Winter came and went, blanketing Eldoria in soft snow that sparkled under the weak sun. Children built snowmen in the square, and Kai, Lila, and Tomas spent hours throwing snowballs until their fingers turned red and numb. Spring followed with rain that turned the paths to mud and made the fields burst into green life.
Kai turned eleven.
His training had become a daily ritual. Every morning before chores, he would slip away to a secluded spot behind the village—a small clearing ringed by old oaks near the stream. There, with no eyes on him, he practiced.
First came body enhancement. He focused inward, feeling mana circulate like warm blood through his limbs. Muscles tightened, bones felt denser, senses sharpened. A punch against a tree trunk no longer bruised his knuckles; instead, bark cracked under the impact.
Then the secret parts: weapon enhancement and enchantment.
He started with simple things. A stick, a stone, the old iron hoe from the shed. When he poured mana into them with intent, they changed. Edges grew momentarily sharper, weight distributed better for swinging, surfaces hardened against breaking. Once, he managed to make a wooden training sword glow faintly blue and leave a shallow cut on solid rock.
But enchantment was trickier. He could feel the potential—imbuing temporary effects like flame, frost, or increased speed—but control eluded him. The best he had achieved was making a pebble feel icy cold for a few seconds. Still, every small success fueled his determination.
He kept it all hidden. To the village, he was simply the boy with Body Enhancement who worked hard and grew strong quickly. No need to invite questions or envy yet.
Lila's wind magic progressed faster. Under the guidance of a retired adventurer who lived on the village outskirts—an old elf woman named Sylvara who had lost an eye to a wyvern decades ago—Lila learned to shape breezes into gentle pushes, lift small objects, or create sudden gusts strong enough to knock over hay bales.
Tomas, true to his ability, became the village's unofficial animal whisperer. Chickens laid more eggs around him, cows gave richer milk, and even the grumpy old billy goat stopped head-butting him.
The three friends often met in the evenings, sharing progress.
One warm summer afternoon when Kai was twelve, they sat on the bank of the stream, feet dangling in cool water.
"I can lift a whole basket of apples now without touching them!" Lila bragged, demonstrating by swirling a gentle vortex that picked up pebbles and spun them in the air like juggling balls.
Tomas laughed as a curious squirrel wandered right up to him and took a nut from his palm. "Look at this little guy. He followed me all the way from the barn."
Kai smiled, watching them. He had just come from training and still felt the pleasant ache of exertion. "That's awesome, both of you. I've been working on endurance—ran all the way to the old mill and back without getting winded."
Lila let the pebbles drop and turned to him, eyes sparkling. "You're getting scary strong, Kai. Bet you could wrestle a dire boar already."
He scratched the back of his head, cheeks warming at the praise. "Not yet. But one day."
Tomas tossed another nut to the squirrel. "Hey, have you guys heard the latest from the merchant caravan? They say the Goblin Lord in the east got taken down by a party of gold-rank adventurers. But now there's talk of something stirring in the Whispering Forest. More monster sightings near the edge."
Lila's expression sobered. "Sylvara mentioned it too. She said the mana feels… thicker lately. Like the dungeon is waking up more."
Kai glanced toward the dark line of trees on the horizon. He had felt it sometimes during training—a faint pressure, like being watched from far away. But he shrugged it off. "If anything comes close, the village militia can handle small stuff. And if it's bigger… well, we'll be ready by then."
The conversation drifted to lighter topics—dreams of visiting the capital, tasting exotic foods, seeing real adventurers in shining armor. Laughter returned, echoing over the water.
But the rumors were not idle.
Deep in the Whispering Forest, Grishnak the goblin scout had evolved.
After seasons of hunting, devouring cores, and leading ambushes on stray beasts, the change came during a blood moon. Pain wracked its body as bones lengthened, muscles swelled, skin darkened to a deep emerald. Tusks grew longer, eyes burned red with intelligence.
Now it stood taller than any hobgoblin, clad in crude armor pieced from fallen adventurers. Its voice could command in the common tongue, though rough and guttural.
Grishnak had become a Goblin Lord.
Around it gathered a growing horde: dozens of goblins, hobgoblins, several dire wolves tamed by fear, even a pair of captured forest trolls—massive, stupid brutes useful for siege work.
From a rocky outcrop overlooking a hidden clearing, Grishnak surveyed its forces. Crude tents and campfires dotted the space. Prisoners—unfortunate travelers—hung in cages for later consumption.
"Soon," it hissed to its lieutenants, a pair of elite hobgoblin shamans. "We grow fat on weak prey. Then… the village. Fields for slaves. Houses for burning. Humans make good sport."
The shamans cackled in agreement.
Grishnak's ambition burned hot, but it was cunning. It knew of the dungeon deeper in the forest—source of rich mana and treasures. First, secure territory. Then delve. Grow stronger still. Perhaps evolve again.
It did not yet know that something far older watched its progress with mild interest from the shadows beyond.
Time passed. Kai turned thirteen, then fourteen.
His body filled out—broad shoulders, defined arms from endless training and farm work. He stood a head taller than most boys his age, and his quiet confidence drew admiring glances from village girls. Lila, now developing soft curves and keeping her auburn hair longer, often walked closer to him than necessary. Their hands brushed sometimes, and neither pulled away quickly.
One autumn day, when the leaves turned fiery red, opportunity came.
A village meeting was called in the square. The headman, a stout man named Garrick, stood on a crate to address the crowd.
"Listen well! A request has come from the lord's outpost ten leagues north. Horned rabbits have overbred in the plains between here and there—pests devouring crops. They're offering coin for every pair of horns brought in. Simple work for young hunters. The militia will accompany any group that wishes to go."
Excitement rippled through the younger folk. Coin was rare in Eldoria, and a chance to test skills outside the village was tempting.
Kai's hand shot up immediately. "I'll go!"
Lila and Tomas joined him. A few older teens and two militia men rounded out the party of eight.
Elena hugged Kai tightly before departure. "Be careful. Horned rabbits are fast and their charges can gore if you're careless."
Harlan clapped his shoulder. "Trust your strength, son. And your friends."
The next morning, they set out at dawn—backpacks with provisions, simple weapons: spears for the militia, a real short sword Kai's father had gifted him for his fourteenth birthday, a hunting bow for one teen, and wooden staffs enhanced secretly by Kai's touch.
The journey north took half a day along dirt roads flanked by golden fields. The air smelled of harvest and distant woodsmoke.
Their first encounter came sooner than expected.
A militia man spotted movement in a ditch—six horned rabbits, larger than normal, with spirals of bone protruding from their heads like lances.
"Form up!" the leader barked.
The group spread out. Lila stepped forward, hands raised. Wind gathered around her, swirling leaves into a barrier.
Kai gripped his sword, enhancing both body and blade in a rush of mana. The metal hummed faintly—only he could feel it.
The rabbits charged.
One leaped straight at Kai, horn aimed for his chest.
Time slowed. He sidestepped smoothly, enhanced reflexes guiding him. His sword flashed down.
The blade bit deep, cleaving through fur and bone with unnatural ease. The rabbit dropped, lifeless.
Around him, chaos: spears thrusting, arrows flying, gusts of wind knocking beasts aside.
Lila shouted, "Got one!" as her wind slammed a rabbit into a tree trunk with a crack.
Tomas, surprisingly brave, used a sling to brain another from afar.
In minutes, it was over. Six carcasses, no injuries.
The militia men stared at Kai's clean cut. "Lad, that sword of yours must be sharper than it looks. Or your Body Enhancement is something fierce."
Kai smiled modestly. "Just luck."
They collected horns, skinned the meat for later, and continued.
Over the next three days, they hunted dozens more. The plains teemed with the pests—evidence of leaking dungeon mana accelerating growth and aggression.
On the last evening, camped under stars brighter than in the village, Kai sat watch with Lila.
The fire crackled low. Others slept.
Lila hugged her knees, staring into the flames. "This… this is what it'll be like, isn't it? Out in the real world. Fighting monsters. Protecting people."
Kai nodded, sharpening his sword quietly. "Yeah. But we did good today. No one got hurt."
She glanced at him, firelight dancing in her eyes. "You were amazing, Kai. The way you moved… it's like you were born for this."
His heart thudded harder than during battle. "Thanks. Couldn't do it without your wind keeping them off balance."
A comfortable silence fell.
Then Lila leaned over, resting her head lightly on his shoulder. "Promise me something."
"Anything."
"When we're older… when we really start adventuring… we do it together. You, me, Tomas. No matter what."
Kai swallowed, feeling the warmth of her against him. "Promise."
Far away, in the Whispering Forest, Grishnak's horde grew restless.
Scouts reported the human hunting party—younglings, weak escorts. Easy meat.
The Goblin Lord grinned in the dark, tusks gleaming.
"Prepare," it commanded. "We follow. We wait for them to return weary. Then… ambush."
The forest held its breath.
And deeper still, the Phantom Devourer shifted in its endless slumber, dreams flickering with images of a small village ripe for ruin.
But for now, under the vast sky, Kai felt only the quiet joy of friendship, first victories, and the slow kindling of something deeper with the girl beside him.
Their first real adventure had begun—small, harmless.
They could not know how soon the world would demand far more.
To be continued...