Chapter 63

New Hope had a population of around 75,000 by the late afternoon. As soon as the lockdown lifted, over 50,000 ventured into the forest in small parties ranging from 5 to 30 people.

What followed was a complete massacre.

Even though the monsters around New Hope were between levels 500-550, the 50,000 soldiers and adventurers belonged to the top echelon of the Innate Nation. They were the cream of the crop, all top-tier experts with decades of combat experience, so fighting monsters some 50 levels above them made no difference.

For a time, the sounds of beasts howling and metal clashing rang throughout the forest.

Whenever newcomers came across another party in battle, they held no thoughts of causing trouble and moved on. There wasn’t a single instance of kill-stealing or robbing natural treasures. The adventurer teams vetted by the military all had integrity and a sense of loyalty to their country. They knew what was at stake and were grateful for the chance to enter the Grandsky Realm early.

The chaos gradually died down as everyone spread out.

Even if they couldn’t enter the south, there was more than enough room for fifty million people to hunt, much less 50,000. Serenity Canyon was as large as the Innate Dimension, and it would take a level 500 individual a whole day to cross from one side to the other if they sprinted at full speed with no obstacles in the way.

Besides monsters, Serenity Canyon held many natural treasures. Herbs, hidden chests, ore veins, special trees, gems, and other secrets were just waiting to be discovered. Adventurer teams and military squads specialized in finding such treasures had a field day exploring Serenity Canyon’s uncharted territory.

One of them was a middle-aged elf with flowers weaved into her hair. Her glowing eyes darted left and right as she dashed through the forest floor with surprising agility. Eventually, her ocular skill spotted motes of light coming from some tangled vines in front. Landing nearby, she looked around for any signs of danger before approaching the oddity. As the elf neared, a dark wooden chest with glowing lines revealed itself under the scrutiny of her eye-based skill.

“Jackpot!” She exclaimed with joy. After ensuring there were no traps, she cut apart the vines holding the treasure chest and caught it as it fell. Placing it at her feet, she opened the chest immediately, finding a pair of Ancient-grade earrings and some gems. Pocketing the loot, she went off in search of more treasure to find.

At the same time, a group of four dwarven brothers stood before a fifty-foot-long crack running across the ground. The sound of a rodent chattering came from below, and soon enough, a tiny rat jumped out, carrying a clump of dirt in a satchel hung around its neck. One of the dwarves bent over and picked the little guy up before pouring the contents of the satchel into his mouth. With a disgusted expression, he swallowed the pile of dirt in one gulp to activate his innate ability.

“How’s it?” His brothers asked while keeping a vigilant watch on the surroundings.

The face of the dwarf who swallowed the dirt lit up. “There’s something called Mana Imbued Iron down there.”

The four brothers promptly pulled out pickaxes and shovels from their inventory and looked at each other with a knowing glance.

****

After leaving New Hope, Keith was about to ask where Uncle Doven was when his mother suddenly summoned him with a wave of her hand. It took Keith a moment to realize who it was since Uncle Doven appeared in his true form, a fierce-looking suit of black armor. A moment later, Mariane merged into Uncle Doven, giving Keith strange thoughts. He still had trouble accepting the fact Uncle Doven was an existence similar to a pet.

Pushing the thought aside, Keith looked over at his aunt, hidden behind a black cloak, and asked, “Did you ever hit level 500?”

Serilla sighed, “I did, though it seems I used a bunch of effort for nothing.”

Keith realized what she meant. She worked for three years to push through the last few levels when she could’ve waited until the Grandsky Realm opened and gained the same experience in a week.

“I’m already over it,” Serilla shrugged.

The three had been walking in a triangle formation with Mariane in the front when she suddenly stopped and said, “Focus up, monster ahead. Plant-type, level 550. Keith, stay back and watch how your aunt and I fight.”

“Okay,” Keith replied as Serilla vanished in a cloud of smoke. Up ahead was a Blood-sucking Venus Plant. It had a clam-shaped head with sharp barbs lining its roots. Previously motionless, it sprung into action when Mariane approached, sending five roots her way.

In the back, Keith wondered what weapon his mother would use to fight when bandages slipped through the cracks of Mariane’s armor and hovered around her. Recognizing it as the bandages his mother always wore under her clothes, Keith watched as intricate engravings inscribed on the cloth lit up, turning it blue.

As if it had a mind of its own, a few bandages snapped forward and wrapped around the roots before they could reach Mariane. Held in place, Mariane wrapped her right arm around the active bandages and tugged, forcibly ripping the Blood-sucking Venus Plant out of the ground.

“Heave-ho!” She yelled as she swung it around, causing it to collide with one tree after the next, before slamming it into the ground with a loud thud. The plant monster recovered quickly and spat out a glob of poison from its mouth. The attack reached Mariane instantly, but one of her bandage appendages smacked against the ground and sent her out of harm’s way. The glob of poison collided with a nearby tree trunk and melted through it in seconds.

“You missed!” Mariane taunted as she traveled around like a spider, her bandage appendages giving her an incredible traversal ability.

The plant monster let out a chilling screech before mimicking Mariane’s movement style with its roots and barreling towards her. Mariane wasn’t afraid of confrontation, so she closed in. Before they collided, shadowy tendrils rose from the ground and wrapped around the plant monster, holding it in place.

“Taste my punch!” Mariane roared as she drove her fist into the plant monster’s neck. It let out a shrill cry as it flew back, but not before Mariane’s bandages pulled it back for another beating. One boom after another rang out as the Blood-sucking Venus Plant’s health plummeted under Mariane’s barrage. When it was half-dead, the shadow tendrils sealing it suddenly ripped it to pieces.

“Haha, nice kill!” Mariane cackled with her hands on her hips as she stood over her vanquished foe.

Meanwhile, Keith was speechless after witnessing his mother’s fighting style. Why did it seem to match her personality so well?