The air smelled like poultry farm mixed with moss, fresh and earthly.
Alex stood alone surrounded by endless waves of giant trees stretching into the horizon, they are not ordinary trees either, each looked like it had existed for centuries, their thick trunks etched with glowing moss and their canopies blotting out the sky in most places.
Well am f**king lost!
His been walking for about 2 hours now and aside from trees and bugs,he hasn't seen anything else.
"Or I've I been walking in circles?, but am not even sure of that as all am seeing around are trees, just freaking trees!"frustrated,he punched a tree next to him, only for dull throb to echo in his knuckles.
"Ow" Alex muttered, shaking his hand and glaring at the tree as if it had personally offended him" what the hell is this tree made of, stone?, should I cut it down?" .
Tree...?(What TF did I do, your the one who punch me!!)
"Great now am losing it in just a few hours in the forest"Alex signed
He leaned back against the tree and slid down to sit, he wasn't tired but seeing as how his lost, he decided to take a little rest. Besides his boot was damped and his clothes started to stick uncomfortably from the humidity. Somewhere in the distance a bird like creature gave a haunting screech but it seems to be avoiding his location, unbothered by proximity of the shreech he flared his aura. Immediately the bird did a loop and flew away in freight.
Most of the beasts in this place are mostly tier 1 beasts.
Although similar to humans they differ in some ways, beasts have naturally formed Cores from birth to store and refine energy. However, their cores develop naturally and instinctively, often influenced by their environment, bloodline, or prey they consume. The stronger the core, the more their body and abilities evolve. At the core genesis realm they awaken their abilities. Being no need to create a core they simply purify it and the higher they progress the more their intelligence grows.
And for simplification beasts are mostly tiered, a body forging realm beast is called a tier 1 beasts which are further divided into early,mid, peak corresponding to the 3rd, 6th, and 9th realm.
Infact Alex has slain a multitude of beast but they are mostly tier 1 beasts with the strongest being peak stage.
He pulled up his knees, resting his arms on them then took a deep breath but then a flutter of movement caught his eye, a branch shifted and something rustled above him.
His eyes narrowed as he locked onto the branch.
Then the branch move again — no it's not the branch, something was crawling across it. Something large and heavy.
Alex's instincts flared. He slowly rose to his feet and reached out his senses, trying to feel the spatial layers around him like Elder Vonn taught him. Trying to sense any ripple in space.
The air twisted slightly, a ripple in space near the canopy.
Alex eye sharpend
"There!"
Suddenly, the creature dropped
It landed in front of him with a heavy thud, shaking the earth beneath. It stood on four thick, clawed legs, its body low and sinewy. A layer of natural armor-like bark coated its back, and glowing green eyes stared at him from a face that looked halfway between a lizard and a wolf. Faint steam hissed out from its nostrils.
Sensing it aura,"Core Genesis… ninth realm?" Alex whispered, feeling the pressure radiate from it. Great. My first real fight… and it's against a tree-lizard-wolf-thing.
"Damn I should have really read the beasts encyclopedia." Alex cursed inwardly.
The creature growled, pawing at the dirt, and Alex instinctively summoned his space energy but split second decided against it. Unsheathing his sword, it sliver color glinting as it mirrored the beast fierce eyes.
He widened his stance.
"Okay… let's see if all that training meant anything."
The beast lunged.
A blur of muscle and bark, its claws gouging into the earth as it launched itself forward with shocking speed.
Alex barely had time to react.
He sidestepped, his boots digging into the damp soil, and swung his sword in a smooth, practiced arc — steel clashed against bark with a loud clang. The force vibrated through his arms. He'd aimed for its neck, but the blade barely carved a line across its armored hide.
Too shallow!
The beast skidded past him, then whipped around with a growl, its glowing eyes narrowing.
Alex narrowed his stance and raised his blade again. "Alright, so the armor's a problem."
The creature charged again, this time swiping with one massive claw. Alex ducked low and spun to the side, slashing across its front leg. Sparks flew as his sword met resistance, but this time, it bit deeper — not much, but enough to draw a thin line of greenish ichor.
The beast hissed and reeled back, more cautious now.
Alex's heart pounded. This wasn't sparring. One wrong move here, and he was mulch.
He exhaled slowly, shifting his grip. The sword was an extension of him, Vonn had said. Let it move with purpose, not panic.
The creature circled him now, its steps deliberate, its tail twitching. Then it pounced again — but this time, not straight. It feinted left, then twisted mid-air, going low.
"What!"
Alex barely saw it coming.
The claw raked across his side — searing pain erupted as it tore through the outer layer of his shirt and scraped flesh. He gritted his teeth and used the momentum to roll backward, springing to his feet with a wince.
His side burned. Bleeding, but shallow.
"this beast has intelligence, although basic it's still increases it danger level" he muttered, flicking blood from his sword. "Let's try something else then."
He rushed forward this time, catching the beast off guard. His first swing was high — bait. The creature raised a forelimb to block, but Alex slid under, pivoted, and slashed at its underbelly.
Clang!
Still armored. Even beneath, the bark was thick.
But it staggered — the force alone had rocked it.
Alex didn't pause.
He twisted and slashed again, this time across its face. A shallow cut opened near one glowing eye. The beast roared and slammed its head down in retaliation.
Alex barely ducked — the force of the blow cracked the tree behind him clean in half.
Damn…
He danced back, panting now, sweat sticking his hair to his forehead.
The creature was strong — not fast, but crafty. And that armor was no joke.
Wait…
His eyes darted across its form.
The joints — where the bark shifted when it moved. The inner thigh, beneath the forelimb, and especially just below the jaw. Gaps. Not many, but they were there.
Alex steadied his breathing. One shot. He'd only get one real opening.
The beast growled, then lunged again, this time in a full sprint.
Alex didn't move.
He held his ground.
The beast's claws gleamed, its maw wide, fangs like stone daggers—
Then—flash.
Mana flooded his body, strengthening Alex as he moved.
A low crouch under the swipe. A pivot on the heel. He surged upward, driving his sword straight up — into the soft, unarmored patch beneath the jaw.
THWUCK.
The blade drove deep.
The creature gave a strangled, guttural cry — then collapsed mid-charge, skidding past Alex in a mess of torn moss, bark, and twitching limbs.
He stood still for a moment, chest heaving, watching the beast shudder and then fall still.
Then he fell to one knee.
Blood dripped from his side, and his arms felt like jelly, but he grinned.
"…Still alive," he whispered, wiping sweat and blood from his face. "round one, won."
The forest was silent again.
Then, faintly, as the wind shifted—
Another screech in the distance.
Alex looked up at the trees, at the shadows shifting in the canopy.
"…You've got friends, don't you?"
He stood slowly, sword still in hand.
"Well I still have my sword with your friends blood on it"