The sun slowly appeared in the sky, and through the oak trees' foliage, it illuminated the Lemor Forest.

Zan and his mother were already far from the village and were getting deeper and deeper into the woods. They walked in a relaxed pace because the thick, tall trees and the tangled bushes blocked their way and slowed them down.

This slow hike, however, didn't bother Zan at all, because he had more time to look around. Yet there was one thing which made him worried, and that was the silence. The chirping of birds could always be heard in the village and even at the edge of the forest. However, as they got deeper into the woods, the birds' singing was getting quieter and quieter, until it finally became mute.

Till now, they didn't see any wildlings, nor did they hear any sound from them. As Zan was curious about what was the reason behind it, he looked at his mother to get an answer. "Where are the beasts?"

Arilia stopped, then turned around to face her son. "At the edge of the forest, you can only find weaker beasts, and the more we go into the woods, or the higher we go up the hill, the bigger and stronger wildlings we will meet. However, most beasts do not like to show themselves," she said, and after seeing her child's puzzled face, she continued, "They are hiding because they are afraid of other beasts or from us."

"They are hiding from us?" Zan was astonished, and in his surprise, he almost yelled.

"Yes, level zero and level one beasts spend most of their life hiding. The majority of wildlings in this category are grass eaters, except for the newborn predators that are weak at the beginning," she explained. "But do not think that the wildlings which feed only on plants will never be more than a level one beasts. Many of their species can become a level five or even a level six monster, and if they feel a threat, they could kill without any thoughts."

"Wait, even the beasts have levels?" Zan was even more surprised.

"Yes, but the beasts use mana differently than humans. They do not possess abilities such as the aura. When they reach the next stage in their growth, only their bodies change. They suddenly grow bigger, their skins become tougher, and their claws and teeth become sharper." Arilia said, and after she drank some water from her gourd, she continued, "Newborn beasts, however, can reach the level of their parents much faster than human children. Some beasts even have special abilities and can use their mana differently than the others of its kind. We call these monsters kings as they are truly the rulers of their territory."

Hearing her mother's words, Zan became afraid and started looking left and right. He was scared that in one of the bushes, a beast king was hiding and that it would attack them when they let their guard down.

Seeing her child frightened, she said, "However, here, you do not have to worry about meeting one of them. But if you see one like that, then you must run. I know you do not like to run, but promise me that you will." she said to her son while grabbing his shoulders.

"All right, I promise," Zan nodded. For the first time in his life, he saw fear in his mother's eyes. So he didn't oppose her request.

"As I was saying, we classify the beasts into levels, though a little differently than us. The level zero beasts are the so-called harmless beasts. You have already seen some of them in the village. They are generally calm and docile. There is no reason to fear them, and are harmless to an awakened one. The strength of a level one beast, however, is already equal to a beginner aura warrior. But as I have already mentioned, they are not dangerous because they are mainly grass eaters and do not attack anyone. If they are attacked, they will only run away, but because of their speed, it is quite difficult to catch them. Level two beasts have the strength of an advanced aura warrior, and the strength of a level three beast is equal to a master aura warrior, and so on..."

"Wait! There are more levels after the master aura stage?" Zan asked in his surprise.

"Of course, I already told you that at your current level, you can only use your mana for defense. But that is only at the aura level," Arilia said, and as she saw the curious look in her son's eyes, she added, "Would you like to know what is beyond that level?"

"Yes!" Zan nodded excitedly.

"I will tell you later. Right now, we do not have time to talk. If we stay in one place for too long, there is a high chance that a wildling will attack us," she said, and since she didn't need to persuade Zan any more, they immediately continued their journey.