Edward was waiting in front of the inn right at sunrise the next morning. As he was going as a carrier, he hadn`t taken his lance with him, it would be too cumbersome and he wasn`t that good at using it yet. However, he still had taken his standard guard`s dagger with him. Marc Vega and his mercenaries arrived not long after. After a few minutes the other villagers who had accepted his offer also arrived. Adrien was actually coming as well since he had taken the offer to work as a guard for the expedition. Most of the villagers who accepted this offer were quite young, none of them had reached their thirties, and they hadn`t given up their dreams of adventure yet.

　　Marc Vega spoke up. "All of you are gathered today for an expedition in the Vipin Forest. This expedition shouldn`t take more than a week if all goes well. We will have to fend off some beasts at one point or the other. I won`t accept any desertion nor cowardice with the price I`m paying you. Is that clear?" He asked in a cold voice.

　　The silence was the only answer he got.

　　He is so rude, what kind of opening speech is that? Edward thought.

　　"Now that this point is clear we can continue. The aim of this expedition is to explore an ancient ruin in the forest. It won`t be too far from the path to Gob閘iard so we should be able to avoid spending a night outside of the beaten path." A few murmurs spread through the villagers at this mention. Marc Vega ignored them. "I am the only one with the map for safety reasons. All objects found in this ruin will belong to me, no stealing will be allowed, and you will be searched at the end of the expedition to verify that you are not hiding anything".

　　"Any questions? No, then let`s go." He added before anyone had the time to actually ask a question.

　　What a jerk, Edward thought. And what was that about staying outside the beaten path. The way the other villagers reacted it seems to be important. I should ask Adrien when I have the occasion.

　　Edward picked up one of the backpacks for the carriers and departed with the rest of the villagers.

　　The carriers were moving in the center of the formation with the guards walking on the outside to protect them. Marc was walking in the front of the group with two of his personal guards. As an Awaken he was in fact the most powerful man in this group.

　　Once the gate of Agripin was crossed, Edward felt a sense of relief and liberty instead of getting scared. He was on the move again, he wasn`t stuck anywhere, not in his previous world, nor in this one. He was alive, truly alive, rather than wasting his life in a position he was forced to accept without any hope of a change. Being able to see a horizon and not another building in front of him brought a smile to his lips, he took a deep breath, the fresh air of the morning waking him up.

　　It`s crazy thinking that all those flats and buildings manage to rob us of the sky. In our modern life, where are you able to see the whole sky without a building in view? In this world even if there is danger at least I`m free, I`m alive and I can move on.

　　There is the beasts` blood too. Can you simply become a superhuman if you consume enough of it? If you become stronger by being exposed to it, it means you can make real progress. I mean you can become stronger on Earth too if you practice enough, but the feeling is not the same. Even if you are strong on Earth, it doesn`t mean anything, you can die to a random group of vandals with some knives or to stray bullet. I wonder which level you can reach here, can you become strong enough to resist bullets or to beat an army on your own? Clearly reaching the Awaken level seems more like a start than an end even if those villagers don`t seem to know much about what comes next.

　　If I have the chance, I should try to kill a beast or two. I need to become stronger to survive in the wild. And only once I`m strong enough to protect myself will I become truly free. I have to become stronger. Otherwise, I will just end up stuck in Agripin forever. It`s not a bad village, but I certainly don`t want to spend my whole life over there. The people are nice, but this life is just not for me, I don`t think many of the villagers even travelled to another town.

　　While Edward was lost in his thoughts the group finally reached the forest. The trees, imposing and steadfast, were dominating their party and marking the frontier between the plains and the Vipin Forest. Even if he couldn`t see anything Edward could now sense a faint aura coming from the forest, it was wild, untamed, and unending. It was just like standing alone in front of the ocean. One felt insignificant in front of the immensity of nature.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

　　The people stopped talking together, a silence fell on the expedition and the group stopped for a moment. Marc broke it "What are you waiting for? You never went into a forest or what?" He then proceeded on the path entering the Vipin Forest. The group followed him. The discussions began again but in a hushed tone.

　　Wow, so that`s what an aura is. It`s intimidating; there is a feeling of pressure, just like a weight but intangible at the same time. I didn`t feel that before when I was in the forest. I guess the blood of the wolf really had an effect. Edward thought.

　　The light decreased in intensity when they entered the forest, parts of it being blocked by the thick canopy. You could hear the noise of the leaves getting trampled on the ground as their group advanced.

　　Adrien was walking not far from Edward.

　　"Don`t be afraid, we are on the path and it`s still day, so it`s relatively safe. And we are here if there is a problem." He said with a light smile.

　　"Thanks. Do you think we will be okay at night?" Edward asked knowing full well that it was the time were the monsters were supposedly the most active.

　　"We will have to stop on the path and some of the guards will have to keep a lookout." Adrien answered with a wince. "You know the path is a lot more secure than the forest. The beasts don`t like to roam on it, I don`t know why. It`s probably because groups of people like us travel on it from time to time. The beasts must consider it as an Awaken territory or something. However, I wouldn`t recommend traveling alone on it. If you look appetizing enough, they will still come to eat you, even if they don`t like the path that much." He added.

　　"I`m glad to know that. When I stumbled into this world, I was alone in this forest outside of the path and it was still night time, even though the sun was beginning to rise. I wouldn`t try that again, I was lucky to come back alive. Although I guess Marc Vega knows what he is doing, he already crossed the Vipin Forest to come to Agripin after all."

　　"Yeah, he must know what he is doing even though he is behaving like an asshole," Adrien replied while whispering the last part.

　　"Agreed" Edward answered.

　　Marc turned toward them with a frown.

　　Adrien and Edward froze and answered with a half-smile half grimace.

　　Marc gave a snort of disdain and continued on his way.

　　Awaken were enhanced compared to other humans and that also included their hearing. Even though Adrien and Edward were whispering there was no way that Marc wouldn`t hear them as he was only ten meters away.

　　Okay, it`s noted, don`t bitch about an Awaken if they are nearby. Still, that`s impressive that he heard us whispering from where he is. If the beasts have the same acuity of hearing there is no way that they won`t notice us. I do hope that Adrian is right and that they don`t dare roam on this path. Edward thought.

　　*****

　　After several hours of walking and a quick break for lunch, the night was starting to fall. It wasn`t that late yet, but the luminosity was decreasing faster under the shade of the trees. Just as Adrien predicted Marc stopped the group. It was too dangerous to tread in the forest at night.

　　"Everyone we will make an encampment here. Josh, Guerard go and gather some thick branches. We will need to make a bonfire. Don`t stray too far from the path and stay together. Sylvain, and you." He said pointing at one of the guards coming from the village as he hadn`t bothered to learn the villager`s name. "Both of you are standing watch for the first part of the night. I will stand guard for the second part of the night. Luke and you, you are responsible for the third part of the night" he added, once again pairing one of his guards with one of the villager guards.

　　Clearly, he didn`t trust the villagers enough to let them keep watch alone for the night. At the same time, he didn`t want to exhaust his guards by depriving them of sleep. So, he chose the middle ground pairing one of his guards with a villager. He didn`t bother to talk with the rest of the villagers and he started to prepare for the night.

　　The people who weren`t on guard duty sat down and started to install themselves for the night. There was a blanket in the backpack as the night was quite cold, especially outdoors. It wasn`t as good as a sleeping bag but it was better than nothing. Edward sat up beside a tree near the path. His back would be against the tree to protect his rear.

　　The dinner wasn`t much and consisted of some dried ham and some bread. Edward was watching the branches of the trees moving slowly above him with the wind as he ate slowly. The food isn`t the best but eating in the wilds does have a certain appeal.

　　Josh and Guerard finally came back with thick branches, and they set the bonfire. It was starting to get really dark now. The trees were hiding the stars and the two moons.

　　Edward closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep to be rested for the next day. He was hearing the rustling leaves and the cracks from the bonfire.

　　It`s not the worst evening I had. It`s just incredible. Two weeks ago, I would have been stuck in my apartment and repeating the same tasks as every day. And now I`m in the middle of nowhere in another world. How long has it been since I went camping or sat near a fire? It`s so refreshing to at least have changes in my life.

　　Edward fell asleep with such thoughts while the guards were keeping watch.