Author’s note: next bonus chapter tomorrow, now there are 55 stones per bonus
"The stars..." Kayden learned the concept after another month isolated in the cave. "They are not isolated or alone, they do not face loneliness. Just as I have never faced loneliness before, they have their brilliance."
When we are alone, what is our only company if not ourselves? If you, being alone, are in bad company, then you are facing true loneliness. But if you can govern yourself, you need not fear even a thousand years of solitude.
As soon as this revelation dawned on Kayden, he understood the concept more deeply and its meaning in mana. The same impulse as the other times appeared over him. Kayden could learn the concept and have his first independent concept in the first realm. Loneliness was the second stage of the concept of slavery in the path he set for himself.
"Bow," Kayden forced his new concept to kneel in front of his path, and within seconds a new concept was strapped to his path. Kayden’s spiritual sense grew by about 25 meters, and his control over his path expanded once again.
When Kayden opened his eyes and began to detect things around him, he noticed that carnage was taking place outside, with the beasts killing each other freely. In the center of the lake was a kind of golden algae.
Kayden didn’t know what that was and didn’t want to find out. He wasn’t a protagonist in some cliché novel where he could win things through protagonism and pure luck. He took advantage of this confusion to run from where he was.
After getting a few miles away, Kayden stood still in the air as he gathered himself. The first thing he did was get new supplies. He picked some fruits and caught some small animals to make dried meat. Fortunately, the process was simple when he could draw the water out of the food through mana.
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In two months, the forest changed drastically. Firstly, the number of beasts increased considerably. Furthermore, his overall level also increased. The amount of treasures was still considerable, but nowhere near what it was at the beginning. Kayden didn’t care. He had already won a lot.
For the next few days, he just looted everything he could and killed some animals to train with his new strength. He came across some humans, but they seemed to be affected by something strange. His eyes looked cloudy. Furthermore, he has seen humans having sex outdoors several times.
Kayden kept his distance until he could find someone he knew or who wasn’t under the strange influence of the environment. This took another week until he found...
"Heimer?" Kayden’s voice caught the group in front of him by surprise, and several spells flew towards him. Kayden just casually swerved in another direction.
"Don’t attack, he’s my friend." The group was made up of three other people, two skinny teenagers who cast lightning spells at Kayden and another girl who seemed to be the group’s hand-to-hand combatant.
"We haven’t heard from you in two months, Kayden. We thought you died. Your hunter guild group left a month ago and hasn’t returned. They lost Asiva to a spike beast."
Heimer was happy to see his friend alive and breathing. He was surprised to see that Kayden had advanced again. Now, the difference in strength between them was only a few levels. That old jealousy that had started to appear in his heart came back again, but he just suppressed it unconsciously.
"I was trapped in a cave guarded by a few dozen beasts and couldn’t get out. Can you tell me the latest news?" Kayden was curious about the situation inside and outside the bubble.
"The bubble is being closely watched by the kingdom, and only selected people can enter now. Furthermore, you must present your earnings. If the government wants something, it will monetarily compensate you. You must also not stay here for long, otherwise you end up going crazy trying to reproduce as quickly as possible. We don’t know what causes this, but the maximum deadline is a week. Haven’t you felt that?"
Kayden long ago killed any desire in his body. He wasn’t even affected by spells that invoked anger or any other feeling.
"Since I was isolated, I don’t think I was affected. Where are you guys going?" Kayden decided to quickly change the subject.
"We are going to attack a group of elephants to get their modified tusks. Each one is worth around 100 thousand gold coins. Furthermore, their meat is great for increasing physical strength naturally. If you want, you can join us."
Heimer’s group made no objections. Kayden’s actions last year made him a legend among the students. First, he killed three people inside the school and had no consequences, and then he fought dozens of beasts above his level and triumphed victoriously.
"Of course, I have nothing to do." Kayden would never turn down a good fight. Within a few minutes, he met the rest of Heimer’s group and noticed how synchronized and top-notch they were. Each had well-crafted weapons and gave Kayden a vibe of experience, very different from the students in his year who seemed like overprotected children. They flew a few more hours before finding the herd.
As soon as they arrived, they saw a few dozen earth-element elephants on the ground. Heimer started to make an array to accumulate mana and distribute it among the people in his group. Furthermore, he made a matrix that would instinctively cause fear in animals.
After that, the battle became just carnage. The strength of the group was much superior. Even though the beasts were all level 7 and above, they didn’t kill any of the beasts and just cut their prey with different spells. Kayden managed to do well. His control of the aura attack allowed him to throw the attack from a distance and prevent it from cutting an inch beyond the fangs, sparing the animal’s life. The fight lasted a few minutes before the matrix of fear and disorientation stopped taking effect.
"Let’s leave now if you want to come with us." Kayden thought about the proposal and readily accepted it. He had to find a technique to increase his oxygen absorption so he could use his accelerated circulation all the time.