Crazy Idea

Raegar watched as the young woman checked something on the armors' stand before replying in a cheerful tone, ''Four gold.''

''Okay, I'll take it,'' he replied while thinking, 'It may use up most of my coin by those spiders will be an issue.'

Afterward, she led him to the counter and cut something off it which caught his attention, causing her to explain while handing him the armor, ''Mana tags. Dreadshade's gangs are a pain in the ass and will take anything they can grab.''

Raegar nodded, handing over the coins before slipping the item on. It fit perfectly, letting him move with ease. He gave the young woman a grateful smile. ''Thanks for the help,'' he said.

Following that, he left the armor shop and started heading back to the forest while enjoying the sights of the city. Ten minutes later, he arrived at the southern gate and passed through just as an alarm rang out.

The merchants and other people waiting to enter rushed inside when the guards waved them through, but Raegar ignored the shouts. He started traveling across the grasslands only to see a large horde of Forest Widows and other Tier One monsters rushing toward him.

'Here we go,' he thought as his smile grew.

His eyes burned with unrelenting focus as he drew his daggers and ignited them in a blaze of Lightning Fire, the flames crackling with raw energy, sending arcs of power surging through the blades.

The surrounding air shimmered, the daggers vibrating with Aether. Seconds passed and without warning, he hurled the daggers forward; they cut through the air like streaks of lightning.

Raegar's red eyes gleamed the moment they struck the monstrous horde. An earth-shattering explosion went off, an inferno of crackling flames and lightning obliterating the first wave.

The force of the blast sent shockwaves across the grassland, shaking the very ground beneath them. As the last echoes of the explosion faded, Raegar summoned his weapons with a single thought.

In the blink of an eye, Raegar surged toward the oncoming horde. His body moved like a predator, every ounce of his training put to the test as he dodged the frenzied swipes of the monsters.

His armor absorbed the blows that slipped through his defenses, the shock reverberating through his bones. The air crackled with tension as more of the grotesque creatures emerged from the shadows.

He now knew their name, Hollowfang Apes. Fast and deadly, like shadows with fangs. His pulse quickened as one of them vaulted toward him with terrifying speed, claws bared at his throat.

Without hesitation, Raegar leaned back, the beast's claws grazing the air where his chest had been only a second before. With a snarl of defiance, he cast Lightningfire Blast, a violent wave of energy crashing into the ape with explosive force.

'Oh shit! These things are faster than I remember,' he thought when feeling the wind hit his face thanks to the blast.

Raegar watched as the creature screamed as it was blasted backward, but Raegar knew this more was coming. The flames sent the monster flying while he attacked the rest, but soon realized he was being overwhelmed. 

Without giving the horde time, he pointed at the ground and cast Lightningfire Blast that sent him soaring into the sky, 'I should have trained this crazy idea more when I had the chance,' he thought while flying toward the ground.

When Raegar got close, he cast Stormfire Bullets and forced them to explode to slow down his descent. It was enough as he crashed into the side of a hill with a sickening thud, causing him to lie there dizzy.

''That was fun, but now my body will ache for days,'' he muttered while climbing out of the small crater.

One thing he was grateful for was that the horde was now attacking Dreadshade Castle, causing mana explosions to wipe them out. Raegar sighed when seeing this and headed back to his camp.

A few hours later, he finally stumbled back to the tree he'd been calling home. Raegar clambered up the trunk, making his way to his usual branch, then nearly jumped out of his skin when he spotted one of the Forest Widows was perched above.

'It's trying to ambush me!' he internally panicked with wide eyes. 'Are these things intelligent? Must be.'

He readied himself for a fight and took out one of his dagger before throwing it at the spider. When the blade slammed into the monster, he quickly summoned it and crossed them just as another creature lunged from the shadows.

This made Raegar let out a yelp as it crashed into his body. The impact threw them from the tree as he protected his head from the spider's fangs, hitting the forest floor with a thud. The monster became baffled, allowing him to stab it as his heart raced.

Moments later, the Forest Widow collapsed onto him, and he yanked it off in a huff, muttering angrily, ''Damn spiders are ambushing me now... I'll end up hunting their queen down at this rate.''

Raegar stood, brushing the grossness off himself with a disgusted grimace before scaling back up to his branch. He tossed the second body aside, then slumped by the fire, using the Flamekindle Stones to spark a blaze that would keep him warm.

The flames crackled to life, casting a warm glow on the branch. He pulled out his waterskin and took a hearty gulp of cold water, feeling a little more human. Once refreshed, he reached for his rations from the general store, eager for a snack.

Raegar pulled out flour, sugar and other ingredients before making some bread dough while admiring the surrounding forest as monster howls echoed out. After that was done, he put the skillet on the fire, along with some oil.

'Now to eat some tasty bread,' he thought while putting the dough on it.

Following that, he waited for his food to be cooked and while that was happening; he went around setting up Aether traps for the Forest Widows. Afterward, he started eating as the bread was done.

''This is delicious,'' he muttered while enjoying the fresh bread.

Days passed like that with him hunting the Forest Widows, Hollowfang Apes, and some River Eels that he tricked out of the water. During Raegar's hunting, he came across the Razorhorn once again.

The moment it spotted him, the creature roared and slammed into the tree he was hiding in. Raegar barely escaped, using Flash Step to dart across a ravine. No way was he sticking around for that fight.

It was way out of his league for now. Following that, the days turned to weeks, which turned to months. By day, he fought off the wild creatures that roamed the land, and by night, he tried to gather Aether and expand his pools... with zero luck.

Raegar sat outside his tent, lost in the pages of his book, when a disturbance in the air made him pause. His eyes narrowed as he looked up to see a swarm of Forest Widows descending, their bodies shimmering in the fading light.

'They think they're sneaky,' he thought with a smile.

With a slow chuckle, he raised his hand and fired a Stormfire Bullet at the trap he'd set, the fiery projectile slammed into it. In an instant, it roared to life, unleashing a torrent of searing flames that ignited the air above him.

The blast turned the advancing spiders into nothing more than ash and embers. Without missing a beat, Raegar shot into the air, his speed a blur as he slashed through the remaining creatures with.

Each swing was a deadly arc, leaving a trail of dismembered limbs and spider carcasses in his wake. When the last of the Forest Widows fell, Raegar took a moment to catch his breath. But the reality hit him.

This was just the beginning, as he knew the spiders would keep coming until he moved. He quickly set to work, collecting every core he could find before packing up his tent with practiced speed.

He glanced at the horizon before casting Enhancement magic, his body pulsing with Aether. Without hesitation, Raegar leapt off the branch, landing on the lower limbs of the tree. In a blur, he exploded through the forest, leaping from tree to tree with effortless grace.

His balance was perfect, every jump perfectly timed as he soared through the canopy. A few hours later, he came across the road that led to Dreadshade Castle and further south with a caravan traveling past.

Raegar came to a stop as he sensed a dozen auras coming from the east.

'Bandits maybe? They're not Devils,' he mused with glowing red eyes. 'Maybe I can get some experience fighting humanoids?'

Following that, Raegar traveled in the aura's direction only to notice half a dozen bandits closing in on the merchant caravan. Perched above the unsuspecting men, he drew his daggers, preparing to attack.

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