After erging from the cave, Alex found himself in a dense forest. Towering trees blocked the sunlight, and thick shrubs grew up to his chest, casting deep shadows despite it being midday.
"First mission: find so clothes... I really miss clothes," Alex thought with a sigh.
He began moving through the shadows, a skill he had mastered after forming three elental circles. It had beco second nature to him now, though not without cost. After half an hour, he exhausted himself and paused to recover.
As he began cultivating, Alex noticed the dark elent here was far less dense than in the cave. Ten minutes to recover, he noted, wiping sweat from his brow. Moving through shadows consus a lot of elental power. I should conserve my energy.
With that, Alex started walking, masking his presence using his dark elent. As he pushed through the undergrowth, he suddenly ca across a Fire Salamander.
It was a vicious monster, nearly two ters long, with blazing red skin and smoke curling from its nostrils. The creature had a thick hide, difficult to pierce, and could shoot fireballs from its mouth. It was a D-rank monster—dangerous even for a beginner-level cultivator.
In this world, D-rank monsters rival beginner-level cultivators. C-rank equals a master. B-rank compares to a grandmaster, and A-rank... pseudo-saint. Eight circles. Monsters here are stronger than humans by nature. Even a master would struggle against this one, Alex thought grimly.
Staying hidden in the shadows, Alex took aim. He summoned two shadow daggers and launched them at the salamander's eyes—its only true weakness. The blades struck true, piercing both eyes, though not deep enough to reach the brain.
Blinded, the Fire Salamander let out a furious roar and thrashed violently, crushing trees and churning the forest floor. Then, suddenly, it stopped. And dropped dead.
Alex blinked in confusion. That's... odd. I didn't hit the brain.
He cautiously approached the body and examined the wounds. Where the daggers had struck, the flesh looked... rotten.
His eyes widened. Poison? He checked again. There was no mistaking it—his daggers had corroded the flesh.
My dark elent... it's gained poison properties.
That wasn't in any of the great sage's writings. Did he not know this could happen? Alex wondered. I need to be careful with my elent. I can't tell anyone. Like Father always said—a secret is only safe when it's kept to yourself.
He turned away from the corpse. "Let's move on. I can't wear salamander skin, and I definitely don't want to eat it," he muttered.
Alex eventually reached the forest's outskirts, near the base of a hill. There, he spotted an Earth Bear—a massive creature with golden-brown fur and power over the earth elent. It was beginner level, and for once, Alex felt relieved.
"Oh, finally—so clothes," he said aloud, forgetting himself.
The bear growled and turned toward him, alerted by the sound. Oops, Alex thought. Probably shouldn't have talked out loud.
The Earth Bear sniffed the air and growled, but it couldn't find him—Alex had already rged into the shadows. Frustrated, the bear began summoning earth spikes around its body as a defensive asure.
Then, as it opened its mouth to roar, Alex struck. A shadow dagger zipped through the air and pierced inside the bear's mouth. It howled in pain, stumbled for a few seconds, then collapsed.
Alex erged from the shadows. Did it die slowly because I used only one dagger? Or was it the earth elent's natural resistance?
He didn't linger on the thought for long. He summoned his old knife from his ring and got to work skinning the creature.
Two hours later, after laborious effort, Alex had fashioned makeshift pants and a sleeveless hoodie—using the Earth Bear's head as a hood. It wasn't perfect, but it was sothing.
With his new clothes, Alex continued walking until he ca upon what remained of his village.
Or rather, what the forest had turned it into.
Shrubs and wild plants had overtaken everything. Trees sprouted from broken walls. Nature had reclaid the land completely.
He moved slowly toward the ruins of his house. The walls were draped in vines, the roof half-gone, and the floor was covered in overgrowth. Still, it was ho once.
He stepped into his old room—his and Anna's.
Kneeling quietly, Alex whispered a prayer for her and gently placed a few white flowers on the ground.
A silence settled over the place.
Not of sorrow.
But rembrance.
Reviews
All reviews (0)