Going to bed early, Vern's night's rest was quite refreshing, washing away most of what Durant had done to his body the day before.

He wasted no time lying around after waking up, dressing immediately, and going through the previously prepared equipment one last time.

After that, he headed downstairs, meeting Ezra halfway, who was on the way to wake them all up.

»Good morning«, she said. »Do you feel well and ready to take on today?«

»Yes, very much, thanks.«

In the kitchen, he sat down to have some of the already prepared breakfast. Rewalt and Bertio greeted him as they ate.

»That's an exception«, Bertio added. »That we make breakfast for you. See it as the baseline of what I expect while we're in the bailiwick.« He winked.

Vern smiled back at him, knowing full well that he wasn't actually joking.

A few minutes later, his dozy brother walked in, closely followed by Irina, Kieran, and Ezra.

Vern had heard Ezra scold Alvyn long before they had come into view for not sleeping and fooling around at night instead.

»I swear«, Alvyn said to her. »I was sleeping the whole night … I'm just still tired.«

Ezra shook her head in disbelief, not commenting on it further.

They all greeted each other and enjoyed breakfast. In the end, there wasn't a hint of tiredness left in any of them. Even Alvyn had fully awoken after this delicious meal.

Afterward, they double–checked their equipment once again before they all mounted the wagon parking outside the estate.

It brought them to a small village close to the capital.

»This is one of the few villages directly adjacent to the Black Forest«, Ezra explained while they parked the wagon in one of the dedicated locations. »It's the place most active hunters reside and where you can get everything you might need for going in. Personally, we won't use it, but it's good to know for the future.«

»You mean when we're allowed to go in on our own?«, Alvyn asked with a glint in his eyes.

»Yes«, Ezra responded reluctantly. »The very distant future.«

As they made their way to the bailiwick's barrier, Vern's thoughts went wild in excitement, as this was something new he hadn't experienced in his previous life. Although he had gone here a few times, it's never been under these circumstances.«

›Ah, I wished Durant would have forked over that mana ring of his. Would've been so much easier going forward.‹

›Well, let's see if you being a monster magnet will ever cause any trouble considering that this bailiwick is way overhunted in the first place‹, Velvet replied. ›And now that you mentioned the mana ring, I thought we were going to steal the one of Marlow before he leaves.‹

›Yeah, that's also something I have to keep in mind. But I doubt we're actually going to do that … it was more … just a spur-of-the-moment decision back then.‹

›Ohh, boring‹, Velvet commented.

›Well, I doubt you'll have much time to be bored for now‹, Vern replied as they reached the marked border of the bailiwick. The first trees of the forest in front all had yellow markings on their trunks, indicating the bailiwick's area. All trees beyond it had been cut down to allow easier access.

Before there crossed the line, they halted one last time.

»So, everyone ready?«, Rewalt asked the four of them, and they nodded in response. »I don't want to carry back any corpses with me, so don't do anything stupid. We will be there, but not necessarily much of use. And remember, preserve your mana as best as you can. If you run out, we'll have to head back immediately, but I'll hope you'll all manage those few days.«

As there was nothing else to say, the group took its formation. Alvyn and Kieran were in the vanguard, closely followed by Ezra and Bertio. Then came Irina, guarded by Rewalt and Vern at the very back.

Vern watched as the others crossed the border before him and waited for his turn.

A prickling feeling went through his whole body, and just like that, he had entered the third distinct bailiwick of his second life.

How long had it been? It didn't know. It only knew that it had been awakened. The faint feeling was still there, definitely not an illusion.

A brethren must have entered his bailiwick. But no, it was too weak … and at the same time, there were also so many.

It had to find out what this was about and it decided to open its eyes.

There was no light in this room deep, deep underground, but it still knew exactly where everything was. After all, this hole in the ground had been its home for many years.

It went to another room, checking on the creator of life. An excellent masterpiece that it had created. Everything worked properly, and all the guards around were in their places.

As there didn't seem to be an issue, it had to be his brethren. But what had happened to them? Why were their presences so feeble, barely resembling the greatness they had achieved together?

It decided to take a look and expanded its mind to all the creatures born from the creator of life.

As it found a bird flying through the sky near the presence, it took over its body to control and its senses to perceive.

After navigating towards the source, it landed on a branch high up in a tree, watching what unfolded beneath.

Seven humans were soiling the ground with their feet. No, was that last one even human? He emanated all the presences it had felt, fused together as it had never seen before.

Had its brethren succeeded in their aspirations, creating the ultimate entity? No, that couldn't be the result of it.

It continued watching, and as they came closer, the bird's poor eyes picked up something new.

There was a silver spear reflecting the sunlight it knew too well. And not only that, the troublesome sword and bow were also here, albeit they had different wielders now.

It decided to focus its attention on the last of the group. What had happened to its brethren? Had they been trapped inside him?

Suddenly, the man in the back pointed at it, and the very next moment, a blast of wind hit the bird's body. Just like that, its eyes stared once again into the dark.

Thinking for a while, it made its final decision. It had to see with its own eyes what this was about, even if it meant coming out of hiding.

Vern followed behind Irina with Rewalt to his right, while Velvet jumped around in the middle of their formation. Although they had just entered the forest, it had already become quite dense around the path they followed.

›You have no issues spotting monsters even through these packed trees?‹, Vern asked Velvet, making sure his scouting abilities weren't impaired.

›No, that's not a problem‹, he assured. ›Nothing has shown up so far.‹

Vern was quite relieved that this was the case. If they had entered a less frequently hunted bailiwick, they would've fought a dozen monsters by now.

A few minutes later, Velvet spoke up again. ›There's the first one. It's sitting in the tree there, about 100 meters ahead.‹ Vern's gaze followed where Velvet pointed, and he spotted a pair of red eyes in between the shadows of the treetop.

He closed the gap on Irina and pointed toward it. She immediately drew her bow, and the arrow perfectly hit its target.

»Hmm … why was it sitting there and just watching?«, she asked Vern in a lowered voice. »Don't they usually attack at first sight, especially with you around?«

»I don't know either. Maybe it was quite intelligent like the magpie we'd fought, but honestly, it didn't look that way to me …«

He went completely silent as Rewalt caught up to them. »That was a great spot«, he said. »I didn't even see it until the arrow landed. You've got some excellent eyes.«

»Err … yes, thanks.« Vern looked at Velvet apologetically after taking the credit belonging to him once again. Velvet just shook his head in disbelief and focused his attention back on their surroundings.

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Subsequently, Vern and Rewalt fell back to reestablish their formation.

›I see some activity around us, but it's far away, and they're actually not heading toward us‹, Velvet reported sometime later.

›Oh? Does that mean that monster magnet thing is over now? I wouldn't mind.‹ Vern smiled as it would've been a nuisance in the long term for sure.

But Velvet didn't reply and instead stared off to the side into the impervious thicket.

›I don't know … but it's weird. They're following along at the same pace while keeping a constant distance.‹

›Wait, what? Where exactly?‹

Velvet took a quick look around. ›Entire left and right side … and behind now as well … but not so many yet … only in front I don't see anything.‹

›Err, that's not what they're supposed to do, right?‹, Vern asked, knowing the answer full well.

›I don't know … but their numbers are steadily increasing …‹

Vern gulped, having no idea how to interpret what he'd just heard, but making a decision was necessary.

He looked around the area. They still followed the path, but it had widened and would soon lead into a clearing adjacent to a lake.

»Rewalt, you're just observers, correct?«, he asked.

»Yes.«

»So it's on us to make the decisions moving forward?«

»Yes.«

»Excellent. I want us to stop over there for a moment.« He pointed ahead to the lake. »I need to discuss something important with the others.«

»You want a break, already? We shouldn't waste so much time early.«

»Yeah, but it's our decision, as you said.«

Rewalt sighed. »I mean, I don't care. If the others agree with you, we will do as you say, I guess …«

Vern nodded and quickened his pace to tell the others.

In the end, Irina, Kieran, and Alvyn stood around Vern while the instructors hung out around the lake, waiting for them to finish.

»So, what's this about?«, Alvyn asked. »You said it was important …?«

»Yes, very. We might have an issue on our hands«, Vern said while Velvet told him that the monster had also stopped moving.

»A few minutes ago, a lot of monsters started following us.«

The other looked around. »When will they arrive?«, Kieran asked. »I don't see any.«

»Yes, that's kind of the problem … they aren't attacking but following us from distance. They've even stopped when we just did. In short, we're encircled.

They stared at him in disbelief and looked around once more. »You … you sure?«, Alvyn asked.

Vern nodded. »That's why I didn't want to go further in.«

»That's strange … how are we going to deal with it?«, Irina asked. »We can't just ignore them.«

»Hmm … maybe we'll engage them first, then?«, Kieran suggested. »We're still close to the border and should always be able to escape if necessary.«

»Yeah, better now than later, probably«, Vern said. »So everyone on board with this?«

The other three nodded and discussed the details.

Several minutes passed before they returned to the instructors.

»So, are you ready to continue now?«, Ezra asked.

»Unfortunately not«, Kieran replied. »We've spotted something over there we want to investigate first.«

He pointed at a spot within the woods.

»What, why?«, Bertio asked, confused.

»Don't worry just stay here«, Alvyn replied, grinning. »You're just observers, after all. Kieran and Vern will have a look.«

Ezra looked like she wanted to object but sighed instead. »Fine, just get it over with.«

As Vern and Kieran left the group, Rewalt wanted to move away too and continue to throw pebbles across the lake's surface as he had done earlier.

»Err … don't go there«, Irina told him. »Stay together.«

Rewalt stopped, looking annoyed. »What the hell? Only because you make the decisions doesn't mean you can tell us what to do.«

Consequently, Irina and Alvyn tried to calm him down and keep him with the group.

Their discussion became incomprehensible as Vern and Kieran reached the edge of the clearing. »So how far are they from here?«, Kieran asked, gripping his spear tightly.

Vern looked ahead, not into the forest but at Velvet.

›They retreated a bit further in. Looks like they don't want to have a confrontation.‹

After relaying this information to Kieran, they looked at each other in uncertainty.

»I don't like this«, Kieran said. »If they avoid us like this, they could easily lure us into a trap, far away from the others.«

»That's true, but I think we should still–«, Vern stopped mid-sentence as Velvet updated the information. »Nevermind, they're coming now«, he told Kieran. »Let's retreat a bit.«

They moved backward as fast as having their attention focused in front allowed. A few seconds later, in between the trees, more and more eyes appeared as the rustling of the bushes around intensified.

Vern glanced behind him, just for a moment, to make sure the others weren't out of position. After confirming this, he turned to Kieran.

»Do it now!«, he shouted loud enough for the others to hear and pushed himself off the ground at the same time.

The very next moment, the place Vern had just stood was covered with ice rapidly spreading across the forest floor.

As he flew through the air, Vern saw Alvyn activating his flame sphere around the group. The tsunami of ice hit them a moment later, freezing the lake behind them.

Vern landed on the icy ground making sure not to slip.

»Kieran, move back to the others!«, he shouted and drew his sword, ready to enable his retreat.

Although lots of monsters had been frozen and immobilized, many more started appearing from the backlines.

Vern took his stance, ready to engage as they closed in.

As Kieran passed Vern, a wolf tried to catch up to him, but Vern intercepted it, cutting its head off in one swing.

While more monsters came forth, he slowly moved back as he fought. Strangely enough, they were not trying to attack him but strictly followed their trajectory toward the others at the lake.

But Vern didn't have the time to contemplate this matter, as he tried to block off and kill as many as he could while having to make sure that those passing by didn't just turn around to attack him from the back.

›How much more are coming?‹, Vern asked Velvet.

›Well, I don't know, but still, more and more show up in my field of view, so you have to keep it up for a bit‹, Velvet replied, jumping unconcerned between the monsters on the battlefield. ›Oh, but wait, there's something new. There's someone in between monsters, on the path further ahead.«

Vern glanced in the direction Velvet pointed.

There was somebody else in trouble? He looked back at his companions, who handled the situation well enough. So Vern felt confident leaving them alone to help out whoever had been caught up in the mess he had most likely caused himself.

›Velvet, we're going to help that person out. But make sure to also keep an eye on my back.‹

Vern broke through the line of monsters while Velvet stayed behind him, giving him directions. The monsters kept ignoring Vern, making it much easier to quickly reach his destination. He followed the path along the lake, leaving the clearing. As Vern turned a corner, he came to a sudden hold.

In front of him, about 30 meters ahead, there stood a creature he had never seen before. It had a humanoid form and size, standing on two feet. But there was barely any resemblance beyond that, as its entire body was covered in some kind of scales or conjoined bones. It was black as the night, with only the small red eyes deep within the eye sockets being an exception.

Vern stared at it, and the creature stared back as a pack of wolves gathered behind it in the distance.

Suddenly Velvet jumped to his side, fletching his teeth. At the same time, a blurry picture fleshed up in Vern's mind, and he could feel Velvet's pain and fear accompanying them.

›It's an Eldritch!‹, Velvet shouted vengefully. ›Kill it!‹

These words pulled Vern out of his trance, and he took a shuriken in his hand. He hurled it with full force and it breezed through the air at the unmoving creature.

But unlike when he had practiced on the trees, it bounced off his body like it hit a brick wall, not leaving any scratches behind.

The creature smiled, showing its pointy teeth. »So you are not my ally, are you?«, it said in an eerie voice, making Vern's blood run cold.

»And you?« It took a step forward, tilting its head slightly toward Velvet. »I remember you. What have the two of you done to my brethren?«

Vern couldn't move or say anything. His gaze was fixated on the creature in front as it slowly came closer. He felt something deep within him that paralyzed his body, trying to break free.

The creature halted and twisted its face before swiftly moving aside, avoiding the arrow that passed through its afterimage.

»Vern!« Irina's voice from behind brought him back to reality.

More arrows flew by, and the Eldritch ran off into the cover of the trees to the sides. But not all danger was gone, as the pack of wolves that had steadily grown in size since Vern's arrival still lingered in the back.

Vern could tell at a glance that those were capable of using mana. So he didn't dare to take his eyes off them as he moved backward, his sword held up.

›It's not running away‹, Velvet alerted him. ›It's circling you in the tree cover.‹

Vern's heart plummeted, realizing what it was trying to do.

He turned around and started running. »Watch out, Irina!«, he shouted.

But before he could reach her, the Eldritch appeared out of the forest, closing in on her at an unbelievable speed. However, Irina didn't stand alone at the path's curve anymore, as Rewalt had caught up to her. He spotted the threat and hastily moved in the way with his sword ready to strike.

The Eldritch didn't adjust its cause, taking Rewalt's sword with full brunt to its body.

The sword shattered as it connected, not harming it at all, and the Eldritch thrust its claw-like hand deep into Rewalt's chest.

It flung his body out of the way like a piece of trash, but Alvyn was there to take Rewalt's place, swinging his sword furiously. This time, the Eldritch moved back, avoiding his attacks, and tried to move around him. But Kieran had arrived too, cutting off that route. The Eldritch screamed disdainfully, taking cover behind the trees as Alvyn's and Irina's attacks barraged at it.

Vern arrived at their location at the same time as Ezra and Bertio did, and the Eldritch was nowhere to be seen.

They all stared at Rewalt's corpse hanging in the branches of a tree. None of them had quite understood what just had happened, Vern included.

But there was no time to figure that out now as Velvet gave an urgent report. ›The wolf pack is moving towards us!‹

Vern shook his head, getting out of his daze. »We need to retreat immediately!«, he shouted at the others, pointing at the wolves that had slowly crept closer. »Use all you've got!«

Alvyn looked like he wanted to object, but as soon as he saw the pack of wolves, now significantly increasing their speed, he started running without a word.

Kieran and Bertio were already off, while Vern waited for everyone to move.

But Irina's eyes were still glued on the sight in the trees.

Vern shook her and grabbed her hand to drag her away while Ezra pushed her from behind.

Irina finally started running on her own after a few seconds, but the wolves had already closed a lot of distance. At least Velvet informed him that the Eldritch hadn't returned yet, so Vern didn't have to worry about that as well while running and burning through his mana fast.

He didn't give it his all, still making sure Irina and Ezra kept up.

Together they dashed across the path they had come, trying to make their way out of the bailiwick. Most of the other monsters had been wiped out, making the path free to move on.

However, at the last few hundred meters, the yellow markings already in sight, a massive boar suddenly came forth from the thicket behind Vern, cutting off Irina and Ezra.

»Keep moving!«, Ezra shouted as Vern turned around, wanting to deal with it. She overtook Irina and pushed the boar out of the way with her bare hands, opening up a way forward for Irina to pass through.

Vern still hesitated, wondering if he should help her regardless of what she had said, but one look at Ezra's face told him that she wanted him to keep running no matter what.

So he increased his speed again as the wolves were only a few meters behind Ezra, their mouths open and ready to pounce.

However, Ezra quickly regained her speed, barely avoiding their fangs as she rushed toward the finish line.

Vern and Irina had just crossed the barrier and only now dared to decrease their speed. Kieran, Alvyn, and Bertio were all in safety ahead, and a group of people came towards them, attracted by the commotion.

Vern looked back, watching Ezra run the last few meters. She was impressively fast, but the wolves were too. Nonetheless, Vern could tell that she would make it.

She crossed the barrier, but the wolves hadn't slowed down yet, still chasing her.

Ezra dropped her pace, not realizing it, and the first wolf plunged its teeth into her body, ripping her apart in the blink of an eye.