Chapter 1 The Pursuit

The inflatable raft wasn't fast, and the sea conditions were poor, so Suren and Yuta ultimately failed to catch up with the slave ship.

After drifting for nearly two days, they finally reached the coast.

Instead of heading to Blizzard City, the two went directly over the mountains, planning to go to the heart of the Silent Forest, the Daru tribe's sacred lake, Lake Gaius.

The Silent Forest was vast, mostly mountains and virgin forest, with rugged terrain. Traveling from the coast to the sacred lake would take several days.

Suren's Spider Spear was excellent at traversing complex terrain, but its endurance was far inferior to Yuta, who had lived in the forest since childhood.

Running all day long, the silver wolf form was clearly more suitable.

Yuta didn't mind him riding, and Suren gladly accepted, happy to relax.

Riding on the soft wolf back wasn't too bumpy. Suren felt that since he was traveling anyway, he might as well read and carve some weird dolls.

Seeing that he wanted to read, Yuta leapt lightly, as if riding the wind.

After spending several days together, the two gradually became acquainted. During their chats, Suren learned that he was probably the first, and only, human who could ride a druid.

After all, druids had a high status in the Daru tribe; they were priests who communicated with the gods, and riding one was very impolite.

Unless the druid was willing.

...

The Silent Forest was an ancient virgin forest that had existed for countless years, filled with towering trees. Trees hundreds of meters tall and requiring dozens of people to encircle were everywhere. The branches and leaves formed a sea of trees, so dense in some places that sunlight couldn't penetrate. It was cold, damp, and full of hidden dangers.

Apart from the tracks of wild beasts, there were no paths in the forest. The strange magnetic fields could even cause compasses to malfunction.

If Suren had come alone, even if he hadn't gotten lost, he wouldn't have dared to travel so fast.

Here, all kinds of predators lurked.

Those with souls were easier to sense. But the most deadly were the soulless insects and plants.

Fortunately, Yuta was a competent guide.

As they traveled quickly, she introduced Suren to the strange creatures in the forest.

"That is a 'Mist Wraith'. It looks like a ghost, but it's a kind of forest spirit. It occasionally makes people lose their way, but it's not dangerous."

"That black tree with the red fruit is a 'Devil Tree'. It is actually a tree-shaped magical beast that emits a scent to lure prey. The red fruit is its disguise; its main body is hidden underground, and it's very dangerous. Even a second-tier forest giant bear can't escape its vine entanglements..."

"Those are 'Black Thorn Ants'. Don't underestimate them; they are poisonous and very vindictive. And their numbers are endless. If you accidentally step on a few, they will chase you for dozens of kilometers and devour you. They are one of the creatures in the forest you absolutely shouldn't provoke..."

"Those fallen leaves are where 'Titan Sensen' often lie in wait to ambush prey. Their skin has the same color as the fallen leaves, making them hard to spot. Once you get close to their attack range, they can swallow a wild bull in one gulp..."

"The Silent Forest is very, very large. To the north is the endless icy sea; further east are the very high 'Mount Ruge', where the elders of the tribe say there are dragons. I don't know about the mountain; I've never been there. Some brave people from the tribe have gone, but none have returned. Even we Daru only occupy a part of the forest..."

"..."

Suren also learned many Daru legends from Yuta, as well as about the forest's unique magical beasts, gaining a lot of strange knowledge.

Her words were filled with awe for nature.

This was also the Daru tribe's attitude toward the world. They didn't see themselves as the masters of the forest, but as a part of it.

...

Yuta was very fast, easily scaling cliffs and precipices.

After landing, they traveled quickly for a whole day, reaching deep into the Silent Forest by evening.

As the sun was setting, Yuta stopped traveling and found a clearing in the forest where sunlight could reach.

She said to Suren, "Let's camp here tonight. Unless it's an emergency, it's best not to move around in the forest at night. It will attract many nocturnal magical beasts. Fourth-tier, fifth-tier, and even sixth-tier magical beasts are not uncommon in the forest, and encountering them would be dangerous. But they usually have their own territories and don't wander around..."

"Okay," Suren replied, jumping off the wolf's back.

Yuta observed the surroundings, seemingly satisfied with the campsite. "This place gets sunlight, so it's dry, and there will be fewer insects."

As she spoke, the fur on her body quickly receded, and she returned to human form.

The evening sunlight penetrated the branches like golden ribbons. The light and shadow flowed over her body, radiating a golden glow. In this primitive forest, her unadorned, exquisite body was pleasing to the eye, wild, powerful, and pure, with graceful lines full of beauty.

Even Suren couldn't help but take another look.

In his eyes, she seemed like a brilliant, flawless piece of warm jade.

Yuta noticed the gaze, and the fox ears on her head twitched slightly, trying to cover herself a little.

But with this slight movement, the light flowed, as if the golden ribbons couldn't stay on her smooth skin, slipping from her spirited face, down her delicate collarbone and shoulders, and down her beautiful back, caressing her shapely buttocks...

She smiled slightly, revealing a pair of small fangs, and asked, "Mr. Suren, do humans think it's impolite to be naked?"

Suren averted his gaze, looked into her eyes, and replied with a smile, "It's quite nice."

Yuta's bright eyes darted around, and she didn't speak, but her slight smile seemed to indicate that she knew Suren was complimenting her.

She put on her clothes and said, "Mr. Suren, please wait here for a moment. I'll go get some food."

"Okay."

Suren was about to say that he had some dry rations, but before he could open his mouth, Yuta left him with a stunning back view and disappeared into the dense forest.

...

The Daru tribe was still in a primitive social state in terms of material life.

They mainly obtained food by hunting and gathering wild fruits in the forest.

Therefore, the various large and small tribes were scattered throughout the forest, each with its own hunting grounds.

In recent years, many tribesmen had been captured by human slave-hunting teams, causing the tribe's population to plummet. This gradually shrank their hunting grounds to the interior of the forest.

Soon, Suren knew why Yuta had chosen to camp now.

There was still some light in the sky, but the setting sun rose higher and higher, and in the blink of an eye, it could no longer penetrate the dense forest.

Suren felt the surrounding light suddenly dim.

This wasn't a human city, where lights would come on at night. There was no light source in the primeval forest, and it was completely dark.

The night wind howled through the forest, and the sound of some unknown animal stepping on broken branches could be heard, as if pairs of eyes were staring at him, an unexpected visitor, from the shadows.

Although Suren came from Old Lunden and was no stranger to darkness, he also felt a sense of crisis in this jungle.

Behind him were towering trees, and he was like an ant on the foot of a giant. In the face of nature, humans were truly small.

Suddenly, Suren felt some vague and ethereal insights in his heart, but he didn't know what they were.

He sat cross-legged on the ground and began to meditate.

Before long, he couldn't grasp that fleeting feeling.

Suren didn't feel any regret. He calmly found some dry branches and lit a bonfire.

The firelight dispelled the darkness, bringing a sense of security in this endless, pitch-black night.

He sat by the fire, took out the [Black Hole Doll] he hadn't finished during the day, and continued to carve.

His understanding of the laws of space had improved several levels, and there were many improvements that could be made to the weird dolls he had made before. Because he didn't have to ride on the wolf's back to travel, he could control the Eight-Armed Spider Spear to make it with all his might. The finished product was expected to have much higher performance than before, and it could easily devour even fourth-tier spells.

Suren quickly became immersed in the creation of the weird doll.

As he was working, he heard a rustling sound.

The footsteps were very light, and he knew that Yuta had returned.

Yuta walked over and dropped a wild boar weighing about two or three hundred pounds on the ground. "Mr. Suren, I was lucky today. I didn't have to go far to hunt a 'Mountain Wild Boar'..."

Suren glanced at the sturdy boar. "Wow, it looks like we're in for a treat tonight."

He felt like he should do something and said, "Do you need my help?"

Yuta shook her head. "No, I can handle it quickly."

As she spoke, she skillfully skinned the wild boar with a small knife and removed its internal organs.

When she was dealing with the pig's head, Yuta let out a soft cry: "Oh... there's also a magic crystal."

Suren glanced at the bloody yellow crystal core in her hand, feeling slightly curious.

It was the first time he had seen a magic crystal taken from a magical beast.

Then, Yuta crushed some blueberry-like berries she had picked from the forest and smeared them on the pork.

The bloody pork was skewered on wooden sticks and placed over the bonfire to smoke. She also threw some branches that would release a special fragrance when burned into the fire.

Soon, the aroma of the meat wafted through the air, and it turned golden and glistening.

Suren had thought that without spices, the roasted wild boar wouldn't taste too good.

But unexpectedly, the Daru tribe's secret recipe made the roasted meat very tempting, with a fruity sweetness.

The surface of the meat on the grill would cook first, so Yuta sliced off a few large pieces and placed them on a clean giant leaf.

She handed it to Suren. "Mr. Suren, please try the Daru tribe's cooking."

Returning to the forest, Yuta seemed free and happy, and her joy was written all over her face. There was always a faint smile on the corners of her mouth.

Suren used a knife and fork to put a piece in his mouth. With a bite, it was crispy and fragrant, and the rich aroma of the meat circulated between his lips and teeth, giving his taste buds great satisfaction. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Mmm, delicious!"

It was indeed the best barbecue he had ever eaten.

Yuta smiled happily when she heard him say that.

...

The wild boar on the grill was cut into pieces.

The druid lady was very enthusiastic to the warrior who had rescued her tribesmen.

Suren didn't have to do anything himself; Yuta always took good care of him.

The two were no longer strangers, and Suren didn't avoid Yuta. Even while eating, he was focused on working on his weird doll.

Yuta ate the grilled meat with curiosity. "Mr. Suren, I've noticed you've been carving this puppet. Is there something special about it?"

Suren explained, "I'm a puppeteer. This is my puppet."

Yuta's face showed confusion. "I can feel a very powerful force on these puppets. But how do they fight?"

The human alchemist system was very different from that of the Daru tribe.

Suren thought for a moment and explained, "I can control it with threads like a spider."

Yuta obviously wasn't completely ignorant of what alchemical armor was. "Is it an alchemical armor from human alchemy?"

"Yes."

Suren nodded and didn't explain further.

"Oh."

Yuta didn't know if she understood and continued to eat the grilled meat. While eating, she also refilled Suren's plate.

The Daru tribe didn't have so many complicated things.

Their growth process was also very simple: hunting, fighting, eating, sleeping, praying... and then they became stronger.

Speaking of alchemical armor, Suren thought of his main purpose for coming to the north and asked, "By the way, Elder Yuta, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"Mr. Suren, just call me Yuta. We're friends; you don't need to be so polite."

Yuta smiled kindly and said, "What is it?"

"Okay."

Suren nodded and said, "The question I asked you before. I want to know where there are 'Nightmare Spider' tribes in the forest. I need a third-tier or fourth-tier lord-level spider to make alchemical armor."

"I know of a few places in the forest where those spiders are. The hunters from our 'White Wolf Tribe' know one."

Yuta thought for a moment and replied, "However, mature 'Nightmare Spiders' are generally second-tier. It's rare to see third-tier ones. It's even harder for those spider tribes to have a lord monster. At least I haven't seen one. Maybe some caves or dungeons might have one hidden away."

Suren wasn't too surprised to hear this.

"Lord-level" monsters were indeed rare. But if the quality was too low, he felt that the materials wouldn't be suitable.

Yuta saw Suren's thoughts and said, "The forest is very large. It shouldn't be hard to find a lord spider. When we get to the sacred lake, I'll help you ask other tribes; they'll know."

After a pause, she said confidently, "If that doesn't work, I'll go with you to look for one."

Suren smiled and said, "Okay. Thanks in advance."

Having the Daru tribe's help would indeed save him a lot of time.

"By the way, Mr. Suren..."

At this time, Yuta thought of something else and asked, "Are you looking for the Nightmare Spider to make alchemical armor? I mean, is there anything else you could use instead? There are many, many magical beast species in the forest... if not that one, perhaps something else would work?"

Suren said, "Yes. I need a creature that is good at mental manipulation..."

There was naturally more than one material for making alchemical armor. The books he had obtained from his teacher, Sereia, introduced many alternative materials.

The "Nightmare Spider" was just the most easily obtainable target in the information he had.

Yuta: "Mental manipulation?"

"Yes."

Suren looked at her as if she had thought of something.

He thought that the Adventurers' Guild had always said that there were many species of creatures in the Silent Forest that had gone extinct elsewhere. He mentioned several that would satisfy the [Mental Tentacle] blueprint and said, "There's also 'Nightmare Octopus', 'Thousand-Eyed Centipede', 'Mind Flayer', 'Abyssal Evil Eye'..."

Hearing this string of names, Yuta suddenly caught a word and asked, "Mind Flayer? Is that the evil race with fleshy tentacle beards?"

Hearing her description, Suren asked curiously, "Have you seen one?"

Yuta's face showed a solemn expression. "I haven't seen one. But... I know that kind of thing exists in the forest."

She seemed to have recalled some unpleasant memories, and her face became very ugly.

Hearing this, Suren was really surprised.

There were actually [Mind Flayers], a "mythical species" of creature, in the Silent Forest?

These were evil creatures that existed in myths and legends, and had long been extinct.

He had even asked Mr. Mirror specifically, and even she had never heard of any still existing in the world.

Did they really exist?

None of the species that appeared in myths were simple!

If he could really use that kind of monster as alchemical armor material, it would definitely be a T0-level choice.

Suren couldn't help but feel excited.

But seeing that Yuta's expression wasn't good, he guessed that this might involve some secret of the Daru tribe, and hesitated whether to ask further.

At this time, Yuta took the initiative and said, "There is that kind of evil species in the 'Cursed Valley' in the far north. But that is the territory of the giant race, and it is also a 'forbidden area' that the elders of the tribe do not allow tribesmen to go to."

Suren: "The territory of the giant race? A forbidden area?"

After the battle at sea, the two had established enough trust. Yuta didn't hide anything and said slowly, "Yes. The reason for our Daru tribe's decline was actually the 'Battle of Cursed Valley' five hundred years ago..."

Suren's expression also became serious, realizing that he was really about to touch on some secrets of the Daru tribe.

A thousand years ago, the Daru tribe had many true Grand Druids of the seventh and eighth tier.

Now, the highest tier was only five. If the inheritance wasn't broken, then where did those higher tiers go?

Yuta continued, "Five hundred years ago, there was a major earthquake. A sinkhole appeared in the far north of the forest, and a prehistoric relic emerged, which is now the 'Cursed Valley'. The great God of Nature sent down a divine decree, saying that it was the 'Source of Calamity'. Our Daru tribe guarded that place, preventing the calamity from spreading. But unexpectedly, the appearance of the relic attracted a powerful giant from the deep sea who wanted to seize the things in the relic. It had huge wings, octopus tentacles, and could emit a terrifying hum that made people lose their minds... Then, the war broke out."

"We don't know what happened. All those who participated in that war died, and very little information was passed down... Our tribe won the victory. But all the Grand Druids died in battle, and the four sacred artifacts of the tribe were also lost. We lost the ability to communicate with the great God of Nature. The inheritance of our Daru tribe was cut off..."

"Later, after it became known that we had no supreme experts, the Lu Ying Empire tore up the alliance, and slave-hunting teams appeared in the forest, more and more... Without high-tier druids, we couldn't resist at all, and we have lost countless tribesmen over the years..."

"..."

Hearing this, Suren roughly understood the entire decline of the Daru tribe.

But listening to Yuta's description, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.

How did it feel like that "Source of Calamity" was a spatial channel leading to some dangerous plane?

That "Deep Sea Giant" could wipe out the Daru tribe's experts, so it felt like it was at least a ninth-tier existence.

It couldn't be ruled out that it was a fallen angel like the god-tier one in Old Lunden.

But the information was too vague, and a series of doubts flooded his mind.

Speaking of this, Yuta returned to the topic of [Mind Flayers] and said, "Our ancestors didn't let us go to the north, and we have always followed this ancestral teaching. But later, our Daru tribe encountered too many difficulties and almost went extinct. Thirty years ago, some tribesmen wanted to go and check, wanting to find the four sacred artifacts and the inheritance, and reconnect with the gods. But it was that time that they saw the 'Mind Flayer' monster, and the tribesmen suffered heavy casualties because of it. After that, Cursed Valley became a forbidden area for our tribe..."

...

After listening to the whole story, Suren fell into deep thought.

The matter involved quite a bit of trouble, with prehistoric relics, sacred artifacts, and wars...

But after thinking carefully, it didn't seem like an unsolvable problem.

Now the Daru tribe was weak, but they still existed, which meant that those [Mind Flayers] weren't outrageously strong.

Moreover, Mind Flayers themselves weren't very combative; their troublesome ability was just being able to control other creatures.

Judging from the Daru tribe's strongest current strength of the fifth tier, that Mind Flayers shouldn't be able to control sixth-tier creatures. In other words, the Mind Flayers thirty years ago were probably around the third or fourth tier? (Of course, a hidden Boss couldn't be ruled out)

Looking at it this way, this matter seemed like something he could consider.

Moreover, a prehistoric relic meant... a huge opportunity!