When Arbor, Mesal, Celestia, and Keiran arrived back at the cave they were welcomed with a party. The group of three got bombarded with questions by the young and the old on what the outside world is like. During the next few days Arbor negotiated with Janet on how to proceed with the migration.

Nine days later most of the residents were ready to move. The plan was for Arbor to make enclosed sleds for them to ride in until they got into warmer weather. Arbor, Eos, and those in the qi gathering stage were to pull the sleds.

One morning the people started queuing up to leave. Murmurs of anticipation filled the air. At the entrance of the cave Janet, Russ, and Virgil stood waiting for Arbor to give them the go ahead. He is currently giving a last second search of the area. With no problems in sight, Arbor gave the go ahead. Everyone was able to load onto the sleds and leave the cave. Oddly enough, there weren't any problems on the way down the mountain.

When they got to the bottom of the mountain Arbor turned the sleds into more of a trailer type of vehicle. Only the elderly stayed on the trailer. Eos and Zypher pulled this. A couple of days later the migration was successful without any problems.

Upon arrival Janet immediately started barking orders. The normal fishing crew already set off to the nearby river under the protection of Eos. Arbor started helping the construction of simple houses out of wood. All of the huts were finished before nightfall.

The lonely Arbor and Eos are on patrol on a quiet night. Each of them are on different sides of the camp. Only the sounds of nature filled the night. Dawn came quickly.

Training continued as usual in the morning. The rest of the citizens scurried around the new camp either fortifying it, setting chopping down trees, or organizing the camp to feel more at home. During the next week Arbor witnessed the camp transform into a half hazzard, fortified outpost.

The next step is to search for the closest camp. And that is what he was going to do today. Arbor, Mesal, Celestia, and Keiran left in the morning. In uncharted territory, Arbor didn't want to leave the camp without someone to protect it. For three days he is going to head south along before turning back.

During the journey Arbor made sure that the others continued to train. Most of the day was spent running through the forest, with Arbor in the lead and the other three chasing him. Occasionally they would see an animal that they would hunt for food. Arbor made sure to watch the hunts to give the three the experience and struggle they need to grow. They had to take occasional breaks in order to rest.

Late in the evening on the second day a faint sound could be heard in the distance. The group slowed down the closer they got. Eventually the edge of the forest appeared in sight.

“Oh.” Arbors' jaw dropped as he saw the scene in front of him. It soon turned into a smile.

“What the fuck are those things,” Mesal, Keiran, and Celestia all said.

A large-scale battle of demons and ogres is playing out just one hundred yards in front of them!

Arbor’s mind started churning. To go have fun out there or to lay low until their little settlement has enough power to protect itself. Obviously the best way to squeeze out your potential is to put yourself in those life and death situations. Currently Arbor is in a conundrum.

The group of four watched the two sides rage war against themselves. A quarter of an hour passed by. Arbor suddenly noticed a familiar figure on the side of the demons. Years ago at the decimated city he came into contact with the same giant demon that had a skull head and missing flesh. This giant is acting as the commander of the demon's side.

“You guys head back towards the camp. Only travel for one day then hide. Ill find you.” Arbor softly spoke.

“What are you going to do? You aren’t going to fight are you?” Celestia questioned.

Arbor answered with a menacing smile. “I ran into that big guy over there and he probably forgot about me. As long as you three dont get caught. He will think I am alone and won't go searching for the settlement.” Arbor stood up and took a few steps forward.

He turned around and added, “Watch me work for a bit before you leave.”

Fifty feet in front of the trio Arbor left the forest for an open plain.

To the side of the battlefield a human standing at five feet tall was running at full speed.This gradually attracted the attention of both sides. What a sight for sore eyes. How many years have passed since a human had been seen? Let alone willingly enter battle with the other forces. Therefore, the demons and ogres started to stop their battles and humorously watch this human.

As he ran, a staff grew in his right palm. Four tentacles of needle-like vines appeared around him.

Right when Arbor got to the intersection of the battle all four vines shout out like snakes. Each vine pierced a body and killed its target. The staff connected with an ogre and set him crashing into another one. This brought the enemies back to their senses as the two sides started fighting again.

A demon with sword arms sliced towards Arbor. With his staff he redirected the sword away from his body. As the other sword arm came down on him got into a deadlock when blocked it with his staff. The demon witnessed Arbor smirk before his life ended with a vine stabbing into its head.

Mesal, Keiran, and Celestia all witnessed the prowess of Arbor. Coincidentally, he stayed at the edge of the battlefield for them. They watched Arbor fluently avoid attacks. A third of his strikes either killed or crippled his enemies. Fifteen minutes seemingly passed as Arbor became a battle god in their eyes. They noticed that Arbor had done a spinning strike against an enemy. At the same time he looked directly at the three.

“He is telling us to leave.” Keiran whispered. The other two nodded as they dispersed.

Back on the battlefield a deadly rawr disrupted the area. A nine foot tall giant was throwing demons out of the way as it ran directly towards the lonely human. Inside its skull head, a faint green flame ignited.

“You dare come back, human!? I'll make sure you can’t leave this time!” the skull spoke.

Green flames erupted from its mouth. A pillar of fire spurred forward. A wall wooden shield appeared and split the flames which made contact with both demons and ogres. The ground caught fire.

The wooden shield started to break down. At the same time an ogre lifted its club to swing at Arbor from behind. At the top of the swing a vine strangled the ogre. At the same time another tied around its body. Both vines worked together and flung the body towards the giant.

The giant put its guard up and stumbled back marginally at the impact. Arbor seized the opportunity and followed directly behind the flying ogre. Straightaway a staff came crashing down on top of the skull causing spiderweb cracks appeared!

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The giant stumbled back again before he quickly gathered himself. A flaming fist reached out to grab Arbor. From behind another demon attacked him from the side. A slimy sticky substance covered his body and his vines around him. He felt his movements slow drastically. With the imminent threat in front of him, Arbor donned a set of wooden Armor.

He almost got his hands up to block the giant's attack. The flesh torn hand grabbed around his body.

“Dumb human. It was your mistake to come here.”

“Your first mistake was to not kill me those years ago.” Arbor struggled to speak as the armor got tighter on him. He pumped more essence into the armor to strengthen it.

“Then I will just kill you now.” The hand ignited in flames which caught the wood on fire.

“The second mistake is that you waited too long.” Arbor spoke as multiple vines appeared and stabbed into the demon's body. One wrapped around the hand that held Arbor and constricted. After some time Arbor was released.

“Third mistake you made was underestimating me.” Arbor growled.

Arbor held the staff like a bat and swung it as hard as he could at the skull. It shattered into pieces across the field!

Without wasting any time Arbor sprinted away from the enemies. He dismissed the armor. Some of the sticky substance was still on his clothes which he attempted to wipe it away with his hand. When he did this he started to eat away at his palm. Given time, its corrosive properties would eat away his flesh and eventually get into his bone. It also showed no sign of being whisked away from neither his clothes nor his hand.

A quick judgment made him change his trajectory towards a nearby demon. Arbor attempted to wipe the goo onto it but it failed. Arbor fought his way out of the encirclement. He encountered weak hexes, attempted body possession, physical attacks, elemental attacks, and telekinetic attacks. Luckily these hexes were weak, his soul and body are strong, and his reactions quick enough to counter.

This did wear Arbor down. His body started to reach its limits as his qi reserves were vastly depleted. The strength behind his attacks were half of what they used to be. If Arbor's concentration faulted the slightest, he could be seriously injured.

That's exactly what happened. A seven pronged claw stabbed into Arbors back. Creating a seven pointed star rune. While the nails didn't pierce through the clothes they did penetrate an inch into his skin. As soon as the rune lit up, a flash from the robe appeared and broke it.

At this point Arbor is operating at a quarter of his full capabilities.

The direction that Arbor escaped in is away from the rest of his party. Having extra insurances that neither of the parties would search in the direction that the three left in. Any attack Arbor made during his escape had the intention of stalling the predators. The ogres were unable to give chase as they were now on the opposite side of the battlefield.

Eventually Arbor was out of danger. Sadly, his condition is the worst it's been, ever. He found a safe place to recover and stayed there for a few hours.

When Arbor found his way back to the three tagalongs he felt relieved to find them intact and lively. The group stayed another day for two reasons. First to let Arbor fully recuperate just in case anything happened on the trip back. Second, to ensure that no enemies were following or searching the area for him. After they were clear they made their back to the settlement. It went without any interruptions. On the way back they brought back a couple of dead beasts for food for the rest of the citizens.

Just outside the perimeter of the camp Arbor stopped the three and said to them, "Absolutely no word to anyone of what we saw. I hope you three can understand why."

Keiran firmly answered, "As of right now there is no immediate threat to us. They dont know we are here and we don't need to rustle any feathers."

The other three nodded before they entered the camp. Nothing has changed since they left. Upon arriving most of the residents welcomed them. Eos on the other hand slipped out the side into the forest.

For the next four months Arbor personally trained Mesal, Keiran, and Celestia. This training was special. They took turns fighting each other. For the first month it was a one on one battle. The second month started two on one battles. When the third month started it became a three on one battle. Arbor's impression of the three's aptitude was rather good. While they were not protiges or anything, their senses in battle were above average. So far their only downside is that they had a late start.

During the fourth month Arbor could tell that each of them were nearing the limit of the qi gathering stage. It had been a little over a year for each of them since they stepped into this stage.

The settlement had donned the name Bosborn. During the last four months it had started to develop its own character. The buildings no longer looked plain and basic. Small dirt roads had been formed from repeated foot traffic. A sense of community was forming for once.

In addition, Alaric and Maia stepped into the qi gathering stage. Increasing the total to five.

Over the past four months, Arbor has been trying his luck on finding any type of treasure in this lowly realm. He scoured the entire forest for two months. He guessed that it spanned over six hundred acres. Arbor brought a different student that had entered the qi gathering stage. The third month he explored the mountain face, and the fourth the sparse purple fields opposite of the river. Today he finally found a treasure.

In a new area Arbor had yet to explore a rocky plateau basking in the sunlight. The funny thing about this place was that it was full of color. Multiple different colors of light reflected in Arbor's eyes. The source of these colors were different rocks. White, green, blue, and red rocks emanated their respective color.

“Master Arbor, what are these rocks,” Maia questioned as she picked up a rock with a red glow.

“Elemental stones. Although, they are the lowest grade of spirit stones you can find,” Arbor answered as he examined a green one.

“What do you mean by the lowest grade?”

Arbor went on to explain the difference in the grades of artifacts first. Fundamental at the lowest grade of which would be a basic weapon. Foundation which lets the user coat the weapon with qi to strengthen its attacks.Sky realm weapons gives users the ability to imbue weapons with qi. At the sky realm, weapons gain the ability to use a user's elemental qi if they possess it. After the sky realm is the space realm. Artifacts at this level are open to the take on characteristics of inanimate objects. Arbor told Maia that this was the most that she needed to know at the moment.

For the grades of material, it all depended on the purity and quantity or essence that they possessed. This gives the material a specific percentage that depicts its grade from one to ten. The type of material can increase the grade to a certain degree. In this instance, these elemental stones only get to a nine percent grade. Not even a grade one material.

The first action took was to collect the rocks into his interspatial ring. Then he proceeded to sit down and cultivate in the middle of the rocky area. He motioned for Maia to do the same. As he sat there he could tell the abnormalities in the area. Small glimpses of elemental qi in the air. Water, earth, fire, and air sat steadily in the area. These rocks turned into elemental stones from the extreme weather patterns in this region. The location created the perfect conditions for the stone to form over the years.

Days later Arbor and Maia return to the settlement which relieved Eos of his guard duty. Eos and Zypher dismissed themselves into the forest.

Arbor settled things with the elders and began making preparations to create a grand formation! He took multiple elemental stones out of his ring and placed them in specific locations surrounding the community. Three weeks later he completed the formation and crafted keys for each resident. The formation is an illusion, one that would make those without the key lose their sense of direction and wander around the outside of the settlement as if it was a barrier and they were unable to get it. With the key they would not get affected by the formation.

Arbor estimated that the energy provided by the elemental stones would supply enough energy to the formation for one to two years. In this time he needed to make sure that he wasn't the only cultivator in the Nuova Sper, the new name given to the town.

Luckily for Arbor, Celesetia is on the verge of breaking into the Awakening Realm! What concerns Arbor are two things. The first is that those who get through the qi gathering stage quickly don’t develop a solid foundation. When this happens it means that they don’t have a high potential. The second worry correlates to Celestia’s dantain. With a weak foundation comes a low grade dantain.

Although given the realm that they are presiding in, it is beyond reasonable doubt that the lowest grade of dantains will appear.

The next step for Arbor was to go into closed door cultivation. He took out all of the green elemental stones and placed them around him. His goal is to reach the peak of the Awakening Realm.