Back on the mountain, Kaela and Millus went to look for Lina back at her tent, their senses were so absorbed with their battle that both of them were barely able to sense other weak beings other than their own powerful presence.
"So, any idea why those people took her?" Millus asked Kaela as she was with Lina before they went to find him in the crater.
Kaela looked at him with his golden eyes, she was back at her wolf form which is just slightly smaller since she recognizes Millus' strength.
"She has mentioned to me that she was trying to escape her kin, as they have planned to do something to her" she said.
"I see, then can you track her so we can save her" he said to Kaela.
"Like, you know, Sniff sniff" he said jokingly pointing at his nose.
"Are you mocking me?" She replied, her voice sounding irritated.
"...well, between the two of us, who does the thing like you know? with the sharpe qan smelling sense and all" he said, while shrugging shoulders.
"...fine, I'll do it but I will not leave the mountain" Kaela couldn't refute , and she agreed to the end.
Kale quickly got to work and sniffed in the air.
"Oh" Millus exclaimed looking at Kaela with expecting eyes.
Then Kaela said "it seems there are multiple men that surrounded her, and they tied her up and took her down the mountain, that's all I can trace from here based on the residual presence of other beings essence" she said.
Millus sighed as he was expecting something more from her tracking Lina.
He said "I was expecting that you'd do something impressive like summon a spirit to point where she is"
"...are you deranged? Why would I bother the spirits for something that can be done by my own" she said, as she is a superior spirit after all tied to mortal flesh, she wouldn't put her below others as her pride won't allow it.
"I'll let you stay on this mountain if you rescue her, since I will not be going down the mountain as I have to repair it and bring it back close to its original state, the spirits scattered because of you thus I was going to get compensation, but now this'll be enough, now go and take her back"
"Alright you don't have to be so serious, and since she was hospitable to me, I'll have to pay her back" he said. Then he used his own senses and with the help of Veda who had been quiet since earlier.
'Hey Veda, why are you quiet the whole time?' he asked in his mind.
''My silence is necessary for you to grow Millus,' Veda said.
"I see, you're so thoughtful," he said.
Kaela looked at him "what?"
"Huh?" He said.
Kaela didn't know about Veda and Millus' conversation.
"It's nothing, I'm going now" he shrugged feigning ignorance.
Kaela looked at him, then said nothing more and went back to the peak of the mountain to repair the damage from his arrival and their earlier battle.
Millus walked down for some time in the rugged trail, he took in the vast expanse of the unfamiliar world around him. Each of his steps revealed more of the beautiful nature he had found himself in. The air was crisp and cool and felt strangely nostalgic, the difference is that it carried the faint scent of wildflowers and fresh earth.
"...To think a world like this exists," he murmured, his voice mixed with awe. "The air is so fresh, and the sky… it's so clear."
The contrast to his previous life was obviously staggering. For almost fifty years, he had been bound to a polluted, industrialized world only to relax from time to time by sitting at a bench on top of a certain building. Yet here, in this world, this untouched wilderness felt like a dream.
"Just look at those rocks," he mused, noticing the shattered and scorched terrain nearby. "Even this place is also affected by my fall. It just makes me wonder… how destructive was it?"
'It was comparable to the largest conventional explosive weapon, or perhaps a small nuclear detonation from your old world,'' Veda said calmly in his mind.
Millus stopped walking for a moment, the gravity of her words was slowly sinking in on him. "… small nuclear detonation?" His voice wavered for a moment, he was caught between disbelief and shock.
He looked down at his hands, then clenched them tightly. "...I don't know whether to be excited that I survived that… or be horrified. If I could survive something like that, then there must be others in this world who can too, since there is Kaela and all."
The thought lingered in his mind, his expression was slowly darkening. "Yeah… I should avoid people like that. I'm not here to start fights. I just want to live a quiet life now… and maybe, just maybe, find out the names of my old family."
Veda remained silent as she listened to his words, her presence steady in his mind.
Eventually, Millus's path brought him to a magnificent sight, a bridge made out of entirely intertwined tree roots, their twisted forms forming a sturdy yet intricate structure.
"Whoa…" Millus exclaimed, his voice was filled with wonder. "That's… effin epic." He squinted his eyes, he noticed some movements on the other side of the bridge. "Hmm… there seems to be people over there, holding spears and stuff."
As the figures came into focus, Millus's jaw dropped. "I-is that a… Lizardman?"
The humanoid reptilian creatures stood tall, their scaled bodies were glinting under the sunlight. They patrolled around the bridge and set up traps, then occasionally they hunted passing animals.
"I mean…" Millus trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think I dissected a few of them back then… or something like them. But they look completely different when they're alive."
"What's more strange," Veda said, her tone was borderline sarcastic, "is that it took you this long to fully grasp your situation. Have you not already met Kaela, a talking wolf? Witness magic? Used magic? And fought at the mountain?"
Millus softly scratched his head while grinning sheepishly. "...I mean, it all felt so natural after a while. I guess I didn't stop to think about it. And you know, most of my memories are gone… except for the faces of my old family and some acquaintances."
Then he turned his attention back to the bridge, he studied the Lizardmen carefully. "They look dangerous, and look, some of them are even up in the trees. So how am I supposed to get past them without being seen?"
"You have access to the memories and abilities of your vessel, Millus," Veda explained. "If you tap into them, you'll likely figure it out on your own."
Millus groaned. "You make it sound so easy… How do I even do that?"
"Would you like me to assist you?" Veda offered him her assistance.
"Huh. Sure, go ahead," Millus said while shrugging his shoulders.
"Then brace yourself. I'm unlocking most of your vessel's capabilities."
"Wait, what do you m-" Millus's words were cut off as an overwhelming surge of memories and sensations crashed into him instantly like a tidal wave.
'What is this?!' he thought, clutching his head as vivid recollections flooded his mind. Every battle, every strategy, every experience his character had faced after being played for 19 real-life years, was inverted into 36,000 in-game years that came rushing back to him.
The sheer weight of it nearly broke him as if his head was about to split open. Steam rose from his body as mana surged uncontrollably, the rocks glowed red because of the aura and mana, he crouched behind it until it began to crack. His crimson eyes flared with Aura a fiery, unholy glow as he instinctively suppressed the overwhelming energy.
"Hold on to yourself, Millus," Veda's voice echoed with urgency in his mind. "Do not let the instincts of your vessel consume you, remember who you are."
Millus gritted his teeth, his nails dugged into the ground as he wrestled with the primal urges threatening to take over him.
"Haa… haa…" He exhaled heavily, his breath uneven. Sweat dripped down his face as he forced himself to focus.
"Shit…" he muttered, slamming his fist into the ground which the earth beneath him cracked, but the act helped steady him. "What the hell was that? Warn me next time if you're planning on doing something!"
"That was the last of it, It was necessary for your survival," Veda said, her tone sounding resolute.
Millus leaned back against the heated rock, his crimson eyes calming down as he regained his control. "It's a good thing that I managed to hold it in. If that had escaped…" He paused for a while then said. "Kaela would've been suspicious of me again."
He sat in silence for a moment as he tried to catch his breath. 'So… it's still me,' he thought, 'but my mind… it blacked out for a moment.'
Veda broke the silence. "Your constitution is different from normal beings. You can sustain yourself without blood by substituting it with other food. However, you may occasionally experience a frenzy in search of blood. Your ability to control this will depend on your willpower."
Millus sighed, staring at his hands. "...So I'm really not human anymore, huh?"
A thin, durable aura of mana enveloped his body instinctively which shielded him from the heat of the cracked rock. He stood up slowly, brushing himself off of dust and grime.
"I can move precisely now… and I've got access to all my skills now," he murmured while looking towards the bridge. "Instead of crossing it, I could just jump over the gorge. What do you think?"
"Calculating… It is feasible, considering your enhanced physical strength," Veda replied.
Millus grinned. "So, I'm tougher than I thought."
"For context," Veda added, "your body is not invincible. It regenerates rapidly, but certain forces can still kill you. For instance, if the Eternal Dreadplate had not absorbed the brunt of your impact from the thermosphere, you would have died instantly."
"...Good to know," Millus muttered, his grin fading.
"The Dreadplate is currently repairing itself. Progress: 10 days, 2 hours, 36 minutes, 21 seconds," Veda replied in a very meticulous tone.
"...Alright, I'll keep that in mind. No risks without the armor," he said while he approached the gorge closer.
He crouched down as he was preparing for the leap. "Then, here goes nothing."
Millus stood at the edge of the forest gorge, focusing his energy and concentration he casted few of his skills. "Mana conceal, aura conceal, presence concealment, shadow shroud," he muttered under his breath, activating his stealth skills one by one. Then a faint ripple surrounded him as his presence vanished, blending into his surroundings.
He then crouched low to the ground, he tensed his muscles, and then leapt with a burst of aura-enhanced strength on his legs. His speed was a blur, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, as he zoomed across the gorge in an instant.
Padtok, who stood vigilant at the Living Bridge, remained focused on the animals crossing to hunt them for his tribe. The quietness of the forest was interrupted by the sudden flutter of birds taking flight from the far left edge of the gorge.
He turned sharply, his keen eyes scanning the treeline where the direction of the noise came. "...What was that?" he murmured, as he narrowed his gaze.
When Kalid approached him, he noticed the young warrior's reaction. "Young Tribe Heir, what are you looking at? Is there a problem?"
Padtok didn't look away in that direction. "I thought I saw something… or someone… that crossed the gorge," he said, his doubt creeping into his voice.
Kalid's eyes widened slightly before he chuckled and clapped Padtok on the shoulder. "Haha! Young Heir, you have quite the imagination I see!"
Padtok didn't share the laughter. "No, Head Hunter Kalid. I'm serious. I really think I saw something pass by."
Kalid's humor faded, his expression slowly turning serious. "...If that's true," he said in a low voice, "then it could only mean trouble. A warrior capable of crossing this gorge without using the bridge would be as strong as our Chieftain and the Bear wolf chieftain."
He turned his gaze to the gorge, a flicker of unease crossed his face.
"If someone like that is truly lurking here, then we'd be in danger if we crossed paths with them."
Kalid then lightened his tone, trying to lift Padtok's spirits.
"But it's probably nothing more than the spirits of the forest playing tricks on us. We've been hunting heavily in their forest, after all. What do you say we head back to the clan and celebrate the others. There's no need to linger here any longer."
Padtok hesitated, still scanning the distance, but he eventually gave in. "...Alright. Let's dismantle the traps and leavefor now then return to our tribe."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the gorge, Millus groaned as he lay sprawled on the forest floor, the leaves and twigs covered his body. Broken branches and crushed grass marked the path of his less than graceful crash landing.
"...I didn't think boosting my body with aura instead of mana would end up like this," he muttered as he spitted out a leaf.
'Mana is typically for magical applications, while aura strengthens the body for physical feats like powerful attacks. Mastering aura manipulation allows you to enhance external objects, like weapons, or focus it directly into your physical strikes,' Veda explained.
"Alright, alright, I get it. You don't have to yap every time madam," Millus said, brushing debris off of himself.
He stretched out his arms and rolled his shoulders before activating his mental map skill. A vivid outline of the forest appeared in his mind, highlighting the residual presences of Lina's mana. He focused on a familiar trail of energy.
"Got it. I found the girl's trail… and a few others with her too," he said. Turning in the direction of the traces, he started walking to the direction where they passed through.
As he moved forward, he glanced up at the towering trees around him. "I always wondered how people can climb trees this size…" he said while touching the giant ancient trees.
Now up close, the trees were truly massive, their trunks were impossibly wide and their canopies stretching so high they blocked most of the sunlight.
"These trees looked big from a distance when I was on the mountain, but this? This is just on another level," he muttered in awe.
He crouched below, bending his legs as he prepared to jump. Then with a powerful leap, he propelled himself halfway up the tree, then used the trunk to spring higher. Finally, he broke through the canopy, landing on one of the massive branches.
Millus's breath was caught as he took in the view.
"...Awesome," he whispered. From above, the sea of green stretched endlessly in all directions, the sunlight filtering through the occasional gap in the foliage. He closed his eyes and opened his arms to welcome the soft breeze that brushed against his face and ran through his hair.
'You can use mana to manipulate air and make yourself nearly weightless, allowing you to run across the treetops efficiently. Alternatively, you could use gravity magic under the domain of dark magic or void energy to float or fly,' Veda suggested.
Millus grinned. "Nah, I think I'll stick with running for now, this is such a rare experience, it's something I've been dreaming about in my old life, and now it turned into reality, I wouldn't miss this chance. And also, the air up here is so fresh!"
Then without any hesitation, he dashed across the treetops, leaping from branch to branch with childlike excitement, perhaps it was because of this young body that he became more excited, like returning to the younger days when everything was still colorful.
The leaves rustled beneath his feet as he moved gracefully, the thrill of freedom coursing through him.
"Now this… this is amazing! Hyahahaha!" he laughed, his voice full of joy echoed across the canopy.
End of chapter