Garion paused for a moment as the familiar invisible screen only he could see appeared before him.

A small arrow blinked into existence, pointing deeper into the island, just like the first time he entered Demon Gate Island.

He raised a brow. "Oh? So that's the place, huh."

He turned to the others and waved.

"Alright, everyone. Follow me. I found the perfect spot."

Raviel frowned. "Perfect spot? Already?"

Aveline raised an eyebrow. "You just got here, Garion."

Garion grinned. "Trust me. I know where I'm going."

They exchanged confused looks but followed him anyway.

They barely walked five steps into the dense forest when...

GRAAAAH!

A scaled tiger burst from the bushes, baring his fangs.

From the aura alone, the tiger should be a second-realm beast just like before.

Aveline stepped forward instantly. "Everyone, battle..."

Garion casually placed a hand on the tiger's snout.

BOOM!

The beast flew backward like it had been hit by a collapsing mountain, rolling across the ground before going limp.

Garion dusted his hands. "Keep walking."

The others stared in silence.

"…Right," Raviel muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

A few steps later...

KRRRRAAAA!

A horned gorilla charged at them from the side, smashing through a tree.

Rynar flinched. "Uhh... Master, you want us to..."

Garion walked past him, grabbed the gorilla by the arm, and swung it like a sack of potatoes.

It crashed into another beast that had been sneaking up behind the group.

THUD.

Two beasts down in one move.

Garion stretched his shoulders. "Man, the wildlife here is lively."

Aveline's jaw dropped. "Lively? Garion, that's a second-realm gorilla! That thing can flatten houses!"

Garion shrugged. "Then it's a good thing we're not houses."

They kept walking, and just like before...

Another beast appeared.

Garion flicked his finger and the beast flew.

Some time later... More of them appeared, ambushing them.

Garion kicked the ground, and the shockwave knocked all of them out cold.

The deeper they went, the more insane it got.

Vine serpents, stone-shell bears, and flame-spitting owls.

Every kind of second-realm beast jumped at them from every direction as if the island had declared a personal war on their group.

Each time, Garion just laughed, cracking his knuckles.

"This is nothing."

Raviel wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Garion, are you sure this is the safe path?"

Garion turned around with a bright grin. "Of course. This is the safest one."

Aveline's eye twitched. "If this is the safest path… what does the dangerous path look like?"

Garion simply pointed ahead. "Don't worry. We're almost there."

Meanwhile, Dahlia, who was following from behind, rubbed her forehead and sighed.

"…Yeah. This again."

Rynor glanced at her. "What do you mean 'again'?"

Dahlia groaned as she pointed at Garion, who was now suplexing a stone-scaled wolf into a bush.

"That. Exactly that."

Rynar blinked. "Uh… Master throwing wildlife around?"

"No." Dahlia shook her head.

"Master pretending he doesn't know where he's going… but somehow leading us to the best place possible."

Aveline, walking beside them, raised an eyebrow. "He pretends?"

Dahlia nodded hard. "Yes. I've seen this before. When we went into Demon Gate Island the first time."

Clara leaned closer. "What happened back then?"

Dahlia sighed deeply, as if remembering a traumatic memory.

"We walked… and walked… and every few minutes… BAM! A beast jumps out. Master beats it. Then another one jumps out. Master beats it again."

Everyone slowly looked ahead.

Another beast jumped out.

Garion grabbed it by the tail and spun it like a lasso before tossing it over a tree.

Dahlia pointed at the scene without emotion. "Exactly like that."

Eliza narrowed her eyes. "And where did he lead you?"

"A place that shouldn't exist," Dahlia said firmly. "And the reason is..."

She held up one finger dramatically.

"We found an [Origin]."

Raviel nearly tripped at the word. "An Origin? In Demon Gate Island?!"

Dahlia nodded. "Yep. Big one too. Bigger than the ones you showed earlier."

Aveline's jaw dropped. "Garion… found an Origin by accident?"

Dahlia let out a small laugh. "Master doesn't find things by accident. He just pretends it's luck."

In front of them, Garion stomped the ground lightly to launch a boar into the air, caught it with one hand, and threw it into a tree like a frisbee.

The elders went silent.

Rendric whispered, "This… is normal?"

Dahlia shrugged. "For him? Yes."

She folded her arms and kept walking.

"Well anyway… If Master says 'we're almost there,' then it means one thing."

Rynor asked, "What?"

Dahlia smirked.

"We're about to find a stupidly good place. And probably something rare. Just watch."

Everyone stared between her and Garion.

Garion casually punched the air, creating a shockwave that made the next wave of beasts faint instantly.

Aveline gulped. "Rare, huh…"

Dahlia nodded.

"And that's why we just follow him."

She sighed again but smiled a little.

'Master's instincts always lead to opportunities… even if the road is insane.'

But even with her explanation, everyone else looked unconvinced, and also...

Their route was becoming stranger and crazier the more they went.

Clara whispered, "There's no way this is normal, right?"

Eliza ducked as a second-realm boar flew over their heads.

"…No. No, this isn't normal at all."

Raviel frowned hard. "How can every single minute a beast show up? This isn't a road. This is a battlefield."

Aveline rubbed her temples. "I've lived for decades. I have never seen this many second-realm beasts packed in one route."

Another beast burst out from a bush.

Garion grabbed it by the horns and gently set it aside by flipping it through four trees.

Rendric stared blankly. "…Do they spawn?"

Arden sighed. "No. This is called 'Master walked first.' If he exists, beasts attack."

The others still didn't believe it.

It was too ridiculous and impossible.

And every time someone asked:

"Are we close?"

Garion simply looked back with that easy grin.

"Close."

They walked five more minutes.

Another wave of beasts showed up.

"Master… now?"

Garion smiled again.

"Close."

Dahlia covered her face with both hands, shoulders shaking.

"…Yep. Just like Demon Gate Island all over again."

The rest of the group exchanged exhausted, confused, slightly terrified glances.

Just what kind of path was this?

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