The Next Morning..
             In the Deadmans Graveyard..

    I was forced to wake up early by Jio, since she wanted to get onto the road as fast as possible in order to cover as much distance as possible during the first day.
Not going to lie, when I woke up, I felt a bit... Unrested. Don't know why or how, however I just felt a tiny bit tired - something I hadn't felt in a while.

Right now we were on a much more 'obvious' path in the Deadmans Graveyard - one that was nowhere near the location where I was doing circles when trying to get here.

Apparently, there was a laid out path which led to a different road back to Ordial and said road was actually a shorter travel compared to the one marked on the map I was given.
Which made me conclude that either A, this new road is only known by Jio oooor B, the Guildmaster felt like being asshole to me and sent me on the longest road he had knowledge of.

Even though I wanted to believe in the first option, having met the Guildmaster in person, I felt like the second option was more likely to be the case.

And if it was correct...
Well, fuck you Guildmaster.

That's some strong language towards someone who is willing to keep his suspicions about your strength a secret.

'No one asked you anything Ancient One..'

I replied, sighing heavily, which caused Jio to look at me with a slightly raised eyebrow.

[Jio] "You okay?"

I quickly shook my head, before rubbing the back of my neck.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about some things."

[Jio] "Right.. well, keep up and don't get lost - we're about to enter some dangerous territory."

Dangerous territory?
The hell does that mean?

I can detect some strong monster presence further down this road.

...That must be the dangerous territory..

I continued to follow Jio, trying to stick close to her in vicinity while also keeping my
[Overworld Detection] skill active in a wide range around me.

I was not going to take any risks at all - I do not wanna repeat the sneak attack I had been caught by from that one lich when I first arrived here.

    Eventually, we reached a point on the path, where it strangely changed colour, from a normal looking dirt path, to a weirdly looking grey path.
It was almost like the path itself somehow was... Dead? I don't know how to explain it.

Jio stopped me at this point, before kneeling down, examining the change in the path.
I remained still for a couple of moments, as Jio inspected the road.

[Jio] "That's strange..."

She mumbled to herself, before getting up and turning to face me.

[Jio] "Make sure to keep your guard up at all times and watch where you step."

She then looked back down the road, with a sceptical look.

[Jio] "Someone or something has trapped this place and is waiting for anyone to pass through.."

She finished off, before taking her first steps onto the different road.
I took some moments to process what she had just told me. Someone had trapped the road?
How is that even possible?

Judging by the colour of the road further on, I'd say that it most likely was done by an extraordinary wizard or even possibly a Sage.

'Aren't those the same thing.?'

Actually, No, they aren't.
Wizards are mostly versed in manipulation of Magic while Sages are versed in control of magic.

'And the difference in that iss..?'

Sigh..
Magic Manipulation allows someone to manipulate the Magical Energy around them or even inside of them, however, it only allows for very basic spells which cannot be edited in any way.

Magic Control on the other hand, is something that allows someone to completely control the form and amount of Magic they use in their spells, which also allows for more complex magic spells.

I see..
I think I understand all that - though I might need some more reminders of it down the line.

[Jio] "Hey! Are you Day-Dreaming? Come on, get a move on!"

I shook my head, before quickly catching up to Jio. I got carried away with talking to Ancient One, that I had completely forgotten that I was with Jio.

After catching up, we resumed our march down the road, only this time, we were very much more careful about where we took our steps.

...

      We continued down the road for a couple of hours and by all luck means, we didn't hit a single trap noir did we encounter any ambushes.
My [Overworld Detection] did pick up some things while walking, however those pick ups were of monsters far, far away, so I didn't need to worry about anything.

Sundown had come fast and yet, we still weren't outside of the Deadmans Graveyard.. strangely enough.
Right now, me and Jio had settled down in a camp ground, as she had decided to get some rest and resume our march in the morning.

While sitting at the campfire, Jio and I remained silent as she read a book she had with her, while I was browsing through my Status window.

/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
Name; Faofa Shin
Species; Darkness Snake

The list of skills I had was starting to once again get a bit out of hand. Perhaps it was a good idea to start using [Fractured] to shorten down the list of skills I had.

However.... Was it wise to use it infront of Jio..? Wouldn't she ask questions if she saw me use a skill like [Fractured] right infront of her?

I can ease your worry, no one other than you can see the use of [Fractured] so you're completely fine to use it.

'Well that's useful to know..'

I thought, before sighing.
Guess it wouldn't hurt to shorten the list down a bit. I began to look through my skills, for any potential skills to combine into new ones.

'Not any obvious contenders..'

Perhaps I can help you out here and combine a few that I think can become into more useful ones?

I thought about Ancient Ones offer for a bit. While it was true that I accepted [Sages' Wisdom] suggestions surrounding the combination of skills, could I actually trust Ancient One with such a task?

Wouldn't he use the chance to completely screw me over?

That's just rude Master.
I'd never do something to hinder you.

'Really? Well, it doesn't sound very believable.'

I sighed lightly, causing Jio to throw her gaze towards me for a moment, as I leaned down a bit.

'Very well, do your thing.'

Gladly.

Then, I felt a very strange feeling as Ancient One began his work.

Using the Skill [Fractured]..

Successful.
[Dragon Arts] has been sacrificed to evolve the Epic Skill [Soul Appraisal] into the
Legendary skill [Essence Lord].

Huh?
A skill was sacrificed?

You didn't know?
[Fractured] allows you to either sacrifice a bit of Magical Energy to evolve a skill or to sacrifice another different skill to evolve a skill.

'And you decided to sacrifice Dragon Arts because..?'

Well, you were going to lose it anyway.

'What is that supposed to mean?'

You'll see in time.

I sighed heavily.
Of course he avoided my question. After that, I couldn't find anymore skills to combine and even the Ancient One stated that there were no more skills he could see any 'purpose' to evolve.

So, I simply closed my status window and sighed heavily again.

Then, Jio shut her book before placing it back into her bag.

[Jio] "We better get some sleep. We have to wake up early tomorrow."

She stated, before laying down onto what I assume was the equivalent of a sleeping bag in this world and then gazing up at the stars, closing her eyes seconds after.

I remained silent for a bit, before about to speak up, only to be interrupted by her quiet snoring.

....
She fell asleep fast.

Demonoids are capable of controlling how fast and when they fall asleep, allowing for maximum efficiency rests.

Huh.. that sounds useful.
Well, it would have been a darn useful ability to have in my old life when I was living like a work slave.

Is it a smart idea for me to go sleep though? We were in the middle of a dangerous forest...

Do not fret master, I'll make sure to keep an eye on things around and will wake you up immediately if something comes.

Y'know, maybe I was too harsh on you.
Welp, I guess I'm sleeping then.

I fell down onto the grass beneath me, before staring up at the stars.
Right now, I was being reminded of my first few days in this new world, when I was still in the Abyssal Woods and living a normal life as a snake.

Well... As normal as you could get.
While I definitely don't miss being in the Abyssal Woods, I do miss those tasty fruit or berry things I found in it.

Those were heavenly - almost like a really, really tasty version of a watermelon, but without seeds or.. well.. the 'water' or juice spilling everywhere.

After that, I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep quite quickly, as the night continued on.

       The next morning..

     We, once again, were up early and back onto the road. Gotta say, last nights rest somehow felt much, much better than any rests I've had on the beds that I've slept on.

This may be because of you being a snake master. Snakes and other monsters generally get a boosted quality sleep when sleeping outside on grass or their natural habitats.

They do?
Well, then perhaps I should get a place somewhere outside where I can just rest. Kinda like that hollow long I was staying in while in the Abyssal Woods.

[Jio] "Keep your eyes wide open, you never know when something may strike."

Jio stated, throwing her gaze all over the place.
Ever since we left camp, it's almost like she has been on extra high alert - almost like she was anticipating something to happen.

'Although, I'm sure it's nothing..'

Y'know that good old saying:
"I called it"?

Yeah- well, maybe I should have kept my thoughts quiet.

Master, I detect an incoming attack—

Before the warning could finish, a sudden magical arrow came flying at me.
Jio reacted quickly, drawing her blade and quickly slicing the arrow in half, however, accidentally pushing me to the side in the process.

[Jio] "Careful Mr.Shin, we're under attack—"

She stated, before turning towards me, only to see me stumble back and step onto a magic circle.

"That can't be good—"

I commented, before the Magic Circle activated and I suddenly was wisked away, leaving Jio all alone.

[Jio] "Mr.Shin!-"

Before she could do anything else, a second magic arrow came flying at her, which she also sliced in half. Then, the perpetuater showed himself - being a person in a crimson red cloak.

[Jio] "You... You're a member of the Hand Sons of Tritery, aren't you?"

She asked, getting into a defensive position.
The person under the hood simply smiled, before many more like him came into the view, surrounding Jio from all sides.

[?] "We've found you, Ms.Jio."

The first cloaked person stated, before lifting off the hood from their head, revealing a Ghoul to be under the cloak.

Jio shed a sweat.

[Jio] 'Damnit-! Mr.Shin, you better stay alive until I find you!'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, Hey!
It's a cliffhanger!

Yeah, I love making these
cliffhangers so much.

Anyway,
See y'all in the Next Chapter:
64. -
"So.. I was Wisked to a Hidden Dungeon?"