The outskirts of the Dead Forest did not lead to a paradise. Instead, the jagged black trees gave way to a desolate wasteland of grey grass and crumbling stone. Ren—now hidden behind the crude, expressionless mask he had fashioned—moved through the mist like a ghost. Every step he took felt lighter, his senses heightened by the mana he had devoured from the wolf pack.
He was no longer just a boy. He was a vessel, a walking vacuum that hummed with a cold, stolen energy.
As the sun began to rise, casting a sickly pale light over the horizon, Ren reached the edge of a small settlement. It was a village called Oakhaven, though there was very little "haven" left to it. The wooden palisades were scorched, and the smell of smoke hung heavy in the air.
Ren stayed in the shadows of a collapsed barn, his eyes scanning the area. He saw them immediately.
Three soldiers wearing the crimson and gold tabards of the King's Royal Army were standing in the center of the village square. They weren't fighting monsters. They were standing over a group of kneeling villagers, their spears leveled at the chests of trembling old men and weeping women.
"The King's decree is absolute!" one of the soldiers shouted. He was a large man with a scarred face and a voice that grated like grinding stones. "You will provide the grain and the livestock for the 'Hero's Banquet.' The Great Heroes have arrived from another world, and they must be fed the finest we have!"
"But sir," an old man sobbed, his forehead pressed to the dirt. "If we give you our winter stores, my grandchildren will starve before the first snow falls. The monsters have already taken half our herd!"
The soldier didn't offer pity. He delivered a heavy kick to the old man's ribs, sending him sprawling. "The Heroes are our only hope against the Demon Lord! Your hunger is a small price to pay for salvation. Now, move!"
Ren watched from the darkness, his hands clenching into fists. He knew those "Heroes." He knew Kaito was likely sitting in a silk chair right now, complaining that the wine wasn't cold enough. He knew Lucas was probably laughing at the "funny" clothes the locals wore. They were being treated like gods, while the people they were supposed to protect were being treated like dirt.
Ren felt the Void inside him ripple. It wasn't the "justice" a hero would feel. It was a cold, calculating logic.
The King threw me away because I was 'useless' to his war, Ren thought. And now his men are stealing from the weak to feed the strong. This world is just a bigger version of my high school hallway.
He didn't want to be a hero. He didn't want the villagers to thank him. But he needed information, and he needed mana. And these soldiers? They were carrying magic-infused spears—artifacts that hummed with the very energy Ren needed to grow.
The lead soldier raised his sword, the blade glowing with a faint blue light. "If you will not give the grain, then we will take it by force. Starting with this house!"
He pointed toward a small cottage where a young girl stood in the doorway, her eyes wide with terror.
Before the soldier could take a step, the temperature in the square dropped. A thick, unnatural fog began to roll in from the edge of the forest, swallowing the sunlight.
"What is this?" the soldier barked, spinning around. "Who goes there?"
From the mist, a figure emerged. He wore a tattered white robe that had been stained grey by ash and blood. His face was hidden behind a bark mask that looked like a screaming ghost. He didn't carry a sword. He didn't carry a staff. He simply walked toward them, his footsteps making no sound on the gravel.
"Halt!" the soldier commanded, leveling his glowing sword at the figure. "State your name, traveler! Are you a servant of the Demon Lord?"
Ren didn't answer. Behind the mask, his eyes were cold.
[Skill Activated: Hollow Step]
In the blink of an eye, Ren disappeared.
The soldiers gasped, their heads darting left and right. "Where did he go?!"
Ren reappeared directly behind the lead soldier. He didn't use a weapon. He simply placed his hand on the man's armored shoulder.
[Skill Activated: Mana Devourer]
The soldier let out a strangled cry. The blue glow of his sword flickered and died as the mana was ripped out of the blade and into Ren's palm. Then, the drain moved to the man himself. The soldier's knees buckled, his strength vanishing as if his very blood had turned to water. He collapsed into the mud, unconscious but alive. Ren didn't want to kill—he just wanted the fuel.
"Monster!" the other two soldiers screamed, charging with their spears.
Ren didn't flinch. He moved with a fluidity that was impossible for a human. He caught the first spear mid-air, the wood splintering under his grip as he drained the enchantments right out of the iron tip. With a sharp tug, he pulled the soldier forward and delivered a palm strike to his chest. The impact sent a shockwave of Void energy through the man's armor, knocking him backward ten feet.
The third soldier dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. "Please! Mercy! Take the gold! Take whatever you want!"
Ren stood over him, the bark mask reflecting the flickering torchlight. His voice, when he finally spoke, was distorted—deep and hollow, like it was coming from the bottom of a well.
"Tell the King," Ren whispered, "that the 'Defect' sends his regards. And tell him that the 'Unknown Lord' is watching."
Ren reached down and grabbed the magic-infused spears and the soldier's sword. He felt the mana flowing into him, his power level ticking upward with every second.
[Current Power Level: 580]
[Status: Satiated]
The villagers stared in stunned silence. They didn't see a boy. They saw a terrifying savior, a phantom that had appeared from the woods to strike down the King's men.
"Who... who are you?" the old man asked, his voice shaking.
Ren looked at the old man. He looked at the girl in the doorway. He reached into the lead soldier's belt, pulled out a heavy purse of gold coins stolen from the village, and tossed it at the old man's feet.
"Nobody," Ren said.
He didn't stay to hear their thanks. He didn't stay for a meal. He turned and walked back into the mist, the stolen weapons in his hand slowly turning to grey dust as he drained the last of their power.
He had a new goal now. He had heard the soldier mention a "Hero's Banquet." That meant his classmates were staying in the capital, learning the secrets of the world's magic. And where there was magic, there were libraries. And where there were libraries, there were maps of the dimensions.
Ren sat in a cave a mile away from the village, his mask resting beside him. He looked at his status window.
[Objective: Return to Earth]
[Current Path: The Forbidden Archives of the Capital]
He wasn't going back to the palace to say hello. He wasn't going back for revenge. He was going back to steal the one thing the King wouldn't give him: the key to the gate.
"They think they are the heroes of this story," Ren said, his real voice returning, quiet and sharp. "Let them play their games. I'm just passing through."
As he closed his eyes to rest, the system gave him a new notification.
[Warning: Your Power Level has reached a threshold. The 'Unknown Lord' alias is spreading. The Kingdom has set a bounty on the 'Ghost of the Dead Forest.']
Ren smiled. A bounty meant more soldiers. More soldiers meant more mana.
He was the "Unknown Lord," and he was finally going home.