Sleep came suddenly, yet it was light. It did not plunge him into darkness but merely covered reality with a thin veil, through which the sounds of the night camp still filtered. Alex dreamed of spending hours over blueprints: line after line, until a finished component took shape. He dreamed of his parents, smiling and saying something. He was immersed in this until a sharp sound tore through the silence of the night. It wasn't a scream. It was a short, metallic "clink" — the sound metal makes when it strikes something soft.
Alex bolted up faster than he could realize what was happening. A terrifying thought unsettled his mind: "Have the people I bought attacked the guards?"
The herbalist in the corner shrieked, pressing her hands to her mouth. The white-haired girl didn't even flinch, though her pupils dilated almost imperceptibly.
From outside, the thundering of hooves and the first death rattle reached his ears. Then, Alan's loud voice boomed over the chaos:
— Ambush! To arms! Protect the carriages!
I scrambled outside, trying to steady my racing heart on the fly. The guards were already on their feet. One of them lay on the ground, a pool of blood beginning to form beside him. Alan stood ahead with his sword drawn, staring into the darkness of the forest. The dying campfire caught only the silhouettes of horses in the night shadows, panicking and tearing at their tethers.
— What was it? — I shouted, stepping up beside the captain. My hands clenched into fists of their own accord; I felt a prickling sensation beneath my skin.
— I don't know, sir... — Alan panted, his eyes darting across the bushes. — But that sound... that's the cry of beasts that emerge from the Convergence Zone. Sometimes they escape from there.
Alex remembered how the previous Alex had been injured. He had hired men and headed into one of these zones near Morin. He had been full of optimism, eager to make a name for himself, but as often happens, he had overestimated his strength. His men scattered, and he found himself on the brink of death. As it turned out later, he was saved by Aeon, who arrived in time with reinforcements.
As for the Convergence Zone—it was the territory around strange caves that people called cursed. From time to time, various monsters emerged from there. In reality, they were something like dungeons. This was where the protagonist of the novel would "level up," but that wasn't important right now. Because:
— Slimes! Convergence Zone! — Alan roared somewhere to the right.
Small monsters the size of wolves emerged from the forest, about five of them. They didn't bark; they only emitted a loathsome whistle. The guards immediately bunched into groups of two or three, fending off the attacks of the small beasts jumping onto their backs. Chaos gripped the camp: horses neighed, slaves screamed in the carriages, and the ring of steel against claws grated on the ears.
I drew my sword. The hilt was cold, but my palm was already burning from static tension.
— Alan! To the carriages! — I yelled, but the captain was pinned by three small slimes. He fought back with his shield, retreating toward the forest.
And then, from the darkness beyond the circle of light, the Alpha stepped forward.
He was hideous. Over two meters tall at the shoulder, with limbs as thick as a human torso. His skin pulsed, secreting a foul-smelling slime that dripped onto the grass, leaving scorched marks. He ignored the guards. His membrane-covered eyes looked directly at my carriage. Toward the spot behind the wheel where Lia and Melia were huddled together. Noticing easy prey, he headed toward them with a vile snarl, letting out a gruesome growl.
— Stop, you bastard!
I tried to slash the beast, but the sword only sank slightly into its leg. The creature roared. It swung its limb. The blow was so powerful that it simply blew through my block. I flew sideways, my back slamming into a small tree. The air was knocked out of my lungs, and a salty taste of blood appeared in my mouth.
— Sir! — Lia cried out in desperation, trying to grab some kind of stick.
The monster came for me. I saw its maw—rows of sharp needles secreting phosphorescent saliva. It raised its paw for the final blow. I managed to roll away just in time, and the claws shattered the tree as if a scythe were cutting grass. Where my head had been only a second ago, a trunk now lay.
I scrambled to my feet, breathing heavily. The sword was in my right hand, but it was numb from the impact. The hum in my head became painful, as if thousands of hornets were fighting inside my skull. The horizon began to blur before my eyes.
— You... — I spat out blood and closed the distance again.
This time, I didn't wait. When the beast lunged again, I didn't block. I slid under its limb, feeling the cold slime on my face, and with a pivot, I plunged my sword into its side. The creature shuddered, but instead of falling, it spun sharply and struck me in the chest with its tail.
I was thrown even further into the forest. I tumbled a couple of times and then felt a sharp pain. There, protruding through the fabric in my left arm, was a tree branch. The pain was incredible, but it became the very trigger that returned a measure of clarity to my mind.
I ran through the thicket, dodging trees, hoping to prevent the beast from reaching me easily. I tried not to stray too far from the camp, hoping the guards could prevail and come to my aid.
I lost track of time. How long had I been running? Maybe a minute, or an hour, or perhaps just a few seconds. But exhaustion began to catch up with me, and my vision started to fade from the blood loss. And then, making another zigzag, I failed to notice a fallen branch and tripped over it.
I fell, feeling that incredible pain in my arm once more. I tried to stand, but exhaustion finally overcame me.
The monster, seeing me in this state, stopped running and halted a few meters away. It froze for a second and then began to approach me. It didn't pounce immediately, perhaps expecting some move on my part.
And me? I lay on the cold ground watching the night sky. Two moons illuminated the dark heavens, and constellations unknown to me adorned the spectacle like garlands on a Christmas tree.
"So this is it," I thought. "This is how my second chance ends. I haven't even tried anything yet." Images of the faces of the people I had met here flashed through my head.
Suddenly, the voice of the old Alex's mother echoed in my mind: "A person can prove themselves in different ways, Alex. Just because you don't have a talent like your brothers doesn't mean you are worse. You will always find yourself in something else. And I will always be there to support you."
I don't know why it was her words that came to me in this final moment. But she was right—people can manifest themselves in different aspects. I closed my eyes, and in my imagination, lightning flashed once more—a force of nature that defies control. A force that melts metal and shatters trees into splinters.
I opened my eyes, feeling that hum within me roaring like never before. The monster was already half a meter away, its maw wide open, ready to feast on its prey.
I raised my hand with force, energy crackling around my fingers. I smiled at the monster, feeling blood on my lips:
— Eat this! — I rasped.
And I let it all out.
It wasn't just a discharge.
It was an explosion.
Blue light blinded everything around. The sound resembled a lightning strike during a heavy rain. I felt the energy passing through my own hands, searing my nerves.
The beast's head was blown apart. A fountain of scorched flesh and sparks rained down on me. I closed my eyes against the flash. The world around became silent for a second. And after a few seconds, I heard something massive fall nearby. I saw the stars, even though my eyelids were shut.
— Sir! Your Grace! — Alan's voice seemed very far away.