With nothing else to do, Joren was frustrated.
In this eternal loneliness, the only thing that kept his sanity was the sword.
Whenever he swung the sword, he would feel better.
He wasn't aging; he was just the same twenty-year-old Joren Kalian.
Not only that but time was passing at an abnormal speed for Joren. He wasn't sure if it was him or if the time really was moving faster than usual.
This dreary space was making Joren sick now.
He wanted to return to earth; he wanted to give life another chance without giving up again.
Clinging to the hilt tightly, he thrust with sheer determination. He wanted to escape this place.
For another unknown amount of time, he thrust and slashed without much hope in his heart. However, what kept him going was the longing.
Even if there seemed like no way out, he would create one himself.
'My destination is not to linger here.'
After his prolonged practicing with a sword. His prowess had elevated, and each movement was precise and sharp.
He swung and slashed; he swung and thrust. Groaning without being tired, he was tireless regardless of how much practice he did or how many things he pondered, and theoretical knowledge accumulated in his mind.
There was nothing that whacked him out either mentally or physically.
He kept swinging, believing the next swing of the sword would crack the space and he would find the way to escape.
Nevertheless, his efforts were not in vain.
After swinging the sword for more than two hundred million times. There was finally a crack in space.
'That's it!'
Feeling delighted, he kept swinging his sword. The crack grew bigger with each million strikes until it was the size of a human.
Outside the crack was all white.
'Is it just another space?'
Joren thought. From the color, it was only an assumption. The way to find out was to enter the crack.
He gulped down whatever thing that existed in his mouth and floated forward.
At first his eyes were struck by the dazzling light. He squinted and kept moving forward.
Stretching his arm forward, it entered the crack.
Joren observed nothing; he couldn't touch anything, but he did feel a sensation.
'Air! And…'
He felt his hand warm, something he never felt inside the void.
A triumphant smile cracked on his face. This was the first time he had a fruitful result; however, he was unable to express it.
His smile wasn't a smile; it was just an expressionless face. With only him knowing whether he was smiling or not.
'Time to move out.' He thought.
Pushing himself forward, he entered the crack. The light grew fiercer and the brightness was at its peak.
When he opened his eyes after coming out to the other side, he saw the blue color of the sky, a bright ball hovering up there. And… he was falling!
He turned and saw the greenish forest down below. If he didn't move, he would die. Even though he was dead, he didn't want to believe it.
He thrust his sword forth as the ground above him was only a few meters away. A powerful explosion transpired, with trees plucked out with the roots from the ground and flung away.
It was to cushion the impact. Joren was, as a result, heaved away by the explosion.
Fortunately, Joren fell into the tree with thick branches and an abundance of leaves. A kind of safe landing.
However, the pain that he had lost long ago had returned but it wasn't as painful as he had anticipated. It was as if the smallest insect had bitten him, smaller than an ant.
Enough to tell him that he could feel pain.
Pulling himself up on his feet, Joren swiveled his head left and right.
"Where am I?" He asked.
The forest was entirely filled with bushes and trees. What he found strange was that these leaves were in purplish black.
Like they were dead, sad, and weary.
It didn't matter to Joren; the only thing he cared about was knowing if he was at home or not.
'This is not earth. It never had these kinds of trees."
The trunks of the trees were in misshapen shapes and faces were carved into them.
Aside from this part, Joren cautiously looked at his surroundings. There was certainly something strange about it.
Apart from the mysterious trees, there were strange energies he could sense. Not only were they cranky, but at some point, they were threatening.
"Should start from making a path." Joren thrusting his sword.
The trees were blown away and the muddy ground was splashed aside, creating a perfectly long trench. Joren strolled in the trench and kept thrusting to stretch it longer in length.
Doing this, Joren had invited a monster that came unbidden.
It was a large, white bear; on its head were two horns. Its crimson eyes were glaring down at him with malice. Its stature was more than 5 meters tall.
Unfazed by the monster, Joren found it amusing.
'A real monster.'
If he wasn't dreaming and this was reality. It made him excited; how could he not be? Not only was he freed from dark space, but he was also facing a monster from fantasy.
The monster ROARED! And charged at Joren.
It was swift, clearing the distance between him and Joren at an astounding pace. However, in Joren's eyes the monster was slow.
As it reached close, Joren moved his sword and sliced the monster in two.
For a moment, Joren was in disbelief. Not because he was powerful; it was because the monster was too weak.
Just as he was gazing at the monster's dead body, more giant bears attacked him.
Joren's blade whistled through the air and slashed the monsters in half without giving them a chance to attack.
Joren was surrounded by the carcass of the monsters. He didn't think about it and kept on moving forward. Until he sensed someone was following him.
"I don't think they are humans."
He murmured to himself. They had an odd energy, but different from the monsters Joren had killed.