บท 20: Forest of Mutants.

The artificial forest covered quite a bit of land...

Although It would take someone just a bit over an hour at running speed to travel through it, this will only be possible if the road cutting through the forest was taken.

The forest looked many times more different than what Cain had seen yesterday. The road he had traveled through yesterday had completely vanished. The forest seemed to have expanded overnight. The dense canopy of leaves seemed even higher than before as well.

"The road is gone..."

"How the hell are we going to know where we are going if there is no road?!"

They all stared into the dark forest, unsure whether to proceed or not. They could forme their watches that it was already past midday, but because of the perpetually gray skies, the forest appeared as dark as night from where they stood.

"C'mon! Don't tell me you guys wanna back out now?!" Manny yelled with raised brows.

"Don't be so fast, muscle brain. We need to weigh our options carefully." Susan said with an eye roll.

"Susan is right. We can't afford to be careless. The forest is very dark, and we might be ambushed by those mutants or devils." David reasoned.

"I don't give a fuck! There ain't no reason to back down now. We just charge in. That's all. If there are any monsters, I'll kill'em. You wimps can sit back and watch." With that being said, the hot-headed Manny simply charged into the dense foliage with his swords drawn.

"Wait- ah fuck! Come on guys. Let's go!" Seeing as he couldn't stop Manny, David just decided to go ahead with the original plan. The others, including Cain, simply followed after them.

Although Manny appeared to be too hasty and careless, there was no other way around the situation except barging straight through. Trying to look for the road was probably going to waste a lot of time, or even end up useless, as the road most likely had been covered up by the hyper-grown undergrowth.

'Must be the God Ash again...'

Cain drew the correct conclusion. The mana influx generated by the God Ash was mutating the entire planet on a fundamental level. Everything was undergoing evolution, including the forest Cain had just entered.

***

Upon meeting up with Manny and David, they began traveling slowly. They didn't want to fall prey to any ambush because they missed any details while moving fast. They quickly noticed that their suspicions were true. The forest was larger than before. It had expanded noticeably overnight.

'This is going to be a bit bothersome.'

Although Cain was a bit of a battle maniac, he still had his incredible observant nature. While the forest might be brimming with enemies to fight, it might not necessarily be a good thing...

If the number became too overwhelming, they would end up exhausted and would be overrun. After all, their stamina wasn't infinite. Although the forest was dark, Cain could see clearly due to his high perception stat.

Quickly, they made contact with the first group of enemies. Red eyes began to appear from the darkness...

{Mutant Wolves} Lvl. 10. (normal)

Strength: 40.

Agility: 60.

Defense: 10.

Magic: 5.

Skills: Rendering bite, Lunge

About 10 of them closed in on the group, their eyes bloodshot, and their mouths frothy.

HOWL!

The leading wolf let out a blood-curdling howl, exciting the others behind it to let out howls of excitement as well.

"Leave'em to me!"

Before anyone could even make a move, Manny lunged forward as fast as the wind, faster than anyone in the group, aside from Cain.

Holding his swords in a reverse grip, he charged into the pack.

"Wind blade arte: Whirlwind!"

With that, a short but bloody slaughter ensued...

'Yep... He's crazy.'

Cain didn't know how to describe what he was seeing. The way Manny wielded the blades was without finesse or form. He swung his blade so erratically and violently, Cain wondered who the real beast was.

Although he appeared to just be swinging his blades erratically, every swing of his always met their target. It was like his blades were riding the wind, each strike as deadly as the last.

"Muahahahaha!"

In a few seconds, all the monsters had been killed. The others didn't have to lift a finger.

'Impressive'

Cain was impressed by the level of skill Manny displayed. If all of them in the group had the same level of power as well, he would have nothing to worry about except if they all joined hands to attack him.

They met other small groups as they moved forward, which were dealt with very swiftly. Cain didn't feel the need to join in on the fun yet, because the benefits he would get from the monsters were not worth the effort. The monsters were of a lower level, so the amount of exp they provided was negligible to the current him.

Very quickly, they came across a somewhat difficult situation.

{Mutant Black Bear} level 15. (elite).

Strength: 100.

Agility: 70.

Magic: 8.

HP: 3000/3000.

MP: 800/800.

Skills: Heavy smash, Rend.

There were ten hulking mutants present...

The artificial forest had been populated with all sorts of wild animals. There were all sorts of foxes, bears, wolves, birds, monkeys, and many more. These creatures had now mutated into bloodthirsty flesh-hungry beasts. They were also becoming way more intelligent than they had been previously. The way they looked at Cain and the others was akin to the way a hunter looked at prey.

These {Mutant Black Bears} stood at a height of over 8 feet when standing on their hind feet. They had a row of bones protruding from their spines and blood-red markings all over their pitch-black fur.

"Alright. These are going to be tougher than the small fries we've been dealing with. Dan and Hunter, you guys are together. Susan and Evangeline, you guys face one, I and Blaze will-"

"Fuck all that. Charge!" Manny, simply ignored whatever David was saying, charging at the mutants like a madman.

"He's gonna get himself killed," Cain said.

Although Manny was strong, there was no way he could face off against ten of the mutants all at once.

Without warning, Evangeline also charged at a mutant on her own.

"Everyone. Just pick one of them. Remember, put your safety first. If you feel you can't handle your opponent, ask for"

Before David could even finish his sentence, the others simply let loose.

"Finally! Some real opponents. That Manny has been hoarding all of them for far too long." Vincent said excitedly.

"Indeed. I am also excited to duel against the beasts." Steve said with a flourish of his long black hair.

"Let's go, Dan."

The rest of them all dashed at their respective opponents, drawing their weapons to get ready for battle. All except Cain...

"Mr. David. You've really taken a burden on your shoulders this time." Cain said with a smile.

"Sign... I know. But I can't just leave you, children, out here on your own. Imagine if what happened to the others-"

"You don't need to worry. I'll help you out from now on."

Cain had been observing for a while now, and he finally concluded that it was time to begin executing his master plan.

"I know you have a good heart, Cain, but dealing with these kids is really tough," David spoke to Cain with familiarity. He had always seen Cain as a little brother and had a thorough understanding of him.

"You trust me, don't you?" Cain retorted with a smile.

"Sigh... Alright. Go easy on them."

"Maybe..."

Cain unsheathed his blade as well, the sound of metal escaping its confines ringing out. His long blade was held in one hand as he approached the battle. At this point, even David had begun to engage his opponent.

Cain stared at the mutant beast that was currently eyeing him like he was lunch.

"I'll get back to you in a moment."

Oddly enough, Cain wasn't interested in his opponent at the moment. While the mutant beast was still confused as to what was happening, Cain activated his skills.

"Metal Creation: Fetters of iron."

Out of thin hair, several chains materialized. They wrapped around the body of the poor mutant and dragged it to the ground heavily. The poor thing struggled, but it just couldn't break the chains.

"Shhhh! I'm watching something over here. Be quiet!" Cain said as he used his blade to smack the butt of the fallen mutant beast, leading the creature to let out cries of humiliation.

"Oh don't give me that face. You'll get your turn. Just watch the show..."

Cain intended to watch the way the other members fought, as well as figure out their skills. That way, he would be able to tick off more boxes on his to-do list.

"Let the fun begin!"

Previously, Cain was still thinking his plan through, but after analyzing everything he had seen so far, he had concluded.

'Since I can't trust this group of people, I'll make them trust me."