As Soren headed out of the town he dropped by a nearby weapons shop and he dropped Rin's stolen coins onto the counter and picked up a sword from the rack, weighing it in his hands and testing the balance. He moved deliberately through the shop, running his fingers over the hilts of knives, short swords, and a curved sabre, letting each one tell him what it could do in a fight. One small knife caught his attention, the steel dark and the edge sharp, and he let it rest in his hand for a moment, feeling the reflexive memory it pulled at the back of his mind without letting himself linger on it. He handed over the coins and slung it onto his back, adjusting the strap and checking the weight
He moved through the streets toward the outer gates now heading outside of the town and now heading towards the jungle to kill monsters to make some coins to hopefully buy tools for his journey. Soren had fought people before but never a monster. This would be a whole new experience for him, as yes he has built up experience fighting but he has never had the opportunity to explore the world and use his abilities until now
Without Soren's control his mind kept flashing back to that time in the forest his hand shaking at the thought of remembering it all. Just the thought of going to kill a monster had brought up the past memory of fleeing from that terrifying beast he had escaped from. The thing that killed all of his friends, well most of them anyway
'Are all monsters in this world like that?'
'Hopefully not because if I can't kill them today I will only die later. I need those artifacts'
He tightened his grip around the handle of the sword strapped across his back as he walked, forcing the shaking in his hand to stop before anyone nearby could notice. The city gates stood open ahead of him with only a few guards lazily watching the road, travellers passing in and out without much inspection. Soren kept his hood low and his head forward, blending in with the small trickle of merchants and hunters leaving the town as the stone walls slowly disappeared behind him
After quite some time of walking the last signs of the road slowly disappeared behind him and the trees began to grow thicker, their branches stretching out and weaving together overhead until the sunlight barely reached the ground. The air inside the jungle felt different from the open road, heavy and damp, carrying the smell of wet soil, rotting leaves, and something else that Soren could not quite place. Every step forward pushed him deeper into unfamiliar territory, the sounds of insects buzzing constantly around him while distant calls of creatures echoed somewhere far beyond the trees
Soren slowed his pace without even realizing it. His eyes moved constantly, scanning the undergrowth, the twisted roots beneath his feet, the dark spaces between the trees where anything could be watching him. Traveling alone like this was something almost no one in this world would willingly do. Most people moved in groups, hired guards, or travelled with caravans. The thought crossed his mind again that if even a small mistake happened out here there would be no one to help him. No one would even know where he died
This was the first time he was truly stepping into the world. Not hiding in cities. Not running from people. Actually moving forward through unknown land where anything could appear at any moment. The jungle felt alive around him, like it was constantly shifting and breathing, every rustle of leaves making his attention snap toward it
The jungle reminded him of a rainforest however it wasn't teeming with animals, which was quite strange now that Soren really thought about it. It reminded him about something
'The forest'
Almost reflexively Soren unsheathed his sword and started scanning around using his intent magic to sense his surroundings. He knew there would be monsters around in this jungle, most of them being around ranks 1 to 2, however he had no idea of knowing what exactly the types of monsters that he would find were. At the guild all the request was to kill monsters so he had no information as to what beasts lurked in this jungle
A sharp wave of intent pressed against his senses, heavy and hostile, so sudden that the hairs on the back of his neck stood upright. It wasn't just a vague feeling of danger. Something was focused directly on him
The ground beneath his feet shifted
Soren barely had time to react before the soil in front of him burst apart and something massive forced its way up from below. Segmented armour tore through the dirt as a gigantic centipede emerged, its body twisting violently as loose soil and roots scattered everywhere. Its shell was a deep black streaked with dark crimson plates that ran along its entire length, each segment clicking against the next as it lifted itself higher from the ground. The creature was nearly as thick as a tree trunk and far longer than Soren could immediately see, its countless legs digging into the soil as its front half raised upward toward him
Soren's hand immediately moved for his sword, his mind racing as the monstrous insect turned its head toward him, its mandibles opening slowly as if tasting the air
Then something above him moved
The jungle canopy exploded apart as another enormous shape appeared seemingly out of thin air. A massive gorilla dropped down from the branches with terrifying speed, its body materializing as if the air itself had peeled away to reveal it. The creature was enormous, nearly half the height of a nearby tree, but its form was wrong in a way that made Soren's stomach tighten. Its torso stretched longer than a normal gorilla's body, while its limbs were thinner but disproportionately large, the muscles along them coiling with unnatural strength. Jagged spikes protruded from its arms, legs, and back like black thorns
Its fur carried a strange pattern of deep green, dark green, and black stripes that seemed to blend with the surrounding foliage
The beast roared
The sound shook the jungle around them
Before the centipede could even fully react the gorilla's massive body slammed down directly onto it, the impact sending a shock through the ground as its clawed hands drove into the centipede's armoured body. The giant insect twisted violently in response, its long body thrashing as it wrapped segments around the gorilla's arm while its mandibles snapped forward in retaliation
The two monsters collided in a frenzy of movement, the centipede coiling and striking while the gorilla battered it with brutal force, claws tearing into chitin as the jungle around them shook from the violence of the clash. Trees bent and cracked as the creatures fought for dominance
Soren didn't move
He stood there silently, watching the two massive monsters tear into each other while the pieces slowly fell into place inside his head
That was why it had been so quiet
Everything else in this part of the jungle had already run away
Soren darted backwards hiding behind a thick tree
'So that's why it was so quite, but what the hell is wrong with this world. Creatures like that just casually roam around. Maybe it was for good reason the King basically locked us up for those two years and just made us get stronger'
Monsters in this world do not necessarily possess ranks the same way humans do. To be more accurate they do not even form mana cores like mages. What the ranks of monsters truly represent is the level of strength required from adventurers to bring one down
A monster classified as rank 1 usually required at least one trained adventurer to deal with it safely, sometimes more depending on the creature. Rank 2 monsters were far more dangerous, often forcing small groups of experienced adventurers to work together just to kill one without suffering casualties. Anything beyond that quickly became the kind of threat that guilds would post large bounties for, requiring coordinated teams or even veteran hunters to deal with
Because monsters did not rely on structured mana cores like humans, their strength manifested differently. Their bodies absorbed the naturally occurring magic particles in the environment over time, causing their flesh, bone, and instincts to evolve in unpredictable ways. Some developed unnatural durability, others extreme speed or venom, and many possessed strange biological abilities that made them far more dangerous than a mage of a similar classification
That was why the ranking system existed in the first place. It was not meant to measure the monster itself, but rather to warn the people who might face it
Soren looked up at the two beasts fighting, laughing nervously
"Great. A giant centipede and a tree sized gorilla. Fantastic start"