It lacked the majesty of the world I saw when I first awakened. The power from it, however, felt completely different. It was like the herb had opened up a new world in front of me. The creatures all around me were so familiar yet so foreign. The small harmless Tier 1 dogs that used to run around me were now far bigger and deadlier. Their fur had turned from soft and comfortable to a strong armor stretching all around their body. They looked like they were ready for a war.

That theme seemed to repeat for all my other creatures as well. They had turned into a warlike version of their previous selves. The appearance of the grove-tenders who quickly popped up when I appeared was also startling, they had changed very little in terms of appearance, but their technology seemed to have significantly advanced, a little town stretched out where their village once was. They came forward to me clad in great armors of bark and soft clothes woven with pant fibers where nakedness once reigned.

Their approach was as rapid as ever.

“Greetings, Master, much has changed since you were last here. All of the creatures in our dominion experienced rapid growth, we directed it as best we could, but still, some creatures became something beyond our expectations.”

Looking around for a good view, I could see what they meant. Each creature went up by at least half a tier in strength. Some far more so, there were only a few Tier 1 creatures left in my sanctuary.

“What about my Tier 4 summons, where are they? What are they?”

The grove-tenders looked amongst themselves for a second. They seemed hesitant to tell me about my new summons, which didn’t fill me with confidence.

“You see Master, all your Tier 4 summons were significantly affected by the change as well. Making even the weakest equal to a Tier 5 lesser beast, which is an excellent thing for your future. But in your current spar and without a good deal of cultivation, you will not have the strength to summon them for a while.

That did not sound good. The only chance I had of beating Unusu was to make use of Tier 4 summons, which I no longer had access to. This was going to be a nasty battle.

“The good news is, quite a few of your more powerful Tier 3 summons have become a Tier 4, so you still have access to a few of them. Not as strong as your pure Tier 4s, but more than capable of holding their own.”

I knew the strength of my old summons, even with the growth they would have experienced, I couldn’t make any tactics in my head that would be able to beat the old man with what I had available.

“Bring them here.”

A simple call from the grove-tenders sent the creatures into a frenzy; it wasn’t long before a small array of powerful creatures were lined up before me. Maybe I did have a chance after all.

Returning from my Inner world, only a few milliseconds had passed in the real world. I only barely managed to avoid Unusu’s follow up attacks. Everywhere I stepped, there seemed to be little hands reaching from the ground trying to trip me. Small golems soon came climbing out, following me around. The constant onslaught wasn’t bringing me anytime to respond.

After being hit one more time, I managed to find a second to evade the golems coming after me and summoned an elemental shield. My shielding talents didn’t let me down. The crimson shield that materialized was able to take quite a pounding from Unusu, who finally had a stable target to direct all his shots at.

It did give me enough time to start the summoning process for a group of Tier 2 Crazy snapping turtles to emerge from the ground. They began nipping at Unusu’s heels, their size belying their speed and attack power, their jaws were very lethal. They made quick work of the little golems he had summoned from the earth as well.

That allowed me to move and summon up a new shield. I wasn’t paying attention my footing, so I stepped onto a trap laid by Unusu, he had softened the ground to a great degree, with my foot slowly sinking into the ground I had to fight to stay calm.

A few turtles quickly came to my aid and pulled me free. I quickly brought up another shield, Unusu had managed to kill off quite a few of my summons, but a few were still harassing him and giving me the chance to summon a few more creatures. I focused on the many again, by summoning a Tier 2 group Sabre Wolfs and Dark Birds to harass him even more. Both quick summons, so quickly completed in the space between attacks, giving me even more time to plan.

I had gotten into a rhythm now. I was starting to feel more confident.

So began the summoning of one of the newly evolved Tier 4s. This would take longer, so I would have to be more careful.

I went through the motions of summoning. My creatures harassing Unusu, causing him to step back constantly, for the first time I had a little confidence, my summon was almost ready, with the performance of my creatures so far, I knew I had a chance.

A stabbing in my back brought my summon to a stop.

“It’s my victory.”

I twisted quickly, seeing the massive spikes of earth that were arrayed behind me, all ready to skewer me at any second. How did he manage to get those behind me? I hadn’t felt any magic in use; none of my senses told me anything about it.

“You are better than I expected outsider, one day, you might have a chance of joining the hordes as a true citizen.”

That was the furthest thing from my mind. I had no idea how he had managed that, but I felt like I had stumbled across a superior casting method.

It looks like I had a whole lot more to learn.