After half an hour, he opened his eyes. He pressed a hand to his chest, then his abdomen, checking for anything unusual. Feeling nothing but his own steady heartbeat, he let out a long sigh of relief and finally settled down to sleep.
...
In the morning, Lucian woke up. This had become his daily routine. He woke early, ate breakfast, trained his body, wandered through the forest, returned to eat dinner, then went out again before night came.
He stood up and lit the fire. After that, he took his pot and began preparing breakfast. From a small pouch he pulled the ingredients he gathered the day before. First, he cut a piece of the remaining wild boar meat. Then he added mahogany herbs and several other forest herbs. He also sprinkled a few spices so the meal would taste better. After mixing everything together, he placed the pot over the fire and began cooking.
When the food finished cooking, he ate quickly and rested for a short while. After resting, he started his exercises. He did twenty push-ups followed by several stretches to loosen his muscles.
All of that took less than an hour.
Once he finished, Lucian stepped outside his cave. Before leaving, he sealed the entrance using a small ice spell so no animals could enter while he was gone. After that, he began wandering through the woods.
He was not wandering without purpose. He was searching for something.
Somewhere deep within the mountains of Varos Keep, a family heirloom was said to be hidden. According to an old tale passed down through his family, the heirloom rested somewhere within these mountains and was guarded by a dragon.
For five generations, none of his ancestors ever found it.
Eventually the story became nothing more than a myth within the family. Years passed, and tragedy struck. Within a decade, the family slowly declined until their bloodline nearly disappeared from history.
Only his mother remained.
Before she passed away, she told him one final thing.
"The tale is real. You only need patience to find it. I know you can do it, my son. After all… you're special."
Those words stayed with him even now. They were the reason he continued this journey.
Lucian continued walking through the forest until he reached the farthest point he had explored yesterday. After nearly three years of wandering through these mountains, he believed he had already seen almost eighty percent of the entire area.
The remaining twenty percent held his last hope.
While walking through the trees, something suddenly appeared.
A monster crawled from the shadows.
It was a massive spider with twelve long legs. Its body carried a mixture of red and black patterns. Twenty four ruby eyes covered its head and rotated nearly two hundred degrees. Each leg ended with a sharp claw.
A Bloody Tarantula.
A high level monster.
For most people, encountering such a creature meant certain death.
For Lucian, it was only another fight.
The monster noticed him immediately and rushed forward without hesitation.
Lucian reacted quickly. After three years of surviving alone in the mountains, his reflexes were far sharper than those of an ordinary boy. Mana flowed through his body as he activated his enhancement spells.
His durability doubled. His speed doubled.
The tarantula let out a loud scream.
"Screaak!!"
The sound echoed through the forest. Anyone who heard the scream would feel their speed and defense weaken.
Immediately after, the monster raised two of its legs and swung them forward, releasing a sharp white energy blade that flew toward Lucian. At the same time, it lunged forward, trying to pierce him with one of its front legs.
Lucian moved calmly. As an ice magic user, he knew how to balance offense and defense. With a quick step he avoided the flying energy blade.
At the same time he whispered an incantation.
"Oh Mighty Ruler of Cold and Ice, grant me your spell. Ice Pillar."
He swung his hand downward. A massive pillar of ice suddenly fell from the sky toward the tarantula. However, the creature moved quickly and jumped away with the help of its twelve legs.
Lucian had already begun casting another spell.
His left hand rose near his chest with his palm open as he spoke again.
"Oh Mighty Ruler of Cold and Ice, grant me your spell. Ice Shard."
Four sharp shards of ice appeared floating around him. With a small motion of his fingers he commanded them.
"Shoo."
The shards shot forward toward the tarantula. The monster jumped again to avoid them, but two of its back legs were sliced off by the attack.
Before the creature could land, Lucian continued his assault.
"Oh Mighty Ruler of Cold and Ice, grant me your glory. Frozen Bind."
Three threads of ice shot forward and wrapped around the tarantula's legs and head, binding most of its movement. While the monster struggled, Lucian began another incantation.
"Oh Mighty Ruler of Cold and Ice, grant me your spell. Ice Spear."
A long spear of ice slowly formed above his head. When it finished forming, he pointed toward the monster.
"Shoo."
The spear shot forward.
"Sck."
It pierced through the tarantula's body.
The monster screamed loudly.
"SCREAK!!!"
Even so, it did not die immediately. It was still a high level monster.
Lucian walked closer.
"Oh Mighty Ruler of Cold and Ice, grant me your spell. Frozen Touch."
Blue white light covered his left hand. This spell required physical contact. Without hesitation he placed his palm against the chest of the struggling tarantula.
The freezing power spread instantly through its body, assisted by the earlier binding spell.
Within seconds, the monster stopped moving.
The battle ended.
Lucian let out a tired breath. That fight had consumed a large portion of his mana. Using several intermediate spells nearly emptied his mana container.
He sat down and rested for a short time before collecting his spoils.
After resting, he began dismantling the tarantula. Using magic, he formed a small knife made of ice. Carefully, he cut off each of the sharp claws, the source of the energy blades earlier. Then he removed all twenty four ruby eyes.
In total, he collected twelve sharp claws and twenty four ruby eyes.
He placed them inside his bag and chuckled quietly.
"Another addition to my collection."
Without a clock, Lucian relied on the sun to tell time. When the sun stood high above his head, he knew it was already afternoon. This time he decided to skip lunch and continue searching.
He walked while sketching parts of the forest in a small notebook. He ran through the trees, climbed branches, and crossed rocky paths. Hours passed, yet he still found nothing.
Soon the sky began to darken.
Night was approaching.
Lucian decided to return to his cave.
While walking back, he suddenly heard a scream.
It was the scream of a woman.
Without hesitation he cast a spell.
"Frozen Steps."
Ice formed beneath his feet, allowing him to slide quickly across the ground. He rushed toward the direction of the scream.
Not far away, a group of people were struggling to survive.
They had been surrounded by a pack of wild brown bears. Many of them were already injured, leaving only a few capable of fighting. Most of the group were young and lacked real combat experience.
At the front stood a man fighting the largest bear. He appeared to be their leader. However, he had already used most of his mana protecting the younger members of the group.
He had enough strength left for only one advanced spell.
Instead of attacking, he chose to defend the others.
He raised his staff and began an incantation.
"Oh Glorious God who rules the Stone and Earth, hear my plea. Protect these young lives. Grant me your protection. Earth's Wrath."
Suddenly the ground beneath the young adventurers rose upward, forming a protective platform that lifted them above the battlefield.
The man knew what this meant. His mana would be completely exhausted after this. The spell would only last two minutes. After that, the bears would kill him.
Still, he accepted his fate.
The bears shifted their attention toward him. The large bear he had been fighting opened its mouth wide enough to swallow his head.
The man closed his eyes and prepared for death.
Then he suddenly felt a cold chill pass through the air.
A loud sound followed.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Something wet splashed across his face.
He opened his eyes and looked down.
The bear's head rolled across the ground before stopping near his feet.
He slowly looked around.
The entire forest floor had been covered in solid ice.
The headless body of the bear in front of him collapsed with a heavy thud.
When he looked back toward the others, he froze in shock.
Every single bear had lost its head.
Their frozen bodies still stood upright.
The man stared in disbelief.
However, he quickly forced himself to move and rushed toward the injured.
"Is everyone alright? Someone strong enough, count the group! Make sure we are all here!"
"Treat the injured now!"
While they worked, a rustling sound came from the nearby trees.
Gush. Gush. Gush.
The leader immediately raised his hand.
"Everyone, defense formation! Protect the injured! Fighters to the front!"
The young adventurers quickly followed his order and formed a defensive line. They waited as the sound grew closer.
Gush. Gush. Gush.
Then a calm voice spoke from the trees.
"Is that how you thank the person who saved all of you?"