I Level Up With My Family

CHAPTER 4 Man Versus Tiger

In a remote area of this dangerous mountain range, a loud sound of wood being cut resounded from its deepest regions. Each time it sounded, the earth would vibrate as a towering tree in the distance would fall to the ground, the noise of hedges, plants, and crushed objects soon after sounding.

A few unusual creatures more powerful than even the Flaming Ice Tiger gazed towards the deepest direction in horror before they scampered off to different sectors. Nevertheless, the scene merely continued, as if the person cutting wood did not need to concern themselves with those in the area.

Traveling beyond the endless sight of trees and under brushes that spanned the mountain range, one would come across an open meadow at the edge of a clear lake. A simple wooden house stood at its center, with a few neatly chopped logs piled up together at its side, resting on the trimmed grass.

Suddenly, the cutting sounds had ended as a rustling sounded as if someone dragged something immense across the ground. Moments later, a person appeared from the mists that shrouded a fraction of the field, leaving an area of tall trees.

Upon a closer look, one would notice that he was an older man with a large ax in one hand. He had a thick-beard black and white hair and wore simple trousers with his shirt wrapped around his waist, revealing his large potbelly and muscular arms.

A crest was on his chest, but one could hardly make it out as if someone had burnt something over it. The old mountain man made his way to the house, carrying a massive tree trunk that he pulled effortlessly. His brown eyes were staring before him at a few glowing sprites that flew about in the

"Today is such a wonderful day; even the mountain spirits are joyful." The old mountain man said with a smile.

Not long after, he arrived at the location of the logs and shrugged his shoulder, causing the tree to fall to the ground with a loud vibration.

The old mountain man then cracked his knuckles, setting himself into a strange position as he lifted only one arm into the air as the ax was hoisted above his head.

The mist soon faded, revealing a sharp ray that caused its edge to glisten as the man's arm swelled up with many veins as if he was about to use some strange method.

Soon though, the man's eyes narrowed as he glanced towards a relatively distant section of this mountain range. As if he sensed something, the man frowned as he thought, A disturbance, here? Odd, let's see which brat has gotten so brave in these recent years.

Immediately after his thoughts, the mountain man vanished from his location, as if he was no different from the air itself. A cool wind blew from here, pushing away more of the mists as the morning slowly came into effect.

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The tension around both Marius and the Flaming Ice Tiger was dense enough for any knife to cut it apart, their killing intent which shone from their sharp eyes, causing even the atmosphere to shudder at their bloodlust.

Suddenly, the Flaming Ice Tiger erupted with terrifying flaming ice energy; the ground below its feet formed more fissures as a rippling wave of power scattered across the area, pushing away some of the remnant stones with great force.

One of the stones had swept by Marius with alarming speed, soaring towards the unguarded Grevlin and Rose. However, Marius didn't dare to look back; he knew that creature before him would not be so kind if he had another moment of distraction.

Of course, even if he didn't do anything, with his son at guard, a stone like that wouldn't be able to harm anyone else, let alone himself. As if proving his thoughts correct, Grevlin, who saw the incoming rock, was alarmed at first, but as he recalled his father's former words to protect his family; his face grew a bit determined.