Bloom Forest was a good place for beginners like Garet. There were enough monsters, but not too many, and the same was true for plants and various traps.
Often, the main threat was not monsters but other Awakened, and in that regard, things were not so simple.
Garet didn't have to worry about encountering forces from another city in the Bloom Forest, as it was located within the Iron Gate's sphere of influence. However, mercenaries or rogues from various factions, or simply lone individuals, could appear anywhere.
If someone decided that there was an advantage in killing Garet at the Bloom Forest and was able to do so, no one would save Garet or even avenge him. He would simply be lost in the forest like hundreds of souls before him.
Step. Step. Step.
Garet walked among the trees, surrounded by tall flowers. Pollen floated around him like silent fairies moving in an unknown direction.
'Melisa warned me not to touch the flowers, some of them may be poisonous, but she couldn't tell me anything about the Stone Grouges. I need to find the one who stole the Green Flower Bracelet, but how?' He frowned, thinking.
The only thing Garet knew about his target was that the Stone Grouges were quite large monsters, which meant his only chance was to spot one from a distance.
"Hmm." Garet looked thoughtfully at the peak rising in the distance above the southern part of the forest. "Alright, I hope I don't run into the Second Manifest Monster on the way, that would be very bad."
The scorching midday sun beat down on the earth with full force, but in the Bloom Forest, it was so dense with foliage and so many rivers flowing that Garet didn't feel the heat at all. In Torg's forge, he was ready to sweat buckets after just a couple of minutes.
Bad luck passed Garet by, at least this time, and after a long climb and several crooked paths, he finally reached the peak.
But something made him stop, leaning against a tree.
Ahead, on the empty plain before the cliff, two beasts with thick skin but long front fangs were about to fight each other.
RGGH!
RRRRGGGHH!!
Their growls were accompanied by a menacing stomping on the ground.
They did not see Garet, as they were too focused on their battle.
'Hmm, these two. They are monsters, maybe I'm wrong, but their auras are different from ordinary beasts, I'm pretty sure of that,' Garet thought, remaining hidden.
There was no way to accurately determine the strength of a monster or an Awakened in an open field without tools, except for the one that everyone used — aura.
However, this required a certain level of strength and experience, and Garet lacked both of them at the moment.
If Xir were here, he would only need to glance at these two beasts to understand their level of power down to their Order, and he would even notice the difference between them and other creatures of the same Order.
At the same time, Garet struggled to determine whether they were beasts or monsters, but in the end, he realized that these two were too strong to be considered ordinary beasts.
The stronger a person was, the easier it was for them to determine the strength of weaker creatures' auras, and vice versa. For this reason, based on their auras alone, Garet would not be able to tell that he was facing a Second Manifest Monster.
Crack.
RGGGGH!
At the same moment, with a fierce roar, the two beasts lunged at each other, wanting to sink their teeth into each other's necks. A cloud of dust rose as they beat each other with their clawed paws, rolling across the ground in complete chaos.
As often happens, they paused to exchange menacing glances while still clinging tightly to each other's throats.
Then, they saw the young man, his black hair and eyes unable to hide the gleam in his gaze.
'Shit! They've spotted me!' Garet thought.
Before he could prepare for battle, the two beasts separated and ran off in different directions.
They weren't ready to be noticed even more than Garet.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
"Damn." Garet scratched the back of his head. "Now I feel kind of awkward in front of them. I wanted to see who would win!"
There was nothing to do as Garet stepped forward, approaching the cliff. Either way, now he could finally get a full view of the Bloom Forest, or at least its southern part.
A great river flowed through the middle of the forest, dividing into many streams that, like veins, nourished the many plants filling this ever-blooming forest.
Three great trees towered over the river, resembling flowers because of their purple bark and branches full of colorful petals quivering with every breeze.
Several other landmarks caught Garet's eye, but nothing pointed to the Strone Groug.
Garet frowned but did not get upset — he knew what he should do.
Thump.
Crossing his legs, he sat down at the edge, leaning on his hand.
'Alright, if I wait a little longer, I'll notice something. It's pretty big, right?'
One hour, two hours, three hours...
The moon appeared on the horizon, illuminating the forest with its light, but Garet still had no leads.
"Tsk, and now what? This forest is huge! How am I supposed to find a Stone Groug?!"
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
A loud crackle echoed behind him, causing Garet to turn around.
"Agh?"
A blue flash flickered among the trees, gradually approaching him as some shadow occasionally blocked the light.
RGHOOOOOO!!!
With a loud roar, smashing the tree to splinters, a massive bull with an unusual, glowing blue horn ran out under the moonlight.
Garet was on guard, but he quickly realized one thing from the bull's frightened gaze.
'Wait, it's not running towards me, it's running from someone!'
Unfortunately for the bull, its path soon came to an end.
Slash!
Two long, sharp blades closed around its neck like scissors in a sharp motion, leaving a wide open wound.
GHRRROOOO!
With a painful roar, the bull collapsed to the ground, flooding the soil with its blood, which gushed from its throat.
Then, Garet raised his gaze and noticed that someone was standing on the bull — a girl with black hair and a menacing glare, just like her two paired blades.
She stared at Garet as her voice, full of indignation, broke out.
"Who are you? And... What are you doing at my spot?"