The following two weeks proceeded smoothly, and progress was visible. The construction was good, the guards better organized, and Rex was smoothly proceeding to the eighth rank.
I was also making good progress, and my core was growing smoothly. It was almost the size it was when I broke through to the ninth rank. As I ranked, I noticed that my core's maximum size also increased.
This particular day, I had finished my construction work, and the guards were participating in self-study. Some practiced alone or cultivated; others had small mock battles and sparred amongst themselves.
I was cultivating nearby, expanding out my magic sense in case anything did attack the village. Rex, Arion, and Grey were out, so I had to defend the town myself. The eagles were more like sentries and wouldn't get involved unless it was a significant threat.
A tremor ran along my spine as I continued cultivating and meditating. I opened one eye and scanned my surroundings.
My eye settled on a willow tree on a far hill. The tremor hit my spine again. I zoomed in on the tree and saw its branches moving.
I continued to observe as more tremors ran along my spine. They weren't chills but vibrations from the outside.
I noticed the willow branches weren't swaying from side to side; they were jumping up and down. There wasn't any wind, either.
I stopped my cultivation and stood up, opening both eyes. The tremors I felt weren't random vibrations. Something was happening.
'Not an earthquake.' This was incremental, not constant like an earthquake. Besides, I didn't think we were even close to a fault line. This wasn't just a micro-vibration but an actual quake.
I spread out my mana sense even further. Still nothing, but I kept my guard up. I knew it was something. The heartlands were a dangerous place. It was just that we hadn't met the most dangerous parts.
Dragons, wyverns, hydras, and monsters lived here; maybe one was coming our way. I'd felt while scouting before, the aura of a rank ten. The ranks were not equal. While ranks one through seven rose on a semi-linear path, between seven and eight, there was a huge jump, that's why only one rank eight exited the village even with many rank sevens.
After rank seven, the power differences among ranks grew exponentially. If each rank was twice as powerful as the lower one from ranks one to seven, rank eight was three times as powerful. Rank nine would be four times as powerful as rank eight, and rank ten, five times as powerful as rank nine.
That is why having someone cross ranks and fight was almost unheard of, especially at the higher levels. Even I had to weaken the Hydra before fighting it.
I finally encountered something unusual in my mana sense a few minutes later. It was the mana of another being. I couldn't tell much apart from that until the monster came further into my range.
It was then that I noticed how dense the mana was. It was like a blanket of snow, covering everything it touched and overwhelming the other mana.
There were two categories of mana sense; the better one and the I don't give a shit one. I used the better mana sense, spreading out your mana into string almost, feeling the vibration of the other mana that touched it.
This was the I don't give a shit version. A pure radiance of mana, letting everyone know your presence and encapsulating everything within your range.
The beast's body appeared in another minute, a brown speck on the horizon. It had to be at least a mile away, but more than 100 meters of its mana overlapped with my mana sense.
My extended mana sense was around 1000 meters, 1300 meters if I stretched it thin, which I was currently doing. With a mile being 1600 meters, the beast's mana was at least 400 meters wide.
Even at my best, I would barely reach 100 meters with the pure mana output method. This beast had to be ranked ten or above.
Thankfully, it was moving slowly and more than a mile away. Looking around, I saw that none of the others had noticed yet. Garth shouldn't have noticed, either.
I flew up while pondering what to do. Rank ten should be able to communicate, so I was wondering if I should take the risk.
'Fuck it, if I die, I die on my terms.'
I flew towards the beast, slowing down as I got near. I didn't want to be seen or treated as a threat. But I did put up as many defenses as I could. My defense magic was unparalleled, but I didn't know if it could resist the strength of a rank ten.
When I got close enough, I yelled out, "STOP. DO NOT PROCEED."
The giant lizard-like beast turned its head in my direction. It was as big as the Hydra, with brown solid scales all over its body. At first, I thought it was a drake, but on closer inspection, it was more like a lizard with a lower center of mass.
"Who are you," the lizard said slowly.
Even though it was speaking normally, the voice alone pushed me back.
'Shit.' I cursed. My acting had to be good if I wanted to pull this off.
"I am Alexander. I am a resident of the village over there." I pointed behind me, approximately 50 degrees from the actual village.
"Now answer, how are you? And what is your purpose here?" I said loudly and confidently.
"Huh, there's a village there now. I never expected that." The beast completely ignored me.
I summoned a windstorm around me to get its attention.
"ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!" I yelled out.
"And why should I do that, weakling." The lizard looked at me and practically spat the last word out.
"I might be weak, but there is a terrifying existence in that city. I'm only going to warn you once." I spoke confidently.
"Oh, really?" The lizard said mockingly. "I might be slow, but I'm not stupid, human."
I'd forgotten to put my daemon disguise on, so I still had my human appearance.
"Believe me or not, but if you go to that city, you'll be sorry." I said calmly.
"I don't believe you, I'll check out this 'terrifying being' for myself." The lizard turned to where I pointed and started walking.
"Uh, you don't want to do that. If the person goes out, you will die." I shook my head.
Secretly, I was sweatdropping on the inside. I reached out with my telepathic communication and connected with Rex.
("COME HERE IMMEDIATELY") I communicated with every sense of urgency that the telepathic link could handle.
Rex flew over in under a minute. I once again arrived in front of the lizard.
"What now, you pesky brat." The lizard said, annoyed.
"You this bird next to me," I gestured at Rex. "How old do you think he is?"
"Why does it matter?" The lizard started moving past me.
"It doesn't, but so you know, this bird is a year old, and he's about to break through to eighth rank." I said calmly, not letting my desperation show.
It seemed to catch the lizard's attention. He stopped and looked back at Rex.
I put my hand on Rex's shoulder/wing. "He's the son of that terrifying figure." Rex looked at me confusedly, but I telepathically told him to shut up.
Even among the top races, having a one-year-old at the eighth rank was rare. Not to mention, Rex started with zero cultivation. The young ones with high cultivation were usually born with it.
Dragons, for example, all started with some mana in their body. The current Dragon King was born with a ninth-rank cultivation base. He was born even before the Hero's era, so there was no telling how strong he was now.
The lizard looked at me suspiciously. "Why would a figure like that provide refugee for humans?" He questioned.
"I don't know either." I shook my head, "but you don't want to get on his bad side."
"I still don't believe you, but I'll avoid that direction." The lizard flicked his tongue. "Tell that figure I'm settling down over there." He tilted his head to a spot south among the mountains.
"It's all good." I replied. "You stay over there, and we'll stay over here." I nodded.
We then parted ways. I was just happy our encounter had been so short.
I retreated with Rex, taking the long way around, erasing my path behind me. I didn't want to take any chances. If the lizard ever changed his mind, I wasn't sure if the village could withstand it.
We'd have to run away. It was good that I set up the teleportation magic so soon. I praised my past self for making the intelligent decision.
I also explained the lie to Rex along the way. He was still confused about his supposed father. All in all, the village was safe for now. Rex and I returned, and no one ever noticed we were gone.
Or so I thought.