__________ POV Ashton__________
In the end, I decided to start heading for the mountain range to look for Pap.
It will take a few days. But I think it's better if I take them in the proper order of appearance. Pap was first, then Brion.
After that, I will look for the original nest of Hellbells and the cave where we last found Ai. Some of them should still be left in there.
Now, method of travel. I think the safest solution is to use the 'Wings of Icarus'.
I can't hide my presence at all when using wind aspect, and propelling myself with explosions will paint an even bigger target on my back.
I am currently dressed in my usual garments. A few additions, a pair of pristine gauntlets, 'The Gauntlets of Neith' which I'm going to be wearing constantly.
They have a simple design. The metal used to make them is seemingly light and it doesn't look to be able to provide much protection.
But, when wearing these gauntlets I would surely be able to block attacks from the King of Ants. They can be strengthened to a much greater extent than my body.
They also allow me to strengthen my body beyond its biological limits. Even beyond what it can usually achieve with all of my Nen.
These gauntlets are vital to both my survival and my original fighting style. Although I've changed a lot since I've last wore them. Now my fighting style is not as 'direct'.
Sure, I can use straightforward attacks, but I've come to prefer just efficiently killing targets(like Zigg taught me).
I accepted to give my gauntlets up because there wasn't supposed to be any threat in Lake Mobius, at least by Netero's words. I guess quite a lot of things happened since then.
Well, they will serve me quite well in this place...
I looked in the forest beneath me, every tree in it shook as my old friends got a whiff of my scent in the area.
I could see a large, scaly abomination with three arms, the torso of an ape with no fur. The legs of a spider, covered in mucus and poison.
It was at least 100 meters tall. Dwarfed only by the crooked trees of this massive forest. Its face was like that of a snake, the neck could extend far above its regular height.
Soon, more of its kind would follow. They usually move in large packs.
"It seems I will even receive a greeting, huh?" I almost couldn't help my smile. The abomination in front of me is one of the predators that can be found in this area.
It's not all that high up on the food chain. Its species is one I am very familiar with.
The Compendium of the Hunt has quite the peculiar name for it... 'The Failed Experiment'. It implies that this thing is an experiment from the remains of a civilisation long forgotten.
And it does make sense, such a thing wouldn't happen naturally... At least not anywhere other than this continent.
It's quite clear that a large and extremely advanced civilisation resided in these lands long before humanity as we know it sprouted in Lake Mobius...
Ancient ruins, relics, there's no need to state the obvious. The signs are obviously in plain sight.
Most of the beasts in these parts are abominations of this type.
That and beasts of legend, beings that have the power and potential to ruin not only humanity but the entire world.
They were once peacefully living alongside each other. Now, they are too mad to even use their own strengths properly.
I quickly used the 'Wings of Icarus' And flew above the trees.
I stared down as an entire horde of abominations swirled and trampled on the vegetation... All until they made it too mad. Nothing here is truly weak after all...
The trees seemed to grow angry, their branches and roots growing and expanding to capture the aggressors.
The abominations struggled, their limbs were being slowly ripped off by the vegetation. After seeing that I just started flying away.
I also took out another relic... 'The Ring of the Wolf', which hides one presence perfectly. Including smell.
As for why I didn't use this beforehand... I needed to inform the beasts of my arrival. Hopefully, the news will reach their king(my teacher) and he will start making his way here.
It's an attempt at distracting him. I also need to visit his liar after all... I must uncover the secrets of this place.
There are many things that I need to do in this place. This will take a few years, at the very least.
I quickly flapped my wings away. Heading for a faraway Mountain Range. Listening to the smooth sounds of cracking bones and tearing flesh from the nearby wildlife.
This place is a lot more peaceful than I remember... Well, not really, it didn't change at all, in fact.
I find it quite odd, the rate at which the monsters kill each other, you'd think that there wouldn't be many left on the Continent.
But they seem to be multiplying even faster than they're killing each other. The continent seems to be swarming with life(and death).
I flew over and observed, I can keep using the Wings for days. But I will still need to rest eventually. And that's the tricky part.
Thankfully, not many things seem to have changed, so I can just use the methods I used previously.
Which are also quite simple. I set up a regular camp, use that string Nen method to set up a sort of alarm system, and then use a few relics to create a certain field that protects me from bodily harm.
Well, it's not perfect, and it only lasts around 3 hours. But that's more than enough.
The alarm system is simplistic, but it's more to keep away smaller animals from coming close.
One of the relics I used is called, the 'Bulwark of Safety', a ruby earring that usually creates a protective barrier around the user.
But I used it alongside another relic. The ring, 'Blessing of Greater Gods', fun fact, I never actually named this myself. I found it alongside a book that named a few other relics.
It basically strengthens any one relic at a time. It's not even feeding off of my Nen. I haven't really figured how it works(or why).
But I guess I could find out more if I get my hands on the other relics mentioned in the book. Its uses are quite limited. It seems to just extend the range of the Bulwark.
It makes it cover a 50-meter radius instead of just my body. It makes for a perfect cover during this camping trip.
The effects of the ring only last for around 3 hours though, after which the barrier returns to just protecting my own body.
The 'Blessing of Greater Gods' then becomes strangely inactive for a random interval. It could be one hour or even one week. I haven't seen it go over that though.
Well, I still have quite a bit of walking(flying) to do before reaching the mountain range.
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