It is said that the forest swallows any who stray from the path it opens. Those who reach the wall return barely breathing, their bodies covered in deep cuts and festering wounds. Some are poisoned, their only salvation lying in the hands of high priests capable of cleansing the corruption. Rumors and speculation spread like wildfire, each more dreadful than the last. But the best of the best knows the truth: within the forest stands a wall of living flesh, a grotesque, sentient barrier that defies all reason.

  Grent awoke with a start, his body slick with sweat, his breath uneven. A nightmare—no, a memory. A past life he had long abandoned, yet it still clawed at the edges of his mind. He had left behind a wife, a home, a dream of a better life. But fate had been cruel. The news had come like a blade to the heart—his wife and children, murdered in a freak accident. From that moment, settlements became unbearable. He wandered, embracing the life of a nomad, seeking danger to drown out the grief.

  But that was another world. That man had died with the Wall of Medyn.

  Now, in this life, he was someone else. A noble. A leader. Surrounded by loyal allies, respected by his people. And yet, as he sat at the edge of his bed, his fingers curled into fists, a vow passed his lips.

  I will never make the same mistakes again.

  After his usual morning routine, Grent made his way to the city center, where Nana and Andrew were already waiting. The mood was livelier than the day of their appraisal. Nana was practically buzzing with excitement, while Andrew stood beside her, his eagerness more restrained but no less present.

  “Check this out!” Nana beamed, holding up a beautifully crafted bow. “I picked this from my family’s vault. Looks amazing, doesn’t it?”

  The bow was nothing short of a masterpiece—its grip wrapped in smooth bull leather; its hickory limbs polished to perfection. The string, made of fine linen, was fitted with a coyote-hide silencer.

  Grent nodded in appreciation. “That’s a fine bow. Your family must be wealthy to own something like this.”

  Nana shook her head. “We’re nobles, but not that rich. This bow is actually an heirloom, passed down for generations. It belonged to my great-great-grandfather.”

  “It’s held up remarkably well for its age.”

  Before Nana could reply, Andrew stepped forward, proudly displaying his gear. His blade—a damascus steel sword—gleamed under the sunlight, its intricate patterns mesmerizing. A scutum shield, reinforced with forged iron strips, rested on his arm.

  “Impressive craftsmanship,” Grent said, eyeing the weapon. “Are those also from the family vault?”

  Andrew shook his head. “No, these were a gift from my father. Got them for my birthday.” His voice held a deep sense of appreciation. “The balance is perfect. Feels like an extension of my own body.”

  Grent chuckled. “That’s how it should be.”

  Andrew eyed Grent’s great sword. “What about yours? Looks like a work of art.”

  Grent glanced at the massive weapon strapped to his back. “Found it in my mansion’s armory. Feels oddly familiar, but I can’t remember ever using it before.” He gave the blade a testing flex. “It’s lighter than most great swords, perfectly balanced, and still sharp after six months of use. I think the smith used an Edge Preservation enchantment.”

  Andrew let out a low whistle. “No wonder it looks untouched. Must be some damn good craftsmanship.”

  Nana, too engrossed in admiring her bow, hummed a playful tune to herself, completely oblivious to the conversation unfolding around her. She then asked,

  “You have a quest already in mind or do you want to look for one together?”

  Andrew, still in discussion about their gear suddenly gets interrupted by Nana’s question and said “Yeah, let’s look for a quest before we get too engrossed by our gear”

  “Good idea!” said Grent ready for an adventure.

  The mood in the Guild is as lively as ever. Adventurers crowded the tables, feasting on the meals with mugs of rum to wash it down, quenching their hunger and thirst. The quest board swarmed with people who is eager to start their day. The laughter from conversations fills the air as a bard singing his tales from land afar.

  “Hey you! Are you new here? Haven’t seen you around before!” a drunken adventurer shouted from his table.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Why don’t you mind your own business?” Nana shouted back with a playful tone.

  Grent fixated on the quest board, skims through the quests to look for something interesting. Finally, a quest caught his eyes: a quest to investigate and subjugate a monster near the Medyn forest never seen before.

  “New monsters?” Andrew said with a frown on his face. “They’re everywhere it seems. Last week I saw a request describing about a hippo-sized hound with fangs as long as long as my arm.”

  “Why don’t we take it and see for ourselves?” Grent said, intrigued by new monsters.

  As both Grent and Andrew discussed on a quest to take, Nana was arguing with a drunken Adventurer about who’s better in combat.

  “Nana? What are you doing? We already have a quest in—” Andrew called out but cut off by the scene of Nana brawling with the adventurer.

  Grent glanced back, catching sight of the battle—yet his gaze lingered on Nana instead. Her frame was slender, almost delicate at a glance, but beneath it lay the strength forged through experience and relentless training. Every movement carried the precision of discipline, her muscles lean yet powerful, a testament to the training she had gone through.

  Before Grent could break up the fight, a tall and burly man picked up the drunken Adventurer and knocked him out with a single—concise blow, as to stop the fight from escalating to a full-on bar fight.

  “You better watch your companion before she gets into much trouble” said the man with a soft yet firm tone.

  “I will keep that in mind” Andrew and Grent answered in unison, yet Nana is still pumped up from her interrupted fight.

  “One more punch and he’s done!” she shouted at the man.

  The man, seemingly unprovoked went out with his gear in tow whilst waving back to Nana, who is still furious her fight got disturbed.

  “let’s just take the quest and go on with our day, Nana.” Andrew said to Nana pointing at the quest paper in Grent’s hand.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Better save that energy for when we fight! Let’s go!” Nana exclaimed with excitement in her voice.

  The three then claimed the quest and went to the edge of the Forest to investigate and possibly subjugate the monster to update the Bestiary of the Guild.

  As they walked along the forest edge, rustling could be heard deeper in. and suddenly, a figure of a rabbit with fangs that rivals a sabretooth tiger jumps out to confront them. It let out a shriek as terrible as the screams of devils in the pits of hell. The fur stained with blood and smells like rotting corpses of monsters, signifying it was just feasting on another monster.

  Andrew goes in front to tank the incoming attack as Nana and Grent prepares to strike back. The rabbit then pounced and scratches on Andrew’s shield—leaving claw marks and dents on the metal reinforcement. Nana drew her bow and aims at the rabbit’s eye, while Grent runs from the side. The arrow struck the Rabbit’s eye, making it shriek in pain as Grent dealt the final blow to the rabbit’s neck.

  Not a single word was muttered—yet all three could coordinate flawlessly as they fought the rabbit. Grent thought to himself,

  it’s the first time we’ve ever fought together, yet I can feel their movement as if they’re shouting to coordinate. Could this have something to do with the vision when I touched the Deity of Evil’s pedestal? Could the shadowy figure be Andrew and Nana? No, couldn’t be. They don’t have the same presence yet they look similar.

  “Great work, you two” said Grent surprised they could coordinate without so little as a gesture. But then he looked closer at the monster and thoughts with chills running down his spine,

  I’ve seen this monster before! It was the same one that gave me a scar on my left arm back in the forest! But the way it attacked Andrew was way less threatening than what I experienced. It’s also way more agile than when I fought one. Could it be a sign that the wall is appearing? What is happening with the sudden appearances of the new monsters?

  “That scared me for a moment” said Nana as her hands shake from the appearance of the rabbit.

  “Let’s bring this guy back and receive out reward.” Andrew said, still in shock of the rabbit’s size. It was larger than a cow yet smaller than a bull.

  With great effort they dragged the corpse of the rabbit back to the wagon they took to get to the forest.

  As they enter the Guild, loud whispers filled the air. The lifeless corpse of the rabbit gets dragged to the monster submission room, where monster subjugation quests are confirmed and registered to the Adventurer’s record.

  “It’s a big ’un” said the butcher as the rabbit is picked up effortlessly onto the dissection table.

  “Wow, not even a single drop of struggle as he picked it up, huh?” said Andrew surprised at the butcher’s strength.

  “This is the first time I’ve seen it in the last 20 years I been here.” said the butcher.

  “Couldn’t be surprised anymore!” he said as he laughed loudly. “Seeing how I’ve seen 3 new monsters this month alone! I’ve also heard some guys saying that they swore they could see a structure forming deep in the forest. Bullshit! No such thing can happen without anyone being there!”

  Grent, heard the butcher and it confirmed his thoughts about the wall beginning to appear. When they returned to the counter, they were asked to describe the strength of the rabbit and its apparent weakness to update the bestiary. Andrew, who experienced the pounce directly said,

  “It hits like a bull and my arms hurt so bad I almost pissed myself”

  Nana laughed at his statement and said,

  “I still remember that time you passed out from a goat ramming your shield”

  “Oh, shut up, if you’d experienced it yourself you would’ve gone flying” Andrew said as he massages his arm from the pain.

  ***

  I'm still working on my fundamental skill and im still going to use AI to review my chapters first before i release it.

  This chapter was really fun to write, i especially like the part where Nana had a fight.