They set out on their journey toward Dahaluk. Ahead of them stood a forest. The air within was filled with a red mist—like ruby. Beautiful, yet incredibly dangerous.
“Good thing you didn’t bring your crown, my alter,” William said, glancing at Sudirja.
“If gold can kill you in here, then yeah, better not wear it,” Sudirja replied.
They continued walking into the forest, unconcerned about triggering any flames—since clearly, none of them were carrying the metallic triggers needed to spark the deadly fire.
William observed his surroundings. No mushrooms grew. Not even a single animal sound could be heard. It was eerily silent—like a foreign fragment of the world. Even the plants had transformed into something resembling obsidian stone.
“Dion, hand me my Exoferite sword,” William said, turning to Dion.
A magic circle formed beneath his feet.
Its pattern was beautiful: a ring with a rose at its center, glowing in orange like the sunset sky.
“Dimensional inventory of Infinity Storage,” Dion chanted.
A sword emerged from the ground. William grabbed it.
“Normal mode…” William whispered.
The sword responded—though there was no visible change to its physical form.
He raised the sword high, intending to test the strength of the tree in front of him.
The blade fell—yet the wood held firm. Instead, William was flung back several steps.
“Advance mode…” he whispered again.
The sword transformed—its length increased. A magic circle formed on one of its blades.
William raised it high and struck the tree once more.
Same result.
The tree remained unscathed—not even a scratch.
“It really has become as hard as metal. But… I’m not sure if it’s on par with mithril yet,” William muttered, inspecting the spot where he had struck.
Arjuna raised his hand high.
The air responded—a bow materialized in his grasp.
He aimed it at one of the trees in the forest, pulling back until an arrow formed from thin air.
This time, the outcome was different.
The arrow embedded itself in the wood.
Yes—the arrow had managed to pierce the hardened tree.
“Still not on par with mithril,” Arjuna commented.
“Well, these trees sure aren’t usable for a bonfire,” William said, looking toward a small clearing.
“The mist here is extremely flammable. Don’t even think about starting a fire,” Dion warned.
“Relax. I wasn’t planning on burning anything,” William replied.
“This forest is said to be home to several abnormal demons,” Pusmoko said, scanning the surroundings.
“Do you know what this red mist actually is?” Dion asked.
“This mist is a consequence of environmental damage—a catastrophe that occurred 800 years ago,” Pusmoko explained.
As the day grew late, they began preparing their tents for the night.
The next morning, they packed up their campsite. Before continuing the journey, they ate—driven by their hunger.
Then, they resumed their march.
Midway through, William sensed something was wrong. He could hear footsteps—large ones—approaching. No… they weren’t the steps of monsters. They were the unmistakable footsteps of abnormal demons.
He could fragthesized himself to avoid detection. But he had no intention of doing so. To him, using that ability now would be an act of cowardice.
Abnormal demons, he believed, were easy enough to defeat. There was no fear in his heart—only caution.
“War mode!” William shouted.
His sword changed form. It grew longer and wider. Two magic circles appeared on one of the blades.
“What’s going on?” Arjuna asked.
“I hear footsteps. Not of monsters—but abnormal demons. They’re getting close,” William replied.
Arjuna raised his hand high.
From behind the color-shifted and hardened trees, an abnormal demon charged straight at William. It showed no intention of dodging.
His advanced sword clashed with the demon’s horn.
William immediately raised his sword high again.
At that moment, Puspo Geni felt a wave of danger. Not from the demon itself—but from what would happen if William killed it.
“William!” Puspo Geni shouted.
The demon tried to rise, wincing from the pain in its horn.
“What is it?” William asked.
“Weaken it!” Puspo Geni shouted again.
“Is something wrong?” William asked.
“That demon is incredibly dangerous. They don’t form colonies—but if you kill one, it’ll draw more of their kind to this location!” Puspo Geni explained.
“So I’m only allowed to weaken them?” William asked.
“Yes,” Puspo Geni confirmed.
William turned back toward the demon and swung his blade.
Its front left leg was severed.
Then, one by one, the remaining legs were cut off as well.
William began to formulate a plan—to travel using another fragthesis. He believed it would be the safest path.
However, he didn’t want to get lost. To travel via a different fragthesis, he needed to know the emergence points in detail.
He looked toward the soldiers Sudirja had brought. It would be easy to fragthesize them as well. But one troubling question remained: how to ensure they didn’t appear in the middle of an abnormal demon nest?
Because if that happened—it would be a nightmare.
“What’s wrong?” Pusmoko asked.
“I’m thinking of traveling through another fragthesis—and of course, you’ll all come too,” William explained.
“Then why don’t you do it now?” Arga asked.
“The problem is—it would really not be funny if we materialize right in the middle of a demon nest,” William said, pointing at the demon he had just crippled.
“You’re right—but let’s try your method. We’ll deal with the risks later,” Sudirja added.
With most of them agreeing, William moved forward with his plan. But he had already prepared for the worst. Which is why he wanted everyone else to prepare as well.
“Even if we’re traveling through another fragthesis, stay alert! We could end up right in the center of a monster nest! Enter combat mode and don’t let your guard down!” William shouted.
“Understood!” the soldiers shouted in unison.
The soldiers assumed ready positions. They knew—if they let their guard down, they could die instantly. And they weren’t about to let that happen.
“Fragthesization!” William shouted.
In an instant, their surroundings changed. They no longer stood on soil—but on ice. As far as the eye could see, it was a vast icy plain. But even the biting cold could not dampen their resolve.
Wasting no time, they moved onward. About 80 meters from their starting point, William felt it was time to return to the original fragthesis.
“Fragthesization!” William called again.
Their surroundings shifted once more. And just as William feared—they appeared right in the middle of an abnormal demon nest.
The demons charged toward the soldiers. There was no space to evade.
The soldiers’ swords clashed against the limbs of every oncoming demon.
Fortunately, most of the demons had their legs severed before they could do any harm.
But one soldier had failed to cut through all the demon’s legs.
Thankfully, he managed to grab the demon by the neck—stopping its attack just in time.
“Fragthesization!” William shouted again.
Their view shifted once more.
This time, they found themselves standing on a vast green field.
But what they saw next froze them in place.
A humanoid Gharial stood tall before them—surrounded by several other Gharial humanoids, as well as a few humans.
Sensing the danger of revealing the still-living demon in his grasp, the soldier who had been choking it quickly sliced it vertically—splitting it in two.
“King Dadang!” Arjuna shouted.
“Huh?” King Dadang turned to look at Arjuna.
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