Nameless King

Alas was serious. He usually preferred to fight with his hands, it was more comfortable for him, and it allowed him to develop greater mobility, but he could not be disrespectful in this battle.

"I am Alas Valxin, crush you!" Alas pointed his spear at the golem as he bowed slightly.

"This is the first time I've seen such a respectful fighter." Ern smiled, "I wouldn't want to fight him. I'd throw up after saying that and especially bowing."

"Huh, Demons and Elves are really quite different, aren't they? You're like two opposites." Wain leaned against the temple wall.

"That's okay. We're all different, though I won't hide it, it pisses me off that the Elves are overly ostentatious." Ern waved his hand.

Roooooooaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!

Suddenly the Stone Golem roared furiously. The symbols on his body glowed brightly as he attacked. Despite its size, the Stone Golem was quite fast. It reached Alas in a second.

Alas did nothing. He stared at the golem's massive fist approaching him.

Whooooooooooosh.

At the last moment, Alas disappeared, so the golem's fist hit the ground. The entire temple shook, and dust sprinkled from the ceiling, along with small pieces of ruins. The Stone Golem's hand was stuck in the ground as he tried to pull it out.

"As a sign of my respect, I will use one of my strongest moves." Alas said calmly as he pointed his spear at the Stone Golem.

The air beside him trembled, and streams of wind appeared at his feet. They swiftly headed toward the spear, covering it like a hurricane. The wind was turbulent, it was a multitude of sharp blades capable of blowing anything away.

"Rest in peace." Alas threw the spear with all his might.

The spear pierced the Stone Golem like lightning. The spear was thin, so it left a narrow gap in the Stone Golem, but the wind turned it into a huge cavity the size of half the Stone Golem's torso.

The Stone Golem tried to attack, but it was nothing more than a death wish. The Stone Golem had no strength left, so it fell and shattered into many pieces like a porcelain vase.

Whooooooosh.

The spear by Alas' will came back to him.

"Not bad. You'll certainly have no equal if you get the Royal Spirit." Ern clapped his hands.

"I hope so. Come on. I can't wait to see the Forgotten Forest." Alas approached the corpse of the Stone Golem.

He took a green crystal from one wreckage and inserted it into one part of the portal.

The ruins' symbols glowed brightly, slowly spreading and covering the entire main temple. A green flame appeared in the portal's frame, turning into a path to the unknown.

"I finally saw it..." Alas muttered.

"Come." Wain stepped forward.

"Wait." Ern said, "First, I want to leave a small gift for our future guests."

A dark scroll with red symbols appeared in his hand. Ern placed it on the floor as black writing spread across the room like a spider's web.

"Done." Ern kicked the dust off his hands, "Now, even if someone comes in here, they'll be in big trouble."

"Hey, isn't that Dark Magic?" Alas asked.

"Yeah, so what? Is that really all you care about? Come on. I want to see what's in the Forgotten Forest, too." Ern jumped into the portal.

The others immediately followed him.

They had all learned about the Forgotten Forest at different times, but they were sure they would find something they had never seen before. What's more, they were lucky enough to be the first.

"We're here." Wain smiled as he looked around.

They were in a forest glade. Many unusual flowers were growing here, which were very rare or even thought to be extinct. A few feet away were trees of various shapes and sizes. Some had amazing combinations, like the white trunk and the red crown. Small islands were floating high in the sky, and some had colorful waterfalls. It was truly a magical place.

"Not bad." Ern took a deep breath, "Holy shit, what a dense concentration of energy here! You can accumulate it dozens of times faster here!"

"Yes. It's incredible. I've never seen anything like it." Erza nodded.

"Look!" Alas pointed to the side.

Under a small tree with pink foliage sat a white fox with three tails.

"Wow. I'd heard of this beast, but I thought it only existed in stories, but it looks like everything in this place is real."

"Beasts, high energy density..." Wain muttered, "That's all well and good, but is that the main value of the Forgotten Forest?"

"What is it?" Erza looked up.

Above them, unusual creatures occasionally flew by. They were balls of light with little glowing wings, they looked like fairies or something.

"They are the Ancient Spirits of the Forgotten Forest!" Alas exclaimed.

Whooooooosh.

Suddenly one of the Spirits headed toward them. It was a green ball with small blue wings. The Spirit circled around Alas for a while, then stopped.

"It wants something from me?" Alas muttered puzzledly.

"Huh, looks like this Spirit picked you." Ern grinned, "Try touching it. You need to do something."

Alas nodded as he touched the Spirit.

The Spirit glowed brightly, and a massive green magic circle appeared behind it. Twelve wind spheres formed in place of the magic circle as if they were targets.

"You..." The Spirit suddenly spoke, "You must remove all the spheres... You must not move, and you will only have three seconds after you start..."

"Is this some kind of assignment?" Alas muttered.

"Looks like it." Wain nodded, "Maybe these Spirits are the main treasure of the Forgotten Forest. For every reward, you have to do something. It's pretty curious."

"Good. It's not a problem for me." Alas said confidently.

Windblades appeared beside him, and they slowly floated in the air. Alas swung his hand as the blades rushed toward the spheres. They pierced it, and the magic circle disappeared.

"You have great skills..." The Spirit muttered as It glowed brightly.

The Spirit became energy. It headed toward Alas and turned into a long dagger with a green blade.