The ferocious and violent roar of the mountain\'s dust still mostly lording over the forest, casting a thick veil of shroud over its domain. Still, by now, the trio could see the faint, blurry outlines of what seemed to be more than a dozen figures.

They cautiously circled around, though they didn\'t seem to be too bothered hiding their presence, they were still mostly silent.

As Jake, Jay, and Myra were looking increasingly more and more agitated, Aziel was watching as the events unfolded with curiosity glimmering in his star-shaped exotic eyes.

\'What are these monkeys doing...?\' He pondered, shaking his head in the next second with a wry, crooked look on his face.

\'No, that\'s not correct anymore. They have evolved over my seclusion, losing most of their hairs. Now they mostly match those disgusting creatures on Nova, yet their attire is vastly different. Hmm...\' He pondered, his eyes lazily moving to scan the figures approaching them from all directions.

What was still hazy, blurry silhouettes and dark outlines for the trio of youngsters, Aziel could clearly see and inspect them. The strange dark, metallic-looking strange objects, that reminded him of the dwarven pieces of machinery were present with differing shapes and sizes in almost all of the newcomers\' hands.

Long, half -an-arm length dark metal cylinders with an armrest-looking thing and even a trigger placed conveniently at their fingertips. He felt awed by such a marvel of ingenuity.

\'Are those... some sort of weapons? Based on the lack of a loader mechanism, I would guess these are similar to those fat, bearded mountain dwellers\' latest inventions. Shooting pellets instead of arrows if I remember correctly...\' He mused, trying to search through the vast library of his memories.

Thankfully, mostly due to his unique nature of existence, his memories that normally should not have been accessible, or clear due to the wear and tear of time, it was stored in his soul space, saved and protected by his [Essence Restitute] trait.

Shifting his focus over the figures in a casual, nonchalant manner, he eventually spotted what he suspected to be the leader of the trio. With a bright red bandana put over his head, hiding the lack of his hear, a tall and brawny man sauntered forward, with a wide grin plastered across his bristly, unshaven face. A similar-looking tool was put over his shoulders.

From his stance and body language, Aziel could almost see an aura of arrogance covering his muscular frame.

"My, my, what do we have here..." He croaked in his raspy, unsettling tone; the sign of the attrition due to years of nicotine-induced abuse.

The men coughed in the next moment, which then turned into eerie and unpleasant-sounding chortling laughter.

A moment later, the silhouettes that also closed in and were gradually revealing themselves joined in, filling the forest biome with their cacophony.

After a minute, the central, tall, bandana-wearing man raised his arm. His face suddenly shifted from elation to a stern, borderline disdainful look.

In the next instant, all of his men ceased their chuckles and laughs, and just like their boss, they too turned abruptly serious.

"So..." After a few seconds of intense silence, the man looked up at the mountain, snorting at the still tragic-looking sight. "...Who amongst you four wishes to score some good points and tell us what in the actual fuck happened? What are you brats are even doing here?"

He asked, meanwhile his eyes slowly scrutinized all four of them, eventually finding more interest in the only female in the group. Following their boss\'s gaze, the rest of the rough-looking men that were trapping them leered over the shy and increasing more fearful girl.

Noticing this, and feeling the growing lust in the air, a frown flashed across Aziel\'s face for a brief moment, that went unnoticed by the bandana man.

"Hmmm? Nobody?" Seeing that nobody stepped up and spoke the boss-man heaved a theatrical sigh, before casting his gaze over the shivering girl in the group. "How about you missy? We gentlemen wouldn\'t want such a precious little maiden like yourself out in this dreadful weather now, would we?" He smiled, which seemed more like a sneer than of anything else.

He raised his left arm in her direction, waving with his hand to come over.

"Come here, don\'t be afraid. This uncle here is especially nice to-"

"That\'s enough!" Jake, finally gathering all his courage, and making up his mind, and affirming his resolution stepped forward. Puffing out his chest, hoping it would make him look braver as he really was, looked coldly at the man.

"Who are you, people? What do you want?" He exclaimed, his tone was firm, he looked resolute, although inwardly he was shaking like a leaf.

His friend, Jay looked shocked at his friend\'s action for a brief moment, before gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, and following his example in the next second. He too stepped out, looking stout, demanding an explanation from what clearly seemed-to-be thugs.

Briefly surprised by their action, the leader figure didn\'t seem to be offended by the duo\'s actions. Instead, a small smile slowly began to curve and contort his already eerie expression even further. His dark brown upturned eyes scanned over the duo once again, before he finally looked over the so-far silent fourth member of this little team.

"And what about you there, boy? Are you going to step up like your friends here, or will you continue cowering in fear?!" He asked, snickering as he did so.

Looking at the young man at the back, he first thought that he was too scared, to even react to their presence. Yet, as the seconds passed, turning into minutes, no matter how he tried observing him, he was surprised to see that instead of the normal response of fear, only genuine curiosity and at the end, a growing, emerging contempt was shown on the unknown young man\'s face.

However, instead of a response, the strange boy simply ignored him. His attention was on the two boys ahead, his eyes showing the same curiosity and interest as before.

"The f*ck?!" Irked by such a snobby attitude, the brawny leader snorted in annoyance. Picking up the rifle from his shoulder, he aimed it towards the boy in the back, asking in a colder, threatening tone once again.

"I will ask, one last time, and I highly advise you to do not dare to ignore me..." He exclaimed, his finger lingering over the trigger, ready to fire at any second. The playful tone and attitude instantly vanished as he turned serious.

Following their leader, the rest of the surrounding crowd also armed their weapons on all of the youngsters, the smiles and smirks instantly vanishing from their faces.

"So... little brat... Let\'s see if now you would more... coop..."

Yet, before he could even finish his words, the boy suddenly vanished from his sight, only to reappear behind the man that had his weapon aimed at the girl.

=====

We are steadily getting closer to the first goal and with it the first bonus chapter! Great job guys (and gals!)

Powerstone Goals

100 Power Stones -> 1 Chapter,

200 Power Stones -> 2 Chapters,

300 Power Stones -> 3 Chapters,

Golden Ticket Goals:

50 Golden Tickets -> 1 Chapter,

100 Golden Tickets -> 2 Chapters,

150 Golden Tickets -> 3 Chapters.