So I might be posting earlier starting from today. I still don’t know if I can post daily anymore, but I will try. I was happy to notice that another one of my novels had made it into the top 100 popular of the week! But like always, I need your help! If you notice anything wrong, be it the story, the characters, or the plot, let me know! Thank you and enjoy the read!

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The two Froglings had gotten away from the massive black viper, but before they left the poor girl had actually rushed over and held onto He Zhi.

“I’m sorry, it must have been hard on you.”

‘Thank you, Elder Brother.’

That was what everyone called He Zhi before he was named. It reminded him of Mr. Black. Maybe he could get some answers from him!

“Whoa, is she trying to eat you? I don’t squeeze anybody unless I plan on breaking their bones. It helps it go down. Why aren’t you stopping her?”

“To us, this kind of thing represents love. Though she doesn’t use all of her strength when she does it, so that helps.”

“Ooooh. So I don’t use all my strength! Hehe, I’m going to go squeeze Momma!”

“Okay, we’ll be back here.”

“Don’t worry, I will be able to sense you. Hurry back!”

The snake left, slithering along the murky swamp water.

“Let’s go.”

‘Yes.’

The two people sped off, barely making splashes in the water, almost as if they were cutting it instead. A couple hours later, they had come to the lake.

“Mr. Black, I have a question!”

He Zhi didn’t want to go searching for the old turtle right now, so he called him out instead.

“Hm? Wassup…oh! Another one.”

“Huh. That was weird.”

“What was it?”

“Nothing, I was just reminded of someone.”

“Okay, then. Let’s see…ooh, she’s a feisty one. But, she seems happy.”

That was because she never let go of He Zhi’s arm. He was starting to lose feeling in it.

“He Huan! The Happy River!”

‘Thank you very much, Elder Black.’

“Hurhur, no problem, young one.”

Just as Mr. Black was about to leave, He Zhi stopped him.

“Mr. Black, do you know about a big black snake in the swamp?”

He saw the large turtle shudder as if wincing from a great pain. Even though his face was clearly that of a turtle’s, he still appeared to be grimacing.

“I…used to know of a black snake.”

“Oh, then this one probably isn’t one that you know.”

“I’m sorry? How big was this snake, then?”

“Bigger than you are. By a lot. Like by three times.”

“Hurhur, I doubt it…oh, right. No, that would make sense, wouldn’t it? Alright, what do you know about it? Do you need protection?”

“No, nothing like that. She, I think she’s a she, can speak like I can, but has no knowledge of the outside world. I was wondering if it was a magic or if she had to be taught to do that.”

“Well, I learned how to speak, but yes, if you don’t know the language of this world, how can you speak it without hearing it once or twice?”

“Umm…this world?”

“Hm? What’s that?”

“I guess nothing. Well, we’re off. She wanted to furry animals, so we’re heading to the forest nearby to hunt for some.”

“Alright, if you happen to find your other friend, make sure to bring her here!”

“Will do!”

Long after Mr. Black made sure the two were out of range, he couldn’t help but throw a little tantrum.

“Dammit! I want to go check it out! What if it’s her?! Calm down, it couldn’t be. That was several hundreds of years ago, you twit.”

Mr. Black stared off into the distance towards the swamp, reminiscing of his past.

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“Alright, I guess boars will work. Besides, these are a really good source of wood energy.”

‘The wolves were really tough, like a stone. I feel energy from them.’

“And you beat them? Wow. Hmm…I guess they must have had earth energy or something.”

Thinking back on it, each tribe embodied a different kind of energy. Some were obvious, like the Wood Bears or Lava Lizards. The other tribes consisted of the Dusk Rats, the Lightning Tigers, and the Illuminating Hawks.

Ignoring the obvious energy of the Tiger Tribe, the Dusk Rats symbolized the night energy while the Hawk Tribe was the sun energy. Of course, that would leave the Poison Snake Tribe as earth!

But, what did that have to do with the creatures that could be found there? Did it have something to do with the environment? In the Misty Turtle area, there were many bodies of water. Here in the Wood Bear area, it was an immense forest. But having the swamp be earth…that was kind of pushing it.

Maybe it had something to do with the land being perfect for growing exotic and potentially dangerous medicinal or poisonous plants?

Maybe.

The two of them used the Magic Bag to cart the corpses, not taking up useless time. Just as they were about to head back, they heard a rustling sound.

It sounded big.

Not completely relying on his inherent animal instinct, He Zhi was too busy trying to trace the sound, not following movement or smell. He resorted to his old human ways. When he noticed He Huan staring straight ahead, he did too.

However, he saw nothing. Not until the very forest seemed to shift!

What he thought was a bush was really a massive green bear! So this was the Guardian of the forest! From behind it jumped a small little figure, rushing up to and tackling into He Zhi.

‘Elder Brother!’

“Oof, Ow. Hehe, I am glad to see you again.”

He turned to the bear that was already turning around.

“Thank you, Elder!”

There was only a grunt. When He Zhi looked back, even though the bear didn’t move very fast, it was already camouflaged among the trees.

On their way back, they stopped by Mr. Black again. Only this time, he was too busy being lost in thought. They decided to come back again later. That was until the old turtle gave a loud belch.

“’Scuse me. Oops. I see you have finally gathered everyone on the mountain! Well then, this one looks absolutely graceful!”

Indeed, this last Frogling girl was always moving. She seemed to want to hop all over the place, but since she didn’t want to leave He Zhi’s other arm, she swayed in place, almost as if she were dancing. She wasn’t the best at fighting, even though she knew how to. She was more gifted in the Strengthening of others or healing.

“Your new name is He Ya!”

“…”

“What?”

“I just…that doesn’t sound like a name, it sounds like a greeting!”

“Trust me, she is the Elegant River!”

“Uh huh…okay then. Well, we’ll be going back, now. See you again later!’

“Bye! Hey, let me know about the snake, will you?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Black.”

Even though he was losing the feeling in both of his arms, He Zhi wasn’t about to complain. He didn’t really think of them as family, but more like little children he had to take care of. The weird part was that they were actually older than he was.

The girls were scared or hurt, so when they found He Zhi, they wouldn’t let go! He wasn’t worried since these two would act professionally when an attack happened, although one never did.

The three of them made quick headway to the swamp. It wasn’t long. This made He Zhi feel that the mountain wasn’t really all that big, but he didn’t have anyone nearby to compare his speed to. The girls also followed him as best as they could, not willing to complain in his presence.

It would seem that He Zhi still had trouble understanding his peers.

However, they were quickly greeted by a familiar black viper.

“Hey! Did you bring me something to eat? It can’t be this one, is it?”

The snake gestured to He Ya with its tail.

“No, she is one of my friends. Here.”

Without standing on any sort of ceremony, He Zhi quickly dropped the contents of the bag onto the ground. Seeing so many ‘fuzzy’ things, the snake was instantly happy.

“Yay~!”

Instead of harassing the snake to show them its mother or explaining itself, He Zhi instead checked out the two girls’ improvements. He wasn’t willing to instigate a powerful Guardian, especially since he had nothing else to do.

He Huan was more into standing firm, which was weird with her choice of weaponry. Her two small daggers didn’t feel like they would leave those marks on the alpha wolf he had seen earlier.

However, she applied the wind energy to the water dagger, which was an amazing feat! Not only was it given shape by the water, it was sped up even more with the rotation. After that, it was increased even further in speed and sharpness with the wind. The small daggers became more like short swords, now!

He Ya was not one to fight, but she did use one of the hook spears from the cave. Instead of attacking enemies, she used it to ward them away, which was a smart idea. She made complex movements and dodged, using the spear as a slight barrier whenever He Huan struck.

The problem was He Huan couldn’t cut the spear! He Ya’s Strengthening was too good! What had happened? Of course, any strike that hit He Huan was negated by her now tough skin.

Wait, could it have been from their time in the other areas?

Or was it…the food! They had eaten something that directly gave them a thread of energy! The Riverweed, the heron meat, the wolves, and whatever He Ya snacked on! But…

How did He Zhi consume the energy directly from the stones without having to eat something beforehand? Was he special? What could it possibly be?

Just as his head started to hurt, the snake finished, wishing to lead the three to its mother.

Just what were they getting themselves into?

Just as they started to leave, a group of people approached the Cyrian Mountain.