Chapter 514 [514] Proceeding South.
After Alan had received the information from Lanesha about the planet, he left for the planet again, this time with a light heart.
His worry had disappeared, and although Lanesha did state that some hidden variables may still be there, he didn't dwell too much on it.
As long as the 'hidden factors' weren't three or five ranks above him, he was good to go. He could handle most threats, and if these threats outnumbered him, he could always test his domain. The soldiers there were a significant boost in power. And they were also a surprise.
Almost no one, except some close individuals, knew about it.
It was the perfect trump card, one capable to triumph over an army and topple a city.
This time, entering the other world was a more pleasant experience, not only did the gravity not affect him, but since his doubts had been cleared, he felt much more at ease here.
The camp was more developed, the steel wall that had been erected was filled with enchantments. Outside the steel walls, multiple spiked ramparts made of enhanced steel were also present, surrounding the camp.
On top of the entrance, there was a magic cannon fully capable of annihilating an A-rank monster in a single hit, and dealing a significant amount of damage to even S-rank monsters. More cannons were on the way, since they were a complicated artifact, it took the guild some time to create them covertly.
They could also buy them, but that would raise suspicion.
Besides the defences, the housing was also great. Compartments had been shifted here, some the size of actual houses, and they provided greater facilities than one would expect.
The hunters from Twilight were busy, Alan could see quite a few of them carrying a large log.
"Huh?"
It seemed to be very heavy, considering that A-rank hunters were struggling to lift it. It was big too.
"... Are they going to transport that thing to Earth?"
Surely...that was absurd, especially right now. At a later date that would be normal but...now?
'Whatever, it's probably Richard's orders.'
He thought and walked towards them, intending to help with carrying that thing.
"Thanks!"
One hunter, who was quite old, said as Alan took his spot and gave him some time to rest.
"Hmm?"
"It feels weird, right?"
The old hunter laughed as Alan grabbed the log and let out a 'hmm.'
'It feels more like...stone than wood.'
He thought, noticing the texture of the wood. The bark appeared to be ordinary, resembling that of the oak trees back on earth, It was also very rugged...but it felt smooth and the texture of this 'wood' was more like stone.
It was like he was touching a wet rock more than dry wood. It definitely was weird.
"These were the leaves of this thing, took a lot of effort to hack it down."
The hunter said as he took out the leaves of the tree, which were like metallic needles, very much like the ones they had found littered on the ground in the North.
"That reminds me..."
He mumbled, recalling something.
"Have they sent some people to investigate the north?"
He asked the hunters, who had stayed here whilst he went to Earth. A hunter carrying the log behind him said.
"Yeah, those from the Wellingtons went. Although, they were warned to never go further. The young lady from that house went as well."
'Sabrina huh...'
"Drop this one here."
He was about to head into the portal, but the old hunter told him to drop it.
"We have more to transport."
"Alright."
He went outside and helped them carry the rest, Most of the hunters here were old, who had joined the guild during its creation and helped it get to its current position. Twilight didn't have many young, bright prospects. Most of those had been scouted to guilds above it. Titan and Behemoth monopolized any and every talent they could see.
They had the money for it, so they risked it. Reducing the chances of the guilds below them to gather strong individuals other than those it raised itself.
The hunt for hunters, as funny as that sounded, was quite harsh.
"When are you going to advance?"
A hunter from Twilight asked him, curious. He was already amazed that Alan was able to carry these logs with them, who were A-rank and not need any rest.
"It would take a while."
"Don't rush it, take your time and advance slowly. We can't risk you young ones making stupid mistakes."
He said, as he tried to warn Alan of the dangers of forcibly advancing his rank. The poor soul didn't know Alan could probably defeat him if he tried, and that Alan could advance easily, even at this very moment.
Perhaps even to the peak of A rank, he could do it at this moment. But Alan didn't have the heart to tell the man about this. He didn't want to ruin his confidence. He was one of few who troughed past their talent ranking and reached this rank after gruelling years of effort. Not only that, but he, like the rest, came from a humble background.
It was deserved, and Alan didn't want to ruin his confidence. Besides, with their age, they had garnered experience second to none, and Alan couldn't beat that.
He dropped the final logs, and was about to leave to go scout the south until one hunter called him.
"Don't you wanna eat? We are gonna make lunch soon."
He respectfully denied the proposal, and explained.
"I need to go on a mission to scout the south, So I will eat when I come back. Richard told me to do it as fast as possible."
"Is that right? Sorry for taking your time."
"It's alright."
He lied with a straight face, Richard had told him nothing of the sort, in fact, he hadn't even met the man for a while!
He just wanted to go scout the area, to see if there were any potential threats. And so, after bidding them farewell and informing maxwell, He departed.
"It's always amazing when I see him fly like that."
A hunter said, as they saw Alan sprout wings and disappear in seconds.
*******
The south of the world was similar to the north, There were only endless plains of green grass here. Surprisingly enough, the patches of blue ended much quicker here than the green patches in the north.
But other than that, there was mostly nothing here. No animals or wildlife as well, just like the north.
"Are all the directions like this?"
He asked himself, the other hunters who went to the east and the west didn't encounter monsters at all, all they found was one sheep that mistakenly ventured outside the forest.
The lack of beasts was concerning, especially when the environment was well suited for them to prosper.
"Maybe it's just because this is the plains..."
He muttered, thinking that maybe the plains were just destined to be empty. He had seen monsters at the mountains... Perhaps there were mountains here too.
He hoped he wouldn't encounter another city, but with how the world worked, that would probably happen.
"I don't think there will be mountains here, though... Well, who knows."
He said, taking the weather into account. It was hot here, unlike the north. The two suns appeared closer and the heat they emitted was horrendous. Thankfully, Alan was an ice element awakened, and could cool his body.
"Maybe there's a desert over here..."
He joked, laughing to himself. There wouldn't actually be a de-
"Oh fuck me..."
There was a desert here. One that was very, very unsuited for him. Because of his natural affinity to frost, hot climates affected him the most.
"Me and my mouth..."
From his enhanced vision, he could see grains of sand far, far away. He looked down and saw the change in the plains, The lush, and thick plains were slowly becoming more dry, and the green grass was becoming brown. The ground seemed to be cracked as well. The grass soon disappeared, and thorny bushes replaced it, although they weren't large. And finally, an endless sea of golden sand.
Alan, cursing himself enhanced his thermal regulation to keep him cool, and ventured into the desert, the rays of the sun were like lasers being pointed at his back, He wanted to take off his clothes but the itch that would follow would be unbearable. No matter how much mana he spent, he could still feel the heat surround him. Soon enough, Sweat droplets formed, and he took out a bottle of water from his inventory and drank from it.
He was already feeling thirsty, and it hadn't even been that long since he came here.
"Should I keep going...?"
He wondered, as he saw large rocks, ascending towards the sky likes skyscrapers back on Earth in the distance.
After thinking for a while, he decided he would go a little bit further, considering how he hadn't seen any monsters or dangers here.
He ventured further into the sea of sand.
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