Seeing their leader being attacked so suddenly, Frank's group members didn't stand by idly—they immediately launched a series of assaults on the stranger.
However, none of their attacks had any effect on the stranger's body. Every blow was either dodged or effortlessly deflected with bare hands as if the stranger were performing a graceful dance in the middle of battle.
Being unable to land a single hit on someone fighting alone naturally left them in shock, but it didn't last long. The man began to release his power, letting energy seep out from his body.
Frank, realizing the severity of the situation, also released his own power. However, the intensity of his energy was noticeably inferior to that of the stranger.
When the two clashed fists, the result was clear—Frank was utterly defeated. His hand was crushed, and his body was thrown several meters back, causing him to fall unconscious immediately.
Frank's team, well aware of how powerful he was—even someone like Theodor, the strongest in another group, would have struggled greatly to defeat him—was shocked. Yet the stranger had defeated Frank effortlessly, without even breaking a sweat.
"Now, let's begin the negotiation! If you hand over the Fire Mushroom peacefully, I'll let you go unharmed. But if you force me to take it… You'll end up like your leader," the man said in a flat tone, showing no signs of fatigue after fighting ten people.
"It's... It's inside Frank's storage ring," one of Frank's team members said, his voice heavy with despair.
The stranger immediately took Frank's dimensional ring, and the rest of the group hurried away, carrying Frank's limp body with them.
After doing something with the ring, the man pulled out a plant identical to the one Aaron had eaten—the Fire Mushroom. The middle-aged man smiled in satisfaction and prepared to leave the area.
But just then, Theodor appeared before him and respectfully bowed before speaking:
"Sir, we found one of your friends unconscious after battling the King-level beast that rules this forest."
"What!?" The man was so shocked that he took a few steps back before suddenly flying away at high speed.
Seeing the stranger fly took Theodor's group by even greater surprise.
"H-he can fly...!" they said in unison.
In their world, flight was a power level so high that people like Theodor's team could only dream of it.
In the archaic world, one's strength and level were determined by the number of Soul Fragments they had condensed in their soul realm.
Each successfully formed soul fragment took a different shape for each individual—stone, fire, water droplets, smoke, and so on.
Every ten soul fragments fused into one Main Soul Fragment. To achieve flight without wings, one needed to reach at least Level Five—meaning they had to combine fifty Soul Fragments into five Main Soul Fragments, also known as Soul Cores.
In other words, they needed to have formed five Main Soul Fragments within their soul realm. However, a person could still fly if they possessed wind-type powers or a special flying item.
Having Soul Fragments didn't automatically allow someone to use soul techniques. Soul fragments were merely the foundation for manipulating natural energy. Soul techniques, on the other hand, were a specialized and deeper form of knowledge that only a select few could learn.
That's why most people could only use their Soul Fragments to control natural energy, not true soul power.
"Hm. It seems the person on my back isn't his friend. Someone that powerful would've easily recognized this young man," Theodor muttered.
"Sigh... Looks like our journey was for nothing," grumbled Trion, the tall spear-wielding member of Theodor's group.
"Well, you're not entirely wrong. Since we failed, the people in our settlement are doomed. But at least we managed to save a life from being eaten by monsters. So we didn't fail in trying to help someone," Theodor replied, his voice trembling at the thought of the people in his village who were about to die.
Theodor's positive outlook on saving Aaron reminded the others of the boy's presence. Still, considering Theodor's reasoning, they could only accept it—even if the one they saved turned out to be an arrogant and cruel Archon, it wouldn't be worse than a mass death in their settlement caused by their failure to retrieve the Fire Mushroom.
"Enough. We did what we could. If this is the fate of our village, then all we can do now is make their final days as joyful as possible," said Fred, a young athletic man who carried his sword and Aaron's equipment.
The group then quickly left the area, retracing their steps along the path they believed to be safest, based on the information they had purchased before entering the forbidden forest.
During the journey, they stopped to hunt a few weak animals and started a fire to roast the meat, needing to restore their energy.
Aaron, still unconscious, was placed under a shady tree, while his gear was set aside at a safe distance so it wouldn't injure him accidentally.
While the group chatted to momentarily forget the burden they carried, the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. The middle-aged man they had met at the lake between the twin mountains appeared out of nowhere, and beside him was a girl holding his hand.
"Hey, we meet again," the middle-aged man said, grinning like a beast about to pounce.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, sir," Theodor replied politely.
"Yes, I'm quite pleased too. You dared to trick me—I can overlook that since you did it to survive. But you told me something bad happened to my nephew!" the man said, his voice trembling with fury, making the clean forest air feel suffocating.