After leaving the city of Sionann, the group traveled for a few more hours until the sun finally dipped below the horizon.
And just as the last of the light faded from the sky... they finally reached their destination. Standing before them was a wall of ancient, gnarled wood.
[The Cursed Forest].
"..."
Verc stared at the forest as they arrived at the entrance. He didn’t say anything immediately, but he could feel it. There was an ominous air surrounding the entire place. It wasn’t just a feeling of being watched; it was a heavy, suffocating pressure that seemed to leak out from between the trees.
And it wasn’t just him. The kids could feel it as well.
Their instincts as beastmen were already sharp to begin with, but after being turned into vampires, those senses had been heightened to an incredible degree. Their bodies were screaming, and looking at the dark treeline, they all swallowed a mouthful of saliva in nervousness.
Verc’s [Danger Sense] was also acting up. It wasn’t a sharp scream of immediate death, but a constant, low-level buzzing in the back of his mind. It was a warning that the moment they stepped foot inside, they would be entering a place that didn’t want them there.
And as if the silence from the forest wasn’t enough to prove the point—
-Arf! Arf! Arf!
Onyx kept barking while staring at the dark gaps between the trunks. The little dog was trembling.
Bong was the same. The horse, usually brave enough to follow Verc anywhere, stopped on his own before even getting near the entrance.
’I guess it isn’t called cursed for no reason.’
Verc thought to himself.
He looked up at the trees, and even he had to admit they were intimidating. The forest was exuding a bad omen that was almost physical. The trees were massive— taller than any he had ever seen. They were as tall as the some buildings back in his modern world, their tops lost in the swirling mist and the dark sky.
The trunks were a deep, sickly dark color, almost like charred meat or rotted wood. And the leaves... they weren’t the healthy green of the forests they had passed through. They were a strange, dark blue-green color that looked unnatural in the moonlight. The forest was incredibly dark because the branches were so thick and the trees were so tall that they seemed to want to cover the sun and the moon entirely.
The soil around the entrance was dark and damp, looking more like ash than dirt.
"We aren’t going in tonight."
Verc said, his voice cutting through the nervous tension.
"We’ll spend the night out here and enter when we have whatever light we can get tomorrow."
He added.
The others followed his words without question. They looked relieved, honestly. Tatum and the others quickly set up their camp for the night a safe distance away from the treeline.
In the meantime, Verc went into his tent. He sat down and began to meditate, starting his [Mana Circulation].
He could feel the mana in the air around the forest. It was thick, but it was also "dirty"— full of malice and old, lingering curses. He had to be careful as he pulled it into his body, filtering it through his own essence to make it usable.
The others took care of everything else while he was in that trance. They didn’t speak much, their eyes constantly darting back toward the wall of blue-green leaves that loomed over them.
Verc spent the night preparing...
He sharpened his focus, letting his mana flow through his limbs until he felt like his body was a coiled spring. He knew that the moment they entered, they were in constant danger.
And the time for waiting... it didn’t last long.
The night passed quickly and peacefully, mostly because nothing in the surrounding woods was brave enough to approach the [Cursed Forest].
*****
Morning came, but even with the sun rising, the forest remained dark. The light seemed to stop at the edge of the trees, unable to penetrate the thick canopy.
"Hup...!"
Verc stood up, dusting off his clothes. He looked at the seven kids, who were standing ready with their new gear. Their red eyes were steady now, the fear from the night before replaced by a grim determination.
"Stay behind me and be vigilant. Don’t wander off, no matter what you see or hear."
Verc instructed to them.
Then looking at the forest again—
"Let’s go."
He said that with a straight look on his face.
... ... ...
... ... ...
With Verc taking the lead, the nine of them entered [The Cursed Forest].
The transition was immediate.
The moment they stepped past the first line of dark trunks, the temperature dropped. The air was cold and damp, smelling of old moss and something metallic. The ground was soft under their boots, the dark soil muffling the sound of their footsteps.
"It’s so quiet."
Maya whispered.
She was right. There were no birds chirping, no insects buzzing. The only sound was the occasional creak of the massive trees swaying in a wind they couldn’t feel.
TAP!
As soon as they entered the forest— Verc’s head snapped to the side.
"?!"
[Danger Sense] exploded in his mind. It was like a flash of red light behind his eyes, a clear image of something lunging from the shadows above.
"Ambush! Above us!"
Verc shouted, his voice booming through the silent woods.
FWIP!
He didn’t wait. He drew his blade in a blur of motion, the steel catching what little light filtered through the leaves.
A split second later, a group of shapes dropped from the blue-green canopy. They were fast— uncomfortably fast.
They looked like monkeys, but they were far from normal. Their bodies were mutated, their limbs too long and their skin a sickly grey color. It looked like they had been combined with some kind of predatory monster; they had rows of needle-like teeth and long, jagged claws that looked like they were made of obsidian.
But thanks to his skill, Verc had sensed the attack a few seconds before it happened. That was more than enough time.
Because of his warning, the seven kids were able to respond effectively. They didn’t panic. Instead, they moved with immediately.
The monsters were numerous— at least twenty of them— but they had lost the element of surprise.
"GRRR!"
Jed let out a low growl, his red eyes flashing.
One of the mutated monkeys lunged at him, its claws reaching for his throat. Jed didn’t even draw the dagger Verc had bought him. Instead, he simply sidestepped the attack with ease.
FWISH~ PHUCK!
His hand shot out like a whip, his fingers digging into the monster’s throat. With a single, powerful squeeze, he crushed the creature’s windpipe and slammed it into the dark soil.
The others were doing the same. It seemed the seven were much more comfortable fighting barehanded. Their nails had grown into sharp, reinforced claws, and their physical strength was more than enough to tear through the mutated flesh of the monkeys.
SWOOSH—!!!
Tatum was a blur of motion, his movements precise and calm.
BOOM!!!
He caught two of the monkeys mid-air, slamming their heads together with a sickening crunch before dropping them at his feet.
Ashley and Maya worked together, guarding each other’s backs as they dealt with the monsters that tried to swarm them. They moved like they were dancing, their new vampire speed making the monkeys look like they were moving in slow motion.
Verc watched them for a moment, satisfied.
’They’re adapting well.’
He thought.
-KIEEEEK!!!
One of the larger monkeys, likely the pack leader, tried to sneak up on Verc from behind a dark tree trunk. It launched itself with a screech, its mouth wide open to show off its mutated fangs.
Verc didn’t even turn around. He simply swung his sword backward in a casual arc.
SLASH—
The blade cut through the air with a whistle. The monster was sliced clean in half before it could even get close. Its blood, which was a dark, oily purple color, sprayed across the dark soil.
And within a few minutes, the clearing was silent again. The ground was littered with the corpses of the mutated monkeys. The fight had been short and decisive. Verc and his group were simply too strong for these low-level forest dwellers.
The seven stood among the bodies, their breathing barely even heavy. They looked at their hands, which were covered in the dark purple blood of the monsters, and then they looked at Verc.
"Are you all okay?"
Verc asked, wiping his blade.
"Yes, Lord Verc. They were weak."
Neit said, shaking the blood off his hands.
Tatum stepped forward, looking at the piles of monsters. He bowed his head slightly toward Verc.
"Lord Verc, please take these. We offer them to you."
He said.
Then the others followed suit, they gathered the corpses and piling them up in front of Verc. It was a clear sign of their loyalty, a way of showing that everything they did was for him.
Verc looked at the pile of ugly, mutated monkeys.
’Well, I can’t exactly say they look delicious.’
He thought with a bit of amusement.
But he knew the importance of the gesture, and he was also curious what was he was going to get from these monsters.
"Thank you, guys."
Verc said, his voice casual.
"I’ll just drink their bloods, then we should keep moving after that. This is just the beginning. The deeper we go, the more dangerous it will get."
He added as he looked at the seven of them and then reached into the pile of corpses, separating five of the fresher monkey bodies.
"Keep these for yourselves. You’ll need to keep your strength up. Consume and then we move."
At Verc’s actions, the seven looked grateful. They didn’t care about the mutated appearance or the purple blood. To them, it was a reward from someone they respect.
"Thank you, Lord Verc!"
They said in unison.
Verc turned back toward the dark heart of the forest. The trees seemed to lean in closer now, their blue-green leaves whispering in the still air.
’I can feel it. Something big is waiting for us in the center of this place.’
He thought.
... ... ...
Verc waited for them to finish their quick meal, watching the shadows dance between the skyscraper-high trees. The Cursed Forest was dangerous, yes, but for a group of vampires looking for a home, it was starting to feel like exactly what they needed.
"Once you’re done, we head north."
Verc said, mounting Bong.
"I want to find the heart of this forest before the day is over."
The seven finished up quickly, their faces wiped clean of blood. They stood ready, their presence now blending in with the dark atmosphere of the woods.
"We are ready, Lord Verc!"
Tatum said.
The group moved out again, disappearing into the oppressive darkness of the Cursed Forest.