In the silence of the forest only the beating of my heart echoed in my ears.

A moment later, a thunderous roar shattered that silence, shaking the earth beneath me and clearing the ringing from my head, and the once still forest, erupted into a cacophony of sounds:

Flapping wings tore through the air as birds burst out of the treetops, their cries frantic and discordant. Shadows darted across the ground as they scattered in all directions, dark shapes silhouetted against the canopy like shards of panic in flight. Insects buzzed louder, creating a jarring hum that seemed to vibrate through the very leaves. Even the trees seemed to shudder, leaves trembling, droplets falling from the disturbed branches.

The entire forest was trying to run away and hide.

Everything but me and Horny.

He stared at me with wide, pleading eyes, his expression urging me to do what every other creature in the forest was doing—run. Get as far away from this place as possible. There was still time for us to escape safely.

But I had a different thought in mind.

Unlike everything else in the forest, I wasn’t afraid. No, no, no. The reason I was standing still was initially out of shock, but not terror. On the contrary, the reason I was still unmoving was because I wasn’t sure if I agreed with the actions I would have taken.

In the far, far distance, only one beast stood. Alone. Enormous. Towering above everything around him, the King reigned over his domain, the giant trees holding out the sun the only exception.

Its massive legs, coated in thick, brown—almost dark fur, looking like tree trunks. Its gaping jaws could turn steel into nothing more than a chew toy. But it was the eyes—deep black eyes that, if not for my own, I wouldn’t have been able to gaze into the abyss and return unharmed.

Our eyes were locked but it didn’t seem like it had noticed me, which was good.

I had only come across it once before, and that had been enough for me to never want to meet it again.

But now that I had… I didn’t agree with my past self.

The King of the Forest was terrifying, but—so what?

I was bigger, stronger, smarter. I was an Elemancer at the red stage. I’d trained for months. Learned new tricks. And most of all…

I wasn’t alone anymore. I had Horny.

I had Mira.

A wave of calm washed over me as memories surfaced to the first moments of me waking up in Mira’s house until reaching the present day. We’d lived so much together in such a short amount of time. The way she had nurtured me, the small adventures we had shared in the forest, the study sessions, and everything she had taught me.

I had mistakenly called her my mum when I had first woken up, and for the longest time, I had been embarrassed to even think about it. But...

Hadn’t she become my mum?

The beast shifted, but it was this sudden realization and acceptance that sent the shiver down my spine.

It was only then that I noticed Horny tugging at my shirt, teeth clenched around the fabric as he desperately tried to pull me back.

I patted him gently, and he hesitated before letting go.

“Don’t worry, Horny,” I whispered, my voice low. “We’re not fighting him… not today.”

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I wanted nothing more than to get back at this brown monstrosity. But now wasn’t the time.

Not only because I had more pressing things to do, but because I needed to prepare.

I was confident I could defeat it, but only under the right conditions—not by simply charging in and hoping for the best. I had to form a plan, study my enemy, and calculate my approach. I needed escape routes for worst-case scenarios and backup plans in case even those failed. If there was one thing the wilderness had taught me, it was caution.

Even now, as I accepted the fact that I wouldn’t be fighting today, strategies and escape routes in case it attacked were already taking shape in my mind.

After all, I still had to get close, and I still needed to retrieve the red lotus—something that would prove far more difficult if the King of the Forest himself was guarding it.

The beast’s earlier movement wasn’t toward me but rather in the direction of the flower. I could’ve easily given up and searched for another lotus, since this part of the forest was filled with them. But where would the fun be in doing so? This was a rare opportunity to study my future opponent and get what I came here for.

Was I supposed to leave it be?

‘Of course not!’

My promise was not to get hurt, and I wasn’t planning to. I just had to be patient, careful, and precise.

Horny let out a low growl, clearly disapproving of the plan I hadn’t even told him about yet. I brushed his fur gently and leaned closer.

“I’ll do it on my own,” I whispered. “You stay back and keep watch. If anything happens, don’t get involved.”

With a reluctant grunt, he took a few quiet steps back, retreating into the underbrush. And as he did, he completely forgot about the swords for horns that poked out from behind the bushes.

Holding back a laugh, I turned my focus back to the task at hand.

I still had plenty of time to grab the flower and return home, but as the minutes passed, anxiety began to creep in.

‘Can’t time just stop for a moment?’

But, of course, it wouldn’t. All I could do was wait—watching as the King made his next move.

It was a slow, almost tedious one. He simply turned to the side, the motion so gradual it seemed to take forever.

‘Is this… a weakness?’

Maybe his immense size was slowing him down. That would make sense—the bigger they are, the slower they move.

But no, I knew better.

During our first encounter, it had been a miracle that I’d survived and that was by clinging onto his fur as he rampaged through the woods, and more importantly, my pendant. Pendant of which I had no longer.

The truth was simple: he was lazing around.

‘Of all the times and places, did he have to decide to be lazy here and now?’

Realizing that waiting for him to turn away was a complete waste of time, I began moving.

I crept forward, careful not to step on anything that might alert the giant beast. Slipping between leaves and tree trunks, I closed the distance faster than I expected, covering more than half the ground between the flower and me in no time at all.

But the final stretch was the trickiest.

The beast had settled near the very tree where the small puddle cradling the lotus lay. Even worse, the area around it was completely exposed—no trees, no bushes, no cover of any kind. If I made a single mistake and alerted it, there would be nowhere to hide.

‘Why did everything have to be so difficult?’

Well... it didn’t, but that wasn’t important now.

The closer I got, the slower I moved, measuring every tiny step before making it. And with painstaking care, I managed to reach the very last tree providing any cover. I paused, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down, then cautiously peeked out from behind the trunk. I glanced at the lotus first, then turned to the beast—only to quickly duck back.

It hadn’t seen me, but its gaze was in my direction.

I stood completely still, forcing my mind into action.

‘Think, think! What can I do to distract it?’

‘Ah, that’s it!’

Slowly, I gathered quint into my palm and formed a small pebble. Then I made another… and another, until I had a small pile cradled in my hand.

Suddenly, a tremor rippled through the ground. Judging by the rustling leaves and the crunching of branches, the beast had stood up. The low rumble of the earth grew stronger as its massive steps grew closer. And then, a warm gust of air brushed over my skin, making my blood freeze.

The King was sniffing for its prey.

I clenched my fists, channeling my quint to ward off the chill, and flung all the pebbles in one quick motion.

As the warmth above me vanished, I risked a glance and saw that my trick had worked. The King’s attention shifted toward the sound of the scattered stones.

I moved without thinking—something I didn’t have to do to know just how crazy my next move was.

A jump, a roll, and a gust of wind propelled me forward, stopping just short of the puddle without making any noise.

I had managed to reach the lotus... only now... I was directly beneath the beast’s towering form.

Heart pounding, I forced myself to look up, even though every nerve screamed not to. I expected to see thick fur covering its underbelly. But what I found instead made me momentarily forget the reason I was here for.

There was barely any fur here at all. And running from one massive leg to the other was a long, jagged scar.

‘So… this is your weakness…’