The forest was empty and without sound. The wind did not blow and the animals were silent. It was as if every living thing has been intentionally eradicated from the surrounding area. The further into the woods, the less the air vibrated until there was nothing but stillness. The silence was not a coincidence. It was a deliberate attempt at creating a lull of activity that could be used. The woods were now like a calm pond, and even the slightest disturbance could send ripples that informed those observing it of intruders.

Rana was still. Her back was nestled into the cold dirt and her skin was submerged into the even colder air. She had her eyes closed. It was darkness as if she plummeted into the deepest depths of an endless ocean. There should’ve been nothing, yet she was keenly aware of something in the state of darkness. They were on the edge, still like sentries but hesitant in the dark. The human soldiers constructed a net that would make detecting intruders easier, but her senses far out-ranged what they were capable of.

She wondered what the best approach would be. The soldiers were without mark and there was nothing they could do to stop her from marching forward and slaughtering them. However, that only meant that if her goal was simply to hunt the soldiers guarding the inner area of the forest, she would have no trouble achieving it. However, that was not her goal. Her goal was what they were guarding, not them. There was no guaranteeing what their responses would be. If they raised an alarm and called for help, who knew what awaited her.

Rana had to be calm and patient. When she and Alpheia entered the Tree of Ashen Falls, she was uncharacteristically hasty, as if something compelled her to enter into the unknown. It was understandable that there would be unknowns and risks. To plan and have a contingency for every situation conceivable was an impossible task. It was outside the realm of mortals to account for every variable. Still, she was usually more cautious than that.

There was no need to rush this. She had to get into the guarded area undetected. To do so, she would have to take her time. Slow and steady.

Rana opened her eyes and slowly stood up. The soldiers were experienced. They’ve seen battle and were no doubt selected for their capabilities. She could tell. However, without the mark, no matter how exceptional, they were at best obstacles that delayed their enemy in battle and at worst nuisances that needed minimum effort to dispatch. She had the overwhelming advantage, she just had to make sure she was not careless.

She took a step and closed her eyes. She then opened them again and took another step. She repeated the motion, slowly inching towards the guards. She made sure to keep her attention to the guards, to feel as if they reacted to her, to the disturbance in the woods. She also kept an eye out for wards and other detection magic, making sure she eluded their area-of-effect. With her gifted mana sense and her superior awareness of humans, she was able to reach the guards undetected. Now, she only had to decide on how to kill them.

If she had any form of crowd-control type Spells, it would make the following slaughter rather easy. However, she did not which meant she needed to select the priority of her targets carefully. There were five soldiers, each spaced several meters apart in an arc formation, forming a perimeter for what she could only assume to be the entrance to what they were guarding. The lack of a marked one was curious, but there were plenty of explanations that did not involve a trap.

She closed her eyes. Was there a weak link, someone less aware or less decisive? No. It seemed like she had to kill all six in quick succession. It was easier said than done, but not impossible. The distance was also just right. It was time.

Rana leaped forward. The first one to fall was the farthest to the left. The woman was the youngest, the keenest of them all and her weapon of choice was a bow even in the dark. She must've had excellent eyesight and reaction. However, the grey blades of ash could not be easily seen in the dark. Rana could smell the splutter of blood, her dying breath, and knew the guard was down. Five more. She continued forward and raised her staff with a firm grip and threw it towards her second victim. He was the furthest to the right and was the one with the least armor. The staff planted into the ground with red liquid sliding down its crescent edge, holding up the person whose back it tore out of.

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She then fired a Mana Blast and the magical energy crushed the ribs and heart of the soldier in the middle. Then, with the Support Attack Talent, she was able to instantly close the distance. She did not fire off another Spell but chose to swipe at the dying soldier with her knife in a wide arc. She let go of the knife in motion and it flew into the throat of the fourth soldier. Now, there was only one left. There were only several meters between them, barely enough for a normal person to react against a marked one. Still, the soldier was quick and desperate. He raised his whistle and put it in his mouth. It was too late. Her Mana Blast already reached him and smashed his skull along with the whistle. With a crisp crunching of bones, the final soldier breathed his last.

The soldiers were dead in an instant. They never had a chance. It was the fate of those without a mark. No matter how much they wanted to struggle, no matter their experience or skill, the end result was always the same.

Rana sighed. It had to be done. She wanted to be rid of the sight and smell before her, but she should not rush into the thicket of the unknown. It was disturbing and her mind was tempted, but her focus on her task kept her grounded. Still, the smell and the memory of its taste haunted her, distracting her. It was overwhelming, and she feared that the blood and flesh would be all that occupied her mind if she stayed for too long.

She continued forward and the dense woods became more sparse. The tightly packed trees became scattered and the rough ground flattened the deeper into the forest she went. Still, no matter how much she walked, it seemed like the only thought on her mind was the scene of slaughter she left behind. In the past, the nauseating thoughts would have subsided by now. However, ever since she consumed a part of the moon-kin, those thoughts became much more bearable, sweeter, and they lingered. She knew that the confusing feeling of rejection and need would eventually dwindle and be gone, but it lasted for far longer than she liked.

Then, hostility blared. The edge of a dagger struck down without warning and she felt both her ankles sliced open. She felt as if her legs were drenched in ice water. How could she not sense their presence? It was no doubt a marked one. Did they possess a Skill to sneak up on her? No. She already smelled him. It was just that the smell of blood earlier masked his presence in her mind. Her zombie sense required a clear mind to wield properly. The enemy must’ve launched that attack thinking she was distracted or that she did not detect him. Yet why did he not retreat back into the shadows? The enemy was clearly a rogue-class. He should’ve kept his distance.

Rana then saw him ready a stance as he prepared to launch a Skill. The icy grip on her ankle subsided. So that was what it was. The same reason Rana over-relied on her zombie sense in this instance, so too did the enemy marked one over-rely on his technique. He was supposed to have already severed the enemy's ankles, inflicting a critical injury so that it impeded their movement. Then, with the enemy immobile, he would then finish her off. Unfortunately for him, he did not realize the enemy was a zombie, a being that moved without the need to be concerned with physiological constraints. She was a zombie, one with mana, making movement a motion of the mind, not body.

She could not blame him. The idea of a zombie with mana and a mind was not heard of and should not exist. However, she was revived as one. The enemy unleashed Viper Thrust, a knife attack with an unpredictable path towards the target. However, that was what it was known, not what it was in actuality. Skills had an outward expression, it was not technique but a specific movement and form registered by the System and recorded in the Codex. There was nothing unpredictable, the cast form was set, and it was just a lot of fancy predetermined knife work.

Rana stepped forward, her legs that should’ve stopped working pushed her into the enemy’s chest and past the blade that aimed for her heart. She pulled out her own knife and thrust it into his thigh. She then charged the metal with crimson mana and it surged into his tender flesh. It ignited and blew a hole revealing bone. Her enemy was unable to even scream as the attack activated the Support Attack Talent. She then whirled her crescent bladed staff above her and brought it down, splitting his skull. The enemy was dead.

She took a deep breath. Those who made mistakes in combat could easily find themselves losing their lives in an instant.

Rana searched the body, resisting the pungent sweetness of the fallen marked one, but managed to find nothing. It seemed like whoever their employer was, they were thorough into making sure nothing was traced back to them. There was one thing she did not miss, however. She knew where the marked one came from, in what direction did he launch the attack. That information along with what she had observed from her a week's worth of stakeout, she knew where she had to go.

She began to walk and before long she stood before a giant trap door burrowed into the ground. It seemed like this was what the soldiers were desperately guarding.

Rana placed her hand onto the handle and opened the gates below. Then, she descended into the darkness.