"Phew, that was one unnecessary battle," Erik muttered, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Those Xeridon Anteris were certainly nasty. I hope never to find them again…"
Erik stood motionless amid the bloody mayhem, which consisted of the lifeless bodies of the Xeridon Anteris strewn across the forest's ground. The scene served as a jarring instance of how dangerous the forest could be.
"Thank the gods. I managed to thin them a bit during the chase," he continued, his voice filled with relief. "Imagine if there were more of them or if they were stronger. It would have been a real bother."
The defeated ants were now motionless and cut down; their armored exoskeletons shone brightly in the diminishing light.
Erik's eyes moved quickly from one lifeless form to another, each of which stood for a life that had been lost in the struggle for survival. However, he could not allow himself to become complacent or take these victories for granted because he could not afford to do so.
He paused for a moment, reflecting on his success. "I guess I should count myself very lucky. Not every encounter will be as manageable as this one."
At that very moment, Erik experienced a profound sense of appreciation for the training he had received in the past. Standing among the dead, he realized that the conflicts he had engaged in and the obstacles he had overcome had transformed him into a more powerful and capable fighter.
Following the conflict with the Xeridon Anteris, Erik was aware that it was essential for him to put some distance between himself and the location of the bloodbath. The lingering odor of blood and death would undoubtedly attract the attention of other predators, which would put his safety in serious jeopardy.
He moved swiftly through the forest, exercising a balance of caution and urgency as he did so, leaving the dead bodies of the creatures he had encountered behind him.
After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Erik eventually made it to his destination, which was approximately 5 kilometers away.
He moved with purpose and caution, each stride taking him further away from the scene of the gruesome encounter. His footsteps were purposeful and deliberate. He maintained a keen awareness of his surroundings and remained on the lookout for any indications pointing to a potential risk.
The forest was a tapestry of tall, ancient trees that stood like silent sentinels, their branches reaching toward the sky. There were many of these trees all around him. The night was falling, bringing with it more dangers, and the forest floor was now only dimly lit.
As he progressed, though, Erik noticed the air was tinged with the earthy scent of decaying leaves and the subtle fragrance of blooming wildflowers. That was weird.
"Strange," Erik mused as he surveyed the sparse forest around him. "The number of thaids is unnaturally low... Could it be related to the Heniate's attack on New Alexandria?" he wondered aloud, his voice tinged with curiosity. "The chaos caused by the invasion has probably disrupted the ecosystem's natural balance even at these distances."
Save for those creatures who usually hid inside nests or that could conceal themselves or even fly, the other thaids were almost non-existent. However, he shrugged this thought off, and his thoughts went back and forth through the events of the fight as he walked.
The intelligence and strategic prowess displayed by the Xeridon Anteris left him in awe, and he couldn't help but marvel at it. The fact that they could coordinate their attacks, albeit in a basic way, shocked the young man.
"Those Xeridon Anteris were surprising foes," he thought, his gaze fixed on the setting sun. "Their coordinated attacks and the way they anticipated my movements were as if they possessed collective intelligence. I knew the reports said they were intelligent, but I couldn't imagine to what point."
Erik recalled how the Xeridon Anteris had launched simultaneous attacks against him from various angles to flank him at one point in the battle. They responded to his every action with uncanny precision, giving the impression that they communicated easily during the battle. Was this the advantage of doing so through pheromones? Erik couldn't help but acknowledge the lessons learned from this encounter. Being alone sucked.
"If I had Jacob's power, I guess they would have the same powers I possess. Well, this is what I've noticed, at least, but I can't be so sure since I didn't ask him. If this is true, I would probably be unstoppable during a fight, or better, I could simply send them to fight while I comfortably stay behind."
After what seemed like a long and arduous journey, Erik finally found a reasonably safe location to spend the night. It was a clearing nestled between towering trees that offered a sense of safety and solitude to those who found themselves there. With a practiced eye, he assessed the area for potential threats, ensuring there were no signs of lurking predators or hidden dangers.
Erik, whose body was exhausted from the long day of hiking, finally made himself comfortable in the refuge he had selected. He stopped for a moment to gather his composure, his pulse gradually returning to a more regular rhythm as he did so. He was overcome with a profound sense of accomplishment as he leaned against a moss-covered tree and gave himself permission to take a brief break in the comforting embrace of the forest.
Erik's weariness, at last, overtook him as the night fell upon the land and darkness descended upon it. He chose one of the trees and climbed it. He then made the branches grow as much as possible so that he would have the most available surface area on which to sleep. Finally, he made the tree's foliage grow so that nothing would see him while he was sleeping, or better, attempting to sleep on the tree.
After everything was finished, he lay on his makeshift bed and closed his eyes, his thoughts still racing from the recent event. He gave himself to the embrace of sleep, but he was careful not to fall into a deep sleep since that could be risky.
...
...
...
Over the past week, Erik had been traversing the thick forest to advance his journey toward Etrium, which lay to the east. Along the way, he came across a variety of thaids and engaged in skirmishes with some of them, which put his fighting abilities to the test. Though these encounters were not particularly noteworthy, as these were thaids, Erik frequently encountered them outside New Alexandria—mainly Leylarhads and Lomalins.
On the other hand, Erik was confronted with a different kind of trouble over the last three days. In this particular part of the forest, there were hardly any thaids to be found.
Erik could grow plants easily to sustain himself with the fruits of the trees; he could grow using his birth brain crystal power. The problem was that the lack of sufficient protein began to take its toll on his body.
He tried to comprehend why that section of the forest was so devoid of wildlife, but the answer came to him when he recalled the assault on the city. That there aren't any thaids in this area is probably because the Heniate parasitized them all, which explains why there aren't any. On the other hand, it was strange that no other Thaids decided to make their homes here after the Blirdoth and its horde passed. Was there something that prevented them from coming closer?
On his way to Etrium, Erik continued to make his way deeper into the forest, and he couldn't help but notice an evident shift taking place in the landscape around him. That started many days prior, but it was clear now that it was more accentuated. The once vibrant and thriving woodland had given way to a sense of decay and desolation. The atmosphere was made eerie by the presence of heavy dampness in the air, which clung to the undergrowth and gave the location an eerie feel.
It seemed as though a thick shroud of darkness had descended upon the forest canopy, which was formerly a verdant ceiling that diffused sunlight. Besides, the usual cacophony of chirping birds, rustling leaves, and buzzing insects had been silenced, and Erik felt a chill run down his spine as a result of the unsettling quietness that had taken its place.
Even the wind seemed reluctant to pass through the twisted branches as if it feared upsetting the unnatural calm that had descended upon the area.
As he ventured further into the thick of the forest, the decomposing vegetation that lay beneath his feet crunched audibly under his boots. The ground's surface appeared to be covered with dead leaves, rotting logs, and rocks covered in moss. A foul odor permeated the atmosphere due to the interaction between the smell of decay and the smell of damp earth.
There were brief moments when slivers of dappled light were able to make it through the dense but decaying canopy and illuminate certain areas of the forest floor. However, these specks served only to highlight the darkness around them, casting long shadows that were distorted in such a way that they appeared to move and wriggle in the peripheries of Erik's vision.
It was a frightening scene as if the very nature of the forest had been transformed into a place of gloom and unpredictability. Erik was uneasy because there was no sign of life, and the sounds of nature were muffled and distant, so he took each step cautiously and deliberated.
As Erik traveled further into the forest, he maintained a heightened level of attention until he noticed something unusual. It appeared as though strange, dark tendrils of roots were emerging from the ground and winding and curling themselves around the trunks of trees as well as rocks.
They appeared to be linked together, creating what looked like a complex network of pulsating black veins running throughout the forest.
As Erik got closer to one of the pulsating roots, he did so with a mixture of curiosity and caution.
A surge of mana was sucked from his fingertips as he reached out to touch the tendrils, attempting to trap his hand in the process. The root reacted to his presence by trembling and vibrating with life that had previously been dormant in its tendrils.
"What the…?"
It was almost as if the woods were coming to life in response to his touch. However, as he continued to do so, he noticed that some of the plants in the area began to gain a little bit of life, not just the dark roots. Erik had a thought in his mind.
The young man then continued along the path of the intertwined root system. Something strange was going on, but if his hunch was correct, a treasure had to be further into the forest than he had previously explored. One that would be difficult for him to collect but would still be a treasure in its own right.
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