10. The valley of forgotten dreams

Julius decided to leave the horses back at the citadel and go the rest of way on foot. The trees in the forest weren't your average tree as they had magic flowing in them.

There are even special plants that alchemists of this world use as ingredients to make potions and elixirs.

They approached the forest and then Julius looked up at Ray with a smile. It's going to get harder from here onwards.

"It would be okay to fight with a few monsters first?" He asked and Ray nodded.

"Yes, your highness, I'll leave out the ones that are at your level," He said and then he looked around.

Julius could see through the trees and everything with the celestial lens he received. He could see all where all the animals where and how much Mana they had in them.

It was indeed a weird experience, but strangely he only felt calm as he advanced.

They went forward and Julius was observing the surrounding very carefully.

"Your highness."

Julius stopped as he heard Ray's voice. It was at that moment that he saw something large moving from tree to tree, getting closer.

Julius backed off and he kept an eye on the creature. It leapt out of its cover and stayed a few metres away while growling.

Right beyond them was a vicious looking cat which had red fur and its eyes was pitch black. It wasn't even too big and was only the size of a rabbit.

"You can hunt this one," Ray said to Julius and then he breathed in and breathed out before stepping forward.

The two feet tall cat bared it's fangs as it saw Julius coming towards it and it hissed at him who was still standing quite a few meters away.

Julius held his sword in place, the silver blade looking sharp and he pointed it at the cat and got in a stance.

The cat, taking it as a provocation let out a loud growl as it came towards Julius. The cat was extremely fast, faster than an average car on earth, as fast as a cheetah.

It jumped towards Julius' face with its claws stretched out and Julius remembered his training with Ray.

'Focus on the enemy's face, the center, and move accordingly to defend yourself at the right time and angle.'

The words were still fresh and Julius let his blade be flat and faced it towards the cat and the cat's claws met with the blade.

A scraping sound was made from the collision and Julius could even see sparks from the scrstch. If that scratch touched him... he could have been badly wounded. He focused on defending and the cat tried to attack him from different ways and he soon found an opening.

'I guess I'm already more than strong enough to deal with this creature. But I want to try this.' Julius focused on his sword, this time with his eyes open.

He held it straight and he watched a golden hue cover it.

Ray, who was still behind a rock felt shocked as he saw this and he looked at Alexa who only giggled at his reaction.

"Since when could the prince do this?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Since yesterday."

Julius wasn't kidding around and the cat leapt towards him again. This time was no time for mistakes, this time, he must get it right.

Julius suddenly sped up, passing the cat with a loud slashing sound and the cat was split into two.

He cut it from head to butt horizontally.

Julius huffed as he looked at Ray who was still in great shock and he couldn't help but smile as he saw this. He felt extremely drained by that little thing he did.

'This power, although small, I can actually do something now.' Julius thought and then he heard a whistle through the air and he sliced his sword backwards.

*Brak*

His sword sliced through a rock and he unconsciously activated his aura. He looked at his hand in shock and Ray walked forward.

"Your highness, what you have achieved, is only achievable after years of practice. Knights have it harder than mages or seekers as they have to train to their limit before gaining the ability to use aura," Ray couldn't believe that this was indeed the prince who was deemed useless by the king.

Still, among all his siblings, he would ultimately be the weakest. But if they were going by the message of the world will, then this prince could have a greater future after all.

------

After more than an hour of travelling, they finally arrived at a deeper section of the forest.

Julius looked forward and then he furrowed his brows.

The forest, going forward, was covered in a fog, coupled with the dead silence of the forest, it seemed eerie in nature with unseen danger.

'We haven't encountered any problems since Ray is with me. But now is the hard part.' Julius thought and then he began to stretch.

There reason why people avoid the valley of forgotten dreams or why it was called such was due to the fact that the fog causes mind bending illusions.

No one who has entered into the valley has come out. Now this place was a no-go for everyone as it was mysterious.

Ray had a perplexed look on his face as he gazed at the fog. It was easy for one to lose their way in the thick fog and that was the most dangerous thing about it.

He looked at the young prince who had a calm expression and he closed his eyes and sighed.

He couldn't question the world will, but he didn't want to cross through the fog.

Julius' left eye glowed a bright yellow colour and he looked at the fog. He then saw a straight path that will take them to the other side and he moved forward.

"I can see through the fog. Close your eyes, let me guide you," Julius said and Alexa looked at Ray who also had a confused expression.

The fog was thick and they could hear howls of the wind in the silent area, making the forest seem dangerous.

"I can't exactly prove that I can see through but I really can," Julius said and gazed at Ray.

He really knew he could trust the knight who was assigned to him at birth, they were trained with undying loyalty for the royal family, specifically the one they were chosen for.

Also, Ray's abilities is going to be needed once they cross the valley.

"I'll trust your sight, prince Julius." Ray finally agreed.

At least with Ray protecting him, he has less to worry about.