Waking up to dawn, Lumian walked past the ke area bato the denseness of the forest North to find his way back to civilisation before he turns crazy from not being able o unicate with someone and talks to himself.

  While walking, he thinks back to his experience of enlighte and the note left by Drake Albus saying that you will just supposedly know when you reach the stage of your path. If the clear identifying factor was how the enlighte happeo bee an apprentiife wielder then he may have really had a point that it was simple enough to know how to check your progress.

  Seeing as he hasn't had anything to eat yet, Lumian decided that fing for food would be an ideal start to his day followed by some basic training exercises before he goes anywhere. This also be a method tet ots as well using the ko practice this.

  ing to this clusion, Lumian tio stealthily walk but found an absence of wildlife thus finding the situation weird and eerie. Could it be that I have stumbled upon a predators domain? Questioning himself, Lumian decided to be more wary to the perceived situation but make it appear that he was mere prey to be targeted by ag frail.

  Not too long ter, Lumia a sense of hostility ing from behind him carrying a trace of hunger and bloodlust in his dire. Finding this out, Lumian thought it best to aatural and pretend he didn't notice to not scare away his potential meal. Feeling the hostility quickly closing in, he jumped to his right and rolled before uhing his ko a reverse grip ready to pounce while andihon to distract his oppo.

  When Lumian quickly looked in the dire of the predator, he noticed that it looked like a rge feline figure staring back at him. oints are the eyes, ned underbelly. ing to a swift, calcuted clusiohon swooped down into the felines fad pecked at its eye.

  ROOOAR

  R in pain from the attack, the feline creature leapt back as it swatted at Aethon, while doing so, Lumian pounced from a low angle and sshed through the felines neck causing blood to spray before stabbing the creature iher eye ensuring the feline was blind. Leaving it to bleed out, Lumian decided to stay away and only approach by testing it through the shadows that it was indeed dead.

  Once Lumian e was so, he approached and skihe animal of its fur and prepared to cook it for its meat. It seems the further in the more dangerous this forest is being. Thinking to himself, Lumian decides that it was best to try an approach the sed stage of Neao ensure his survival better.

  After the meal was eaten, he packed the fur away for potential use and instead of training his knife skills, decided to focus on the neancy aspects of giving precise orders throughout the rest of the day. Over time he realised that he no longer felt anything giving multiple orders at a time towards his shadows without the being strain or a mix up in the and allowing him to participate in the fights himself alongside his shadows against the enemies.

  Several days passed by in this fashion of trai, sleep being a new routine increasing Lumians' overall focus and perseverance. Meanwhile, the further he went in, the less small animals there were and more dangerous wildlife was made apparent in the form of boars, rge felines and some of those goblin-like monsters scurrying around which were being easier to deal with.

  Despite this, no matter how many times he huhe cusp of enlighte was not approag leading him to feel slightly frustrated with himself. Could it be that it gets harder to receive enlightehe further along the path stages you are? While sitting down aing from his most ret hunt, Lumian thinks to himself.

  Suddenly, a massive burst of hostility be felt from the distance closing in with soft tremors rumbling the grouh his feet. As the wave of hostility was getter closer, the tremors were getting stronger causing Lumian to remember a simir feeling from the Minotaur from the trial.

  Deg it was best to prepare, Lumian summoned all of his shadows while removing both knives from their sheaths to take on the oning foe. Fog his senses, he noticed that the creature seems to have a bit of a limp to its trembling steps meaning a weakness he exploit.

  SNAP

  The snapping of trees sounded closer, meaning the target should be retively strong for its size. Ohe enemy was in sight, Lumian saw that it was a t single eyed cyclops wearing a rge goatskin rag torn at the shoulder and leg where the left one seems to be bleeding profusely, rge tusks pointed out the mouth along wit heavy panting. It was holding onte jagged makeshift sword using a tree trunk and broken rock pieces.

  As the cyclops ran towards Lumian, preparing the club like sword for a swing, Lumian jumped between his legs gaps as Aethon swooped into its eye with its beak, stabbing it causireme pain as it cries out an ugly roar. The cyclops tripped over its ow as this happened causing a loud THUD onto the ground. Lumian spun around and sshed repeated at the cyclops wounded leg, inflig greater pai not pierg deep enough only causing shallow cuts agitating the cyclops. Meanwhile, the two bats were screeg noisily by the cyclops ears as the rats and spiders bit at the exposed flesh.

  "GGGRRAAAGGHH." Ahe cyclops used its open hand to crush Aethon, making it out of ission temporarily before swatting the bats out of the way before slowly getting up. The bats evaded the hand while the spiders climbed on the cyclops back tinuing to bite it but its not making the cyclops paralyzed or even slow down as it swung its club like on at Lumian.

  Lumian just barely reacted in time, bending backwards flexibly, narrowly avoiding the on before leaning forward into a sprint as Aethon re-emerged from his shadow flying back towards the cyclops. With the swing missed, the cyclops trod on the annoying rats biting its feet befrabbihon out of the air again and crushing it. Lumian, sshed at the back of the knee of the cyclops causing it to fall down on its k it swung its on in a wide arc grazing his arm cutting it making it bleed profusely making Lumian jump back away from the cyclops.

  The cyclops with its teary eye tried getting back up but suddenly felt dizzy and had trouble moving the muscles. It seems the spiders venomous bites started to take effect. Lumian aowledging this, ran ba lunging the ko the cyclops eye permaly blinding the big creature.

  ROOOAAAR

  In a rage, the cyclops baded Lumian into a tree winding him temporarily as the spiders got crushed uhe weight of the cyclops as it fell on its ba paiing back up, Lumian spat out a small mouthfull of blood before sshing at the cyclops throat repeatedly avoiding the movement of the cyclops as it tried to hit him, meanwhile Aethon was re-summoned along with the rats and spiders again, going to town on it before it finally drew its st breath.

  Panting, Lumian finally entered a moment of enlighte at the death of the cyclops even the mightiest of foes shall fall to the numbers of mere ants. Suddenly his mark on his hand burned in pain as the angeligs went from being closed to opened and fully spread. Gaining crity, Lumia a limit inside of him was released allowing him to tract rger shadows and more of them.

  Taking note of this, he went into his bag and grabbed some bandages and some water to out his wound before bandaging it up to stop it from making him bleed out. Taking a moment to himself he decides to just sit down to rest temporarily before moving on.