Fast Forward One Week, Stepping out of the Adventures Guild, adorned with the insignia of an F-rank adventurer, Willow stood at elated. Two diverging paths lay before her, To sell the bodies of slain monsters, a prospective endeavor that promised financial gain. The guild would process and profit from these lifeless forms, granting her a share of the earnings.

The second path much gentle, adorned with tasks and quests that seemed mundane. Chores and errands veiled as quests, offering modest rewards. One Willow couldn’t careless, her goal was simply to kill monster and acquire a lot of Shard, then she could level up and actually, by actually she meant really actually open the Inn so people could stay there. And she could travel.

Vivienne's suggestion echoed in her mind - first, level up her Constitution, then gather the shards needed to upgrade the Inn. Willow reluctantly agreed, realizing that she had no other viable options. Her destination now lay within the foreboding Darkwoods, where she would put her week of rigorous training to the test.

Unfortunately, she soon discovered that Vivienne was just as demanding an instructor as Gideon. The pain in her body and the throbbing ache in her head only intensified with each passing day. The only respite came in the form of Lou's healing food, a surprising or rather unsurprising talent possessed by the supposed demon lord.

To her dismay, Lou's puppets harbored an inexplicable animosity towards her. Willow couldn't fathom the reason behind their relentless pursuit to eliminate her. Nevertheless, their unrelenting bloodlust and the fact she survived, left her with confidence she could easily survive the darkwood. 

"Hey!! Pick me up," Lou's voice rang out, demanding Willow's attention. Over the course of the past week, Willow had grown accustomed to carrying Lou in her hand or perched upon her shoulder whenever she ventured outside. Lou's adorable presence had become an inseparable part of her outings, and Willow couldn't bear to be without her. She was closets thing to a pet.

Surprisingly, the people in the city didn't find Lou's tail to be anything out of the ordinary. Witch explained that while such sights were rare, drawing attention solely because someone belonged to a non-human species was generally frowned upon, except in cases where they were deemed monsters or beasts.

Willow obliged, lifting Lou and gently placing her on her shoulder. With one leg on each side of her neck, Lou found a comfortable perch atop Willow's head. "Haven't you gotten a little too comfortable on my head?" Willow playfully remarked, her words devoid of any particular reason.

"You should be honored, puny human, for a demon lord like me deems you worthy of being my steed," the dragon girl proclaimed, her voice dripping with authority befitting a ruler of the underworld. Yet, in all honesty, it felt more like a child's parade.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Do you know any place to find weak monsters?" Willow asked, her tone tinged with impatience. After all, Lou lived in the dark woods, so she might have some knowledge to share.

"No, I don't. Everything is equally weak for me," Lou proudly declared, her words oozing with a sense of superiority. Willow could almost envision the smirk on her face, even without seeing it.

Realizing that her guide was proving to be rather useless, as expected, Willow decided to let fate guide her instead. She hastened into the forest, trusting that destiny would lead her to the right path. Little did she know, fate had guided her straight into a hornet's nest. Quite literally, though the hornets were the size of dogs. Willow shook her head, realizing that this was not what she had bargained for.

In a hurry, she swiftly retreated from the site, searching for a solitary monster that sought solace in its own company. She had confidence in her ability to take on a single foe, more so than facing a group of adversaries.

Willow actively employed Suppression, concealing her presence to prevent any monsters from stumbling upon her. She had no desire to attract unnecessary attention.

"Lou, can other monsters sense you?" Willow inquired, her suspicion evident in her voice as she pondered the absence of encounters thus far.

"Of course not! Do you think a mighty demon lord like me would bother hiding their presence?" Lou boasted, her words dripping with self-importance.

"I suspected as much, Lou. I want you to return home. With you here, I cannot gauge my own strength. The monsters are all fleeing from you," Willow stated firmly, her tone serious and resolute.

"No," Lou replied defiantly,.

"Yes, you will, or I will inform Gideon that you were trying to hinder my training," Willow warned, her words carrying weight. Lou could sense the seriousness in her voice, understanding that Willow was not jocking, Lou  unwilling to take any risks, especially when it came to someone like Gideon. He was a monster, and she wanted no part in invoking his anger.

"Alright, since my magnanimous presence is no longer appreciated here, I shall take my leave," Lou grumbled, hopping off Willow's shoulder. Before departing, however, she playfully smacked Willow on the head, a gesture of farewell mixed with annoyance.

"See you later," Willow bid her companion farewell, watching as Lou ran toward their home. With a small leap into the air, Lou let out a whistle, summoning a majestic white bird that materialized beneath her. Without looking back, she soared out of the Darkwoods, leaving Willow to continue her journey alone.

"I need something like that as well," Willow remarked, her voice filled with determination and a hint of envy. She longed for a companion that could match Lou's.

Enforcement granted a her unbelievable strength, Willow ventured deeper into the forest. Her agility and speed surpassed what was deemed humanly possible. She leaped through the dense foliage, maneuvering through the forest with ease. After an hour of exploration, she heard a peculiar noise, capturing her attention like a moth drawn to a flame. Without hesitation, she dashed toward the source, driven by curiosity and the desire for adventure.

The Darkwoods lived up to its name, shrouded in darkness from the towering tree trunks to the canopy of leaves above. Even during the brightest hours of the day, the forest exuded an eternal twilight. The colossal trees dwarfed their counterparts, their trunks large enough to carve small houses within them.

Willow arrived at a clearing, where a small waterfall cascaded into a pond. However, to her astonishment, the water had an eerie hue of red, resembling the color of blood. A primordial sense of horror washed over her as she gazed upon the crimson liquid. It was a fleeting moment of unease, quickly overshadowed by her curiosity as her eyes shifted towards the source of the commotion.

On the edge of the pond, a group of vile beasts encircled a helpless individual. The sheer number of these creatures would deter any sane person from rushing headlong into the fray. However, sanity was not a quality that defined Willow, especially not in the exhilaration of her newfound superhuman abilities.

With a surge of mana coursing through her veins, an untapped wellspring of strength blossomed within her. Willow propelled herself forward, defying the odds. Rather than charging directly into the beasts, she was not that far gone, she leaped into the air, using the upward force to reach a height that brought her closer to the center of the encircling creatures.

Her mana flowed into the atmosphere, shaping and manipulating the energy to form an image of a platform beneath her feet. With control over the currents of mana in the air, she solidified the platform enough to provide a stable surface to leap from. Gathering her resolve, Willow propelled herself with all her might, extending her reach to reach the person trapped within the midst of the menacing creatures. Manipulation, Another of six fundamental abilities. She had gained somewhat control over all of them.

With a graceful flip in the air, Willow drew her slim yet sharp sword and swiftly impaled the beast's head as she landed on the ground. With a crude struggle, she retrieved her sword from the lifeless creature, inwardly berating herself for the failed attempt at a cool entrance. The reality fell short of her expectations.

As she turned her attention to the person beside her, a grimace folded upon her face. The girl, her blonde hair matted and stained with blood, wore a simple full-sleeved shirt akin to Willow's own attire, although noticeably more expensive even in its torn and ravaged state. Tattered meant there were bite taken out of shirt along with flesh beneath it. The girl's face was obscured by the blood, presumably flowing from her head, while the lower half of her body fared no better. She relied on her sword, as long as her own body, for support, her breaths labored and uneven.  

Her state suggested she was at death door. Her once-white shirt was now more stained in red.

"Who are you?" the person demanded, her voice feeble and soft, though she attempted to project strength.

"I was just passing by when I heard the commotion, and now I'm here to see what happened," Willow explained, her focus unwavering as she dodged a lunging wolf with blood-red eyes. With a swift, sharp motion, willow thrusted her sword, piercing the creature's head and causing blood to splatter as she withdrew her weapon along with its brain.

"I... Please help me," the person pleaded, her voice even more feeble and broken. Willow could sense that her time was running out, her death was unavoidable.

Willow found herself at a loss for words, not wanting to offer false hope to someone on the brink of death.

"Please, I don't want to die. Help me," the person begged, her voice feeble and fractured. Willow felt a tightness in her chest, she did not like this feeling, it felt too similar, too familiar then it should, she could not tell why. .

"I will try..." Willow replied in a low voice, her resolve firm. "Please stand back."

The person tried to retreat, but their weakened legs gave way, causing them to fall onto their back with their sword atop them. In that vulnerable moment, a Goblin lunged at them. Witnessing this scene, seeing her state, a surge of rage erupted within Willow, a rage she shouldn't have felt—she was devoid of emotions, She did not feel anything, not this much. Yet, the desire to retaliate surged through her.

With a resounding shout, Willow's anger burst forth, as if it were a force beyond her control. Her mana surged, her strength heightened. Swinging her sword overhead, she traced a wide arc in the air, leaving behind a vivid trail of red and white. The blade met the airborne goblin, severing its spine and dividing its form into two halves. The sight of the goblin's innards spilling onto the ground nauseated her, and bile threatened to rise in her throat. She gritted her teeth, refusing to succumb to these emotions. Now was not the time. She would not allow them to overpower her.

Turning her gaze to the remaining monsters before her, Willow appeared just as feral as they were.

"Come," Willow uttered in a low, commanding tone, her mind locked in a battle between her surging anger and the necessity of retaining control. The monsters wasted no time in answering her call, rushing at her from all directions. The person behind Willow managed to drag themselves to the safety of the waterfall's side, where they lay, injured and helpless.

Willow charged forward, her sword slashing through the air in a frenzied dance, cutting down the monsters as they lunged at her. Blood spattered her body, the repugnant stench filling her nostrils, threatening to overwhelm her senses. But she pushed through, refusing to succumb to the urge to empty her stomach. She had to get used to this, to the sight and smell of blood.

As Willow swung her sword, another goblin fell under her blade. But in the chaos of battle, her concentration wavered, warding dissipated and a wolf sank its teeth into her dominant hand. The sharp canine pierced her flesh, causing Willow to clench her teeth, suppressing a cry of pain.

With a swift and instinctive motion, Willow transferred the blade to her other hand, raising it high and driving the pointed tip into the wolf's head. She twirled gracefully, the sword sweeping outwards in a lethal arc, slicing through the flesh of all the surrounding monsters as if it were mere paper.

Taking a moment to catch her breath in the brief respite, Willow was suddenly attacked by another wolf, throwing her to the ground. Thankfully, her protective warding held firm, preventing the creature from tearing away a chunk of her shoulder. Swiftly, Willow turned and struck the wolf's abdomen with her bloody elbow, using the force of the impact to throw off the wolf and regained her footing. Before the wolf could recover, Willow swiftly cut its head at the center, ending its struggle.

As the lifeless body of the wolf slumped to the ground, Willow felt the exhaustion weigh heavily upon her. Glancing behind her, she realized they were still as many as before. This was only the beginning. The question lingered in her mind: why did all these monsters want the girl dead? Willow couldn't help but ponder.

Sleeeping

I was going to show the training sequence but then decided not, instead, we enter the new story arc.