***
Four days later.
The Banyan Tree Forest.
Agares left Tington Village in the morning. It was the third village before the border area. Based on the villagers' explanation, the border area was located behind the banyan tree forest.
Agares didn't just rest during his time in the three villages; he used the time to learn basic sword fighting techniques. He had no books or teachers; he learned all the techniques from the information Nyx had given him.
Nyx showed him videos demonstrating defensive and offensive techniques, as well as the basic stances in sword fighting. Agares watched the videos over and over again and practiced until his whole body was used to the movements. He just hoped that he would be able to fight well after learning these techniques.
Agares spurred his horse to leave the village and arrived in the banyan tree forest. There was a specific reason why it was called the banyan tree forest—there was an ancient banyan tree hundreds of years old growing within the forest.
From afar, people could see the massive banyan tree. Since then, the forest had been named the Banyan Tree Forest.
[The distance from your location to the Morgor Mountains is about 120 km, or three days on a horse]
"I know, Nyx."
Inside the forest, Agares felt a refreshing sensation once again. He continued to spur his black horse forward so that he could leave the forest quickly and arrive at the border.
[WARNING!]
[Foreign entity detected. Threat warning activated]
Agares's black horse came to a sudden halt when a red warning panel appeared before him. The red panel would appear when the system detected dangerous entities in the area surrounding Agares.
'Is the legend true?' asked Agares, falling silent.
The previous night, Agares had visited a tavern and gathered information as well as fairy tales from the villagers. They said that the Banyan Tree Forest was a dangerous forest inhabited by mythological monsters.
They usually lived inside the banyan trees and attacked anyone who crossed the forest without permission. Some villagers had seen them and managed to return safely in one case.
They gave them asparagus!
Lucky! One of the villagers kindly gave Agares 10 asparagus because he knew the man was going to cross the forest. But Agares didn't really believe their stories until today.
Agares jumped down from his horse and walked while pulling the saddle reins. He walked cautiously, prepared for anything that might happen.
WOOSH!
A wooden arrow flew from ahead and stuck into the ground, right in front of Agares. It stopped the man in his steps.
"Stop there, human!" said someone sternly. Agares couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.
"I just want to pass. I'm bringing asparagus for you," explained Agares.
"It seems you know the rules here, human," he said sternly.
They dispelled their camouflage magic and revealed their true forms. They were Wood Elves, the rulers of the Banyan Tree Forest. There were seven of them standing on the branches of a tall tree, armed with wooden bows and arrows.
"How many asparagus do I have to give you so I can pass?" Agares asked flatly.
"Give us five!" one of them demanded.
Agares took five asparagus stalks and threw them forward. One of the female elves took them and walked towards Agares.
"I accept these asparagus. I will escort you out of the forest."
"Thank you."
The wood elven woman nodded, tucked away the asparagus, and leaped strongly from one branch to another.
"You'd better hurry, the tree monsters love human flesh!" the woman explained, leaving Agares no choice.
He climbed back onto his mount and rode quickly along the forest path toward the edge of the forest. Glancing to the right and left, Agares saw a tree moving toward him. It was the tree monster the elven woman had told him about.
Agares thought the path was smooth, but it wasn't. He looked ahead and saw an adventurer party fighting against a three-meter-tall tree monster. The path was blocked by monsters.
"Can you get rid of those monsters?" Agares asked the elven woman.
"My job is to escort you. I don't want to deal with those monsters!" the woman said firmly, making Agares angry.
'Damn it! I have no choice but to fight,' Agares replied.
The longer Agares waited, the more tree monsters approached him. He quickly walked toward the adventurer party while preparing the first skill from his saber job.
"Activate skill!"
"Saber Skill: Shadow Cleave!"
[Shadow Cleave Skill Activated]
[-50 Spiritual Energy]
[Mana: 450/500]
Agares gripped the black-bladed sword with both hands, then directed a shadow slash attack forward to hit the tree monster.
A purple-black shadow slash shot out and struck the monster. But it wasn't enough to kill it.
[+75 damage]
[Weakened 5s]
[Reduce ATK]
An explosion occurred, enough to startle the four people in the adventurer party. He turned and saw a man in light armor, wielding a black sword, with dark purple eyes.
"Sir! Please help us," he pleaded.
ROAAR!
The damage from Agares' first saber skill caused the monster's HP panel to appear. In total, the monster had around 250 HP, but it had now drastically decreased to 115.
This was due to the attacks of the four adventurers. They continued to deal damage to the monster, even if it wasn't much.
Fortunately, one of the debuffs from the first skill was a 7 HP reduction every second for five seconds. In total, Agares dealt around 110 damage to the monster.
Now, Agares waited for the cooldown of his first skill to finish. The four adventurers stepped back and arrived beside Agares, fighting alongside them.
"Is your skill ready?" asked one of the men, wielding a spear.
"Three seconds."
They nodded. The tree monster released its spiked attack forward, one of the mages in the adventurer party pointed his magic staff, creating a shield for them.
Due to the reduced ATK, it was easy for the woman to stop the tree monster's spike attack. Agares clearly said that his skill was ready.
"Activate Skill!"
"Saber Skill: Shadow Cleave!"
[Shadow Cleave Skill Activated]
[-50 Mana]
[Mana: 400/500] [-50]
Agares once again shrouded his sword in dark energy, causing the four party members to gasp. But their focus was currently on defeating the tree monster.
'He's using the element of darkness? A Saber knight? Who is he really?' the hero party leader was shocked.
The man released a slashing shadow forward, followed by ranged attacks from the other party members.
The combined attack of the five successfully defeated the tree monster. Agares, who landed the final blow, was allowed to pick up the dropped item from the monster.
[DING! Congratulations, you killed your first monster!]
[EXP +150]
[Item: ]
[+5 Asparagus]
[+5 Bronze Coins]
Agares nodded and stored the dropped item. Once the situation had calmed down, Agares returned to his black horse to continue his journey. But his steps were halted.
"What's your job?" asked the leader of the adventurer party, making Agares narrow his eyes.
"Is that important? I saved you all. You should be thanking me," explained Agares.
He pushed the man's hand away and returned to his horse. Yet, the man did not give up. He stopped Agares again by grabbing his shoulder. That was enough to make Agares angry.
Agares drew his sword and cut the man's hand in a flash, causing him to scream in pain. One of the priests in the adventurer party came to heal their leader.
"Don't touch me!"
"YOU! What have you done—"
A female mage spread her arms sideways, preventing her other friends from attacking Agares. If he could cut off their party leader's hand so easily, it was possible that Agares could kill all of them.
"Wise choice, lady.
Ignoring them, Agares spurred his horse to a high speed, following the dirt road through the forest.
In the distance, a light appeared at the edge of Agares' vision. He had managed to escape easily.
"My duty is done," said the elf woman.
"Wait!" said Agares firmly, silencing the woman.
"I'll give you 10 asparagus if you save the adventurers from there."
The elven woman accepted Agares' offer without hesitation. She took the asparagus and left without saying a word. Now, Agares' final destination lay ahead.
The border of Zoragul!