CH.0006 - Mysterious Valley

Ezar, who was standing at the entrance of a rocky valley after about 4 rabas (40 minutes), had 14 different kinds of mystic plants in his waistband hanging on his shoulder.

He now understood what a world that had fully completed its mana transformation was like.

Although it was gratifying to encounter mystic plants, it was equally frustrating for Ezar. Because every mystic plant he saw reminded him of the time and effort he spent growing mystic plants while on earth.

Ezar was enraged when he thought that the mystic plants that he had to inject mana by standing by for years to grow; could be found by the people of Lumos after a short forest walk.

For this reason, while the mystic plants he encountered at the beginning of his journey created a feeling of surprise and joy in him, after a while the only emotion he felt was anger.

After a while, Ezar, who became numb to the situation, was now able to collect the mystic plant without feeling any emotion and continue on his way when he encountered a mystic plant.

And now, after nearly 7 rabas (70 minutes) had passed since entering this little forest through which he was traveling, Ezar was for the first time in a dilemma about moving forward.

After standing at the entrance of a rocky valley with his eyes closed for a while Ezar opened his eyes again.

"This valley... Something wrong about this place."

[When I check with my soul vision, I can't see a problem, but my instinct tells me there is something strange in this valley. Or rather, I feel like there is a danger associated with the fog in the valley.

But if it was poison, I would feel it with my soul power. Hmm... It seems like it will take at least two days if I try to get around it. I can't waste that much time.

The interior of the valley seems to divide into many small paths. If we take into account the fog that completely blocks the field of view, it's easy for a normal person to get lost inside.

But as long as I use my soul vision, these things are not a problem for me. If I run into something dangerous on the way, I'll think about it then.]

Having made his decision, Ezar entered the valley and quickly continued on his way. For a normal person, every crossroads he encountered led to a painful decision-making process, while for Ezar, these crossroads seemed to never exist.

Quickly choosing the shortest route that would get him across the valley, Ezar soon realized that something was wrong.

He was moving straight in his soul vision, but for some reason, his body felt as if it had turned to the right.

[Hmm... So that's it. The fog here affects people's minds, causing them to be confused about their direction and perception. Moreover, it takes time to take effect.

Someone with an underdeveloped soul power might have to look for a way out until they die, after going inside. It's a really scary place.

But if the only thing the fog causes is to affect perceptions, I've been worried for nothing.]

Ezar controlled his soul power, wrapping his body and creating a layer around him.

This was another way of using soul power; Soul Armor.

Although soul armor is ineffective against physical attacks, it is one of the most basic protection methods against attacks on human perceptions and souls.

Eliminating the danger posed by the mist with his soul armor, Ezar continued to advance faster than before as his worries disappeared.

Aiming to get out of the forest by crossing the valley as soon as possible he had accelerated with the ambition of halfway through.

But he suddenly stopped because of something he felt in his soul vision.

As Ezar turned towards the walls to the left of the valley, the expression of surprise on his face was quite evident.

What he encountered this time was not even comparable to the mystic herbs before.

Because this time, what Ezar felt was a mana barrier. A man-made protection and concealment barrier which prevents living things from entering and takes the same appearance as rocks so that it is difficult to spot.

Moreover, it was a barrier that Ezar could not even notice with his soul vision until he was within 70m.

[Could someone... live in this valley?]

This discovery he made was completely beyond Ezar's possibilities.

No matter how one looked at it, it was strange to even think that someone lived in this weird fog-filled valley, where the perceptions of those who stepped into it were distorted.

Only one possibility came to Ezar's mind to explain such a situation.

A mana user strong enough to use a mana barrier, in other words, a Master, had come to this valley for some reason.

His conclusion left Ezar in a dilemma. If he really did encounter a master, it would be impossible for him to protect himself with his current body.

If he encounters a malevolent master, from then on, his life would be in someone else's hands.

If this master was imprisoned in the valley because his soul power was not strong enough to withstand the perception attack of the valley, the situation would not be too bad.

Depending on the situation, he might accept Ezar and even Ezar could win the master's favor by helping him out of the valley.

In this world, where he had just arrived and where he was still very weak, the help of a master could undoubtedly be more valuable than a heap of gold the size of a mountain.

But if this master had reached high antra level, which allowed him to gain a level of soul power that could withstand the perceptiveness of the valley, and chose this desolate place to retreat from people, the result might not be good for Ezar.

He might well have killed Ezar for disturbing his seclusion or because he did not want the information about him to spread. After all, even the wave of a master's hand was enough to end Ezar's life.

In light of all this information, Ezar was faced with a dilemma.

He had never been this close to interacting with a human since arriving on Lumos, but that interaction could have cost him his life.

After a conflicting thought process, Ezar finally made up his mind.

[It wouldn't hurt to have a look. Moreover, the fact that the mana barrier is active does not mean that the master is definitely inside. Maybe he has already left the valley.

Other than the mystic plants I came across in the forest, the only things I own are the clothes I'm wearing. In other words, I'm totally broke right now and situations at home don't look very encouraging.

Who knows, maybe after this little expedition, I might come across a few things to improve my situation.]

You know what they say; Birds die in pursuit of food, people die in pursuit of wealth.

Although this phrase is meant to warn that greedy people will not end well, if you are a seeker and want to unravel the mystery of the secrets of the universe and improve your antra level, you have to take risks and move forward at many points in your life.

After all, if you want to speed up your antra development, you have no choice but to resort to external sources.

If you want to improve your antra without benefiting from mystic plants, mystic items, alchemy pills, antra texts, and many similar resources, no matter how talented and genius you are, no matter how hard you try, you cannot avoid falling behind others.

And if you don't have a family rich enough to provide these external development resources for you, then you have to take risks and pursue these resources yourself, and sometimes even fight for them.

Being a seeker, peeking into the secrets of the universe, and gaining incredible powers sounds good, but an unchanging rule no matter what world you are in, applies in this world as well; If you get something, there is definitely a price you pay for it.

So even though the situation he faced seemed dangerous, Ezar chose to take the risk and move forward.

Because on that day when he chose to become the earth's protector, he was aware that he had said goodbye to the life of a normal person by entering the antra world.

And the antra world was definitely not a world for cowards.

[Moreover, only one end awaits in this antra world, those who are powerless because they are cowardly and do not dare to take risks in the face of opportunities; death. A death filled with regret in his eyes.]

Not wanting to miss this opportunity and join the powerless class, Ezar slowly approached the rock-looking mana barrier.

When he came in front of the barrier, his eyes told him that he was looking at the rocky wall of a valley, while his soul vision said that he was standing in front of a cave entrance that was about 3m high and 2m wide, covered with a mana barrier.

[Breaking a mana barrier without using mana energy would normally be difficult, but... Not for me.

Ezar, who set his soul power to examine the barrier soon found what he was looking for.

[No mana barrier is perfect. Especially such barriers that have been active for a long time and have not been maintained. Finding its weak spot is child's play if you know where to look...]

Ezar discovered the core part of the barrier, which provides the continuity of the mana barrier and can also be called the power distribution point.

He started to apply pressure with the compressed soul power to the core of the barrier.

Although it is not possible to interfere with physical phenomena with the soul power, it can be used to create a short-term interruption by creating fluctuations in the mana, which is a type of energy like itself. Of course, only by those who have enough knowledge and soul power...

--- Crack... crack crack... crack crack crack... smash.