The valley breeze blew gently, and the simple meal was enough to restore their energy after all the experiments earlier. On the ground near Rangga, the kingdom’s sword he had borrowed still lay where he had left it—as if waiting for him.A few moments later, Rangga stood up and stretched slightly as his strength returned, then picked up the sword and weighed it in his hand.Arcelia immediately noticed and asked, “What are you going to do now?”“Test something,” Rangga replied casually.The guards, already familiar with that pattern, exchanged glances—then, without anyone telling them to, took several steps back.Rangga stood in front of a boulder and slowly raised the sword, then began visualizing the concept—a layer of energy around his hand, not magic, but a cushion meant to dampen vibrations, until the air around it grew slightly warm.Arcelia immediately noticed the change and narrowed her eyes.“…You’re creating a barrier.”Rangga shifted his focus to the sword. He imagined vibrat

He shrugged.“I was just trying to see where my limits are.”Several advisers exchanged glances.“And apparently...” Rangga continued, scratching his cheek, “they’re pretty far. Maybe a little extreme.”The old mage immediately looked even more intrigued.“But everything was under control,” Rangga added, pointing at Arcelia. “Totally safe. Nobody got hurt.”He gave them a thumbs-up.“As long as it passes the audit, we’re good.”The generals exchanged looks. One of them struggled to suppress a smile.“...Audit?” the old mage muttered.The King stared at Rangga for several seconds before letting out a quiet laugh.“If by that you mean no castles were destroyed... then I suppose it was a success.”A few advisers laughed along with him but the old mage did not. Instead, he stepped forward.“Hero... is it true that you created those phenomena without using spells?”“He did,” Arcelia answered simply.The old mage stepped even closer.“How?”“Easy,” the King said, raising one hand.He turned

The carriage came to a stop a few meters away from the massive footprints pressed into the ground. Rangga climbed down first, followed by Arcelia and several knights who immediately spread out into a defensive formation. The battle mages remained behind, scanning their surroundings as a gentle breeze stirred the dry grass lining the road.Rangga crouched beside one of the footprints. He ran his fingers along the edge of the impression before tracing its shape from front to back with his eyes. The longer he looked, the stranger it seemed."...That's weird," he muttered.Arcelia turned toward him as Rangga pointed at the print."Those aren't human feet."She crouched beside him and glanced at it only briefly before nodding, as though she saw nothing unusual."Of course not."She pointed at the long claw marks at the front of the print."Those are demon tracks.""Every species has a different body structure. Some resemble humans, some are much larger, and others look like complete monster

The ground was still trembling faintly from the impact of the stone pillar.Rangga quickly got back to his feet, briefly dusting off his clothes before retreating several steps. His breathing was still ragged, and his eyes never left the demon as it began to move again.The creature let out a low growl and slowly pushed its massive body back onto its feet."...Huh?"Rangga's expression immediately changed."You're getting up again?"The demon raised its head and stared straight at Rangga, its crimson eyes now burning with rage."GGGRRRAAAAHHH!!"The roar made Rangga's chest vibrate."Shit..."He instinctively backed away again."Yeah, no way I'm fighting something like this up close."His eyes followed every movement as the demon began stepping toward him."One hit from that thing and I'm fucking dead."Rangga quickly glanced left and right, searching for anything he could use.Amid the battlefield that had been torn apart by the fighting, he spotted two swords lying on the ground near

By late afternoon, the carriage was finally repaired.The wheel that had come loose was back in place, the damaged frame had been reinforced with spare planks, and the coachman had made sure the two remaining horses were still capable of continuing the journey.Once everything was ready, the group resumed their journey toward Ravenfall.The trip was much calmer than before.No more demons appeared along the road. There were only forests and rolling hills, the landscape gradually becoming more barren the farther west they traveled.As the sun began to set, the group decided to stop at a small clearing on the edge of the forest.A campfire was quickly lit.Several knights stood guard while others prepared dinner, and the coachman once again inspected the carriage after it had been repeatedly forced across rough, rocky roads.Amid all the activity, Rangga sat alone on a fallen log.The five remaining swords were lined up on the ground in front of him.His expression was so serious that he