Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 40: Chapter 40 — Into the Forest

Chapter 40 — Into the Forest

Victor arrived at the foot of the forest and took in his surroundings.

By now, he had stopped humming and playing with the flame in his hand. The relaxed mood he’d carried from Jacob’s grave had faded somewhere along the river. The forest ahead was dangerous, and Victor needed to stay focused if he wanted to come back with the materials he had come for.

He stood there for a moment, looking into the enormous stretch of trees before him. Some of them rose nearly forty feet into the air, their thick trunks disappearing beneath layers of vines and vegetation. Strange plants grew between their roots, along the riverbanks, and beneath the shade of larger trees. Common herbs seemed to be everywhere, almost as if the forest had been designed to provide them.

Victor’s eyes slowly moved across the landscape. The longer he looked, the stranger it became. There was a pattern to it. Certain herbs grew around particular trees, while others appeared in clusters separated by completely different vegetation. Even the way some of the plants spread across the forest floor seemed too organized to be entirely natural.

How did this place even come to exist?

Victor looked upward. The cavern ceiling was so far above him that he couldn’t even make out its full shape. He was deep beneath the surface, yet somehow an entire forest had grown here. Not some small collection of plants struggling to survive, but a massive ecosystem filled with trees, rivers, herbs, and magical beasts.

Something had allowed this place to exist for an incredibly long time.

Victor couldn’t help but wonder what that something was.

For now, however, he had a more immediate problem.

"Well, now is as good a time as any to walk into a dangerous forest."

Victor drew his dagger and tightened his grip.

Then he sprinted.

He shot between the trees, following the route he had memorized from his previous exploration. Branches whipped past his shoulders while loose leaves scattered beneath his feet. He didn’t bother taking the easiest path. Every second he spent in the forest was another second something could notice him.

His eyes constantly moved as he traveled, searching for anything useful. Whenever he spotted an herb he recognized, he would occasionally slow just enough to reach down and tear it free before continuing forward. Some went straight into his storage, while others were left behind because they weren’t worth the time.

The forest was practically overflowing with potential alchemical ingredients.

Victor couldn’t help but appreciate that.

If he survived long enough, he could probably clean this place of its treasures.

The thought almost made him smile.

The farther he traveled, the more familiar the surroundings became. Victor knew where he was going. The Spirit Shrooms were located farther inside the forest, still within the outer region, but dangerously close to the territory controlled by the black panther.

The last time he had found them, he had managed to collect three before noticing the beast.

He remembered the moment clearly.

The panther had been more than three football fields away. It hadn’t even moved toward him, yet Victor had felt its presence. That oppressive energy had pressed against him from a distance, accompanied by an instinctive warning that screamed at him to leave.

He had run without hesitation.

Victor slowed slightly.

A sudden rustling came from the trees ahead.

Victor’s eyes narrowed as he shifted toward the sound. He carefully looked around a thick tree trunk, and three large creatures emerged from the vegetation.

Victor stopped.

They resembled bears from Earth, but they were far larger and far more sinister. Thick white fur covered their massive bodies, making their shoulders and forelimbs look almost unnaturally broad. Two curved horns protruded from each skull, while long black claws dug into the earth beneath them. Their jaws hung slightly open, revealing rows of thick, jagged teeth.

Their crimson eyes glowed beneath heavy brows, watching Victor with the cold focus of predators that had never learned to fear anything.

One of them raised its head and sniffed the air.

Its eyes locked onto Victor.

Victor stared back.

For a moment, neither side moved.

Then Victor sighed.

"So much for a peaceful walk through the forest."

The nearest beast roared and prepared to charged.

Victor moved first.

He shot forward, closing the distance before the creature could properly react. His dagger flashed beneath its jaw and drove directly into its face. The blade punched through bone, and the beast’s roar died before it could fully leave its throat.

Victor twisted the dagger and ripped it free as the creature collapsed.

He didn’t even look at the corpse.

That’s one down.

The other two beasts roared simultaneously.

Victor’s expression changed.

These two were noticeably stronger.

He could feel the difference immediately from the spiritual energy radiating from their bodies. Victor tightened his grip around the dagger as one of them lowered its stance.

It looked like it was preparing to charge.

Victor.

Instead, the beast opened its mouth.

Victor’s eyes widened.

A strange black energy began gathering between its jaws. It twisted inward, forming a dense circular mass surrounded by spiraling black currents. The air around the creature distorted slightly as the power continued to compress.

Victor’s instincts screamed.

"Crap!"

The beast fired.

A black beam tore across the clearing.

Victor twisted his body, but he wasn’t fast enough.

The attack clipped his right shoulder.

Pain exploded through his arm.

His fingers nearly lost their grip on the dagger as the beam seared across the outer portion of his shoulder. His arm immediately went partially numb, and the smell of burned flesh filled the air.

Victor stumbled several steps before catching himself.

His breathing stopped for a moment.

He looked down at his shoulder.

The wound wasn’t deep enough to disable the arm, but the pain was intense, and every movement sent another jolt through his shoulder.

Victor looked back at the beast.

A cold realization settled over him.

If that had hit me directly, I’d be dead.

There would have been no second chance.

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