Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn stood stark still beyond the treeline observing the effects of the arrow he had just released towards the Chief. He was momentarily unable to comprehend the turn of events that had just taken place. Though he had originally planned to thin the goblin tribe down and make use of the explosive arrows later that day, he was caught off guard by how the encampment had responded. Instead of immediately charging towards his position, the goblins seemed to enter a chaotic state which only escalated with the emergence of their Chief.&nbsp; Vahn noted the Chief was acting in a peculiar manner outside his initial expectations. He noted the demeanor of the Chief to be one of indecisiveness and scorn. For nearly a minute it just stood in the same spot observing the chaotic state of the encampment as it likely ruminated over the next course of action.&nbsp; It was during this period of time that Vahn decided to change his plan. If the goblin Chief was just going to stand there aimlessly, why not try to eliminate it now instead of later?&nbsp; Vahn readied his magical bow and arrow, this time charging the bow beyond the safety threshold he had decided upon. He allowed the runes to absorb enough energy to bring the bows' attack to a value of 200. Vahn noted that the string of the bow had begun to glow, and it became increasingly difficult to draw to its apex.&nbsp; Taking aim at the Chief, Vahn began charging his arrow to its maximum potential. Moments before it reached a full charge, the Chief broke from its absentminded state and used the magical staff within its possession to burn the large goblin that was struggling on the ground. Its expression turned to one of hate and maliciousness as it watched one of its subordinates' struggles. As the Chief raised the staff towards the sky, Vahn loosed the arrow that had now reached capacity.&nbsp; The arrow traveled with a speed far greater than any of Vahn's previous shots, and he held his breath in anticipation of the impending result.&nbsp; The goblin Chief, as if sensing the incoming projectile used the raised staff to intercept the arrow along its flight path. It displayed a look of satisfaction and contempt at having succeeded...&nbsp; *BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!*&nbsp; With an expression attesting to its successful defense still fixed on its' face, the Chief and every goblin within 15m were consumed by the explosion triggered after contacting the arrow.&nbsp; As they had all been previously observing the Chief as it burned the large goblin, the remaining tribesman stood awestruck at the aftermath of the explosion. Their once revered Chief who inspired both fear and respect among their kin had been reduced the nothing more than pulp before their eyes. The staff which had become a symbol of his power now lay embedded within the walls of the largest hut of the encampment in a shattered state.&nbsp; They continued to stare for a brief moment, as the remnants of their Chief turned to dust along with several of their kin including the remaining executors. Broken from their stupor, a chaos far greater than their previous state returned to the tribe. They began to flee in all directions, many of them choosing to jump into the rapids of the river adjacent to their encampment only to be claimed by the current. Some of the bolder ones had elected to avenge their fallen Chief and ran towards the accursed creature that had claimed so many of their kin.&nbsp; Vahn stood amongst the treeline observing the spectacle caused by the explosive arrow he had loosed upon the goblin Chief. He observed as they fled in random directions and began to fear he would fail his quest as a result of being unable to eliminate the tribe in its entirety. Just as this thought crossed his mind several notifications sounded in his head. He took a quick glance and had noticed it was congratulating him for completing the quest, but he had to dismiss it to engage the thirty or so goblins that had begun to charge towards his position.&nbsp; He began to enact his original plan to eliminate the goblins as they approached his location and managed to take out more than half before they forced him to retreat deeper into the forest.&nbsp; Continuing their mad charge, the remaining goblins were rapidly dispatched by the combination of anti-personnel mines and archery. After less than ten minutes of actual fighting, all of the berserk goblins had fallen. Vahn quickly gathered what crystals he could find before observing the goblin encampment once more. At this point, the majority of goblins had fled leaving a few that had been injured as a result of the earlier explosion.&nbsp; Vahn slowly approached the now abandoned site and dispatched all the surviving goblins. After a cursory glance in all of the decrepit mud structures, the only spoils Vahn could find were fragments of the broken staff, the Chief's crystal, various small crystals, and lastly a book that had been kept within the Chief's 'compound'.&nbsp; The staff had been completely splintered into three larger fragments and various smaller parts which Vahn did his best to collect. The crystal obtained from the corpse of the Chief was much larger than a normal goblin, around ten centimeters compared to the usual one-to-two.&nbsp; After consulting with Sis, she speculated it could be exchanged for around 230 points, nearly 23x the amount of a single small crystal. She had also encouraged him to keep it within his inventory, as it could prove a useful item to trade in once he entered the City. Agreeing with her recommendation, Vahn stored the crystal and inspected the book.&nbsp; The book was much larger than any book he had ever seen. It was even bigger than the textbooks provided for Vahn's education in his previous life. The outside of the book seemed to be comprised of a kind of aged leather that had been embossed with golden leaves, vines, and runic symbols. The cover displayed a large golden tree with various gems inlaid to represent fruits. Curious to its contents, Vahn tried and failed to open the latch holding the book closed.&nbsp; "Sis, do you know what this book is? Why am I unable to open it, even though it doesn't have a lock?"&nbsp; (*I am unable to determine the origin of the book or its uses. I would recommend leaving the book in of your inventory so it can be analyzed by 'The Path'. As for being unable to open the book, it could be the result of a magical spell or enchantment.*)&nbsp; Storing the book, Vahn left the goblin encampment towards his home. Along the way, he took the opportunity to inspect the notifications that had popped up after the slew the Chief.&nbsp; //Quest Complete//&nbsp; [Quest: Destroy the Goblin Tribe]&nbsp; Status: Completion rate 100%, Grade: SS&nbsp; Rank: (D)&nbsp; Rewards: Complete activation of the 'Quest' function, 1x 'Effigy of the Hero', 1000 Origin Points.&nbsp; Grade Rewards: Skill: Call of the Reaper (B) [Complete quest without being seen by the Boss], 50,000 Origin Points [Grade Reward: S], 1x Skill Enhancement Scroll [Grade Reward: SS].&nbsp; //Quest Function Permanently Available//&nbsp; Vahn was surprised at the grading and grade rewards. He hadn't expected to obtain any bonuses when he had decided to eliminate the Chief with his explosive arrow. Curious about the new skill and various items, Vahn vegan to inspect each of their descriptions.&nbsp; *Skill*&nbsp; 'Call of the Reaper'&nbsp; Rank:(B)&nbsp; Attacks dealt from stealth deal an additional 300% damage. Your attacks carry the aspect of death, calling victims unseen into its silent embrace. Failure to land the blow removes stealth and reduces parameters by 50% for 30 minutes. Cooldown is reduced to 5 minutes if the user is able to re-enter stealth status.&nbsp; *Items*&nbsp; 'Effigy of the Hero' x1&nbsp; Rank: (S)&nbsp; Use: This effigy is automatically consumed by its owner when they take otherwise fatal damage. Upon consumption, the effigy transfers all wounds from the owner unto itself. The effigy will begin to burn for three minutes increasing all parameters of the owner by 3x for the duration. After three minutes the effigy turns to ash and the owner enters a dormant state for 3 hours.&nbsp; 'Skill Enhancement Scroll' x1&nbsp; Rank: (A)&nbsp; Use: Can be used to increase the rank any skill by one rank. Cannot be used on skills Rank: A or higher.&nbsp; Vahn's eyes went wide at the three descriptions. 'Call of the Reaper' would give him incredible benefits if he decided to pursue the path of stealth. 'Effigy of the Hero' was essentially a life-saving item that would allow him to turn a perilous situation around, and the 'Skill Enhancement Scroll' would be very beneficial for any B ranked skills he acquires in the future.&nbsp; He contemplated using the scroll the enhance 'Call of the Reaper' but decided to put it off until he was able to understand the skills potential. Since he had just acquired such a large amount of Origin Points, Vahn could learn a plethora of new skills that could prove to be of greater use in the long run than a skill with high requirements and a downside. If anything he could use it to increase his 'Bow Mastery' which had increased from Rank: (F) -&gt; (D). With a bit more effort he was confident in being able to raise it to B in the future.&nbsp; Vahn finally arrived back at the cave around noon and decided to celebrate his triumph by roasting a boar he had hunted several weeks ago. He had kept it in his inventory since it seemed to require a lot of effort to prep, but now it felt like a simple task as Vahn began to feel like he was capable of accomplishing anything.&nbsp; As the day began to come to a close Vahn sat around the campfire enjoying the roasted boar. He thought about the last six months he had spent training, and how much he had grown since his arrival in this world. The quest, which he thought would be immensely difficult ended up getting completed with relative ease, with ample rewards to show for his efforts.&nbsp; He opened his map and began to look towards the direction of Orario, the place where his journey would officially begin. With various thoughts passing through his mind, Vahn decided to retire to bed early that night in anticipation of the coming day. With the completion of the quest, he believed he was ready to take his first steps along 'The Path'...

For the next week, Vahn spent the majority of his time enjoying the peace and quiet of his life within the forest. Though he had initially intended to set out the day after completing the quest, he found himself unable to leave behind the place he had called home for the last seven months. This place had been the first real home he had ever known and the thought of leaving it behind saddened him.&nbsp; By the weeks' end, he had gathered most of the traps he had lain in the forest. As he wouldn't be around to tend to them, he felt pity at the thought of any creature unfortunate to get caught during his absence.&nbsp; The evening before he set out, Vahn reminisced his days since arriving in this world. Though he had arrived with nothing, through his hard work and the assistance of Sis and 'The Path' he had slowly grown strong enough to survive in this world. He knew he was still weak compared to many of the characters he would meet, but he believed with his continued efforts that it wouldn't be long before he stood at their level.&nbsp; Early the next morning he gathered up the remaining items within the cave and burned them. As he stared at the pyre that represented the life he was leaving behind he was unable to hold back the tears that had periodically crept up on him during the past week. For the first time in this life, Vahn cried his heart out.&nbsp; The sun had already risen in the sky by the time the fire burned out. With one last look at the cave, Vahn took his first steps on his journey along 'The Path'. His destination was the 'Labyrinth City Orario', and he was determined to become the strongest adventurer.&nbsp; Vahn made his way quickly through the forest towards Orario. Though his level hadn't increased automatically upon completing the quest, there was a marked improvement in his overall parameters.&nbsp; ==========================================================&nbsp; Name: Vahn Mason&nbsp; Age: 14&nbsp; Race: Human, *sealed*&nbsp; Parameters: Danmachi&nbsp; -Level:1[+](0)&nbsp; -Power: E540 -&gt; D604&nbsp; -Endurance: F461 -&gt; E529&nbsp; -Dexterity: F407 -&gt; D620&nbsp; -Agility: E519 -&gt; E589&nbsp; -Magic: G299 -&gt; G326&nbsp; Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Mortal Soul)&nbsp; Karma:273&nbsp; ==========================================================&nbsp; The best thing was the new [+] icon that had appeared next to his level. After inquiring about it, Sis informed him it was a feature implemented by 'The Path' to allow him to stockpile his attributes to increase his foundation. As long as he willed it he could increase his level whenever he wanted, but by keeping it the same it allowed him to increase the overall amount of parameters he'd have for future levels.&nbsp; For example, say there were two people that are both level 5. The first adventurer increased their level the moment one of their attributes hit the D rank. The second adventurer didn't accept the upgrade until they had trained for several years and increased all their parameter to D or higher. After both adventurers reached lv 5, the second adventurer would be much stronger than the one who had cut corners.&nbsp; This was the main reason Bell Cranel was able to become so strong in the manga. Because he had a unique skill called 'Liaris Freese' he was able to be one of the only documented adventurers to have almost all of his stats at S rank or higher while at lv 1.&nbsp; Though Vahn didn't have the same skill, he believed his own wouldn't fall short in the long run. It might take time, but as long as he put in the effort he would be able to increase his stats to S rank or higher before deciding to level up. He believed in the idiom that to build a tall tower, you had to first build a strong foundation.&nbsp; By the way, out of curiosity he had looked up 'Liaris Freese' and 'Argonaut' within the shop and found out they cost as much as 1,000,000OP and 400,000OP respectively. Its no wonder Bell was able to become the protagonist with skills like that as early as lv. 2!&nbsp; After roughly three hours of travel through the forest, Vahn was finally able to see Orario in the distance. Though he had seen how large it was on the map, he was awestruck seeing the city in person. He had spent the entirety of his previous life within various labs and cells, so this was his first time seeing an actual city. All of the structures and buildings were beyond anything he could imagine, and Vahn couldn't understand how the characters in the manga were able to freely navigate it in short periods of time. As far as he could see, it would take several hours at the very least to travel from end-to-end, and that's if he were running!&nbsp; Approaching the nearest gate, Vahn could see a long line of carriages and people waiting for their opportunity to pass through the gate. There were armored men with polearms stationed around the entrance, and they inspected the identification of everyone entering as well as any goods they were transporting.&nbsp; As Vahn joined the queue, he noticed a very peculiar phenomenon which he didn't expect. Emanating from every person within the line he could see a vague colorless haze coming from their bodies. He curiously looked at the adventurer-like man ahead of him in the line.&nbsp; As if sensing the look, the man turned towards Vahn and gave him a cursory glance. Seeing the strangely dressed and unkempt appearance of the child in front of him he couldn't help but grimace and speak out."What are you looking at kid? I ain't got no money to give, go bug someone else before I get pissed off."&nbsp; Vahn was surprised hearing the exclamation of the adventurer? before him. It wasn't his intention to ask for money, but he didn't know how he should explain that he was only looking at the aura of the man which had now turned slightly grey. As he was thinking of an excuse, the man once again began speaking.&nbsp; "I said beat it kid! If you want handouts go ask a monk." said the man with a face full of distaste.&nbsp; Without knowing how to deal with the situation, Vahn ended up moving towards the end of the line to put some distance between him and the disgruntled man. He didn't want to cause trouble or draw the attention of the guards before he even entered the city.&nbsp; ("What was the deal with that guy? And do you know anything about the aura that is coming off from everyone Sis?") (A/N: I usually use () to show when someone is talking within the mind. For Vahn it will almost always have ("") while Sis has (**). Let me know if its confusing and I'll try to find a better way.)&nbsp; (*The aura is due to the passive effect generated by the system function 'View Affection' that you had received from the 'Beginner's Package' when you entered this world. For anyone that you haven't interacted with, it will always display as a clear/transparent aura. Depending on their impression and how you interact with them the aura will change to reflect how they see you. You can also physically touch the aura to get more comprehensive information about the person. This will allow you to see the actual value gained from particular actions and more.*)&nbsp; Vahn had completely forgotten about the skill. Though he had tried messing around with it in the beginning, since there were no people nearby he was never able to determine its actual use.&nbsp; ("So when the aura turned from clear to grey it was because he was angry with me? But I didn't even do anything!") Vahn was very upset. The first person he had talked to in this world hated him for no reason.&nbsp; (*It is likely due to how you are dressed Vahn. If you look closely many people are wearing relatively similar attire and follow certain standards for hygiene and appearance. Since you have been living in the forest your clothes are in a distinctly different state than everyone else around you. There is also the matter of your hair which has grown quite a bit in the last seven months.*)&nbsp; After Sis's explanation, Vahn began to inspect his own appearance. He noticed that his clothes were torn and had stains in various spots. He had only worn a total of three different outfits since his arrival in this world, and everything except his shadowsilk tunic was in poor state. He also noted that his hair had indeed grown long, but he liked it since it was always shaved to the scalp in his previous life.&nbsp; After looking around at the clothing of others nearby, Vahn couldn't help but agree he stood out. It could also be seen that people in the crowd would give him sidewards glances every now and then as the aura around their bodies became slightly dimmer. He had no way of knowing how his appearance would affect peoples' first impression, and how the first impression was often the deciding factor when dealing with new people.&nbsp; After around two hours it was finally Vahn's turn to undergo the inspection. Many of the guards showed an expression of distaste at the boy who had arrived at the gate. After asking for his identification they sent him into the side office for processing without wasting any extra effort.&nbsp; Seeing how everyone was treating him, Vahn resolved to purchase some nicer clothes after he was able to secure lodging within the City...&nbsp; After entering the small office near the gate a middle-aged man with an unkempt beard stood up and faced Vahn.&nbsp; "Greetings young man, my name is Gregory House. I'm the Chief Customs Officer on duty today, and I heard from my men you didn't have any ID."&nbsp; The man named Gregory evaluated the young man standing before him. By appearance, he had likely migrated to the city from a mountain village or some other rural area. Curiously, the boy didn't seem to have any luggage or weapons which caused the veteran Officer to assume the boy had likely been robbed along the way.&nbsp; After giving the boy a once over, he gave a gentle smile and asked kindly, "Can I ask for your name and why you are trying to enter the City?"&nbsp; Vahn was surprised at the tone of the middle-aged man before him. He was even able to see that the aura emanating from the man's body had begun to glow with a gentle light after examing him for a few moments.&nbsp; "My name is Vahn Mason, Sir. I came to Orario after my grandfather had passed away. He always told me stories about his life as an Adventurer, and I thought it would honor his memory to become one myself."&nbsp; Vahn had responded with the story he had made up with Sis prior to his arrival. Since he didn't know anything about the world, he would try to respond as vaguely as possible when questioned. He felt guilty for deceiving the man, especially since he seemed to not dislike him based on his appearance like everyone else.&nbsp; Hearing Vahn's response, Gregory had begun to feel bad for the boy who could barely be called a young man. "You must have had it rough. I'm certain your Grandfather would be proud to see you had made it here. Tell me, Vahn, what are your plans after you enter the City? You must know you can't enter without paying an entrance tax and a temporary pass without identification would cost you 3000 Valis."&nbsp; Vahn nodded. "Sir, I would like to register at the Guild to receive an identification. For the tax and entrance pass, I have a few items to barter if that is acceptable."&nbsp; Gregory gave Vahn another look and was unable to see anything which could be used as barter. He also didn't see any items that would be acceptable collateral to allow Vahn to enter the City.&nbsp; "You don't have to worry about it kid. I just had a grandson myself born this past week, so I'm in a pretty giving mood. I'll go ahead and pay for your entrance pass and tax as long as you can promise me you'll make an honest living and pay me back in the future." Gregory had seen several outsiders led astray after entering the City. He had hoped his extension of kindness would prevent the boy from treading down a shady route in the future.&nbsp; Vahn was overwhelmed by the man's kindness. He could feel his eyes get a bit wet as he engraved the man's name within his heart. Once he became stronger he would not only return the kindness he had received but return it with interest.&nbsp; "I swear on my Mother and Grandfather, I will never walk a path that would bring shame to their memory." Since Vahn never knew his real grandfather he felt guilty swearing on just him alone, so he included the most important person within his heart as well.&nbsp; Satisfied with the boys response, Gregory quickly filled out the required forms before allowing Vahn to enter to City.&nbsp; "Good luck boy, I have high expectations for you." he waved as the boy exited the office.&nbsp; Vahn turned and bowed slightly towards the man, "Thank you Mr. House. I will remember the kindness you have shown me. I will do my best to meet your expectations!"&nbsp; The aura surrounding the man became a bit brighter as he turned away and triggered the bell signaling for the next person in line to enter.&nbsp; Vahn stared towards the direction of the office for a moment before turning away. He looked at his surroundings and marveled at the architectural design of each building. There were people of various shapes and sizes walking around in high spirits. He even caught sight of a young woman with rabbit ears traveling with a stout hairy man which Vahn assumed was a Dwarf.&nbsp; "Orario, here I come..." Vahn muttered as he walked towards the center of the City, where the massive 'Babel' tower was located.

Awakening before dawn, Vahn began to put his plan into action. After putting a filter on the shop, he was able to find the item he was looking for.&nbsp; 'Small Explosive Charge' (10 OP)&nbsp; Rank:(E)&nbsp; A component used in the making of anti-personnel mines developed by Russian Scientist Neil Vankhov. The explosive yield is equivalent to 10MJ (10 sticks of dynamite).&nbsp; Dissatisfied with the idea of simply kiting a few goblins out of the encampment, Vahn had come up with the idea of pestering them thoroughly over the course of the entire day. Once the goblins retreated further into the camp he would be able to attach the explosives to magically charged arrows and bombard the largest concentration of goblins. If he was lucky, he would even be able to deal large amounts of collateral and potentially injure or kill the Chief.&nbsp; He slowly made his way towards the encampment and dug up several of the mines along the treeline. It was a very dangerous and harrowing experience given the sensitivity of the mines, but he managed to finish without triggering any of them.&nbsp; After replanting them in a funnel-like fashion with only a few safe paths of retreat, Vahn ate breakfast. He didn't know if he would have any opportunities to eat while harassing the goblins, so he made sure to enjoy a full meal.&nbsp; Starting a fire near his secondary campsite using firestones he managed to roast a rabbit he had hunted previously. Though his inventory kept items from spoiling, he enjoyed the process of cooking and eating as it was very therapeutic to him.&nbsp; Noting the sun had risen above the horizon Vahn checked the remaining quest time: 1D17H12M.&nbsp; He now had less than two days remaining, but with luck, he would be able to finish the quest before the days' end. Though he assumed the goblin Chief was much stronger than normal goblins, he did not believe it would be able to tank ten sticks of dynamite to the face.&nbsp; Returning to the treeline near the encampment, Vahn finished his final preparations by setting up several tripwires crisscrossing the areas around the landmines. Satisfied with his setup, he skulked just behind the trees closest to the clearing. Given the 130m distance between the encampment and the goblins speed, it would take them more than twenty seconds to close the gap towards his position. With his maximum firing rate, he was confident in being able to eliminate up to one goblin every second. Hopefully, they would send a large group to try and attack him which he would then be able to kite into the mine-infested woods while retreating.&nbsp; Vahn spent several minutes observing the goblins as they went about their construction. He noticed that they had erected a large structure within the night, presumably to house the Chief and his cronies.&nbsp; At present, the Chief couldn't be seen, but the presence of two of his henchmen indicated that he was within the building. Vahn contemplated trying to bombard it immediately but decided it would be beneficial to wait until he dwindled down the number of smaller goblins.&nbsp; Before determining if the Chief was inside the larger hut, it would be a mistake to use the explosive arrows. The goblins had shown an ability to adapt to new situations, so they would likely spread their forces out after his initial attack with the explosives. He wanted them to try to fortify and group together, or at least wait until he had eyes on the Chief's location.&nbsp; Drawing his bow to a full arc, Vahn held his breath trying to bring his focus to the limits. He took aim at one of the Chief's cronies as he began channeling energy into the arrow. Though he had practice hitting targets at 50m consistently, it was the first time he would be trying to hit a moving target at more than 130m. He was hoping the increased flight distance and penetrative power of the magic arrows would make up for the lack of skill...&nbsp; After twenty seconds had passed Vahn loosed the arrow. It flew with a terrifying velocity as it drew a golden line through the air. Within moments the arrow smashed into the leg of the large goblin severing the limb from the thigh down. Though it hadn't hit the head as intended, Vahn was still satisfied with the result as the shout from the larger goblin drew the attention of the entire camp, including the Chief.&nbsp; (A/N: I know it's been a while since the MC doesn't talk to anyone, so note that the following is a perspective shift!)&nbsp; The goblin Chief exited his tent and began to look around at the chaos and disorder that had taken over his minions. A grim expression appeared on his face when he saw his chief executor laying on the ground howling at this loss of his leg. Angered at the incident, the goblin Chief looked towards nearby goblins and used a language unique to their species to inquire about what happened.&nbsp; The small goblin looked in fear at its mighty leader and explained that a beam of light had come from the forest and cut off the leg of the executor. Seeing the dissatisfied and grim expression that appeared on the face of the Chief, he quickly bowed down and continued to affirm what he had seen.&nbsp; The Chief looked between the groveling minion, his wailing executor, and finally, the forest where the bush demon had been attacking his tribe for the last six days. It seemed as though no matter how far they retreated from the forest, the demon was not satisfied. It continued to pursue them further and further and even incorporated a strange magic that caused the earth to erupt beneath his minions as they patrolled the forest.&nbsp; Ever since the Chief had devoured a dying mage and stole his broken staff, he had been much stronger than his frail kin. He had begun to believe he was special and unique among his kind, and even forcefully took over the various small groups of goblins until he was able to build his village along the river. With time he had intended to destroy the nearby human settlements and expand his village into a Kingdom, and from there continue to spread until it grew into an Empire!&nbsp; However, fate seemed to envy his prestige and glory. Soon after he had picked the area to begin laying the foundation of his plan one of his patrols had disappeared. The Chief had assumed they had met a bear or another more powerful creature and died due to carelessness. His brethren were weak, so a few losses were well within his expectations.&nbsp; He could not imagine that this incident, which he had belittled at the time, would become the prelude to his approaching nightmares. In the days to follow, the bush demon had slowly encroached upon the outer perimeter he had established with great difficulty. It had begun to slowly eliminate each three goblin camp in the area.&nbsp; As it never seemed to attack the larger groups, the Chief had ordered to increase the camp sizes to seven, with two always patrolling between the other camps. He also stationed sentries within the trees as none of his scouts had gotten sight of their invisible killer.&nbsp; His order paid off almost immediately, a testament to his brilliant mind. Unfortunately, his minions were unable to prevent the unknown assailant from escaping. After the engagement, his scouts reported that the creature seemed to be covered in a strange fur similar to the shrubbery that dotted the forest. It was capable of moving quickly between the trees, and even when his men dealt reportedly fatal damage to the monster it seemed to recover almost instantly. By the time of its escape, the creature now known as 'the bush demon' had slain more than ten of his minions before disappearing into the forest like a ghost. His scouts tried to give pursuit, but the ground seemed to come alive beneath them and an additional five lives were lost in the process.&nbsp; Though the Chief was displeased with the result, he was secretly terrified at the existence of such an irrational creature. He could not understand why the bush demon had been targeting his minions, even to the point he had to recall all of his sentries from the forest. He had even ordered for his minions to clear away all of the shrubbery and debris between the village and the treeline to discourage the bush demon from further antagonizing them. This order had seemed to work, as there had been several hours since the last attack of the bush demon. The Chief had foolishly begun to hope that this prolonged nightmare had come to a close.&nbsp; As he stood there contemplating the events of the past week, the Chief weighed his options. He could send his minions into the forest and try to flush out the demon which would likely allow it to claim more lives with its devious magic. Other than that he also considered ordering his minions to begin trying to cross the river and escaping into the wilds further south. He knew there were several small villages in the direction, and he would be able to build a new kingdom in a land far away from this demon.&nbsp; He looked towards the river and began to earnestly consider retreat. Even though the idea of fleeing was something that went against his pride as a superior being, his minions were still weak and he had to ensure their survival in order to build his kingdom.&nbsp; As the Chief continued to hesitate, he became distracted by the continued wailing of his previous executor. In his fury, he turned towards the delirious fool and used the magic provided by his staff to incinerate the weakling.&nbsp; He observed as his previous executor thrashed about in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames. Surrounding him, his minions looked towards the incident with fear and awe which further inflated his ego. With a gruesome smile on his face, he prepared to order his subjects to ford the river so they could seek paradise and security away from this cursed land.&nbsp; The Chief raised his staff towards the sky and readied his command, only for a beam of golden light to fly in his direction. Using his quick reaction time, he managed to intercept the beam using his staff as a contemptuous smirk appeared on his face.&nbsp; *BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!*&nbsp; That was the last sound the Chief ever heard as a searing wave engulfed his body and darkness claimed him.&nbsp; Title: A Single Decisive Arrow

Chapter 16: Rewards