began to shift from one foot to the other. It looked very clumsy, his legs shook, his knees touched. Each of his steps became distinct, he approached the tree, leaning his back against it.

"Phew, come on..."

Kuroi muttered to himself.

Hop!

He grabbed onto a few branches to hold himself in place, trying to feel the balance as he moved from one foot to the other.

[Steps 10/50]

"I've taken 10 steps! There's nothing difficult about it! Just need to keep going!"

11, 12... Kuroi began to walk slowly, gradually picking up the pace. Over these two hours, he was able to complete this quest, moving like a regular human.

[You've taken 50 steps!]

He leaned against the tree, inspecting his inventory, raising his left eyebrow, showing a sharp grin. To retrieve something, all he had to do was open his mouth. At that moment, he looked up, calmly pulling out a long sword. From the side, it looked like the most dangerous trick of any magician who specializes in such illusions.

Swish!

[Giant Rose Thorn]

"I've never fought with swords..." Kuroi swung the blade a few times, anchoring his feet to the ground. Kuroi glanced at the sword briefly - the hilt was sturdy, and the blade was light as a feather. At first glance, nothing unusual.

"Maybe I should try?" he whispered.

Kuroi had never fought with swords before; he was intrigued for the first time because now he held a very beautiful weapon in his hand. Kuroi swallowed, his wrist, forearm, and fingers. The power itself disappeared from his hands. He needed to start small to regain control of his hands. Each chaotic movement of the shell existed on its own.

He hid the sword in his inventory, putting it back into his mouth.

"First, I need to figure out this body, it doesn't listen to me..."

Kuroi felt a weak anger, raising his hand in anticipation of a miracle, he waited for each of his fingers to move at his command.

"If you want to be in this body, let your index finger make some movement..."

Kuroi patiently waited, holding his sleeve. His hand didn't move, as if it were dead. He tried to conduct a small therapy to bring the limbs back to life.

He could grip the hand, holding the weapon, but he swallowed other actions. Open the hand, wiggle the fingers, raise the forearm - Kuroi looked like a rag doll.

"Lift the boulder 20 times?"

"Hah! Will that make my arms feel anything?"

Kuroi approached the boulder, a stone no bigger than his knee. Bending down to grab the stone and lift it, he noticed:

"All I feel is lower back pain..."

He lifted the boulder five times, bending at the waist, but as soon as he heard a crunch, Kuroi stopped.

"Seems like it was my arms," — he whispered, slowly stretching his shoulders.

Improvements became noticeable, and he opened his mouth with pleasure, feeling better.

After 30 minutes, he lifted the boulder 15 more times, all bones opened as they should. Raising his hand, he looked at each finger.

Index, then thumb - he raised his right hand, making sure he could now move all fingers.

He sighed with relief, smiling, rejoicing in being able to control his body now.

Kuroi turned to the cave and transformed back into a crow, opening his beak. His tired gaze wandered away, heading towards the sleeping Garvus.

Eligius

The King's Castle:

The black iron shutters slowly opened, revealing huge iron gates, as if on a theatrical stage.

Along the chestnut carpeted path with golden patterns led to the long oak table adorned with golden sconces and long candles.

The table was meant for the king and his family, located in the middle of the yellow throne room. On both sides, there were ready, but empty tables with chairs intended for important guests to admire the greatness of the king.

At the end of the throne room stood a gigantic oak throne, five times larger than ordinary chairs.

The yellow carpet stretched from the throne to the very hall. Two huge knights and numerous giant wolves, specially bred to guard the place, stood by the throne.

A gruff voice echoed from the throne:

— When did that wench disappear?

On the royal mane, crowned with a giant golden crown, green eyes glared like a wild cobra.

— A week ago, my lord, — elegantly said the tall servant, dressed in black and white.

— As soon as that scoundrel ran away, the daughter followed her immediately! You told me the seal was in place, so why the hell am I asking you? How could that creature do something so vile? If you thought I was going to keep it in my castle, you were deeply mistaken. I fed her for 16 years, protected her, and when the time came, she gave birth! — the heavy gaze pierced the servant, the king leaned his cheek to the cheek.

— I'll ask again, whose fault is this? Who put the seals?

— Our witches, — the servant swallowed slowly, avoiding the king's gaze.

— Execute one of the court witches, — the king ordered shortly, looking at everyone with his cold gaze.

The king didn't stop there, adding:

—Let them know there's no second chance. Let them reseal it, I don't care how. I don't want another offspring.

The servant raised his left hand, holding a tray with a glass of some red liquid.

Two knights silently turned around, holding their swords.

Behind the throne, a huge yellow tapestry trembled slowly, depicting the banner of King Eligius - the banner of deer antlers.

— Let the Black Knights deal with finding these bitches. Alive or dead, I want to see them here, — the king took a glass from the tray, forcing himself to forget about anger, restoring his meal.

As soon as the servant left the throne room, a foxy smile appeared on his face. He took a rainbow-colored ball out of his jacket and whispered a few words into it.

— Wake up, there's a new task for you, — he whispered.

The ball changed its color, and the servant, smiling, walked along the long corridor, listening to his steps.

It was the night when everything had just begun. Somewhere out there, something very dangerous had awakened, and someone else's life was in danger.