Edited by: Piamo

With the help of Sir Walter, Atlas was able to live in the forest more easily. Sir Walter helped him fight the monsters and beasts in the forest. With Sir Walter as the tank, Atlas could practice shooting monsters down with the magic he created. 

At first, he missed a lot. Sometimes, he almost hit Sir Walter, but as time passed, he was able to hit his targets more accurately. 

They made sure not to disrupt the ecosystem, so they only attacked monsters that roamed the forest, unable to claim territory. The ones that did mark their territory were left alone. Only other monsters and beasts attacked the territorial monsters. 

“It’s a good haul today,” Atlas said with a happy grin. They got meat! It was rare for him to get it, so he was quite happy.

When he got his first slab of meat, Atlas could not roast meat on the fire to save his life. Sometimes it was undercooked; other times it was burnt. Eventually, he got the hang of it. He could even put herbs on the meat, making the meat taste better. 

He and Sir Walter had been living in the forest for a few months already, so his roasting techniques had gotten better. He felt he could be a pro at roasting meat on a fire! At this rate, he could definitely open up a restaurant after leaving the forest! 

During the months he lived in the forest, every night, he went into the Divine Realm to talk with Cyrus. During their time, Cyrus somehow brought materials for him to learn how to read, write, and talk in the Hirean Empire’s current language, Hirenean. Hirenean was a language that was spoken in all countries. Of course, some places had their native language, but everyone learned Hirenean because of the influence the Hirean Empire had. 

At first, Atlas was a little slow in picking up the new language, but eventually, he got the hang of it. He even practiced with Sir Walter when they had time to talk. 

Cyrus checked over Atlas’ work and felt he was doing well. “You should be able to understand the common language now. Talking and reading will take some time, but I’m sure you will be able to do it.” 

“Thank you, Cyrus! You are really good at teaching.” Atlas had a huge grin on his face. He wasn’t the smartest person, so it was a relief to know he was doing well. 

“It takes a bit of time for you to learn, but it isn’t impossible. You just gotta work a bit harder than most, but you will eventually get there…” 

“I know, I just… sometimes I get discouraged.” 

“I know, and that’s okay. If you need help, I will be there to help you.”  

The two didn’t look like children but like teacher and student. 

“Cyrus,” Atlas gave him puppy dog eyes and tears. He gave Cyrus a big hug. Atlas had always been physically affectionate. His parents always gave him hugs and kisses. They were also affectionate toward one another, so he felt it was the best way to show his appreciation. 

“Alright, Alright, I know.” Cyrus didn’t reject Atlas and even gave him pats on the head. 

He already knew that Atlas liked to hug him. After Atlas explained why, it did make sense. 

In his previous life, Cyrus didn’t receive much familial affection. Actually, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he hated his previous life’s parents. At times, he felt it would have been better if he wasn’t born. He didn’t want people to know that, though. He didn’t want anyone to see his weaknesses. So he always did for others what they could not do for him: help.

He had a hard time saying no.

Still, he didn’t feel like it was a chore or a bother to help Atlas. He cherished the love from his new little brother. 

Little did he know, the time the two spent together in the divine realm was helping Cyrus slowly heal from his past traumas… 

*****

Splash! 

A column of water flew into the air and drenched Sir Walter’s face. Dripping wet, Sir Walter shook out as much water as he could from his face and then continued watching Atlas splashing in the water. From his angle, it looked like Atlas was playing. 

In actuality, Atlas was trying to catch fish without Sir Walter’s help. Despite living in the forest for almost two years, Atlas was as hopeless as ever at catching fish. In the end, Sir Walter always ended up helping him, but this time, Atlas didn’t want to give up. 

He wanted to catch at least one fish before he left the forest! 

The river was small and it was near the massive tree in the center of the forest. Atlas often went there to wash his body when he didn’t feel clean. Even though he could wash his body with magic, for him, it wasn’t the same. Plus, the chilly water from the river never failed to leave him feeling refreshed.

“I still can’t get any fish even though I’ve been living in this damn forest for so long!” Atlas shouted at the top of his lungs. 

Atlas had a spear in his arms, something he made out of wood and stone. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just some makeshift pants he made out of leather from an alligator monster. They were sloppily made, but it was enough to cover his crotch and butt. That was all he really needed. Plus, it was waterproof, so he wore them all the time. The clothes he had been wearing when he first got dumped in this forest were now too small for him. 

Since Atlas was no longer malnourished, his height skyrocketed and he was 60 inches tall (152.4 cm). He actually grew taller than Cyrus who was a couple of inches shorter. He was lean but he did have some small defining muscles from running around in the forest. The only other change he had was his hair. When it was short, he had more defined curls, but since his hair was almost at his shoulders, his curls were a bit heavy, making his hair look more wavy. He couldn’t wait to get a haircut and learn how to care for his hair.

Anyway, he couldn’t catch anything with his shabby spear. In frustration, he tossed the stupid spear off to the side and furiously stabbed his hands into the water. If he couldn’t catch a fish with a spear, he was determined to do it with his bare hands! 

All Sir Walter saw was splashing and a fast-moving figure moving their hands like they were weapons. Atlas looked funny as he seriously tried to grab a fish with his hands. 

After 5 minutes, a miracle happened. Atlas finally caught a fish. He lifted the fish with both his hands and screamed, “I finally caught one!” 

{Good job.} Sir Walter yawned. Atlas had been trying to catch fish for more than an hour. 

“Heehee, I will let you have this fish.” 

Sir Walter wanted to say that he didn’t want it, but he felt something coming from the forest so he couldn’t say anything. He got up and looked around, but he couldn’t see anything. 

“Eh? Sir Walter? Is everything okay?” 

{I feel like there’s a large number of… people coming toward the center of the forest. They just made it past the outer ring, but they are making their way in.} 

“Eh? People… Wait a moment! That’s probably Cyrus!” Atlas stumbled his way out of the water, fish still flopping in his hands. 

He tossed the fish to Sir Walter for him to eat it. Sir Water chomped on it, killing the fish, but he didn’t like the taste of fish. He wanted to spit it out, but he felt bad. He didn’t want to throw away Atlas’ hard work, so he forced himself to swallow. 

Gulp… Yeah, I don’t like fish… Sir Walter scrunched his face and wanted to get the taste out of his mouth.

Atlas dried himself off with magic and ran toward the center of the forest. “Come on, Sir Walter! I’llrace you there!” He didn’t stop to wait for Sir Walter’s answer and ran off without him. 

Sir Walter was going to tell Atlas it would take more time for them to come, but Atlas ran away too fast!

{Getting a head start is not fair!} He entertained Atlas’ childish ways and ran after him. 

*****

Meanwhile, Cyrus was in an entourage of 10 people. One of the most notable people in the group was the Knight Commander of the Hirean Empire. His name was Duke Wallace Blather. He had dark blonde and bright red eyes, signifying he had the fire attribute as his strongest attribute. He was quite tall and muscular, matching his profession. Everet and him were best friends and childhood friends. Their wives were also good friends. Wallace was the same age as Cyrus’ father, Everet, and he also had 2 kids. Wallace’s wife was currently pregnant with their third child so he was staying at home.

He was also the teacher of the Crown Princess of the Hirean Empire, so he was quite famous.

Knight Commander Wallace also brought his trusted men on this journey to protect Cyrus in the Great Dragon Forest. There were also two loyal knights of the Alnhart house who were entrusted with Cyrus’ safety. 

Wallace had a general idea as to why they were going into the forest, but he didn’t know the specifics. Wallace was Cyrus’ teacher so he knew that for nearly two years, Cyrus had been training for the sole purpose of entering this forest. 

Whatever his reason was, it must have been important. 

“We left the outer part of the forest and are quickly entering the middle ring. Cyrus, from here on out, the battles will be tough,” Wallace shouted,” Be prepared.” 

“Yes, Master!” Cyrus answered, walking behind Wallace. 

They had been in the forest for almost a week, but they were moving at a fast pace. Of course, they weren’t moving as fast as the carriage that had initially brought Atlas into the depths of the forest. 

With the pace they were going, they would probably be able to reach the inner ring in a couple of days.

They walked all day and found a nice clearing before the sunset. Everyone helped with setting up camp, preparing food, and things like that. Even Cyrus was able to help with pitching up his tent. He was going to be staying in his tent next to Wallace. 

When he closed his eyes after a rough day’s travel, he saw the familiar scene of the Divine Realm. As usual, it was only Cyrus and Atlas there. Sohtris and Avlios had long since stopped coming. Apparently, the two lovebirds were traveling around other parts of the Divine Realm… 

“Cyrus!” Atlas, who was now a bit taller than Cyrus, ran over like a rocket and jumped him into a hug. 

Cyrus was stronger now, so he easily caught Atlas. “Still so clingy. Though I am glad to see you in good health.” 

“You sound like a real noble! You know you can be casual with me.” Atlas let go of Cyrus as he knew Cyrus wasn’t comfortable with long hugs. “I just missed you. Sir Walter said he could feel some presences approaching the center of the forest. That’s you, right?” 

“Yes, my master is also with me as it’s dangerous for me to go alone.” 

“Isn’t your master the Knight Commander? He has free time?” 

“Well, this can be considered a mission to find out the state of the Great Dragon Forest. When he learned about your circumstances, he made sure to push aside some time to come and get you. You are pretty important to the Hirean Empire, after all.” 

Atlas almost forgot that his combo of black hair and gold eyes was worshiped in the Hirean Empire…

“That makes sense. I will be sure to give him my thanks!” 

“I brought you some clothes. You said you didn’t have much and you grew out of the clothes you arrived in right?” 

“Yeah. All I have right now are these makeshift pants made out of leather from an alligator-looking monster. It’s really poorly made. If a tailor saw what I did to the leather, they would probably cry and curse me and my ancestors…” 

In the Divine Realm, Atlas was able to create his clothes, so he wasn’t naked or in his makeshift pants. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt with blue shorts. He also had no shoes as there wasn’t a need for them. As for Cyrus, he always wore whatever he fell asleep wearing. It was easier for him that way. 

“Well, I will be the one to judge when I see it,” Cyrus thought it was best if he offered his opinion before judging.

Only after meeting Atlas in the flesh would realize that Atlas was right. Those makeshift pants were downright hideous…