"Sire! I've received reports of an anomaly that happened in the Forest of Appares." A soldier shouted wearing an iron chest plate with an underlying garment made out of steel. Sword shining and enchanted with magic characters as a black stone on its hilt shimers. "Yes, Soldier Mike, please do investigate and report the findings to me. Dismissed!"
A small but stable camp outside the Forest of Appares was opening its heavily guarded gates as Soldier Mike headed out to the anomaly sited. It was said that a battle of beasts commenced as they heard a black spike roaring through the air and hit something solid. Other soldiers reached the area but only a lying corpse and a crushed tree was left. The wolf was cold and dead but it was crushed in the head with a knife blow. This is a strange occurence as the Forest of Appares is not kind to adventurers and even them soldiers. Bringing a knife which is clearly not enchanted to a magic battle is clearly suicide but clearly the one dealing this killing blow was an expert of its craft. They left the scene to report and not make any sudden actions that may cause an accident.
A couple of minutes later as the sun peaks and blazes over the paths and tree tops. The crushed tree astonished Mike as he never got close to an aftermath of battle. Obviously as a soldier, the heat of battle and the ruins it leaves in its wake interests him. But he was only a gate guard and was lucky enough to be the one getting the report in order for him to get some action. "Black aura... seems its level is higher than mine. A wolf this strong should be enough to deal with a man holding a knife..." he muttered to himself. The black stone on its hilt glowed and shrouded him, concealing himself from the surroundings and making sure none of the wolf's friends hunt him down.
A tree crushed by a spike, one dead wolf by knife and no corpse of a man. Concealing as a group is a no go since their aura will merge and their presence will instead increase. It is either a group they did not notice entering or a concealed person with high enough skill to kill a wolf this level. The former is fearsome but can be dealt with but the latter is much more scary with its skills and an unknown threat.
The heat of battle and the dire footsteps Laurent took all seems apparent to Mike. 2 different sized paws and a man shoeprint made his hypothesis of a guy unlucky enough to encounter a pack. With this size, it seems its leader is already at the highest level of having black aura. Just the thought of a guy fast enough to outrun it gives him shivers. A decent soldier can outmatch a black aura low-level beast with his intellect and an advantage of using hands to handle magic. Beast's mark which is apparently used to cast spells can be used only once in a moment. Humanity evolved battling with Aura Beasts because they have discovered Black Stone like the one on Mike's sword hilt. The stone absorbs aura in its environment and is then processed and studied so it is usable by the average person. Compatibility with the stone is required because a person can hurt himself trying to absorb foreign energy.
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Ten minutes later of tracking the chase that happened. He saw the path the wolf and man seperate. Either the wolves are hungry and did not rely on aura or they're just playing with their food which is obviously the reason they lost it. Thoughts of the guy running away from an imminent death ran multiple simulations on his head. The prints they left, the displaced rock they tumbled upon, and the lingering aura in the area. Luck or skill, it doesn't matter because he needs to be wary because no copse of a man or the wolves have been seen. Him taking his time tracking the man's path made him unaware his black stone is dimming. Soon his shroud came off and instincts tells him to run.
Hears pumping, guts shouting, everything his body want to do is run. He sprinted to a nearby tree and with all his might. Climb that as fast as possible. Wolves sniffing around and another group of beasts hunting for food gathers in the place. He could escape and as he looked back as he intended to jump tree from tree, a boy in a fortunate man-sized rabbit hole shivering and crying managed to enter his field of view. He looked dowm his hilt and sighed relief as the stone lights up a bit. It manages to charge that lets him use it a while longer. Shroud of black aura was again hugging his body and he went down to the hole.
It hurts more to only see a white fragment of your past than not remembering anything of it. Enduring the dagger-like stabs to his head just to feel a bit of warmth from his parents and the stomach-curling growls of his hungry body made him teared up. It's too much for a young boy to live for. The rabbit hole he was in seemed to be abandoned as a couple minute he was in there, no one came back to claim the place. Body-shivering sounds of wild beasts hunting for his tender flesh made him curled up and the thought of him sleeping through the pain is heaven.
As if he was falling asleep, footsteps could be heard. He looked up and was shocked a man this size could sneak up to him. (Are you okay?) sounds muttered but fall flat to his ears as he does not know the words he is saying. The shine on its armor and sharp sword made him scared but the man's face embraced his sad soul as it kinda resembles his father. Teared keep falling and the man's arms reached down to him and carried him like a baby. The size difference was that of a firewood log to an adult size man. He keep tearing up as the man sprinted out of the woods.
