When the Purple Haze landed earlier, it created tremors below which alerted the tribe living below. Due to that, they had no choice but to emerge from underground to see what the commotion was about.
Usually, they only go up to look for food or when they are going to hunt a Mutant Beast, otherwise they all stay underground.
Well, that was according to the tribe elder who explained things to me.
Dannae was already back to her mother's side and I explained to this elder what happened. Why that girl was with me, and my purpose for coming here. I took off her restraint but I still kept my hold on the gun.
Though it's expected, they were about to punish her for going up, only the Tribe Elder voted against it and called for an investigation.
Well, he's the one with the highest power here, he's the sole Rank 5 Mortal.
Upon investigating, they found out that she was really instigated by those in the same generation as her. As a challenge or so they say. But it seems their discrimination against her was escalating.
"I'm sorry if Dannae caused you trouble. She's a bit different that's why she was always the target of discrimination. As the elder and the one holding this tribe together, the best thing I can do is to make sure that mother and child will have a place to live."
It's not just any trouble, you know? I almost died from her gun.
In any case, it's surprising that instead of being the same as his tribe members, this tribe elder seemed to be taking care of both Dannae and her mother.
And that girl lied to me to lead me away from their tribe. Even if she was being discriminated against by those around her, she still cared for it. It could be attributed to her mother but still, how could someone who was always bullied be that brave when encountering a stranger? Usually, they grew up weak if they were bullied since they were little. There were cases where that became the motivation but most of the time, that's not the case.
"Her father, have you seen him?"
"No. The mother and child appeared in the tribe one day. I was really going to turn them away because of Dannae's uniqueness. You see, we're weak and we're living in this land where all you can see is blackness. Also, I am aware of her father's origins."
If he knew, it's normal to turn them down. Given that Anzeans were the cause of downfall for other countries.
"What made you change your mind?"
"It's her mother's desire to let her grow up in an environment where she won't be alone. They were living in seclusion for 5 years somewhere with the father, but it seems he was called back and had to leave the mother and child. Their circumstances were unique, for two races to produce an offspring, it's the first time."
I see. That's why she still has memories of her father but it's already quite vague and the gun was the only thing left for her.
"It was certainly unique. Also, if it's not me who she encountered outside, she might not be able to go back."
"You're right, thank you for that. Her mother was strong, she helped us protect the tribe from the Beasts before. But when the visitor from 10 years ago appeared, I decided to confine Dannae somewhere only until she left. Her mother understood my reasons as to why I wanted to do that so she instead took her and left somewhere further away from the tribe. However, that led to the healthy mother to fall ill. I still remember Dannae running back to the tribe asking for help to save her mother. Until now she's not in any condition to move excessively or work."
Nysia probably didn't know about their existence. If she did, given that her whole life was plagued with hardships, she would surely kill Dannae upon seeing her.
Maybe that's why she has a strong personality right now despite being discriminated against. It's for her mother.
Now. I don't know what to feel about that girl. I still couldn't forget the life-threatening feeling when I was faced with her gun.
After I'm done asking about Dannae, I inquired about the state of the tribe, the reason for their move and why they didn't leave the Scorched Forest and instead stay here.
The Tribe Elder mentioned the sudden increase of the strength of the Mutant Beasts. The same reason she stated. As for why they didn't leave was because they also experienced an unnatural growth in strength. Though they're more well-versed at using their awakened abilities, it was still restricted by their progress in Meta Pathway but their strength grew from Rank 3 or Rank 2 Mortals to Rank 5 and Rank 4 now.
Among her generation, only Dannae reached Rank 4 while the others were still hovering between Rank 2 and Rank 3. Even so, she could only threaten them with that gun and most of the time she bent to their will and silently swallowed the frustration.
When the night came, the Tribe Elder gave me a room where I could rest, this underground settlement was slowly carved by the whole tribe and they're still carving it to get more spaces for future generations. As for the lighting, they used torches.
I still have one day before my Transcendence. Tomorrow I'll look for a place maybe a little away from this tribe to wait for the door to emerge. Further investigations about the unusual increase in strength can be put off for later.
"Daisuke! You finally contacted me, how are you? Where are you?"
Nysia's worried voice appeared on the screen when I activated Interdimensional Communication. Because most communication devices here don't work when out here in the wilderness, I could only contact her through this.
"Relax. I found the tribe and was staying with them currently. However, they moved from the previous location. Something unusual was happening here."
We only have 10 minutes so I relayed to her everything I experienced, especially about Dannae. When I told her about the existence of a half-Anzean, Nysia's expression tensed up but she calmed herself down and listened to the story relayed by the Tribe Elder. Of course, I told her that none of it was confirmed yet. When I asked her about her opinion on what to do, she told me to decide it according to my judgement.
After that, I also told her about the realization that my Incarnation had back at the World of Systems. When Nysia heard that, she also expressed that she might be focusing too much on me and that she couldn't help but feel restless ever since I left.
Like we planned, they managed to turn the Light's Cradle as a new organization without any ties with the Order of the Dark Host.
Since the Primeval Aegis League was already an organization, it became allied with the Light's Cradle that was jointly led by the Sovereign Princess Elise and Imperial Princess Leianne. As for their supporters, though most of them were careful not to be sniffed out by those connected to the Order, a lot have expressed their intention to stand with their cause.
Of course, there were some who stepped forward just to spy with them but it seems they have proper screening procedures to flush out those potential Order members.
As for the reaction of the three factions, specifically the Mythic-ranks, it varied. Moonlight Queen Lunaria's mother, the Matriarch, ousted Sen's father and took control of the Confederacy again.
With the help of Nysia, she managed to stop being restricted and through her, the Light's Cradle got a huge boost on the truthfulness of their claim.
The Enthroned Prince, the Imperial Guardian and the recently revealed Mythic-rank Emperor had no choice but to come out and deny their claims that they're working with the Dark World and Anzeans.
In summary, the current status has entered a phase where neither of the sides made a move.
"What about the three Heroes? Did they stay there?"
"Un. They're still where you left them. Amry and Kazeyoshi behind the Sovereign Princess and Matthew behind the Imperial Princess."
"I see. I will be back in at most 4 days if I consider the needed time for Transcendence and distance that I needed to travel to go back. I might also try to investigate the unusual power-ups here so…"
"I understand. As long as you come back safely. I will be waiting for you here."
The 10 minutes were used up after that. It felt so short but I guess that's enough for now, I'll spend more time with her once I come back.
Since there's no more urgent problem and I was in a fairly safe environment, I took out the Portable Absorption Room and entered it.
After spending another 6 hours converting Dark Energy and absorbing Flux Energy I went out of it and was once again met with a notification about something.
[It has been 12 hours since you were exposed to a Special Environment]
[Your Adaptability has heightened the effect of the enhancement due to the Special Environment]
[You have gained 2 Strength]
[You have gained 2 Endurance]
[Needed time for another enhancement: 119:32:57]
Special environment? I was just looking for the explanation about their sudden increase in strength and it was immediately given to me through this system…
"Why are you so surprised? And what's that… tiny room?"
Because I was too focused on the notifications, I didn't immediately notice that somebody was sitting on my bed.
Dannae was there, staring at me and the Portable Absorption Room behind me.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel