"Young master."

'....'

"Young master Ron."

'Who's Ron?'

"Wake up kid!"

"Wha-" Aaron was jolted awake from his sleep and looked at his surroundings in a loss for a few seconds before realizing why almost all of the expressions on their faces had worry mixed with confusion.

His chest was racing up and down while all of his clothes were soaking wet from his own sweat!

Sherry patted his back gently while saying : "It's alright. It's just a bad dream." Then handed him some water to drink.

Aeona and Rhinne were looking at him and seeing the kid under a new light, so far this was the first time they're witnessing signs of him being vulnerable and human just like the rest of them.

"What sort of nightmare were you having young master Ron? You kept tossing and turning in your sleep while murmuring all sorts of strange words." Pio was the one to voice the question all of them had in mind.

Aaron stared from on top of the Centipede's back at the scenery passing them by for a few seconds while trying to remember what he saw but couldn't remember the whole thing no matter how hard he tried, "I was in the dark, looking up to myself and all I could see was my own back but the more I looked the more it grew further away."

Sherry glared at Pio and the man started to sweat before avoiding eye-contact and acted like he was busy checking on his Katana.

Lucas frowned while trying to figure any meaning to the events of this dream but he couldn't and shook his head as if to shake the ideas which he gleaned away.

Nina was probably the only one who had a vague idea of what's happening to the boy especially after what happened earlier today in Blue-Flowers Village but she couldn't answer a simple question which was directly related to her conclusions.

'If he's related in some way to Moon-Berserkers. How come he's able to live 5 years without having to rely on the Berserkers-Extract?

'Even the ones who didn't awaken their Bloodline still need to rely on living within the safety of the Bell-Grass domain or constantly consuming the Berserkers-Extract just to keep on living without suffering from the endless cycle of rampage.

'The ones who undergo this process kill everything in their way before burning out their own vitality and lifespan.

'I spent a few months in Pine-Breeze Village and all I can remember seeing him doing was fight and loose most of the time! He never seemed like the type which would go Berserk for no reason.

'Maybe the only time he did show weak signs was when Lucas and his men egged the kid on by insulting his beloved sister Snow.'

"Black-Fog Village is in a forest just behind these hills." Rhinne said and the group's attention was directed elsewhere from the kid.

Aaron changed his clothes while thinking : 'I better finish here quickly and hurry back to Mr Smith's smithy, the giant must be waiting for me to heat up his furnace.'

*Aw'Awooo*

Once they passed the first hill, a pack of wolves appeared everywhere and surrounded the Centipede while maintaining a safe distance.

Aeona reflexively tightened her stance and brought up her Shield then looked around vigilantly.

Rhinne smirked once she saw the Guardian-Knight becoming so alert, "Don't worry lady Knight, I'll make sure to shoot every single one of them before they come anywhere near you."

"Back at you wind-feet, I'll make sure to stop every single one you miss from biting your behind." The woman felt insulted by the Bow-woman's insinuations that she was afraid instead of being careful.

"Oh! A cat fight." Pio muttered while looking towards the two women which ignored the wolf-pack and glared at one another.

*Ku-ku*

Even the Buff-Tail Skipper which was bored a moment ago was rooting for them to give a good show!

"Stop!" Sherry jumped in between the two women immediately, "Both of you serve young master Ron now, don't you think that your current behavior is being disrespectful to him? Apologize to one another then apologize to young master Ron. Now!" Despite being the youngest of the three, her actions made her seem like she's the oldest instead.

Nina smile once she saw both the Knight and the Bow-woman awkwardly follow the teenager girl's instructions, 'She's showing promising qualifications of being a leader.'

Aaron was actually siding with Pio's opinion of having a cat fight but of course he acted like he'd forgive the two women but next time he'd spank them, 'I bet spanking these two babes would be fun!'

"Welcome... Welcome young master Ron." Chadrion's wild voice was hard not to recognize and seconds later silhouettes began to appear from the depth of the forest either riding Dire Wolves or walking next to them.

"I'm kind of in a hurry so let's take care of business here quickly before having our meeting back in my place with the rest," Aaron said before Teleporting on top of Chief Chadrion's Dire Wolf, "I also have an Army of soldiers waiting for my orders back in my house."

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The topless and hairy man nodded before turning back towards his Village, the kid enjoyed the touch of the thick fur and kept massaging the Wolf's long, muscular, and strong neck.

It seemed to enjoy it a lot when the boy scratched its skin and woofed to express its pleasure.

Chadrion noticed how the kid was able to warm his way to his Beast-Companion which usually doesn't like little brats to touch it, 'Wind Claw probably accepted this boy's mighty power after witnessing what he did yesterday, that's why he didn't show any signs or discomfort or even try to intimidate the kid who dared sit on his back. This cheeky bastard sometimes bare his fangs at me when I mount his back as if to say I'm too fat and heavy which slows him down!'

The kid looked around him after quickly discovering that visibility is getting worse the deeper they head into this forest.

Aaron Teleported to the crown of the highest tree in his surroundings to take a better look and view the area from above because even with his Identify Skill active and despite the boost it give his eyes... he was starting to have difficulty seeing anything beyond 20~30 meters!

He noticed how this black fog which could be found in abundance down below near the surface of the forest is slowly disappearing once it reaches the area 40~50 meters in the air above the trees.

*Grrr* *Whine*

"Woof!" Chief Chadrion's Dire Wolf was the only one among the Dire Wolves which wasn't startled once the boy appeared on its back once again.

Kanderion's Beast-Companion Fang tucked its tail between its legs and hid behind its human friend while some of the other Dire Wolves bared their fangs and growled in dissatisfaction.

Aaron ignored the unrest and tense emotions around him and continued running his fingers on the neck of the Wolf beneath his butt while asking : "Where is that black fog coming from?"

"West. Deep in the Dark-Forest there's a Mountain with Twin-Peaks in the shape of horns with a deep valley running low in between, the water of the river in that area is pitch-black and freezing cold at every season." The man answered before making a fist as if to grab hold of some of that black fog.

"That place is the source of this black fog, I don't know if its the water of that river or what else is making it happen.

"But that Dark-Abyss always gives me the creeps." Chadrion said before rubbing the goosebumps from his skin.

"You sound like you're talking from experience," The kid said while looking at the Chief, "Have you visited that place?"

Chadrion nodded, "I have." Afterwards he paused as if to recall the events of the past before adding : "I was young, reckless, and very stupid."

"Why?" Aaron was interested because according to Nina, this place has some connection with the past of the person he took his body.

"The deeper we head West towards that Dark-Abyss the thicker this black fog which you see all around us becomes," The Chief patted his Beast-Companion on the head and scratched it behind the ears before adding : "These Iron-Back Wolves are our mounts, our protectors, but above all our eyes and ears in these areas.

"Their noses are sharp and their senses are keen that's why we need their help when the black fog truly fall.

"With it all sorts of nasty creatures gets spat out from that Dark-Abyss and the reason we can survive so far is all thanks to the help of these beautiful Beasts."

Aaron looked around him and discovered that even the youngsters if this Wolf-Gang have their own Beast-Companion of the Iron-Back Wolves, "I get it that it's dangerous deep West and less dangerous around here but, there must be a reason why your people persist and keep on living in this area."

Chief Chadrion frowned while thinking : 'Is he really unaware or is he playing dumb?'

"It's the Luminous-Stones." Rhinne answered that question from behind.

Everyone else nodded to show that they were all aware of the answer to that question.

"What are these Luminous-Stones?" The kid asked.

Aeona tilted her head slightly to the side and asked with a frown on her face : "You really don't know?"

The boy rolled his eyes while answering with a question of his own : "Do I look like I know?"

*Bfft*

*Ku-ku*

Sherry and her pet were enjoying that interaction.

Aaron looked towards Chadrion and opened his mouth to say : "I can guess the use of these Luminous-Stones based on the meaning of their name but I've never seen one before and I don't know what kind of benefits they give."

"I see," The Chief nodded to show his understanding before adding : "Luminous-Stones can be mined from that Horn-Peaks Mountain but the yield is so low every year, however... Thankfully the price of these stones is so high and the Nobles would fight for them whenever they find any in the Auction-Houses in the Dark-Woods Kingdom."

"Not only the Dark-Woods Kingdom, everywhere in the continent!" Aeona corrected.

Rhinne gave the Guardian-Knight a side-glance before adding : "Especially the Knights Temple-Branches."

"Really! Why?" The kid asked the Bow-woman.

"We can use Luminous-Stones to strengthen and improve our Guardian-Halo however, the amount we need to achieve these results are usually so much and it's difficult for us to make it happen because the prices are so high while the stones themselves are so rare." Aeona answered while her eyes glowed with the bright light of fantasizing about having this achievement someday.

Aaron gave it some thought before asking : "Then why didn't your Knights Temple try and control the territory of that Dark-Abyss?"

Aeona shook her head before answering : "I don't know but that place is rumored to be the location where our Temple-Branch lost a team of more than a dozen Paladins led by 3 Crusaders and the Temple-Guardian himself!"

"How strong are you compared to a Paladin then?" The kid asked while trying to get an estimation of how mighty that force was.

The Guardian-Knight shook her head helplessly while answering : "Not even close," After pausing for a couple of seconds she added : "I might call myself a Guardian-Knight but I'm just a fresh graduate of the Knights Temple with less than a year of service on my shoulders.

"So far I'm just ranked as a 1-Star Herald and there's 4-Stars on the Herald-Rank before I can call myself a 1-Star Guardian.

"After that Guardian-Rank there's the Paladin-Rank, Crusader-Rank, and the Guardian-Knight with the Highest-Rank on this continent is only a 1-Star Archon-Knight.

"The Temple-Guardian our Temple-Branch lost to the Dark-Abyss was also a 1-Star Archon-Knight."

Silence prevailed on the group and even Nina was feeling the pressure in the air.

"We're here." Kanderion said once their group reached the tree line on the other side of the forest.

Aaron's group didn't see walls or buildings and saw tents everywhere on what appears to be a huge campsite where tens of thousands of humans and Wolves are living in harmony!

"Hahaha... surprised aren't you? As if we would let some annoying creatures from the Dark-Abyss destroy everything we try and build," Afterwards Chief Chadrion looked towards his people and hollered his question : "What do we do when they come for us?"

"We let them eat our dust!" The group answered as one.

*Awooo*

"Damn right." Afterwards he added : "Of course we give them our shit to eat when we're gone." The topless man patted his Beast-Companion on the head and smiled proudly.

The group behind him was left speechless by the pure cowardliness and shamelessness of this Wolf-Gang.

Even Nina frowned once she saw and heard that group smiling and laughing!

'I guess that's why they say Villains live long while Heroes die young, despite being much weaker than a single Paladin this group is able to live for so long while the Knights Temple lost so much.' The Whispering Sister thought while watching little kids chasing or wrestling their Wolf Pups and laughing so innocently.