“This is the best you found?”

Zeke sat at the back of the van, moving around due to how uncomfortable the cramped the place was. There were only two seats and the back was meant for anything other than people. Basically, it was a vehicle meant for delivery and not ‘traveling’.

Unlike Zeke, Arbert was sitting motionlessly, unbothered by the bumpy road. It hasn’t been long since he was ‘born’, yet the boy had grown drastically. He looked no different than a 12-year-old, with relatively long blood-colored hair, pale white skin, a pair of sharp eyes, and a slim body.

He was talking more and more, but most of his conversations were with Sulong. He would sometimes mock Jack or spout nonsensical stuff. Strangely enough, he seemed inexplicably wary of Zeke, barely meeting his gaze or acknowledging his presence.

After winning against Azmer, Zeke wasted no time and departed from the Sunken Metropolis along with his new companions. Admittedly, they weren’t the best, nor the strongest, but he felt at peace.

He put the troubles that happened in Erys in the back of his mind and focused on more pressing matters, such as the recent sighting of the Ascetic Blasphmeres.

“Say, are we really going there?”

Sulong asked the same question for the 5th time, to which Zeke sighed and nodded.

“Shit! We need to cross either the Whitefrost Planes or the Living Frost. I-I’m telling you, I ain’t fighting no monsters. I’m content with driving, ya?”

Despite his reluctance and fearful attitude, Jack never objected to their unexpected and dangerous journey. He was determined to remain with Sulong and didn’t seem particularly annoyed, even though he liked to complain day and night.

“I say the Living Forest is more suitable. The Whitefrost Planes are like a joint territory and it would be a pain to pass through it with the van. What do you say, Zeke?”

In response, the youth shrugged, “You decide. I’m not that knowledgeable about geography. We will, however, avoid any big settlements.”

“Roger.”

Although curious, Sulong refrained from asking Zeke why exactly he wanted to go after the Ascetic Blasphmeres. They were amongst the most dangerous of the secret organizations and though their public appearances were far and few between, each and everyone made the three nations of the Aether Planet on high alert, fearing that their cities might be targeted.

Sulong took a chocolate bar and passed it to Arbert while smiling,

“Here, take it.”

The boy hesitated for a second before accepting the chocolate then gobbling it up in seconds. When he was done, a faint smile appeared on his face.

“Thank you, papa.”

…

The group of four traveled non-stop, taking dirt roads instead of highways and avoiding the authorities and cities. They would stop to sleep or wait for Zeke to finish his Daily Tasks, but apart from that, the poor van was driven non-stop.

By the 5th day, after a drive of, at least, 80 hours, they left the border of the Nezulian Republic and were soon welcomed by the Living Forest, one of the dangerous zones.

Unlike the dozens of well-fortified and guarded sectors of the Nezulian Republic, the Living Forest was an unclaimed region, infested with beasts and monsters.

In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising to stumble upon rogue Proto-Demons in this gigantic swampy forest.

Whether it was the seemingly harmless plants or the ancient trees, anything could suddenly spring to live and kill you in an instant.

Only veteran explorers would venture into the Living Forest, in search of mysteries and wonder. In fact, most, if not all, merchants and travelers, prefer the Whitefrost Planes as they were relatively less dangerous and had a couple of outposts for resting and trading.

“Well… here we are.”

The group disembarked from the dusty and dirty van and gazed at the unseen ‘line’ separating the valleys from a lush and gloomy forest.

Each tree was different from the other, some even reaching 10 to 20 meters in height. The bushes were at knee-length and, ironically, the air was stiff and suffocating despite the abundance of flora.

“Fortunately, the ground is a bit flat and the gaps between the trees are enough for the van to pass through.”

Jack looked at his friend, who was in a good mood and cursed under his breath.

“You do know that this forest was meant to be crossed on foot, yes? That way, we can be ready for any attack. I don’t want a vine to pierce through the window and strangle me. I want to die hugging a woman, at least.”

“We’ll be fine, hahahah!”

Normally, Sulong would have the same reaction as Jack. However, with his newfound powers, he wanted to face powerful beasts and strengthen himself. After all, there was no better way than life and death battles.

“We’re not here to sightsee. We’ll try to pass through as fast as possible.”

Right after Zeke spoke, Arbert crouched down and touched the ground, a frown surfacing on his usually expressionless face.

“This place. Dangerous.”

“L-look! The youngest of you is the most concerned. Ah! What did I do to deserve this!”

“Stop whining and let’s go!” Sulong smacked Jack’s head and pushed him into the driver’s seat.

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Before long, the van’s engine roared as it drilled into the dirt and sped into the Living Forest.

Within minutes, however, the supposedly flat ground turned rocky and the vehicle was rocking up and down, barely holding into dear life.

Zeke grunted as he held into something and bore through the bumpy ride.

For a while, they traveled within the Living Forest, using the somewhat empty space to cross the area while keeping their guards up.

Eventually, however, the expected happened and the van got stuck into a large puddle of mud and grass.

“See? What did I tell you?”

Jack hugged the steering wheel while Sulong and Zeke got off and tried to lift the back of the van, attempting to push it using brute strength. Thanks to their superhuman strength, the task was done with ease, but they didn’t resume their journey immediately.

They heard low and chilling growls as something crept from the puddle.

At first, a faceless head burst forth, followed by the rest of its body. It had a disproportionate humanoid body; Long arms and legs and a circular hole in its chest.

All of its body was made from sticky mud, and a frightening screech came out of its non-existent mouth.

Zeke was the first to act, raising his right hand and shooting lightning bolts. The voltage made half of the monster’s chest disappear, but it quickly reconstructed itself and leaped at him. It was then that Sulong intercepted as he extended his muscular arm and punched its face while using his flames.

The crimson fire spread to the rest of its body and burned it into nothingness almost instantly.

Satisfied with this result, the smug Sulong turned to Zeke and grimaced in triumph.

“Fire works better than electricity. No need to gloat like that, this is not a competition.”

The bald man flexed his muscles while retorting, “I haven’t said a word. Young Zeke is jelly?”

“...”

The youth rolled his eyes and snatched the passenger seat from Sulong, locking the door and signaling for him to get in.

…

Alas, the van getting stuck into a muddy puddle was but the first of the chain of misfortune that would later follow.

The second unforeseen complication was a tree with tiny arms and dozens of trembling branches which stomped the ground and almost caused the vehicle to flip over.

It unknowingly touched the blue lightning orb conjured by Zeke, thus raining numerous lightning bolts on itself.

Next was the inexperienced Sulong, who clutched a ball made of flames and, just like volleyball, throw it at the monstrous tree.

The force behind his throw, along with the flames, made the tree fall to the back and then get assaulted by a spear of lightning that pierced its tree trunk.

The third hurdle was the biggest as the van came to a sudden halt in front of a massive and ominous swamp.

[Regional Mission initiated: Slay 10 Blight Toads]

[Regional Mission initiated: Slay 50 Treants]

Before they could find a solution, a System notification popped in front of Zeke. It was another type of mission, which made him slightly surprised and confused.

Seldom did the System offer missions, whether they were ‘Special’ or ‘Urgent’, so the appearance of a different one now did entice him a bit.

Considering how vast the Living Forest was, even if they were to bee-line through it, it was unlikely to cross it within a day or two. So, as Zeke thought of it, he saw no reason to not complete the sudden ‘assignment’.

He would be rewarded with the much-needed PE, as well as stats and EXP, which would strengthen him.

“U-um… Zeke?”

Sulong stood there, stupefied as he dumbly gazed to the front. He pointed at the air with a perplexed voice,

“I assume this is your doing too?”

“Oh? You can see it?”

Sulong moved his head left and right while grumbling, “It’s following my field of vision. Why wouldn’t I see it?”

‘It is because he became the Seat of Criminality? Strange. When I received the other mission, this didn’t happen. Is this happening because it’s a task I can’t complete alone? Or is there another factor I’m unaware of?’

“It’s like… emm… a mission of some sort. We’ll try to complete it along the way.”

Sulong didn’t seem particularly bothered or surprised by the System. After he heard Zeke’s confirmation, he sighed in relief and paid it no heed until it vanished.

“Woah… this swamp is really big. I don’t see a way around it.”

The dirty swamp was outrageously big, spanning hundreds of meters, if not entire kilometers. Whether it was on the left or right side, there wasn’t a crossable path, at least not one through which the van would pass through.

While Arbert was enjoying a chocolate bar, the three surveyed their vicinity while contemplating this conundrum.

“We could abandon the van, but that would significantly slow down our pace. When we leave the Living Forest, we would need to walk. We must also think of when we return to the Sunken Metropolis.”

“...”

Zeke looked at the swamp as he pondered for a long while. Sulong’s points were valid, which meant that continuing on foot was a foolish idea.

‘Should we go back? No. After what I did to Olivia, no doubt there are people after me. They must already know I left the Nezulian Republic and they’ll first look for me in the Whitefront Planes. This is safer… but how to cross the swamp?’

Zeke pinged his temples and paced around the van, sometimes looking at the dim and gloomy forest dominated by abnormally large trees, and sometimes peeking at the swamp and trying to see how deep it was.

Sulong tentatively stepped into the murky water and slowly advanced.

“Hey look!”

He soon found out that it was particularly deep. Even after marching 20 or so meters, the water barely reached his waist.

“The van might be able to pass through.”

“Only if there aren’t monsters hiding here, which there are!” Shouted back Jack while peeking his head from the van and then tucking it back when he heard a rustle nearby.

A bolt of lightning shot from Zeke’s hand, striking a nearby big bush, but it was stopped by a glowing cubic barrier.

Seconds later, two individuals appeared; One was a scholarly man wearing a dark green outfit and holding a relatively large scroll under his armpit. As for the second, it was a tall man that looked scarier than Sulong.

He wore what could only be described as a special crafter armor, possibly a magical artifact. It was made from silver and steel, colored white and dark brown, and had an unfamiliar crest in the middle of the chest.

‘They are from the Serey Zhan Empire!’

That was Zeke’s first thought once he had laid eyes on the armor. Unlike the Nezulian Republic, the Serey Zhan Empire didn’t rely that much on technology, opting for advancement through magic, or more specifically, Aether-based products.

Still, as a nation oriented more towards ‘Traditionality’, the Serey Zhan Empire was not inferior to its counterparts and had numerous world-renowned powerhouses.

The scholarly man, unlike his companion, had an amicable face and a long mustache. He smiled at the cautious Zeke and said,

“Hail, travelers! Pardon our abrupt arrival.”

Then he politely bowed and introduced himself, “Scholar Venzo Fekhyr. This is my friend and protector, Silver Knight Bran.”

The stoic Bran performed a salute but he kept his guard up, his hand resting on the sheathed sword.

Due to the dangers lurking in the Living Forest, Zeke didn’t expect to meet anyone, especially not this soon. Whether they bore good intentions or not, his mistrust was clear on his face as he kept his hand raised.

“Please do not be alarmed. There is no need for a fight or anything. We saw your… vehicle, and came over.”

Scholar Venzo pointed at the van while chuckling. Barely a second later, Arbet disembarked and stared at the new arrivals for a moment before walking to Sulong, seemingly disinterested.