The convoy moved as tightly as it could. Parents held their children by their hands while the older ones held onto the more able bodied. First steps into a journey were always the toughest.

  The path had been travelled before. Gale knew the routes inside and out, even better than what the red marble said. But that was with a smaller group. Now there were too many to worry about.

  Take deep breaths. The forest is his happy place. Just repeat that three more times and he'll feel better.

  Suddenly, he heard Ollie snickering.

  "You ever been to a haunted house? Like those really scary ones where idiots chase you in the hallways?"

  "Yes. We have those too back home. Though we call them something quite different. I believe they're called National Trust Properties. But your version sounds more… interesting. Do tell," Annett said.

  "Wait, a what now? Anyways, a couple of months back, Cassie and I were going to a haunted house once advertised on the internet. And that's when I started blastin'. Turned out the creepy ghost dude was an actual ghost."

  "Well, that's quite rude. For all you know, that ghost just wanted a cup of tea."

  Drats. These two. Didn't they hear him before to not talk about personal issues before going on a long-winded adventure of who knows what could happen? Now Gale had to focus on forgetting who this Cassie was.

  He resisted the urge to say anything. They were competent. As long as they were alert, it would be fine. Breath of the Void hadn't picked up anything around in a couple of hundred meter radius.

  "Everyone will see the giant tree soon. It's bigger than you can imagine, like bigger than life. Even in this world, it's an amazing sight," Rachel said at the front of the convoy, clear enough all the way to the back.

  "How much do you think a tree like that could sell for on Earth?" Ollie laughed. "Must be worth a lot. One of those trees could definitely build many houses… many money… many guns I can buy…"

  "Is money the only thing going on in your head?" Annett laughed back.

  Gale smiled a little. At least they were having fun on the travel. Better that than having everything be a joykill the whole way, I guess.

  But even with Ollie's jokes, the lull in the travel grew. A couple of hours passed by, and they weren't even at the giant tree yet. Just as he dozed off, something caught the tendrils of his senses at their edge.

  Two entities. Most likely forest beasts, smaller ones though. They were heading straight at the convoy. And as expected, just as he felt them getting closer, Ollie held up a hand to stop everyone.

  Two forest beasts lunged through the thickets. Their massive forms barrelled towards Ollie and Rachel at the head of the convoy. Gale's hand twitched. It was two on two. They could handle it.

  "Stay put," he ordered the rescued survivors. The women huddled around together, doing what they were trained for to the best of their abilities. They stuck to a circle, holding their spears close to themselves. Obviously, they should have been pointing them outwards.

  The snarls, gunshots, and fiery fists intensified at the front. He saw the fight through the tendrils of his senses.

  Rachel kept her fire controlled. Even then, it was already spilling onto some of the civilians at the front. A father put himself in between the fire and his son, slightly burning the clothes on his back.

  Ollie's pistol barked in bursts of three. Each shot trailed and found spots at the flank as blood dripped from each hole. The spread was oddly unfocused compared to his usual performance of focusing on a single point.

  The forest beasts growled even louder as more bullets penetrated their skin, added onto Rachel's fire entering those very wounds. The smell got to some of the children, some even vomiting at the mixture of blood, flesh, gunpowder, and burning skin.

  Behind him, he heard a woman pray in her language that Gale didn't know. He wanted to offer assurance, wanted to even say it's going to be okay. However, he knew too well his image was built upon being the adamant that he was. That would just break their confidence in him.

  Instead, he focused on the raging battle just out of his sight. Flames illuminated the front of the convoy. He could feel the heat even from the back. The people in front must be close to getting burnt with that heat. And the man in the front… who knows.

  The convoy had come to a halt for far too long. Gale's legs twitched. Each second wasted was spent not moving towards the objective. More time waited, more chances more beasts can come at them. It would be over if he just went over there and made quick work of those two beasts. Right?

  Someone, whoever, needed to tell Gale that it had only been just a couple of minutes instead of the hours that he felt. But he looked back at the survivors. None of them could read his mind, and his blank gaze seemed to somehow relax the women.

  Finally, the last echoes of the battle faded. Ollie and Rachel should be giving the go ahead signal any minute now. They needed to keep moving to reach the giant tree. Looking around the convoy, everyone was now highly on edge. Too bad for all that small talk in the beginning.

  The front guard emerged. Ollie still held his pistol while Rachel's hands flickered with fire. Gale met her eyes as she emerged from the thickets and nodded.

  "All good?" Ollie asked the man in the front with a blackened shirt, but it looked like he was fine.

  Rachel peered through the brushes down to the middle and back of the convoy. "Everyone, let's keep moving. The monsters are gone. See? Just a couple of minutes to beat up the big bad monsters. Come on."

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Gale sighed. That's right. A couple of minutes to kill beasts didn't seem so bad.

  Ollie twirled his gun before holstering it with a flourish. "Ya know, although I said I wasn't going to conserve ammo, it's like $10 a shot…."

  "I'm just glad no one got hurt," Rachel said.

  Gale signalled to them: We need to keep moving, those sounds might've attracted more of them.

  But all Rachel did was wave back at him.

  Gale turned his back against her and put a palm on his face. Annett and Ollie knew sign language. What happened to her?!

  A tug pulled at his arms. He turned, finding Rachel in front, looking up at him.

  "You okay?" she asked.

  Gale stumbled, not knowing what to say. They should keep moving instead of having this idle chatter.

  "I'm fine," he said, then paused. "Just… a lot of things on my mind."

  "You're going to be fine. The fight only lasted a few bouts, maybe a couple of minutes at best. We're still on track."

  "Right. But we should keep moving," Gale said.

  "Got it. I'll head back," Rachel turned around, then paused to turn her eyes back to him. "And Gale, you're not alone anymore, ok? We're in this together."

  Gale felt his muscles loosen, then tighten back. She didn't know all he wanted to do was run away from this all. What would she think if she knew what went on in his mind? It was ugly and all messy.

  "Thanks," he whispered as he saw Rachel's form disappear into the front.

  "Alright, everyone," Rachel called out, her voice carrying clearly through the forest. "Let's move out. Stay close, stay alert. Children, remember what I told you about the magic word?"

  The children in front nodded.

  "Let's go." Rachel said to Ollie.

  Gale guarded the rear again as his back now stood straighter than before. Then the tendrils of his senses whispered to him. Danger was lurking behind the convoy. Three forest beasts, all closing in fast, catching up in just about a minute or so. They were far enough that he could quickly take them out.

  He turned to the blue haven survivors, their eyes looked like deer on headlamps at his sudden movement.

  "Stay put," he said. "I'll be back shortly."

  Gale dashed without waiting for a response into the shadows of the forest behind them, disappearing faster than a blink. Breath of the Void told him of the optimal path to the moving beasts flanking the side of the convoy.

  The first beast came into view. A small one with familiar leathery hide and minimal patches of fur. More twisted means stronger, means this one was weak. Gale activated Distort immediately and drew the bone sabre from his hip.

  The forest beast paused as soon as he disappeared. Its nostrils flared, trying to smell out the location of the potential prey.

  Running up invisibly under the beast, Gale struck his Phase Touched sabre upwards through its neck. The blade sliced through the creature's thick hide and slit through all the veins and muscle. Blood sprayed downwards as Gale avoided it.

  A loud gurgling could be heard from its throat as all the air escaped from its lungs. But Gale was already moving. He was invisible, moving through the trees. Even his steps were silent as he moved through the brush without rustling the leaves.

  The second beast was found to his left. Another one was just behind him. He pivoted, letting his senses guide his movement through the underbrush towards the second. The beast smelled him, swiping in his general direction.

  Gale ducked. Air passed by above him. Too close. The beast charged at him again, mouth and jaw stretched wide open. The other beast behind also lunged.

  He waited until the last possible moment, then sidestepped. The two beasts slammed into each other. Their weights crumpled against each other as their full speed crushed and stunned both of them.

  Taking advantage of their momentary disorientation, Gale struck again. His saber found the flank of the second beast's belly, guts spilling out. But it wasn't over yet.

  The third beast became more cautious. Circling around him just beyond the clearing, looking intently in his general direction.

  Distort still active. He remained still, not wanting to give away his position. The beast inched closer, nose flaring, turning its massive head side to side.

  Time slowed down as Gale waited for the perfect strike that would link to a decisive situation.

  He could smell the putrid, piss-like breath of the beast on his face, and the low rumble in its chest. It paused.

  But Gale was faster. He had already struck. The bone saber swung upwards and sliced through the beast's throat clean. That was one down.

  He followed through with the momentum as the second beast pounced behind him. Sabre swung again, downwards this time, making purchase right in the middle of the second beast's head. But it was too shallow, only slicing part of its snout.

  It tried to run, an action he'd only seen a couple of times from these mindless beasts. Though it wasn't getting away. Not a chance when it could lead to more beasts coming at them.

  Gale dashed, immediately appearing at its side in the blink of an eye. Sabre swung again, this time landing definitively at the neck. Blood sprayed. The beast collapsed, sliding through the forest floor with its momentum.

  [Awakened Forest beasts felled.]

  [Extracting Origin from prey…]

  [Awakened Forest beasts felled.]

  [Extracting Origin from prey…]

  [Awakened Forest beasts felled.]

  [Extracting Origin from prey…]

  Notifications came in all at once. He felt the familiar warmth of the Origin extraction whirl around him. His growth had slowed, but each kill let him grow closer to increasing his Core Density.

  The convoy wasn't that far, but every moment he spent separated increased the risk of them doing something he didn't want them to do.

  But first, Gale extended his Breath of the Void again to its limits, closing his eyes. Tendrils spread a couple of hundred metres away. No hostiles in the area. That was good enough for now.

  Satisfied, he turned back towards the convoy. He moved swiftly, keeping an eye on his surroundings. Luckily, the sprayed blood didn't hit his shirt. It would've carried a wounded beast's scent, and those things liked to eat what's easy, and what's easy was another wounded beast.

  Upon nearing the convoy, Gale heard the murmur from the survivors.

  "…abandon us?" a woman said.

  "No, he wouldn't. He's coming back. He definitely will."

  "It doesn't matter. Let's do our jobs and keep a lookout."

  Emerging from the shadows, the women immediately pointed their spears at him.

  He signalled them down, and they put their spears back up. At least they pointed them at him, better than not even responding.

  "It's clear," Gale said. "Keep moving."

  The convoy kept moving as Gale took his position at the rear. Straining himself throughout the journey, he kept Breath of the Void at its max distance, slowly draining his essence, but not enough to worry about for now. Resources were meant to be used anyway.

  Then, Gale saw Ollie make his way back from the front to the rear. His usual easy going demeanor was nowhere to be seen. He wore furrowed brows, probably worrying about something ahead.

  Gale braced himself. Something must have been up.

  "I went ahead and saw some scouts from Blue Haven up ahead. I didn't take them out, but this could get tricky," Ollie said.