The Sound Of Despair

Sturm had been tumbling northeast through the forest for days. Not only had his adrenaline worn off long ago, but the energy boost he had received from converting his mana cells into lightning-attributed mana cells was gone as well. Left behind was a terribly exhausted young slave, close to fainting.

As soon as the feeling of being godlike power left him, the reality of everything he experienced hit him. Yes, he looked forward to his future, and living a life Edgar and Reinhardt would be proud of motivated him, but that did still not cure the hole in his heart. First, he had completely lost himself, and then it had been easy to distract himself during the fight.

Now, wandering alone through the forest, the solitude made it hard to escape from his feelings. Sturm wandered aimlessly through the woods for hours, his only company a backpack filled with rations; the deeper he went, the more likely it was that any pursuers would give up. The magic beasts would get stronger as well, but even the most ferocious beasts could not compare to an elite squad of nobles.

There was something else that reduced the threat of magic beasts. The first hours Sturm had been wandering, a few fang wolves spotted him and attacked. A weak and exhausted human was easy prey in their eyes, and even if there was not too much meat on his bones, it would keep them satiated for the day. They also smelled some food from the backpack, and even if meat was their preferred choice of food, it would still keep their pack members from starving.

It had been one of their standard pincer attacks, and even the alpha participated due to the lack of threat. To their surprise, the human did not even react when they had been at an arm's length from him. The unresponsiveness caused them to drop their guard, thinking about how they would divide the meat instead of concentrating on the young human.

A mistake, as they soon found out. Just before their sharp fangs could connect, the human boy dodged just so slightly. The fluid movement scared the alpha, as it now had its back exposed. As it quickly turned around to face the imminent threat, the human attacked. What the alpha fang wolf felt would be a lethal strike ended up being a simple tap on its shoulders.

Before it could process what happened, electricity started pouring into it. It howled in pain and escaped as quickly as it could. Its pack quickly followed upon seeing their leader run away in fear, leaving the human slave behind, who just kept walking as if nothing happened.

Sturm knew it; from now on, he would be untouchable. While the electric shock was not lethal, it inflicted immense pain that would make even fierce magic beasts hesitant of touching him again. Maybe silver tier beasts would be able to ignore it, but Sturm was confident even the gorilla behemoth would avoid him like the plague.

At one point in his journey without destination, a cute little bunny approached him. It was deep into the forest, so at first, Sturm activated his [Black Room] in fear of a scene he had once seen in a British movie about King Arthur. The bunny's eyes beamed with intelligence, and mercenaries rarely went this deep into the forest, especially over the last years. Hence, it was not impossible for it to be some kind of hidden beast.

In the end, though, the bunny showed no sign of attacking and instead looked at the wrecked, lost human boy with pity. As Sturm warily observed the bunny, it hopped back into a thick bush, only to come back with a yellow carrot he had never seen. It left the carrot at his feet and looked up at him with big eyes.

Even though he had prepared enough rations for two weeks, just the gesture warmed his heart. Absentmindedly, Sturm stroked its back, like he had always done with pets back on Earth. A single soft touch was already too much for the tiny creature to withstand, killing it on the spot.

The first creature, not actively trying to kill him but even providing him food instead, died because he was too stupid and inattentive. It was just a wild little rabbit, but somehow it made the loneliness in his heart even worse.

<<That poor bunny. Is this how it is going to be for me, for the rest of my life? It is not like I want to think about it right now, but what about children? Well, worrying about that won't help me right now.>>

Reinhardt had taught him to make use of anything and everything at his disposal to improve his situation. If the overly strong and pragmatic guard captain were still here, then he would insist on skinning and cooking the bunny. While it was the objectively correct choice, Sturm could not get himself to do it.

It was silly; he had killed magic beasts in the hundreds, and recently even humans had died at his hands, even though that was something Sturm currently pushed as far into a corner in his mind as he could. Confronting his homicide was necessary but would simply be too much for the current him.

With his mental health in mind, and the ample provisions in his back, Sturm decided to give the bunny a burial and move on. Reinhardt would disapprove, but he was sure Edgar would support this decision. The merchant had always had a better grasp on human psychology than the man who often solved his problems with a pair of axes.

When once again the sun gave way to the moon, and Sturm kept walking beneath the moonlight shining through the tree crowns high up in the sky, his body ultimately gave in, and he collapsed. Munching on a piece of stambread, Sturm forced crawled into a thicket and slowly closed his eyes.

<<Just a little nap. Those beasts won't touch me anyways…>>

There he slept, with the remaining stambread still in his hands and the backpack weighing down on his back. It was a silent night, the peaceful atmosphere reminding more of an idyllic forest resort and not a magic beast-infested jungle of death.

An undetermined amount of time later, Sturm woke up disoriented but alive. Nightmares had plagued him throughout his sleep, but he felt a lot more rested nonetheless. After adjusting his mental state through some light yoga and perception exercises, Sturm had few more bites of stambread and prepared to keep walking.

<<I wonder how much longer I should walk. Who knows if they are catching up to me or if they are even hunting me at all. The magic beasts are still avoiding me, and that I am still alive after falling asleep means they learned not to touch me. Strange, do magic beasts communicate with each other?>>

Well, it did not matter. Sturm planned to go deeper, just in case. It was better to be overcautious than dead. Kilometer after kilometer of monotonous walking, until finally, the forest changed. Unlike the maclawco forest, where the density was exceptionally high, this part of the forest was the opposite, with around fifteen meters between each of the trees. It was questionable if this could even be called a forest or if it instead was a plain with some bushes and trees sprinkled on top of it.

There were no beasts in sight, but Sturm decided to sit down and expand his senses just in case there were some hidden threats around.

Nothing. Nothing at all. Not even animals could be found anywhere. This was highly unnatural, but then something clicked. The rearrangement of magic beast territories was suspected to be because the beasts need to emigrate due to a new apex predator. Looking around, that suspicion seemed to be highly probable, and if whatever was out there could make a tier 10 bronze beast give up its territory, then it was likely a silver tier.

Right now, this was both the safest and most dangerous place on the entire island for Sturm. The question was, should he turn around, stay where he was, or keep going? Ultimately, Sturm decided to trust his instincts, as they rarely failed him. Whatever it was out there, it may be dangerous, but maybe not so much to him.

<<This feels like my body is telling me to be careful and to proceed with caution, but it does not feel like my life is at stake. A little bit more, and the second I sense danger, I will turn around.>>

It did not take long, and a single, lone mountain came into view. Unlike the surrounding area, the mountain had plenty of tall trees on it; they sprouted out like hair on a human's head. In the middle of it, where a human's mouth would be located, was a giant cave entrance. Sturm knew how tall those trees were, and they could easily fit into the mountain's mouth.

<<This? Something is in there. I can feel it. One...no, two! Why can I feel it? What, or who is in there? My mind tells me to turn around, but my instincts want me to go in there.>>

Sturm's skin started tingling, and his blood flow accelerated. If this went on uninhibitedly, then his [Avatar of Thunder] transformation would activate by itself. Even though he had already decided to eventually go in there, Sturm wanted to take it safely. This was no time for reckless adventure, and losing his life due to curiosity would be not only incredibly dumb but also disprespectful towards Edgar's and Reinhardt's sacrifices.

There was no time pressure, no place he had to go or be in anyways.. He would approach slowly, carefully, and ready to escape at any time.