While the red dragon rests its body, remaining in deep meditation, and, in some distant volcanic biome, an arm hidden beneath a cloak slowly restores itself…
Far from the depths of the forest, outside its borders, countless adventurers come and go without pause.
The chaotic sound of a carriage blends with the dust rising along the road.
As soon as the old carriage driver spots the forest in the distance, he pulls on the reins attached to the horse, ordering the animal to slow down.
"Eeeia!"
"Eeeia!"
The carriage slows, stopping several meters from the forest entrance. The old man leans slightly forward and looks inside the carriage.
"My dear client, Rixas."
"We have arrived at your destination."
Inside the carriage sits a middle-aged human man, about six feet tall, with blond hair, brown eyes, and sun-tanned skin marked by years beneath the sun. He wears what appears to be heavy armor; on his back he carries a large sword, and at his waist, two smaller blades with curved tips.
The old man makes a subtle gesture with his right hand, opening space for Rixas to behold what lies ahead.
"Welcome to the Southern Forest of Nightmares."
***
My brown eyes light up at the sight of the forest.
"Finally, I've arrived."
From inside the carriage, I take in the towering walls of thick trees ahead of me. The forest remains imposing, as if hiding countless secrets and even greater dangers.
I look around. Nothing has changed.
Adventurers of all kinds of styles and races move around the forest's outskirts without pause.
Among them, I even notice a martial artist determined to enter the Forest of Nightmares; without hesitation, he crosses the boundary marked by the first trees and disappears into the shadows.
I jump down from the carriage and begin unloading the rest of my belongings, just a small chest that I couldn't store in my Storage Ring.
The old man looks at me.
"Is that everything, Rixas?"
I approach him and hand over the two gold coins.
"Yes."
"And thank you."
The carriage driver watches the coins gleam in the palm of his hand before carefully storing them in his own Storage Ring.
"May your mission be successful, my client."
With a flick of the reins, I watch him guide the horse back toward the road. I remain standing still, observing the carriage as it moves away, leaving behind a dense trail of dust that slowly dissolves into the air.
"Hey! Dad!"
Recognizing that voice, I quickly turn around and see my daughter, Camila.
She's already of age, about five foot seven, with fair skin and a delicate appearance, blond hair, and brown eyes like mine. Today she's wearing her favorite colors: a white outfit with golden edges and red details.
She shouts as she runs toward me.
I set my chest down on the ground and welcome her with open arms.
"Daughter!"
My daughter jumps and hugs me; the longing is evident in her actions, but soon after she lets go, adopting a more composed posture.
I pick up my small chest, keeping my eyes on her.
"Daughter, how are you? You're not hurt anywhere, right? Have you been eating properly? Brushing your teeth every day? Are you training correctly? Nothing bad happened to you, correct? You didn't talk to strangers, did you? Because you know what an adventurer's life is like, you can't trust people. You remembered to…"
But she interrupts me, raising her hand.
"Yes, Dad, I know. I'm fine and no, I didn't get hurt, and I didn't talk to or trust any strangers. Rixas, don't worry, I can take care of myself. Don't worry."
Even so, upon seeing my daughter, I still remain concerned.
"Yes, but you know, Daughter, it's been quite some time since I last saw you, ever since what happened in the city of Wiley."
As usual, she only gives me a short sentence in response.
"Yes, Dad, it really was complicated."
During Silencioso's invasion of the city of Wiley, many groups were separated from their teams during the evacuation, as happened with my group, forcing us to postpone our trip to the southern forest for quite some time. But after everything was settled, I searched for my group, and my members were searching for me as well.
After much use of Teleportation Scrolls and investigation, we learned that we were in different kingdoms. Because of that, I sent the last scroll and wrote a notice saying that the journey would take place, instructing everyone to head to the Forest of Nightmares, where we would reunite.
I turn my attention back to my surroundings, not seeing anyone from our group. Even though I didn't specify the exact meeting point, it's already understood that it would be here, precisely where carriage drivers usually drop people off.
"Daughter, have you seen the rest of the group?"
"Maria and Rimero sent Teleportation Scrolls saying they're already here, but I don't see them."
She lightly shakes her head in denial.
"So far, it's just you and me."
My daughter seems to glance at the adventurers coming and going in large numbers.
"Oh, right. And Dad… call me Camila when we're near the others."
My lips form a smile.
"Alright, Daughter."
She looks at me, slightly irritated.
"Call me Camila."
I keep smiling.
"Yes, my dear and beloved daughter."
Her cheeks turn red with embarrassment.
"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"
I press my hand to my chest with a look of surprise.
"Me? Never, little daughter."
"Ah, ah, ah, ah."
She looks at me with pure embarrassed rage.
"Oh no! Stop."
"Dad! That's the worst one!"
"Finally, you've arrived!"
A distant voice draws both my attention and my daughter's.
Approaching us is Rimero, our human arcanist. As usual, he wears a very dark yellow robe that covers his entire body. At his waist, he carries a book that assists him in the use of the Arts. His brown hair is smooth like that of nobles; red eyes, fair skin, with a bit of brown body hair, a lean yet strong build, and a height close to my daughter's, about five foot nine. Just by looking at him, you can tell how much care he puts into his clothing and personal grooming.
Beside him is Maria, an ignorant and brutish human… I mean, a strong and healthy woman. Her orange hair remains as untamable as ever, but compared to Rimero's, it looks very unkempt. She stands about five foot eleven, with black eyes, tanned skin, and wears warrior's clothing made of several metal plates. At her waist hangs a long sword that can still be wielded with just one hand.
Seeing them walk side by side like that, it's impossible not to compare them. Rimero is obviously the more well-kept of the two, from the care of his clothes to the way he carries himself. Even after years of working alongside him, I still can't tell whether he is truly a noble or not.
Their pace is calm, though Maria seems bothered by something.
I don't know… it seems like someone, while talking about me, made some rather inappropriate comments.
Before I realize it, Rimero points a finger at Maria.
"See? Did you feel that? Even the universe agrees with me."
"Someone praised me but humiliated you. We don't even know who it was, but I won."
Without ceremony, he extends his hand expectantly.
"Pay up. You lost the bet again."
The veins bulge on Maria's forehead, and her fist rises, casting a large shadow over Rimero.
"Repeat what you just said?"
Cold sweat runs down his forehead.
Oh no…
"C-calm down, Mariazinha, don't hit me. Look, let's just forget the bet… I know you're jealous and wish you had beauty like mine… but…"
It's too late to escape. I watch Maria beating him up, as usual. I try to hide my laughter, but I don't succeed very well. I didn't realize how much I had missed them.
Soon the two of them approach, stopping right in front of us. Maria is calmer now, while Rimero applies a potion to the bruises and bumps on his head, healing them quickly.
As soon as she greets us, Maria looks at me.
"Well then, are you going to let your beard grow?"
I scratch my chin, feeling the strands of beard threatening to grow.
"I'm thinking about it."
Crossing her arms, my daughter stares at me.
"Don't, Dad… I mean, Rixas. Every time you grow your beard, you age about ten years."
I scratch my beard again, this time with the urge to pull the hairs out.
Maria hardens her expression slightly as she speaks to me.
"Don't listen to your daughter, Rixas. Every time you wear a beard, you look even more charming."
With the constant movement around us, we see many adventurers arriving by carriage.
Maria's eyes shift back to our surroundings.
"Where are Matheus and Vaeloria?"
"They haven't arrived yet?"
I lightly shake my head in response.
"Yeah… Matheus hasn't arrived yet. And he hasn't sent any more Teleportation Scrolls either."
"But unfortunately, Vaeloria won't be able to be with us. She sent me a Teleportation Scroll saying she can't come."
With his arms crossed, Rimero looks at me in understanding.
Vaeloria, you idiot… I told her not to take part in the attack against Silencioso. Apparently, she didn't listen to me. I pray she was only injured.
Should I buy a rare healing potion?
We begin talking, sharing what we went through during these months we were separated.
Casually, Rimero comments,
"Hey, I think we can go already, right? Only Matheus is missing, isn't he? Let's just head into the forest and start getting ahead on some of the missions we need to complete."
I was about to say something, but it wasn't necessary; Maria immediately intervenes.
"Are you crazy? No way we're going in there without him."
Between the two of them, my daughter joins the discussion.
"Did you forget the dangers it has?"
"This forest is the Forest of Nightmares."
Taking the floor again, Maria looks at us.
"Exactly. And you know something?"
"There are even rumors that a new species of monster has been spotted."
She even asks us to close in into a circle, lowering her voice to almost a whisper.
"I heard that this monster is about five foot seven, with a blue gelatinous body like a slime, but it has long, extremely poisonous purple hair. The venom is so devastating that even a stone turns into a bubbling puddle."
"More daring adventurers, who claim to have crossed the Barrier of Volcanoes, saw that this monster isn't alone. There's a large group; everything indicates they're migrating."
With a displeased smile, Camila seems discouraged, but she regains her courage; after all, this isn't the first time she's come to the forest.
Rimero's expression falters for a moment, but he quickly resumes acting naturally.
After listening to Maria's account, We now know of yet another threat. I let out a sigh of discouragement as I realize we may need to buy more supplies just in case.
Faced with this discovery, as the leader, I take the floor.
"It's for these and other reasons that we should wait for Matheus."
"And for safety's sake, buy more antidotes and potions."
Letting out a resigned sigh, Rimero looks toward the forest.
In the end, it's just another weird monster.
"But fine, you're right. Let's wait for Matheus then."
Maria nods in approval.
"And don't forget: according to the Hunter Guild, even if a person is well-prepared and fully equipped, they can hardly survive more than five weeks in the forest."
Time passes, and the sun reaches its highest point. Still curious, I ask Maria why she beat Rimero earlier.
Maria explains that she was the first to arrive here since the day before yesterday, and not long after, Rimero showed up. When Maria saw that Rimero was still as well-groomed as ever, she once again challenged him to see who was currently the most handsome and well-kept.
I don't even need to hear the rest of her explanation; I already know that Maria probably bought another one of those new books about Secrets and Etiquette of the Nobility and thought she would win this time.
I glance briefly at my daughter and then at Maria.
To this day, I still don't understand why women like those kinds of books so much, they're always talking about the same things.
Rimero suddenly appears between Maria and me.
"Ah, but Rixas, Maria forgot one detail. The bet was worth one gold coin, and she's already lost more than thirty coins."
Maria's punch comes down fast onto Rimero's head.
"And you would've kept not knowing, you big-mouthed snitch!"
With quick steps, Rimero backs away, rubbing his head.
"Ow! That hurts!"
"Ah! No wonder you're nicknamed Maria the Brute…"
"Oh no…"
Too late. Rimero even tries to cover his mouth, but the words are already out. When he looks at Maria, she's already furious, ready to split him in two.
In desperation, he looks to my daughter and me for help, but we've already turned our backs so we don't have to witness the scene.
***
We sit down on the grass and resume talking about our journey up to this point.
Near us, Rimero once again applies a potion to the bumps on his head, but soon drinks the entire potion so the pain will heal faster.
"But when is he going to arrive?"
Maria's fury is evident, but she restrains herself as she answers.
"I don't know, but if necessary, we'll spend the night here. We have tents and enough food to wait for Matheus as long as it takes."
I shift my attention away from my group for a moment and look around.
Other adventurers seem to be doing the same. Good thing we have tents that can be set up together.
Should I set up the tents here, or pay to camp in the secure areas the guild offers?
Rimero's smile is unmistakable.
"Humm."
"As long as it takes, huh?"
"Mariazinha, I don't know why, but I think you want to wait for Matheus for other reasons."
For a brief instant, Maria's body trembles with discomfort.
"..."
To anyone else, Maria would have seemed perfectly normal. But Rimero and Camila noticed.
That's it!
"Ahem, ahem."
Rimero and Camila exchange a look. Camila seems to understand exactly where Rimero is going with this.
With the most graceful smile she can muster, Camila draws Maria's attention.
"That's right, I had almost forgotten that you…"
Maria, slightly embarrassed:
"N-No…"
Both Camila and Rimero point a finger at Maria.
"Ha! We knew it! Just admit it already!"
Maria:
"S-Shut up!"
And my daughter goes back to arguing with Maria, as usual. I had even missed that, and apparently, Rimero had too.
Time passes and the two of them keep bickering.
Maria already looks like a red pepper from embarrassment and anger, while Rimero and I talk about our lives: him, an eternal bachelor, and me, an eternal widower. But we change the subject before we fall into depression.
"Thanks to what happened in Wiley, a lot has changed."
Rimero looks at me.
"Yeah, so you'd better prepare your bag of gold, because prices are going up now."
"..."
"But I heard they're rebuilding the city."
I'm not very surprised by that statement.
"Really? But it's going to take a long time. I heard that not even the city walls are still standing. The war that happened there was brutal."
He lowers his gaze to his clothes.
"Yeah. I heard that too."
The sun begins to set, and the two of us rise from the ground.
"Come on, Rimero, let's set up the tents."
His Storage Ring glows, revealing the tent frames.
"Well… it can't be helped."
***
In the forest, somewhere beyond the Barrier of Volcanoes, hidden deep within a cave, an enormous red body can be seen in the shadows.
Lying on the ground, its skin begins to crack and peel away, giving place to red scales, but this is not a dragon.
Its tail slams against the earth with tremendous force, expressing the pain of this abnormal transformation. Its horns begin to deform and curve backward.
Smoke pours from its mouth, and its teeth grow more jagged.
Suddenly, it opens its eyes, revealing reddish vertical pupils.