Ace Faces the Wild
In the morning of the following day, Ace finally woke up, got up from his place, and searched for Garb for a moment but didn't find him where he had left him yesterday.
Moments later, he heard a voice calling him from behind one of the rocks; it was undoubtedly his grandfather.
Ace hurried towards the source of the sound to find Garb preparing many exercises for him to become stronger through performing them.
The exercises included squats and long-distance running through the forest. Ace was accustomed to such activities, so he had no difficulty in performing them quickly, which amazed Garb.
But the final training was different; Garb told him that he had to hunt down the largest beasts of this island and bring them to the shore if he wanted to return home.
Throughout the exercises Ace undertook, each time he heard the sounds of wild animals across the forest, they were not ordinary animals like those found in Mount Kolobo that Ace was used to hunting.
He realized it would be challenging for him, but he charged ahead without hesitation as he always did, ready to face any opponent, whether human or beast from the forest.
Ace dashed into the forest like an arrow, hoping to finish this training that sometimes bored him.
The forest was filled with trees everywhere, with sunlight filtering through, casting warmth onto the ground.
It was truly a beautiful sight, but this silence was broken by the sound of a huge snake, suddenly approaching behind Ace. He quickly turned his head when he heard the sound.
It was a massive snake with horns like a bull's, unlike anything he had seen before. The snake moved swiftly towards Ace, who fled in terror before it could swallow him.
He wondered if this was not the largest monster; what would be?
Suddenly, he found a huge tree in front of him blocking the path, so he decided to climb it and escape from this predicament. He knew snakes could climb trees, but he hoped this snake wouldn't see him up here.
The snake reached the tree, looking left and right, but found no trace of Ace, who was hanging above, waiting for it to leave as he didn't want to die from its venom anyway.
The snake continued its search for minutes. Suddenly, a larger snake appeared, bigger than itself. The two struggled in a fierce battle before the snake fell dead on the ground. Ace watched the battle from above and couldn't believe his eyes.
After the snake fell to the ground, Ace saw the other snake devouring it. He couldn't believe his eyes; he had never seen snakes eat each other before.
He whispered to himself, sweat dripping from his forehead, 'What a cursed forest.'
Suddenly, Ace lost his balance and his leg slipped from the large branch he was standing on, falling to the ground with a loud thud accompanied by his scream.
The huge snake was still busy with its meal when it saw Ace falling from above.
...
On the ship anchored at the shore, Garb was enjoying his nap and eating some biscuits he had brought with him.
When he heard a scream coming from the forest, it was Ace's scream for sure.
The view across the trees cleared, and Garb saw Ace running as fast as he could, shouting, 'Help! He's going to swallow my butt!'
Seeing this scene before him, Garb burst into laughter until tears filled his eyes. Ace ran left and right, with the snake chasing him everywhere. Suddenly, the snake spat something from its mouth, venom that almost hit Ace if he hadn't dodged it.
The venom hit a rock, and terrifyingly, the rock began to melt. Garb knew the beasts of this island were different, but he didn't think they were this savage.
Another attack from the snake, and Ace would melt in front of his eyes. Garb quickly realized the situation, and jumped off the ship towards the shore, heading towards the snake.
Ace, still running and screaming, saw Garb heading towards the snake and said to him, 'Run, old man! I saw it swallowing snakes the size of ships!'
But Garb didn't back down. As the snake approached, he tightened his grip, a black layer appeared again, covering his arm entirely, and above that layer, a purple layer appeared, covering his arm as well.
Garb aimed his attack at the snake, and in an instant, his movement was paralyzed, and he fell to the ground unconscious. The sound of his impact on the ground was heard throughout the island, and the birds resting on the trees flew away.
When Ace saw this, his jaw dropped in shock. He knew Garb was a powerful naval soldier, but he didn't think he was this strong.
A strange silence fell over the entire place before Garb spoke, 'Hahaha, Ace, looks like I sent you to hell. You're really unlucky, boy.'
Ace, who had lost strength in his legs, fell to the ground still in shock.
Many questions swirled in his mind, 'With just one attack! Just one attack, he stopped this huge snake.'
'What power, what a punch,' Ace, whose stomach was growling and making noises, hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.
He decided to go back into the forest to hunt something to eat, but Garb interrupted him, saying, 'Ace, I'll accompany you. This island seems truly wild.'
Ace wasn't complaining about that; after all, Garb would deal with the gigantic monsters, while he would hunt monsters that matched his size and strength. Let this old man's training go to hell, that's what he whispered to himself.
The two set off through the forest, but all the monsters avoided them this time. It was a strange sight for Ace, and he didn't understand it at all.
Garb spoke incessantly, sometimes cracking jokes, and other times describing to Ace the greatness of being a naval soldier, but Ace had made his decision long ago.
Suddenly, they reached a crossroads. Ace wanted to go right, but Garb insisted on going left. He wanted to meet the monster he saw that morning when he discovered the island before Ace woke up.
The two continued on their way through the dense jungle of trees when suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing from the forest.
The ground shook under their feet due to the sound of those footsteps, indicating that a massive monster several times larger than the snake was approaching them rapidly.
Through the bushes appeared a huge, monstrous figure—it was a black bear, but not an ordinary bear. Its size surpassed that of the snake by about five times, and it had claws at its tips as long as real swords.
When you say monster, this description definitely applies.
Ace quickly realized the situation; he wouldn't be able to touch it before finding himself torn to shreds by its claw attacks. Above all this, the bear's saliva dripped onto the ground, forming pools beneath it from the repulsive saliva, indicating it was hungry and looking for food.
Ace would be just a treat for it, and he decided to escape before he lost his life. Garb told him to stay put and not move, assuring him that it would never attack them.
Ace was surprised and screamed at Garb, 'What are you saying, old man? Can't you see its saliva, its claws? It will devour us before we can escape.'
'If you want to be eaten by it, then stay here. As for me, I don't want that. I still have much to live for.'
Ace felt terror fill his entire body and decided to flee before he lost his life. Garb, on the other hand, stayed in place without moving.
When the huge bear saw Ace fleeing in fear, it moved away from the old man and quickly chased after him. Ace saw this, and saw the giant beast leaving Garb and chasing him. If only he had stayed with his grandfather, he would have saved his life.
Here he was again, being chased for the second time in this cursed forest. He started screaming at the top of his lungs and looked for a large rock nearby.
He knew that if he took a straight path, the bear would surely catch up and devour him. He circled around the rock dozens of times.
When he disappeared behind the rock and came out the other side, he found the ferocious bear lying on the ground with Garb standing before it, smiling his usual indifferent smile. Steam was rising from his grip. This time, Ace couldn't believe what was happening; he simply watched.
He had received many shocks today and momentarily lost the ability to speak.
He whispered to himself, 'This old man is not human at all.'
Ace was still standing in front of him, staring at the monster lying on the ground motionless, when Garb interrupted him.
'Ace, I told you I could teach you this strength if you wanted to join the navy.'
Ace didn't reply with any words; a strange silence fell over the place again. Meanwhile, Garb tied the monster with a set of ropes and prepared to drag it to the shore. Ace helped him without speaking a word.
He understood; in this world, there are people whose strength knows no bounds. Without a doubt, his grandfather was one of them, and Ace admired Garb even more.
He decided not to call him "old man" again; Garb hated that title anyway.
'I'm the old man here, not this man,' he whispered to himself, still sweating profusely from his forehead while helping Garb drag this catch through the forest.