The servants were seen serving a meal of roasted chicken, vegetables, fruits, and plain water. The tantalizing aroma of roasted chicken wafted throughout the room.
Everyone held back from eating, waiting for the head of the family to be the first to enjoy the meal. This was a family tradition that was always upheld, a symbol of respect and unity. However, Hastora, with his jet-black hair and perpetually cold eyes, disregarded this custom. He immediately devoured the food in front of him, without a word. His attitude was not just a lack of openness, but a statement; a silent rebellion against the family he felt had imprisoned him for years.
Everyone was stunned by Hastora's attitude. He showed no courtesy to the head of the family, an elderly man known for his wisdom and authority throughout the region.
"Hey!" shouted one of the teenage boys sitting in his chair. "That's so rude, what are you doing?"
Hearing this, Hastora immediately swallowed the food in his mouth. He replied to the teenage boy's question while staring at him coldly, as if he could freeze blood.
"Are you blind?" he asked. "Of course I'm eating, can't you see?"
Everyone in the room was shocked by Hastora's answer. How could they not be shocked? He had done something considered uncouth in front of the head of the family, and now he was acting as if it wasn't a big deal. His arrogance was not just bad manners, but a reflection of the power that lay dormant within him, a power that made him feel above the rules and norms of the family.
The teenage boy was furious after hearing Hastora's answer. But he held back, not wanting to make a scene in front of the head of the family. He took a deep breath and said nothing. Hastora, observing their reactions keenly, felt disgusted. They were weak, easily frightened, and unworthy of being his rivals. He considered himself superior, not only in strength, but also in intelligence and maturity. A maturity forced upon him by solitude and the burden of secrets that only he knew.
"You're smart too," said Hastora. "You're more mature than the red-haired one."
"What!" shouted the red-haired teenage boy. "What are you saying, you ugly, ugly thing!"
"Are you deaf?" he asked. "I said he's more mature than you."
"Why do you think so?" he asked angrily. "Do you think you're great?"
Hastora sighed. "At least better than all of you," he replied calmly and coldly. His voice was flat, devoid of emotion, but behind it lay a deep loneliness. A loneliness he had long suppressed, a loneliness that drove him to seek greater challenges and strength.
The red-haired teenage boy became increasingly annoyed. The veins in his face were prominent, his face flushed with anger. So did the other teenagers present, they felt offended by Hastora's words.
"You!" shouted the red-haired teenage boy. "You're already—"
He hadn't even finished his sentence when the head of the family, who could no longer stand the situation, began to emit his aura. The pressure from his aura was very strong, even though he only released a small amount of his power. Everyone in the room trembled in fear, they instantly froze. Their bodies could not move because they could not resist the pressure released by the head of the family's aura.
At the moment when everyone was frozen in silence, Hastora was currently continuing his meal as if nothing was happening. The pressure generated by the head of the family's aura had no effect on him at all. He didn't even feel the slightest bit of pressure. His power far surpassed them all.
The head of the family began to realize that his aura had no effect on Hastora. He smiled slightly and immediately stopped his aura. He decided to continue his meal without saying a word about the little commotion earlier. He knew that Hastora was an unsolved puzzle, a force that might one day become a threat, but might also become a savior.
Everyone instantly moved again, they dared not do anything else but enjoy the meal that had been served.
"Weak," said Hastora in his heart. "They can even be subdued by such a weak aura." He felt bored, empty. His extraordinary power only made him feel even more alone.
He treated the incident as if it had never happened and continued to devour his meal until it was finished. He also ate the fruits that had been served there, and finally, he drank plain water to conclude all the dishes earlier.
After eating, Hastora quickly left the place without saying a word and hurried back to his room. All eyes were on Hastora as he walked back to his room. They were all wondering, "How could someone who never even left his room be like that?" That's what they were thinking now. They didn't know about Hastora's past, about the betrayal, the massacre, and the forced cruelty of the world 20,000 years ago.
Hastora sighed. "I'm bored," he said. "I think I'll go out for a while." He felt the need to vent his strength, to find a worthy challenge. His family was not a worthy opponent for him.
He returned to his room, then jumped onto the bed. He felt a little more comfortable now. The bed was very soft and comfortable, capable of making anyone fall asleep quickly. After lying down for a while, Hastora got up from the bed and walked out of the room.
He put both hands in his pants pockets and started walking out of the mansion. Stress, fatigue, and soreness instantly disappeared when he got out of the mansion. The wind there blew calmly past his face.
"Not bad."
He immediately moved out of the gate without saying a word to the servants who were working in the yard. The servants who saw this did not dare to reprimand Hastora. They were afraid that they would be punished by him for being disrespectful.
"Where should I go?" said Hastora as he walked through the city. "Is there a place where strong monsters are?" He needed a real fight, a fight that could test his true strength. He wanted to feel the thrill of the fight that he had long craved.
He walked through the city, looking for a place where strong monsters were. Hastora continued to seek information from the adventurers and hunters he met, but they didn't know either. Hastora didn't give up, he tried to find information about where strong monsters were. Hastora went to the adventurer's guild again. On his way to the adventurer's guild, he heard the adventurers talking about the Dark Forest. He was intrigued by it, so he approached them to find out more about the Dark Forest.
"... "
"Excuse me," he said. "Did you just say Dark Forest?"
"Oh, yes, that's right," replied the adventurers.
"Can you tell me more about the Dark Forest?" he asked curiously.
"Sure," they replied. "But why?"
"Nothing," he replied. "I was just curious."
"Okay, then, I don't mind," they replied. "The Dark Forest is located in the eastern part of the empire, it's very dark and there are many strong monsters there. Even according to the news, disaster-class monsters are also there. The Dark Forest is very large, wide, and dark. If someone goes in there alone, their chances of survival are only 20%. So far, the only one known to have returned alive from there is an S-rank battlemage, his chances are also very small, only 60%. And that's just a legend, no one has actually proven it." One of the adventurers added with a slightly fearful tone. "It is said that in the depths of that forest lies an ancient power that is very dangerous..."
After hearing that, Hastora became even more interested in the Dark Forest. He walked away from the adventurers, giving them a bag of gold coins, they looked surprised and happy with it. Hastora quickly moved towards the Dark Forest.
Even though it was already night, he still decided to go to the Dark Forest. That's because he felt that in his current life, he wasn't being paid much attention by his family, not even by his own mother. He could use that to act more freely. More than that, he was thirsty for a real fight. The Dark Forest was the perfect place for that.
"Let's see how strong the monsters in the Dark Forest are." He wanted to test the limits of his body's strength in this life, he wanted to prove to himself how strong he really was.
Hastora ran at full speed towards the Dark Forest. He moved very fast, even his speed could not be seen by ordinary human eyes. Even though his speed wasn't as fast as before because he had used reincarnation magic, his speed now was already very fast.
After running very fast, he finally arrived at the Dark Forest. Hastora only needed 5 minutes to get there. It looked like a very dark forest was emitting very strong energy. That energy belonged to the monsters that were inside. Hastora didn't want to linger, he immediately entered the dark forest casually.
"I'm coming, you lowly monsters," he said, entering the forest with both hands in his pants pockets. His voice sounded calm, but behind the calmness lay a dangerous warning.
The sound of monsters could be heard from within the forest, the sounds were very terrifying, according to him, if an A-rank or even an S-rank adventurer heard that sound, they would immediately be terrified.
The further he went in, the stronger and more terrifying the energy emitted by the forest became, the energy came from all directions in the forest, as if showing that every part of this forest was very dangerous.
However, instead of being afraid, Hastora became even more excited about this forest. According to him, the stronger his opponent, the more exciting the fight.
Not long after, 5 Orcs emerged from the dark forest, they seemed to have known Hastora's arrival. The aura emitted by the Orcs also felt unusual. The aura they emitted was stronger and darker than normal Orcs.
"Only 5?" said Hastora as he drew his sword from behind the shadows. His sword looked simple, but it emitted a cold and deadly aura.
Hastora pointed his sword at the Orcs. He was also putting up a fighting stance and preparing to kill the Orcs.
"I'm coming."
Hastora ran quickly towards the Orcs and immediately cut off one of the Orc's arms. He moved very quickly, the Orcs didn't have time to react to his attack.
"Dark Swordsmanship level one <𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻>"
Hastora moved quickly and connected his sword using his aura. Hastora's aura was dark and contained black particles. Hastora launched an execution attack that cut all the Orcs at once. The Orcs were cut to pieces, they didn't even have time to react to the attack.
"This is too weak." He felt a little disappointed. He was hoping for a more challenging fight.
Hastora continued his journey into the Dark Forest, the bodies of the Orcs were thrown into his shadow without a trace so that they left no trace at all. The smell of blood filled the air, mixed with a stench that was stronger than before. A hissing sound, faint and cold, pierced Hastora's ears. Not the sound of wind, not the sound of animals, but the sound of... something far more terrifying. Something waiting in the depths of the forest, something far stronger than the five Orcs he had just killed. Amidst the atmosphere, a red light flashed in an instant, then disappeared behind the dense trees. The light was like an eye that was watching, watching his every move. He felt an ancient power that was very great, a power that made him tremble slightly. Not fear, but a challenge.
Hastora smiled thinly, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It seems this fight will be more interesting than I thought," he murmured, his steps becoming more steady as he entered the darkness of the forest. He was ready to face whatever awaited him within.