The Tower King

Sora sat for a few minutes inside the temple to think about how he was going to continue his training, then suddenly a question crossed his mind. "But how is Jarek going to find me through this forest actually?"

He thought about it for a few moments before finally thinking that it was Jarek he was talking about, so he necessarily had an idea behind his head.

After a few moments, he realized that it had been a little while already since he hadn't looked at his stats, nor had he received any messages from System0 warning him of any improvement in stats or item retrieval. "System0, uses Scan Stats."

[ Affirmative. ]

[ STATS SHEET ]

[ - Name: Sora ISOSHI ]

[ - Age: 17 ]

[ - Sex: Male ]

[ - State: 100% (100 PV) ]

[ - Level: LV.0 ]

[ - EXP : 23/100 ]

[ CAPACITIES ]

[ - Strength: 0.64 ]

[ - Intelligence : 0.63 ]

[ - Agility: 0.60 ]

[ - Speed: 0.56 ]

[ - Vitality: 0.48 ]

[ - Magic: _ ]

[ - Magic Resistance: 0.22 ]

[ SKILLS ]

[ - The Collection ]

[ - Piercing Teeth ]

[ TITLE ]

[ - The Climber ]

"Wow, I didn't think I was going to evolve so much in such a short time, to believe that Jarek was right when he told me that I would become stronger quickly." He says while preparing his things.

His bag was lighter than he would have liked. To be honest, he hadn't even taken care to look at what Jarek had put in it.

Daylight was already becoming scarce, drawing long shadows on the cold temple floor. He cast one last look at the statue of Nymeus, then turned on the heel.

The stone door opened in a heavy creaking. A warm wind charged with the damp smell of the forest whipped his face. The peaceful atmosphere of the temple disappeared as soon as he stepped outside. The silence of the place was deceptive. Every branch crunch, every leaf rustle became suspicious.

"I hope I don't come across any monsters tonight." He said to himself, tightening the strap of his bag.

His fight with Kael'Zir had left him with some after-effects despite the healing potion that Jarek and Nerris had made him drink.

Advancing with caution, he progressed for long minutes, without encountering a living soul. Only the cries of invisible insects and the distant hooting of a night bird accompanied its march. He would sometimes stop to lend an ear, crouching behind a log, on the lookout for the slightest movement.

After having crossed a half-dried stream, he ends up discovering a recess of earth at the foot of a tree with thick roots, forming a kind of natural shelter. The place was not ideal, but it would offer him a minimum of protection and an unobstructed view of the surroundings.

He placed his bag on the ground, then sat down cross-legged. He made a quick inventory: no light, no suspicious noise. The wind had calmed down. The stars were beginning to shine through the foliage.

Sora inspired deeply. "Well... this place should be enough to spend the night sheltered from the creatures of this forest."

He had decided to deprive himself of meals for the rest of the evening, preferring to rest as quickly as possible in order to wake up earlier the next morning.

He rested his head against a root behind him and closed his eyes. His heart slowly slowed down. In this foreign forest, amidst unpredictable creatures and buried secrets, Sora fell asleep without realizing it, his mind still alert, his body ready to react to the slightest danger.

...

A ray of light caressed his cheek.

Sora slowly blinked, still numb. The freshness of the morning had seeped into his bones, and he took a moment to remember where he was. The sounds of the forest had awakened before him: the quiet song of a few birds, the distant crackling of branches, and the rustle of the wind in the leaves.

He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes with a lazy hand.

"I am... still alive." He whispered, a tired smile on his lips.

"I... slept all night without being attacked?" He thought, slowly straightening up.

He placed a hand on his hip, then on his back. A few more aches, especially in the shoulders, tenacious memories of his confrontation with Kael'Zir. He gently cracked his neck and joints, then stood up completely, rubbing his eyes still half-closed.

The earth under his feet was cold, slightly damp. He noticed that fine droplets of dew had formed on his clothes and in his hair. The root on which he had leaned had left a mark on his cheek.

He let out a long sigh, half relief, half accumulated fatigue.

"For a first night in the great outdoors, I'm doing well."

He cast a glance at his saddlebag placed not far from there, against a flat stone. Inside, he found what Jarek had left: a ration of dried meat, a rock-hard roll, a half full canteen of water, and a small piece of cloth containing dried leaves that he hadn't identified.

"You could have left me a little more, though..." he mumbled while munching on the meat with small bites.

He chewed slowly, his eyes fixed on the bushes in front of him, without really looking at them. His mind wandered. He wondered if Jarek was still on his trail or if he was already elsewhere, doing something else. After all, with him, it's impossible to know. He always had a plan... and one step ahead.

Sora forced himself to drink a few sips of water, then carefully arranged his things. He cleaned the place where he had slept: wiped away the footprints, scattered the leaves he had moved and even slightly covered the place with fresh earth. No question of leaving a track for a possible creature that would pass by.

Before leaving, he looked up at the treetop.

The sky was clear. A few clouds floated slowly, but the morning light was clear. He recognized quite easily the path he had taken the day before and therefore knew that he should avoid returning in this direction, at the risk of coming face to face with monsters attracted by the Ushi that Jarek had released.

He then examined the rest of the forest but found nothing interesting except trees and bushes. It is therefore with his bag attached to his shoulder and his sword attached to his waist that he set off again in the same direction as the day before.

Every step was measured, attentive. He stopped regularly, placing a hand against the trunk of a tree, listening to the sounds of the forest. A branch that cracks? An animal that flees? The breath of a predator? He didn't want to take risks. His peaceful night had only strengthened this desire to remain discreet, to avoid unnecessary confrontations.

He walked like this for nearly an hour, progressing slowly but surely. At times, the vegetation became denser, forcing Sora to stoop, sometimes crawling under piles of thick vines. He scraped his arms several times, but preferred not to stop.

It was only in the late morning, as the sun rose high in the sky, that it finally found, among the many trees, a gently sloping clearing. The summit was not very far. He could almost feel a slight breeze caressing his face, as if to encourage him to join him.

"A high area, it can be useful to be able to spot me, but the problem is that I will be uncovered and that some animals could spot me." He thought, crouching, his hand placed on a tree stump.

He took a few minutes break to think about it and took advantage of it to drink a few sips of water from his gourd.

When he got up, his decision was made, Sora got up and began to head towards the small hill in front of him.

After a few more minutes of walking, he finally reached the edge of the forest and cautiously began the ascent. He looked on either side of this clearing and found no monster nearby, which reassured him and allowed him to continue his walk.

He climbed the rest without stopping, his legs on fire, his breath short.

When he finally reached the top, he remained frozen.

In front of him stretched a partial view of the forest. Waves of trees as far as the eye can see, interspersed here and there by small, shiny streams, and what seemed to be, in the distance, a path. Thin, almost invisible, but clearly demarcated.

His eyes widened.

"A path...? In this forest? I thought it was an uninhabited place, so what would such a well-designed path do here?"

He sat down for a moment in the tall grass, catching his breath. He felt the sweat beetling on his forehead, but he did not pay attention to it.

Sora remained there, motionless, his eyes fixed on the winding line that cut through the canopy further. The path was too clear to be natural. It was not a trail shaped by animals or a simple passage due to erosion. No... there was an intention behind this path. Stones even seemed to mark certain parts, visible despite the distance.

A strange sensation was born in his stomach.

"If it's a path... that means someone lives here. Or that there is a place to go."

He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes to better distinguish the details. Part of the trail disappeared behind a wooded hill, then seemed to reappear further away, gently winding up to the horizon.

A warm current of air rustled the grass around him.

"But why is this path not indicated on any map? And especially... why is it so well preserved in a forest said to be abandoned and filled with hostile creatures?"

He scratched his head, annoyed.

"Jarek never told me about a road. And yet, he seemed to know this place well..."

He stayed there a few more moments, weighing the pros and cons. Each option had its risks. Continuing to advance blindly in the forest meant bumping into potential monsters without ever knowing where to go. Following the path, on the other hand, potentially meant meeting people... or traps.

But there was also something else that bothered him.

It wasn't just the presence of the path. It was the total absence of noises around. No birds, no insects, nothing. As if nature itself was holding its breath while looking at this road.

He rose slowly, scanning the surroundings with his gaze. No movement. No sign of life.

"Well... I guess standing here won't get me anywhere."

He adjusted his saddlebag over his shoulder, tightened the belt that held his sword, and carefully descended the hill towards the path.

As he approached, the anguish became more diffuse, replaced by a strange curiosity. He touched the trunks, spread the bushes carefully, and felt the temperature slightly vary. The air seemed wetter here, almost charged with an energy he couldn't define.

When he finally put his foot on the path, a slight vibration ran through the soles of his feet. He immediately crouched down, placing a hand on the ground.

"It's not normal..."

The ground was not entirely made of earth. There were traces of black stone, smoothed, as if it had been carefully melted and then abandoned for years. Half-erased symbols appeared here and there, hidden under the foam.

He stretched his fingers towards one of them. An oval shape, surrounded by concentric lines. A shiver rose up along his nape.

He jumped up, casting a nervous glance around him.

But still nothing.

He took a breath.

"Ok... It may only be an old forgotten path. Perhaps a vestige of yesteryear." He tried to convince himself.

But deep down, he didn't believe in it. Something was wrong here.

He still decided to set out on the path. He preferred to move in a tangible direction rather than continue wandering aimlessly. At least here, he could set benchmarks.

He walked a long time. The ground was more stable, the trees slightly spaced, as if the forest itself had bent to the presence of this road.

After about twenty minutes, he heard a sound. A tick... tac... tick... regular, muffled, almost mechanical.

He stopped dead.

The noise came from in front. Low but steady.

He bent down, plopped himself against the ground, and crawled towards a nearby embankment. He climbed a small hill and slowly spread the ferns in front of him.

His eyes widened.

At about ten meters, where the path formed a slight turning, stood a silhouette.

Tall. Dressed in a dark cloak with torn sleeves. She wore a mask split in two, revealing only a bright white eye. In her right hand, she held a kind of metal stick that flapped on the ground with each step, producing this tick... tac... so strange.

The creature didn't seem human. Or... more than that.

She stopped suddenly. Extending her head as if to feel something.

Sora held his breath.

A long silence stretched out.

Then the thing resumed its march, moving away slowly, its stick hitting the ground again in a chilling rhythm.

Sora did not move. He waited. One minute. Then two. Then five.

When he was sure that the danger had passed, he came out of his hiding place, panting.

"What was that...?"

He looked in the direction where the thing had disappeared. The idea of following her touched his mind, he would have preferred to chase her immediately, but the strange creature followed the path in the direction that Sora was taking.

He therefore made his decision and set off again, this time along the path from the thickets, more discreet. The path led somewhere. And this thing too. Maybe towards answers. Maybe towards a trap.

But he was sure of one thing: this figure, or the place she was heading to, would give him the answers to his questions.