6 A wild Rose Crawler appears!

"O-okay. Let's go!" Caerum said with cofidence as he headed towards the path, only to be stopped by Fulrian.

"Woah woah, I'm gonna have to stop you right there. We aren't gonna take the path, we're goin through the forest." Fulrian says as she walks away from the path.

With a sigh, Caerum followed Fulrian as they ventured deeper into the Magus Forest. Treading through the shallows of the forest, she scanned the area in search for any creatures Caerum could fight. He followed closely behind Fulrian, his eyes darted around, his body tense and reactive; this was a wild and unfamiliar place for him. A creature could pounce on them at anytime, anywhere. With that in Caerum's mind, he kept his spear in front of him at all times. Ready to fight at a moment's notice, or just run away.

All around them were Sylvawood trees, native to the Magus forest. These magic trees were a typical brown colour, with a hint of blue. It wasn't surprising how lush and magical the forest was, given its extremely fertile soils and dense amounts of mana. Overhead were Sylva leapers, hopping from tree to tree. Stone shell rodents scurried across the moss covered landscape. Caerum marveled at the unique ecosystem of the forest almost forgetting how dangerous it really is. He was getting intoxicated by the ambient, surreal atmosphere the forest emitted.

"Caerum, quick! Look, a Rose Crawler!!"

Startled by her sudden shout Caerum fumbled around, almost dropping his spear. The Rose Crawler was a 4 legged creature, it had a rose on it's back, and had many vines coated in thorns. It camouflaged it self with the soil, posing as a batch of thorny roses.

"Your job now, is to hunt that Rose crawler, mmkay? Now go!" Fulrian told Caerum while pointing to the crawler, expecting him to attack it.

Caerum was a hesitated for a bit, he gripped his spear, going into a defensive stance. He slowly inched himself closer towards the Rose Crawler, his spear afront pointed towards it. The Rose Crawler soon realised, it had been spotted it leaped out of its hiding place, it's only options now was either fight or flight; it chose to fight. It's thorny vines created an area of denial around it. Caerum's heart was beating vigorously. This was going to be his first real taste of combat.

"If things go wrong I'll save you!" Fulrian said on the sidelines.

Reassured by her, he felt himself ease a bit, but he was still tense. Caerum and the beast stood still, waiting for the other to make a move. Sweat was forming on his forehead. Looking at the beast, it seemed like it's main method of attack was it's thorny vines, which didn't seem to have much of a range. That was all Caerum could assume at a glance. Fulrian stood from afar ready to jump in if things got too dangerous, she held a confident smile however. The tension between the two was soon to be broken when the Rose Crawler made the first move with a swift rush towards Caerum. Reacting to the sudden movement, Caerum pointed the spear at the Crawler in an attempt to keep the Crawler at a distance. The crawler didn't seem to heed the warning and continued in its path towards attacking Caerum. He thrusted his spear at the crawler as it entered his attack space, the crawler knocked the spear aside with a vine. His sweat was coming down profusely now. Since his thrust has been deflected, the crawler now had time to close the distance between itself and Caerum. He had to keep his range advantage, or else would lose immediately. To distance himself Caerum jumped backwards away from the Crawler, retracting his spear regaining control of the battle. The biggest problem with dealing with the beast were those vines, it worked both offensively and defensively. Any strike would be deflected by the vines. Having exchanged blows, the Crawler circled the still Caerum. It's continued to anticipate for any sudden movements from the boy before it; this was a life or death situation for the Rose Crawler.

With its slow speed escape, it now no longer had an option. Fighting was the only viable option for its survival. For now it was at a disadvantage, but as long as it gets past the spear and into attack range, it would be able to turn the tides of battle. The beast once again closed in for another go at Caerum. The thrust from last time wasn't effective against the beast, so Caerum switched stances. He raised the spear above the creature, executing an overhead thrust. Meanwhile Fulrian watched from the sidelines, she was thoroughly entertained by the battle between the Rose Crawler and Caerum. She could have easily killed the Crawler with an explosive thunderbolt if she wanted to, but she has seen a noticeable improvement with the switch from a Steel Sword to a Comourdium Spear. She found his struggles amusing, but disregarded that this was the only way she could get Caerum stronger within a week. To push Caerum to his very limits through life or death situations, where he had to exert every bit of strength he had. Push himself till he was at the verge of death to test his resolve.

Sensing danger, the beast willed all of its vines to block the attack. The spear struck cutting a few vines as they clashed. Caerum as quick as he can retracted his spear. He knew that if he kept it there any longer, the beast would have grabbed onto the spear. Caerum was very scared. He was doing his best to suppress that fear and not letting it show on the surface. His heightened his movement provided by his fear; it was the reason why Caerum had done so well up till now. The beast wasn't having it well either, having a few vines cut off from that attack was a devastating blow but it still had a few left. As long as it survives it would be able to regenerate them back. Sacrificing a few vines helped it get in Caerum's attack range. Vines flew at Caerum as he finished retracting his spear. He pulled his spear to block the vines, he could hear the loud pounding of his heart. Would he be able to pull his spear fast enough to block the vines before they connect? He was only able to stop a single vine, slicing it in two before 2 vines managed to strike him. Wounds appeared on his right shoulder and thigh. Caerum clenched his teeth. Tearing up, he endured the pain. The vines coiled around the wounds like a snake suffocating it's victim, cutting deep in his wounds.

Although Caerum was in peril, Fulrian didn't take action. He could still turn this battle around. The rose crawler having used all of its vines during that assault, was now defenceless. Ignoring all the pain Caerum mustered all of his strength into one blow to finish off the creature. With full force, Caerum stabbed his spear through the Rose Crawler's skull. The sound that came from the crunching of the skull being crushed, seeped into his ears. The Rose Crawler had instantly dead.

Caerum felt light headed, his clothes were torn and stained crimson by his own blood, the thorny vines still clung onto him prickling him with every movement that passed.

"Good job Caerum!" Fulrian yelled out as she jogged towards Caerum to congratulate him, while also being completely unfazed by his injured state.

Caerum wasn't in a state were he could reply, he couldn't feel anything in fact, he felt numb. But despite this, he now felt a strong sense of accomplishment in being able to defeat that Rose Crawler.

"Let's getcha cleaned up now, come on. We still got a lot more training to do!" Fulrian said as she carefully removed the vines wrapped around Caerum.

He didn't want to train anymore, he has had enough for the day. Caerum just wanted to lay comfortably in his bed after that experience. He has suffered more in these past 3 days, than he has in his entire life.

"Don't worry, that rose crawler before was just a weakling compared to the other things we will be fighting soon." Fulrian said as she laughed.

She cheerfully poured one of her bottles of healing water onto Caerums' wounds. In that single moment, the feeling of pride that was in him before had shattered in to tiny pieces.

"Why didn't you help me just then?!"

Caerum was agitated. When he was caught in the vines of the Rose Crawler, she did absolutely nothing.

"Sometimes ya need to do things by yourself. Why should I interfere?"

Caerum lowered his head, keeping his thoughts to himself. He knew probing further wouldn't amount to anything. By now the healing water has done its job and Caerum was now fully healed. Fulrian crouched over the Rose Crawler. She took out a knife and cut what seemed to be a rose from the creature. The rose had value as an item rich in mana.

"Okay, let's go!" She said as she continued to place the rose into her leather bag before, heading off deeper into the forest.

Without any objections, Caerum just continued after her. He could only imagine what kind of strange, dangerous creatures he will have to face next, for his training.

Walking deeper into the forest, the surroundings were becoming noticeably darker than before. The trees were now larger and taller. But still a lot of sun rays was able to pierce through the thick foliage of the forest canopy. They could no longer hear the distant sounds of human civilization, only the quiet, ambient sounds of the forest. Each step was accompanied with a crackle as the ground below was layered with many shriveled leaves, broken sticks and fallen branch.

It was evident that they were no longer in the safety of the forest shallows. Caerum couldn't help but have a lingering feeling of dread hanging over him. He now no longer was marveling the sights of the forest, but fearing for his life. He could hear his every breath. If every creature encountered here were stronger than the Rose Crawler in the shallows, what kind of monster would be found in these depths? The experience with the rose crawler had ruined his experience in this forest. Caerum reached out to firmly grip Fulrians hands, as if he was seeking comfort like a child being guided by his mother. She was the only source of comfort for him in a forest fraught with almost unimaginable dangers.

Suddenly, a distant cry of a beast made Caerum jump in fright.Causing him to tighten his grip on Fulrian. Unlike Caerum, Fulrian was walking a confident stride, even with Caerum clinging onto her. She didn't slow in her movements one bit. In fact she was happy to be of comfort to him, as long as it helped him move through the forest. Unbeknownst to the two, they were being watched by a pair of eyes. Lurking within a bush and tracked their movements. It was one of the many beasts in the forest, silent in its pursuit of the two. Waiting ever so patiently, for an opportunity to strike its next prey.