Who would die ? Who would survive ?
Time went by, The forest's borders were further than what it seemed from a far and the group of four , one headless sorcerer , three skeletons ,walked for more than half a day already ,therefore , Melanie took this opportunity to get more information from Bob .
After figuring out most of the situation in the Lost Land and its inhabitants , Melanie asked about another important topic the Evolution steps and magic .
Monsters without a system or a high consciousness as they say , could not be aware of its current levels and will randomly get a path of evolution according to its stats and giving skills , for the others , they got the chance to choose, the first evolution won't affect the physical body , it will only establish the monster foundation in the field he selected, For an example ,Bob, like any other monster, at first , he depended on his stats (speed , strength ,..) to survive and level up , then when he reached level 20 he got three choices , either becoming a Warrior , a Rogue , or a Sorcerer , as Melanie , he chose the latter , and following that he also passed the test but instead of making the space collapse or hearing the eerie cold voice at the end , his test went smoothly , he touched the multicolored crystal like stones , red , purple , gray ,.... nothing happened , at least until he touched the dark one , the stone suddenly started shining brightly releasing a dark aura , which got instantly absorbed in his body , when he woke up , his statue changed , his race became Sorcerer Skeleton with just below his element , darkness, he got also the ability Mana control and Darkness affinity , the first thing he did ,was practicing Magic , he conjured his mana on his hand and sphere like black ball was formed on it , as darkness is the most destructive power, It helped Bob to level up rapidly , and in less than a week he was able to reach level 23 , which unlocked another choice from the system but this time it was to pick up a profession , for him it was either becoming a Warlocker or a Necromancer , he selected the latter , and got the ability to revive the dead and communicate with the undead, but it came also with restriction according to the necromancer level , right now , Bob is level 24 , he could revive only four undead at level 25 or lower , now he has a level 21 swordsman and a level 20 archer , Even if he got four level 25 monsters, he will not be able to surpass the other leaders , thus , he decided to stay in the outer land and live a quiet life far from the fight of power .
"This is the story of this lonely skeleton , sad isn't it ?"
[Even if you told me your story , I still didn't figure out how to use magic , so it's quite useless for me]
"But perhaps, I can help you , each monster has it own specialty I can help you uncover it "
[Then , do you know what kind of element is void ?]
"Never heard of it , but your affinity on the other hand , is strange, from the context we can deduce that you got no affinity at all ,however, if it was the case, it would simply not appear in your status , thus , it must have some use "Bob touched his chin in deep thought" Perhaps , You can annul any magical attack , But nothing special happened , when you fought , Two ,and I can't help you with it , after I got my profession , I wasn't able to do anything beside reviving the dead , sometimes I start regretting my choice back then ...More important , we need more time to study your situation "
[I will just focus on leveling up to level 23 , and then , perhaps something may happen , anyway , we have arrived at the borders ]
The group stopped in front of a perfectly straight line from west to east of tall and sturdy trees forming Thousand Beast Forest's borders. The trees were strangely big , bigger than any tree Melanie saw in her past and present life , and strangely enough the fog didn't extend inside the forest , it stopped exactly at the borders not daring to venture further , that was quite a relief because if we add the thick fog with the trees' wide leaves which covers most of the sunlight , the forest would already be an ocean of darkness , however , that not the only reason why Melanie was pleased by the situation , she got her full of that foggy environment, morning , midday, evening, midnight , the fog stuck to you the whole day , disturbing your view and sense of direction , if a human got trapped in this kind of environment for weeks and months , wouldn't he go crazy ? At least this hellish living was finally ending , no more fog , a sun and a moon high in the sky and the day and night times were now clear . However , before Melanie could express her joy and relax a little , a light breeze passed by her , but instead of the refreshing feeling she was expecting , it was oddly warm like a breath , and the worst is that she heard a voice , an incoherent whisper to be exact . All her body tensed up , she turned to look at Bob , but the latter seemed in some kind of internal conflict sometime his face expressed hatred , the next excitement, and then a wicked smile was displayed .
[Huh, Didn't you hear anything, just now?]
"No ,I don't think so, I wasn't paying much attention , anyway, why?did you hear a sound?" [It was like a whisper]
"A whisper?"
Bob turned to look at the deep forest which seemed endless like an ocean, and then he shrugged in disinterest" Who knows , everything might happen in this damn forest "
[Everything might happen ?]
"Yeah , earthquake , frog rains, even if all the beast started dancing in rhyme , I won't be that surprised….. Hey ,Didn't I already explain all this earlier ?" He didn't need an answer , the sudden killing intent directed at him ,reminded him of his mistake" Hehehe, my bad , I forgot ,cough cough each territory has it own special topography and environment , the outer region is characterized by her dense disorienting frog and cold weather , Thousand Beast Forest, honestly , it's a mystery even for me , I usually don't leave my territory but I once came here to level up , in only one day I witnessed various phenomena, a blood-red rain , a moving mud which will follow you all the day before trying to engulf you at night while you're deep asleep ,creepy , isn't it ? So , that why I said everything may happen , thus, not only we should be aware of the beast but even of the forest itself"
Melanie looked at the forest for a moment , it gave her a strange feeling , her instinct warn her from entering the forest , but if she wants to become stronger and survive in this world , she must cross it no matter what , This is just a small obstacle in her path , the real dangers have yet to appear .
Seeing that Melanie didn't move nor speak , Bob reminded her "Do you want to go back ? You know although undead have the ability to regenerate , if our body got destroyed, the soul will get the damaged, and we still may die " Bob knows better than anyone how dangerous Thousands Beast Forest could be , All his attempts to cross it concluded by an ultimate failure, in addition of heavy injuries and a half broken body . It's thanks to his luck if he managed to get out alive and return to the outer land "Do you still want to take this risk ? Living in the outer region is not that bad., at least we are the strongest there ,no one would dare to "[Is that your suggestion ?]
Before Bob could complete his sentence , he was interrupted by Melanie .
[Avoiding troubles, hiding in our small shells, tolerating anything good or bad that comes at us, are you serious, Bob? We will just become an easier target to bully and suppress]Somehow, she recalled her past life , the times when she was bullied at school , What did she do to deserve that ? … Nothing, it's just the tradition ,in each class there would be a person inferior to the others , obliged to serve and obey her dear schoolmate , and who would be perfect for this role ?..... the weak introverted girl at the last row . Melanie didn't know if it was thanks to her bad luck or her whole existence that annoyed the others, thus, what was supposed to happen , happened , leaving her with no other choice, if she seek help from the teachers or her parents , things would turn even worst, and she will not be able to bear the consequences, so, she endured it with the only hope of one day leaving this damned school, but she had never imagined that before her graduation , she would not only leave her high school but also the world .
A world where one strength is all and a second chance to change, that what she got and what she needed the most.
[You're free to follow me or leave, I don't have the right to force you , but you must know that I won't go back no matter what] said Melanie with a cold determined tone.
Bob was stunned, things went out of his control , how would he have known that Melanie would be that stubborn , his plan is all messed up now, they were supposed to head to the borders, then when they get there , he would try to persuade her and plant some hesitation in her mind , Melanie would also see by herself how dangerous Thousand Beast Forest is, giving up on the idea of leaving , and at the end of the day ,they would return together to the outer region, to stay there, discussing about anything and everything as real friends would do . Bob's expectations and dreams got shattered into pieces by Melanie's determination .
"Huh, are you sure about this? I think you should take some more time before making a final decision ," Bob didn't give up and tried once more to deter her from going in the forest ." Are you going to throw away your life just like that ? You have no idea of what kind of beasts live down there and how ferocious they are , is it really that important for you to put your life on the line ?"
[It is , you can't truly understand , even if I die ,at least I have tried , I won't regret it, Also , I don't care about what kind of beast are in the forest, wild, vicious, ferocious, poisonous or whatever , I just have to slice them with my scythe] As Melanie said that, she lifted Ame and with a quick gesture of her arm using her Mastery skill Wild Wind Claw she sent off a strong wave of compassed wind toward one of the bushes with the force of the impact a small hole was formed on the ground . Then she calmly walked forward to enter the forest , step after step before stopping.
[Bored from waiting , now that I entered the forest, let's play]
Some gigantic tree root started moving all around Melanie , a long hisssss was heard , and a tremendous brown like snake came out from behind one of the trees , it looked at Melanie with bloodshot eyes, it had hidden itself among the tree roots waiting for the new guest to enter the forest to ambush them , however , to bad for it , Melanie had a sharp instinct , after that incident with the ghost , she learned her lesson and would always be cautious and vigilant , when she arrived at the borders, something was not right , she got the uncomfortable feeling of being constantly watched , it took her some time to distinguish the fake from the several real roots ,and without any hesitation she attacked with her mastery skill. The python was furious that his plan failed , he got out from his hidden spot to face his new prey.
On one side , a furious six feet python with brown sturdy scales which could fend off a direct hit of the Wild Wind Claw without getting any scratch , on the other , a Headless Sorcerer who can't use any magic yet . Who would die ? And who would survive ?