Chapter 28: Heading to North
Seeing yet another abomination lose its head to her Moonlight Blades, Ryven had long since lost count of how many creatures Samminah had killed through decapitation.
For a brief moment, he couldn’t help but have an absurd thought surfaced in his mind.
Does she have some kind of obsession with beheading things?
However, he quickly shook his head and threw that ridiculous thought aside.
[??? Had slain a Third-Stage, Abyssal Bear]
[Would you like to transfer the experience points to ??? Or take it all to yourself?]
Focusing on the system notification, Ryven immediately transferred all of the experience points to Samminah.
[+1500 Experience Points.]
[??? Level increased +1]
[??? Reflex increased +2]
Seeing her finally reach Level Twenty, Ryven couldn’t help but feel satisfied.
He immediately shifted his gaze toward Samminah, curious about what changes would occur.
Meanwhile, Samminah felt a strange sensation spreading throughout her body.
A very relaxing feeling swept through her body. It was like bathing in a hot spring, but the soothing sensation was several times more pleasurable.
Ryven blinked. He watched as Samminah get envelopes with strange purple smoke.
The moment the purple smoke was gone, he couldn’t help but gulp.
Looking closer, the already ethereal Samminah seemed to become even more ethereal.
Her striking sharp violet eyes appeared much more striking than before.
Even with the lower half of her face hidden beneath a thick purple veil mask, her beauty remained very alluring and seductive.
Ryven was awestruck for a few seconds.
If he hadn’t already grown accustomed to her captivating beauty, he would’ve been completely mesmerized by now.
"Hmm~"
"This feels much better."
She let out a soft yawn while stretching her body lazily, her movements naturally outlining her slender waist.
"The maximum number of Moonlight Blades I can conjure is around twelve now. As for Moon Luminsce, at least ten."
"The impurities within my body have also been cleansed."
She said while examining her smooth skin. It looked even fairer and more flawless than before.
A pleased smile slowly spread across her lips.
Staring at her directly, Ryven coughed lightly as a faint blush spread across his cheeks before he quickly looked away.
"Good... Our chances of obtaining that inheritance just became much higher."
Samminah also agreed, clearly in a good mood.
After their brief conversation, he jumped down from the tree branch and approached the corpse of the Abyssal Bear.
Without hesitation, he cut off its massive ears, each nearly the size of a fully grown human.
After storing them inside his inventory, Samminah and Fred quickly followed behind him.
"We’re heading north now. Once we get there, we’ll find that cave and explore the inheritance inside."
He paused before turning toward Samminah.
"Do you still remember where the cave was located?"
From what Ryven could remember, the most distinctive feature of that place was the noticeably thinner fog.
If they encountered an area where the fog became weaker, then that cave is most likely nearby.
Samminah recalled the sudden appearance of the cave.
The memory was still vivid in her mind. She remembered the surrounding trees, the terrain, and even the environment around the cave itself.
"It shouldn’t be a problem. I still remember where it is." She answered
"Good." Ryven said with a pleased expression.
Since she remembered the location, there was no need for him to worry about getting lost.
The three eventually changed direction and headed north.
As they moved farther away from the Abyssal Bear’s corpse, only a few minutes passed before the ground suddenly trembled behind them.
Rumble!
Ryven instinctively turned around, looking at the sight behind him, his eyes widened.
A gigantic golem had appeared in the distance. Green veins pulsed throughout its enormous body while a dozen of thick patches of grass covered its stone skin.
It towered above the surrounding forest, nearly twice the height of the already massive trees around it.
The trees within the eastern region were far larger than normal ones, each standing nearly as tall as a two-story building.
Yet even compared to those size, the golem appeared overwhelmingly massive.
Samminah noticed it as well and let out a soft sigh. "Good thing we left early. That’s a Sixth-Stage Lord Golem."
"Where did that thing even come from?"
Ryven asked with fear in his tone. Earlier, he hadn’t sensed any powerful aura nearby.
"It was probably attracted by the corpse."
She then glanced at the Lord Golem with a calm expression.
"Either way, let’s just ignore it. It’s not like we can do anything against a Sixth-Stage abomination."
Ryven couldn’t help but grow solemn at her words.
They were only halfway toward the Bottomless Abyss in the east, yet abominations as powerful as this were already appearing.
As they continued traveling, Ryven witnessed even more bizarre sights.
At one point, two Fifth-Stage abominations were fighting over territory.
The devastation around the forest was terrifying. Flames and ice covered the entire battlefield, which was already the size of a football stadium.
Thankfully, thanks to Samminah’s
concealment ability and the fact that most abominations lacked detection abilities, they managed to avoid being discovered.
Soon, night began approaching.
The three eventually settled near a massive boulder, using it to conceal themselves.
Earlier that morning, Ryven’s tent had been destroyed.
Because of that, they only had one tent remaining. As Ryven finished setting it up, he glanced toward Samminah.
"You’re fine with sharing one tent, right?"
The tent itself was still fairly spacious. There was more than enough room for two people without feeling cramped.
Samminah hesitated slightly before giving a light nod.
After all, it wasn’t as if she planned on spending the entire night inside the tent.
She intended to hunt abominations first and only return after she was satisfied. By then, Ryven would most likely already be asleep.
While thinking about that, she suddenly noticed a piece of jerky being offered toward her.
After setting up the tent, Ryven had also started a fire and took out some food from his inventory.
Looking at her, he spoke.
"Here."
"I know you’re planning to hunt more abominations for experience points."
"But... How about taking a rest tonight? You’ve already reached level twenty."
Samminah fell silent for a moment upon hearing his concern.
"You’re right, however I’m not tired yet. It would be a waste of time to rest now, given with our current situation."
"Hmm... But you’re still accumulating fatigue."
"How about this... It’s an order. Rest for today and save your Mana for the exploration of that inheritance."
After saying that. Samminah suddenly fell into silent.
For a brief moment, she stared into the campfire. Within her violet eyes, she recalled some memories.
As the seconds slipped by, silence settled between them. Yet rather than feeling awkward, it brought an sense of serenity.
Neither of them spoke. They simply sat there at the campfire.
After who knows how long, Samminah finally turned and met Ryven’s gaze.
"Hmm... Have you ever wondered where I came from?"
She smiled, but it remained hidden beneath the thick purple veil mask covering her lower face.
Ryven blinked, caught off guard with her sudden question.
"Why are you suddenly bringing that up?"
"Do you want to hear it or not?"
Samminah replied, sounding somewhat irritated, yet not at the same time.
Seeing her reaction, Ryven scratched the back of his head. "Sure. If you’re comfortable talking about it."
At this point, Ryven wasn’t surprised to learn that she had an origin.
Everything he had summoned must have come from another world—or another dimension.
After all, there was no way they could simply appear out of nowhere while possessing memories and experiences of their own.
Samminah remained silent for a few seconds before beginning her explanation.
"As you know... I’m a goddess. However, that doesn’t mean I’m invincible."
"I live in another dimension. I’m certain of it. Back in the world I came from, many deities saw me as a threat after I ascended to godhood. My bloodline and race are... Rather quite special."
"Because of that, the other deities plotted to kill me."
"But I had only recently ascended to godhood at that time. Compared to those deities who had lived for countless of years, I was far inferior."
"Even so... I fought back. Many of those treacherous gods and goddesses still paid a heavy price for plotting against me."
"Well, the price I paid was just as severe. In the end, I planned to detonate myself and drag them into the grave alongside me."
As he continued to speak, Ryven saw a strange emotion flashed in her eyes.
It was pure malice and hatred. It was the first time he had ever seen such emotions reflected in her deep violet eyes.
Her gaze drifted into the bonfire before she spoke again.
"Before I realized it, I saw a flash of light. The next thing I knew, you were behind me."
"It was at that moment I also noticed that my body was also devoid of any single injuries."
"Well, that’s also adding the fact that I’m back to level one."
After she finished speaking. Instinctively, many questions arosed in his mind.
Ryven wanted to ask about the gods who had tried killing her. He also wanted to ask about her two mysterious race and bloodline.
After thinking for a moment, he asked the one question that interested him the most.
"How do you reach godhood?"
Samminah gave a cold snort, her expression turning cold once more.
The gentleness from her tone earlier disappeared, as her usual indifferent expression returned.
"That’s not something you’re qualified to learn yet."
She said without giving a proper answer.
Afterward, she stretched lazily.
The movement naturally outlined her slender figure again, enough to charm almost any man.
However, Ryven simply stood there with mixed emotions.
"That’s all you’re getting for now."
"Since you insisted that I rest, I’ll do exactly that."
With those words, she opened the tent and stepped inside.
Ryven wanted to ask more questions, but seeing her disappear into the tent, he ultimately decided against it.
Throughout their conversation, he had vaguely sensed a trace of loneliness.
Afterward, Ryven shifted his gaze toward Fred, who was quietly scouting the surrounding area.
Unlike the two of them, Fred didn’t need sleep.
So Ryven simply assigned him to guard the camp. Eventually, with nothing else to do, Ryven began talking to Fred.
Even though the skeleton never responded, he continued chatting as if speaking to an old friend.
Only after nearly an hour did he finally enter the tent.
He settled down on the opposite side from where Samminah was resting and gradually fell asleep.
The next morning, Ryven slowly opened his eyes.
Finding himself alone inside the tent, he stretched his body and immediately felt refreshed.
Leaving in the tent he quickly stored the tent.
Not far away, he spotted Samminah standing quietly.
She looked prepared to leave and seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood.
Looking at her, their eyes met briefly. Neither of them spoke, causing an awkward silence to settle between them.
Soon afterward, the three continued heading north once more.
For nearly three hours, none of them spoke.
"We’re close. Follow me."
After a long period of silence, Samminah finally broke the awkward silent between the two of them.
"Mm."
Ryven nodded and followed after her.
As he moved through the forest, the surrounding scenery gradually became familiar.
A few minutes later, a familiar crater entered his sight. It was the very place where he had first been transported.
They didn’t stop there, and the three continued moving forward.
As they advanced, the fog gradually became thinner and thinner.
Finally, when Ryven looked ahead of them.
A familiar gigantic cave slowly emerged from the thinning fog.
