The Master of Uradan

Rohan fought against the wasp. The way this giant insect flew around made every one of his hits miss the target. He had already thrown a wind blade earlier, but it was so easily dodged that Rohan couldn't believe his eyes.

His sword finally struck the body of the insect, but only a small cut appeared. It failed to pierce the carapace. Rohan quickly stepped aside to evade the sting piercing the air. Some drop of green liquid fell from the tip of the ground. Immediately, the soil began to be slightly dug with a hissing sound.

This sight made Rohan shudder. The insect was too fast to be hit and its carapace protected it like an armor made with iron. Its attacks would destroy his body if he was touched just one time. Rohan changed his target.

He dodge and struck, waiting for the perfect opportunity. This one came a few seconds later. The wasp flew toward Rohan with terrifying speed and stabbed with his sting. Rohan was prepared. He easily let the hit miss him with a step on the side, and immediately after, his blade cleaved toward the insect.

But this time, his sword did not aim for the body, but the wings. The wasp was slightly too slow this time and one of its wings was cut apart from its body.

With the speed greatly impeded, the wasp finally was pierced by Rohan's sword. It struggled for a long time, forcing Rohan to remove his blade and use Strengthened Blow to cut off the head. An insect struggling to survive while it had a poisonous attack made Rohan too scared for his life.

The legs of the insect kept twitching for a small time and Rohan waited patiently. Once it stopped, Rohan dissected the wasp. The stench made Rohan frown, but he quickly removed the magical core. For a wasp to be this big, there was no question it was a magical beast.

What was more, it was also in the form of a crystal, like the monkeys'. Maybe all the beasts of this region had such crystals? If it was the case, this was definitely the best place to increase his power.

He looked around, and as he didn't see any other wasp, Rohan went back toward the village. Occasionally he would stop to listen to the forest. Fortunately, he didn't hear any other buzzing sound. 'Maybe this wasp was too far from its nest?'

With this thought, Rohan continued toward the village.

"... strong enough to break the barrier, we must pay attention. Kill at sight."

""yes.""

Rohan abruptly halted and hid his body behind a tree. His eyes widened as he saw three persons entering through the entrance of the village. He couldn't believe his eyes.

The clothes they were wearing were strange white and immaculate dresses enveloping their body from top to bottom. A saber was on their hip with a hand on it, ready to draw their weapon at any time.

Rohan was so shocked as countless questions entered his mind. 'What do they mean breaking the barrier? Is it because of me? wasn't it an abandoned place?'

As he was losing sight of the three persons entering the village, Rohan sneaked behind them. He couldn't feel any flow of mana around them, so he was without a doubt stronger than them. But even so, Rohan wanted to discover what they were searching here, and most importantly, from where they were coming from.

The three men quickly dispersed in the village, searching through all houses along the way. Their goal was the center and the main building. Rohan lowered his gaze on his bag. Was it because he had taken the strange orb?

Soon enough, the three men gathered together in front of the large house.

"What did you find?" One of them, their leader, asked.

"Someone has obviously appeared at some point, and he has searched through everything. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary I think."

"Same, whoever this guy is, it was as if he was taking a stroll around here." His eyes posed themselves on the large house. "Maybe it wasn't his goal in the first place?"

"Or maybe he is strong enough to not care about any retaliation." The leader shook his head. "After all, he had destroyed the barrier without touching the runes. Pay attention, it might be the end for us."

Following this statement, the three men drew their swords and entered the building. Rohan was hiding behind one of the houses as he watched them entering the building. Instantly, he saw that the pressure destroying his body didn't appear at this moment.

The men entered the building and walked inside as if nothing restrained their movements. Rohan thought for a time. Maybe it was his ticket to get out of there. He quickly got back and speeded up toward one of the houses.

After entering one, he headed toward the bedroom where the clothes were kept. He took out his sword and his bag, and without hesitation, he put on one of the dresses among them. It was the same immaculate white as what those men were wearing.

After putting it on, he took his bag and his sword. It was at this moment that he remembered the appearance of those men. They didn't wear any bags. Was the place they were coming from this near?

Rohan didn't believe those men would once again search through the house, so he simply waited there, looking out over a window to observe the main building.

Soon the three men left the house. Rohan was too far to hear them, but from their actions and expression, they didn't seem to have found anything. He could probably charge at them, beat them up, and ask some questions about this forest and the place they were coming from, but Rohan decided to wait.

They came from a place related to this one, and they even felt it when he had removed the strange orb. Those three were maybe weak, but not the ones having their backs.

It didn't take long for the men to head for the entrance. Rohan was overjoyed as he restrained his excitement. He would finally be able to leave this hell place. He couldn't wait anymore, and after the men reached the entrance, Rohan left the house.

Those three men simply entered here, searched for a bit, and left like that after finding nothing. Rohan couldn't understand anymore as he sneaked toward the entrance. Was the orb in his possession important or not?

After reaching the door he had opened a day before, Rohan stretched his head outside to look at the direction the men had taken. Finding their tracks, he followed suit with a light step. Once he caught up with them, he couldn't believe his eyes.

They were walking forward, rustling the leaves, cracking the twigs and roots. They didn't care at all about making any noise. It was as if they were doing it on purpose to mock Rohan who had always traveled with extreme care in this forest.

Rohan observed those people once again. He couldn't feel anything.. The mana around them wasn't attracted to them. But if they aren't strong, how could they walk inside this forest without caring about the magical beast?