Looking at the blowgun in his hand, a flame of joy lit up in his eyes. But the joy was particularly strange.
In the end, he chose the rune artifact.
...
Ten minutes before.
Cylius was looking at the back of Farold as his eyes grew colder and colder. But the cold that could make people shiver suddenly dissipated. This thought of hunting Garen was a ridiculous one. Not to mention that if he ever awakens the second gene and it is somehow related to runes, it is unwise.
A gene that could suppress a bloodline of the Ancient grade, he really didn't want to get on his bad side. Who knew there might even be some kind of ridiculous grade above the Ancient and the probability of Farold having it was great.
At the start, Farold may have been impulsive but with the modifications of the dragon gene, his personality is sure to have changed.
Sure, the dragon bloodline within him would definitely make him arrogant but it would also make his rationality grow. With a few gifts and some acts that would make him appear lowly, he could deceive the young child easily.
Offending him further would only be disadvantageous to him, he didn't want to be like those villains or anti-protagonists who were powerful early but dies even if they were shrewd.
People protected by plot armors from all sides, if he dares touch a single hair of him there would be countless calamities approaching him.
Well, he wasn't naive, losing a bit of dignity was acceptable. What is dignity anyways? It was poisonous if your weak but a powerful weapon if your strong. Dignity, that bullsh*t shouldn't be talked right now.
...
Well his schizophrenic attitude may have influenced him but he had no sense of staying true to his feelings, this was his nature. Early age he didn't care about it, he didn't even care about the original human body or race.
If the power is worth it, he would morph into a distorted beast, the novels he had read.
"There are two paths laid before me. One would make me turn into a monster but I will have supreme strength. The second would make me stay true to my original race but the power would be weaker. I choose 'Staying true to my original race' I will live and die honorable. This path is the supreme as long as he held true to his own thoughts he would pave out a peerless path."
"System, exclude all paths that would make me lose my human body"
"He felt bitter 'He was morphing into a monster but the chip said that it had no side effects. Alas, it doesn't know that I value my human body very much'"
That thing, did they think that they were the protagonist? What if a disaster came, they were desperate only to realize that they were short of a very little power.
"He was desperate, he wanted to live. But destiny had its arrangements as his body into dust and his consciousness turned into nothingness" if they had taken their dignity back, this situation wouldn't have occurred at all. Did they think they were the protagonists?
But they weren't his life, he of course wouldn't care. Dipping his nose in other's business, a deadly choice. Without enough background, doing that would make them dead. Just like Farold if not for his providence, he would've been killed by Cylius already.
...
Fighting with the Whistling Monkey was easy. Once people knew the location of the monkey, the threat would be gone.
The physical build of the monkey was weak, but the ranged offense of it was swift, with the rune artifact blowpipe it added a difficulty level. Thankfully he sneaks attacked it which ended the fight fast.
...
One month later, at an ice river, at the shore of an island.
Here everything was covered with snow, and it was extremely cold. The cold even affected the surroundings that the entire island was colored white. The trees were white, the animals were white. The animals here were even evolved to have cold blood and their red blood has evolved to become faintly white, reducing the probability of getting caught when bleeding.
At the shore, a crude wooden raft with a blue glow came to the island. On the raft was a young man who had handsome features. The expression was as cold as the northland iceberg and the look in his silver white eye could make anyone shiver.
His aura was as cold as ice, the slender fingers touched the air in front of him, and the snow within the island as if had been ordered was attracted to him to create a path in the ocean.
But this aura, temperament, and power wasn't uncommon on the island that was covered by snow. Just the basic beast could reach his level, meaning that cultivating in this kind of environment could make his cultivation soar.
"Moving island, no more appropriate to say floating island. It is said that in the books there are tortoises that are often misunderstood as islands. Here is a good place to cultivate, eating the beasts meat here could help increase my cultivation"
Their sizes varied, from mini islands to large islands. They lived for very long, so them sleeping for hundreds of years was also common. On the tortoise's back, there would be beasts and monsters that benefited from the turtle's blood and essence while they also became a source of nourishment for the turtle while also digesting its waste and cleaning it.
Both sides benefited so their relationship was harmonious.
These gigantic tortoise's strength was based on their size, and ones that had the size of an island was considered a third tier.
Their heart blood was very helpful and could help increase lifespan.
...
At a volcano, a human silhouette was battling with an elemental.
The elemental was entirely composed of certain energy and they had no physical body. They were usually located in places rich in energy. They fed on energy and also advanced by devouring or eating energy. Advanced ones had facial features and intelligence while the most basic had none, only the main body.
The boy was a person who had flames on his skin that danced in joy. The gaze was sharp and cold. The flame's properties were strange, cold within the core, and hot within the outer layer.
The elemental was throwing flames at him but this was obviously useless to the boy. The fire merged with the properties of the boy's fire and an indistinct property of the fire appeared in his fire.
After fighting for five minutes the elemental dispersed. But the energy didn't dissipate but instead came to the boy's body and it was absorbed by the boy. The boy let out a satisfied growl like a sigh as conceivable flames went out of his mouth. It was Garen.
Suddenly flames appeared in Garen's eyes as it also sharpened.
Word by word he left out a sentence before turning around to walk away
"Cylius, it is not done with us. In the future or not I will kill you to devour the remains of you"