Azaroth looked at her. That was one thing he respected about her: she liked to be strong. And she walked the way that would lead to that.

Still, Azaroth didn’t think he’d save her. Or anyone else if they dragged him back.

He put his chaos thread around his sword and ran after her, shadowing her steps. When she got close to the monster’s base, she veered left and Azaroth dived in.

He chopped the monster in two and watched as it flopped on the floor, gushing hot green blood.

The mouth in the stairs screamed in pain as Azaroth cut the tongue, and the stairs shuddered as the pain traveled through the whole thing.

Azaroth swung his sword at the mouth, and his sword cut into the fleshy lips and then smashed teeth apart. The monster screamed again. Stallus got there then, and together they stabbed the monster until it stopped moving.

Heavy essence settled on them then, and they felt something click in the air. The crypt had been cleared this time. Stallus went to Catena and helped him up, and together with the others, they walked around the monster’s mouth and made their way down.

Azaroth looked around the first floor to see if he would find anything that interested him, but apart from some wine on the counter, there was not really much.

A wine he didn’t know if it was good or not, but still, he added it to his storage space. Everything could be useful in the right place. The others also looked for what they could take.

After that, they exited the crypt and went out. They were met with daylight. It was the beginning of the sun rising, and the rays touched them. It shone on the trees and cast everything in a golden light.

They stood there, in front of a just-cleared crypt, the portal slowly shrinking until it disappeared. The truth was that they were lost.

Now that they had finished their crypt clearing and needed a place to stay and recover, they knew they had to create a place where they could operate from.

"Maybe we can live in the trees? That way, we’ll always have a base for operating," Alex said.

Stallus helped Catena to sit and then rolled her eyes at Alex. "Why don’t we carry logs around and build huts while we are at it? That should be a very good base for operating!" she finished with a snap.

After trees, crypts were the most plentiful thing around here. And crypts work in two ways: the first is when a crypt attaches itself to a building or any other structure and then takes a firm hold on the building so that when such a crypt is cleared, the whole thing falls away.

The second was the one behind them. The crypt only focused on its portal, and the crumbling building was still safe.

In the end, it was a simple decision. Azaroth turned and opened the door to the building that the crypt had just left. Inside was a dark room that he lit up with his light.

Then they put Catena in the first room so others could make sure the rest of the rooms were secure. It was, and they returned to the first room.

The whole house was on its last stand, but it would also help them tonight. The first room was filled with rotting furniture, and there might even be a skeleton there, but no one investigated.

Immediately the door was closed, Azaroth went to sit at the wall directly opposite the door and started harvesting the essence that was still on him from killing the monsters earlier.

That was the first thing all of them did before they started anything else, like eating and drinking or even Stallus treating Catena’s wound as best she could.

And that was how their first time in their first stage of training went. It was a horrible experience for them, but Azaroth learned a lot.

And so their week passed in this way, and one week turned to two, and two to three, and then a month. Azaroth kept count.

"We should be back to clear the other two, don’t you think?" Alex asked. His training robe was tattered and the black turning to brown. Even tough materials could not stand the claws of monsters.

And Alex wasn’t the only one. The others were the same as well with their tattered robes. But it still covered them well enough, so they didn’t give it much attention.

Today they stood in front of a portal that opened in front of a big tree. Just a few days ago, they got fast enough to be able to clear three crypts in a day.

"What do you say?" Alex asked, excited. Just the day before, he tasted what he swore was the best monster meat in the world, and it was from their last clearing. It was also a portal at the base of a tree.

"Sure," Stallus frowned. "But that will depend on the difficulty of the crypt. That last one yesterday was a long one. Very long."

As usual, Azaroth said nothing. The only thing not dirty on him was his white hair. It hung around him like silver wires, a shocking bright white that conflicted sharply with his red eyes.

The others had learned to read his intention. So when Azaroth drew his sword, the others followed him as he began walking toward the crypt.

"Won’t you say your prayers, Stallus?" Catena teased as he palmed his two metal balls.

Stallus grumbled, but still she stood still and raised her sword high above her head. "Hail the gods of war! Guide my hands into finding crystals so I can make a tribute to your bloody names."

Alex snorted. "You are saying a prayer to which god of war?"

"All of them. That way, one of them is bound to answer."

Alex shook his head.

Stallus began making her prayers weeks ago because since she came here, she had not seen any crystals.