" Let's camp here for a few hours. "
Nalan immediately slumped on the ground, tiredly.
With enhanced sight, Yunxi could see a distance of three hundred kilometers. So, the Goblin settlement was farther than it appeared.
" Here. " Yunxi uncapped a bottle of water , and stretched it towards Nalan, who eagerly accepted it.
" Thanks. " Nalan said with a smile, that could make men uneasy, before downing the bottle of water.
A drop of water slid down her throat from her pink lips. Subconsciously, Yunxi stretched forth her hand, and gently wiped it away with her fingers.
" You did well , but you can do better. That's a given. With me beside you, you would become powerful."
Nalan froze in place, as she heard the compliments from Yunxi.
' What…is going on ?! ' Nalan thought, as her face became red.
Through keen observation, Yunxi was able to extract a detailed report. The monsters and beasts were innately stronger than humans at the same level.
Before the apocalypse, animals like tigers, lions were known to be dangerous. And that's why they were called Wild animals. They would attack anything in their path, considering them "Food".
Even the domestic animals could get wild if provoked. Now coupled with the apocalypse, and the existence of Mana, they were more than dangerous. The correct term for them would be ' Savage '.
That's why she was satisfied with Nalan's performance. Ordinarily , she wasn't meant for attack, but support. Sadly, this was the era of survival of the fittest. This was the apocalypse. No one would want to sacrifice their lives to save yours. At one point in time a supporter would have to attack or defend.
But that wasn't quite common. The supporters were treasured and protected, because of their talents. An injured person wouldn't go to a swordmaster to heal their wound. They would need an healer.
The apocalypse brought forth monsters and mutated animals. It also brought a lot of changes to humanity.
These changes made the people despair, but it also made them stronger and capable. These changes balanced the world. And just a slight tilt will end up with one race to extinction.
It was frightening, but that was the only way to survive. Normally, people would despair completely against such circumstances, but humans have a high ability to adapt and even be able to harden their hearts and mentality. They were a formidable species. The world has now become one where the strong thrived and the weak were crushed like nothing but ants to the strong.
From her memories, Nalan was a sheltered girl,but the apocalypse drove her to do things a sophisticated and elegant lady would never dream of doing. It changed her thinking and actions entirely.
Realizing the silence around her , Yunxi retracted her fingers, and stood upright before walking a distance away.
( What are we going to do after resting?) Xia asked, while struggling to get a bite of the jerky in her paw.
" We can't pass through the Goblin settlement, unharmed. The moment they see us , they would strongly want to add us to their collection. So…our only choice is to attack. " Yunxi explained to Xia , in the process, brought out a chair, and sat on it , relaxing her stiff body.
When they were in the maze of illusion, she had been wary. The illusion gave her chills, and she very much wanted to get to the root of the cause. The Goblin Shaman wasn't that strong to begin with, but the spell was something compelling.
Using the Enhanced sight, and the ice needle she created, exhausted all her Mana. She was physically healthy, but mentally tired. Nothing a Mana potion couldn't do, but it was better to use it when necessary.
She closed her eyes, and evened her breath. According to all the novels she had read on apocalypse, there were two ways to increase the Mana in the body. One by meditation, and two by exhausting.
Well…..most people preferred the latter, because it wasn't that easy to detect Mana in the surroundings. Infact, history depicts that the elves were the only ones close to Mana. And some other beasts.
But Yunxi wasn't in the mood to prove history right. At this moment, she wants nothing more than to become strong. Strong enough to save her family. Strong enough to protect her loved ones from every danger.
' What was it again…? Aha! To be accosted to Mana, one had to find its brain box . They called it " Mana core". '
Humans had leverage after the arrival of the apocalypse. Most Humans mystically had a Mana core developed in their abdomen. They didn't need to go through all the headaches of creating a Mana core.
' Okay … the next thing is to find the Mana Core and its veins. With that, I can now begin to see the Mana in the surroundings. '
Yunxi followed the steps, and closed her eyes. The only thing she could see was darkness. She remained calm, and tried to look for an abnormality in the darkness.
It wasn't clear how long she had remained in that state, but her efforts gave a result. She felt herself falling from a high altitude, without the influence of gravitational pull. She kept falling, but didn't panic. Maybe that's because her real body was elegantly seated on a chair~.
' Is this the inside of my body ? Darkness? You've got to be kidding me! '
Slowly, strands of white like thread began to move out of her body. At first, it wasn't noticeable, but the more she struggled to stop her falling, the more the white threads kept trooping out.
' Wow! My Mana ….'
Suddenly, there was a burst of white light, and the darkness was consumed. Yunxi instinctively covered her eyes because of its intensity.
After she felt that the light had receded, she opened them. And the sight before her was…magical. She was inside her body.
She could see everything. Her organs, bones, tissues, and even the cells were visible to her. At the essence of her chest, was where her Mana core was embedded which was …silver colored like her hair.
She stared in fascination as the organs, tissues, and cells in her body worked. The Mana vein was the most interesting. The vein was the normal vein that every human being possessed. But because of the presence of the Mana core , they evolved and became more translucent as the Mana flowed within the blood inside them.
" Yunxi…Yunxi…?"
Yunxi heard a ringing voice in her head, and her meditation was cut short. She opened her eyes to see a close-up face inches away from her own. It was none other than Nalan.
Yunxi looked around, and noticed the difference. She could now see more clearly without the use of her Enhanced sight. The meditation was a success!
" How many hours had passed?" Yunxi asked as she stood up from her chair, and sucked it into her spatial ring.
" Umm…five." Nalan answered meekly, averting her eyes from Yunxi's. She had been nervous about waking her up .
' She looks so peaceful and cute when she is asleep. I shouldn't have woken her up, but this is the death zone. And I don't know why we haven't encountered enough beasts and monsters. Is it luck? We better make use of it efficiently. '
Yunxi hummed in reply, and took the bar of chocolate from Nalan.
Nalan stared at her empty hands before looking up at Yunxi, flabbergasted.
" What ? You wanted to give it to me , but you are occupied with your thoughts. So…I helped myself. " With that said, Yunxi opened the wrap and bit into the light brown chocolate. In two bites, she had devoured everything.
The chocolate wasn't that big to begin with. It was like the size of an adult thumb. This was the apocalypse. Things like this were luxury not many could afford. Chocolate manufacturing had to come to a halt, when the apocalypse came.
But the apocalypse had started for a long time, and people had to live their lives. The apocalypse wouldn't stop them from eating what they wanted or having what they wanted. The only prerequisite is to have the resources and strength to acquire and own them.
" Let's go. "
Nalan was dazed as she watched the chocolate disappear into Yunxi's mouth. Her voice snapped her out of her fantasy, and made her aware of the reality before them.
Yunxi walked forward, and Nalan quickly caught up with her. She didn't want to be a burden to Yunxi. And more importantly, she didn't want to become food to the monsters and beasts lying in wait. She knew they were there, but somehow they didn't attack.