The world came screeching back to me as I opened my eyes. My danger sense was a dull constant ache, which only made me more nervous. I scanned the area around me and started piecing things together. First, I was definitely in the demiplane. The lush Amazonian forest made that super clear. Second, the vision from earlier was a vision and wasn't real. I couldn't sense either of the two god-like beings' power. I said a silent prayer for that. I couldn't be sure, but my gut told me they were a lot higher than level 50, let alone my level. None of that helped me right now, though. I turned and tried to find the way out of there, but either it had sealed itself or I had fallen further than I expected. I was just about to pick a direction and start walking when a familiar prompt appeared. I should have known that you would handle this problem for me.

Primal Battlefield: Reach the Center of the Primal Battlefield Reward: Based on Performance

I waited for any marker that told me where the fuck the center of this place was, but of course; the System didn't provide that. I sighed and tested my spiritual energy. I spread it through my body for a few moments before I released my tao field. It wasn't a shield, not exactly, but it did make me feel better. I scanned the sky above in hopes of finding the north star or any star for that matter, but there was nothing. It was like the bright blue sky was just empty. I filed that away as another thing to worry about later. I picked a direction and started walking. While I did, I passed my inner eye over the rest of my body. Whatever the vision showed me didn't hurt me. "So, was it a vision of the past? Or a hallucination because of the energy?"

Part of me wanted to take a seat and enjoy the energy purity. If Earth was like breathing fresh air, then this was like breathing ambrosia. The trees and grass almost felt like batteries. I stopped walking after an hour and decided to do a test. I sent a surge of spiritual energy into my fist and slammed into the trunk of the nearest tree. Instead of it exploding or my fist going straight through it, it was like I had hit a solid stone wall. My pain shot through my wrist. I groaned and shook my wrist. When I confirmed it wasn't broken, I stared at the three in disbelief. "There isn't even a mark on you. What the fuck kind of wood is this?" I tested a few more trees, this time limiting my forces, but the result was the same. I couldn't harm the trees, no matter how hard I tried.

Before I could decide what to do next, my danger sense came alive. I leaped backward while condensing my tao field to within a few inches of my body. Before I could do anything more, a man in black robes appeared, a curved sword already going for my throat. I pushed spiritual energy into the sigil for Psychic Aegis as the swords carved straight through my tao field. The tip of the blade felt like the end of everything. I pushed myself back and let my legs collapse underneath me. The blade narrowly missed my chin as I contorted myself. I was immediately forced to roll as the warrior pivoted and slammed a foot into the dirt. His foot slammed straight through the dirt and stone beneath us. He spun and brought his blade down just as the barrier of Psychic Aegis appeared. The blade slammed into it like a gong. Cracks spread across its surface and my blood ran cold as I tried to process what the hell was going on.

Why was there someone so strong here? How did it find me? "Who are you?" I asked, but either the warrior couldn't understand or they didn't care about my words. It drew its sword back and its edge glowed white. The blade took on an ethereal sharpness, a sharpness that felt like it would split the world in half. Every instinct told me that not even my soul would survive if that hit me. The warrior disappeared in the next moment and my danger sense screamed at me to move. My body dived to the right before my mind had caught up to the moment. The warrior had reappeared and had slashed right where my head had been. Only the devastation was completely different from his earlier attack. His attack had cleanly split the trees behind me. Every tree within about 30 yards, the trees that had seemed indestructible a moment ago, were like tinder to this thing.

Panic began to rise inside me as I debated if I should run. The chances of getting out were near zero and I couldn't be sure there weren't reinforcements coming. I searched the warrior's helmet for its eyes. Anything that would tell me there was even a shred of mercy. There was nothing. I gritted my teeth as the warrior's blade began to glow again. I took a deep breath and reached inside myself for that part that enjoyed the battle. The sensation practically jumped me when the warrior moved. Instead of dodging, I pushed forward and into a duck. The blade passed so close to my head that I could see myself in the metal. I slammed a right hook into the helmet with every last ounce of strength my one hundred and nine points could do. The impact echoed as if I had hit a drum and it meant nothing. The warrior didn't even hesitate as it slammed a knee into my stomach. Before I could react to the first hit, it spun and slammed its gauntleted fist into the side of my head.

I was thrown ten feet away and into a tree with so much force, that I thought my spine would snap. I got back to my feet as spiritual energy surged out of my dantian. I spit out blood and a tooth as the warrior prepared another attack. Fear and worry were pushed to the back of my mind as I found a serene peace at putting my life on the line against another monster. The warrior disappeared, my danger sense warned, and I laughed. I gave up on matching the warrior with power, instead I worked to create time. The warrior narrowly missed a slash that would have removed my right arm just as an indigo sun was born. I shattered Psionic Rain and unleashed a torrent of mental attacks in the next second I retreated. The warrior seemingly ignored the attack and rushed straight for me. On instinct, I leaped into the tree canopy above as he swung for my knees. Psychic blades of all sizes were summoned and destroyed as I unleashed everything I could at the warrior. The mists of Realm of Consciousness poured out of me as the tree I stood in was split in two.

It felt like lightning had been injected into my veins with every move. Every near-death moment pushed me forward. Words were abandoned as I conjured and discarded attack after attack. I wasn't sure how long the back and forth went before something finally gave. The warrior disappeared once again, and I moved to dodge, only this time I felt that gentle caress in the back of my mind. For a split second, time seemed to stop as I was presented with two options. Run or attack. I barely had the time to process what I was doing when I channeled Psychic Blast and imbued it with the strand of adamance. The warrior reappeared just as the indigo beam tore free from my hands. The world seemed to stop as the warrior dropped the blade in its hands.

I waited another moment to see if it would start moving again or if I would get a surge of kill energy. When neither happened, I slowly backed away. My danger sense had returned to a dull low ache, and the forest was deathly silent. I waited ten more seconds before I decided to do something. I slowly walked toward the warrior until I stood before its blade. I knelt, half expecting the thing to continue the battle, but nothing happened. "Is there no kill energy in this world?" I asked out loud, half hoping the System would see fit to provide an answer. Of course, it did not. I collected the sword and then pushed the warrior. When it slammed into the ground instead of attacking me, I figured that was all the proof I was gonna get. I removed its helmet and blinked in confusion. It wasn't a person. Or rather, it was a corpse? The body inside was cold, but still filled with spiritual energy. The eyes were glassy and the whole thing made me think it was a doll. I stabbed it with its blade and found there was blood. I stared at it for another moment before shrugging.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I wasn't sure if stealing from a dead person was evil or not, but it probably wouldn't be any more even than all the other things I had done until now. I undressed the body and placed its robe, armor, and helmet into the bag. When I saw a ring on its finger, I froze. Not because of the ring itself, but because I recognized the sigil on it. The sigil was much smaller and felt older somehow, as if the one I knew was a modern interpretation of this one. I pulled the bag off my shoulder just to be sure. The ring was a storage item. I grinned as I gently removed it. I used the sword to draw a bit of blood and dripped it onto the ring. Once it belonged to me, its inner world exploded into focus. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw what was in it. A cultivation manual, at least a hundred spirit stones, and some pills. I recognized some of them as healing but the majority were completely foreign.

I slipped the ring on and was just about to transfer everything from the bag when I felt something spread across the entire forest. It was like someone had spread their inner eye over the entire world. I wasn't sure how I knew it but the sense locked in on my soul and utter dread filled me. Killing intent that was only second to the two gods from the vision bathed the forest. I was running before my brain had processed what was happening. There was no way for me to fight, whatever that was. I had to get away. I had to run. Panic shot through me and it felt the spectral hand of death reached for my neck when I triggered Apportation.

The portal felt like a stay of execution. I stumbled through just as the killing intent intensified. I caught sight of another puppet warrior flying above the forest a second later. This one's armor was dark blue and green and it wielded glaive with a wicked-looking curved blade. It stared at me as the portal closed. I took a deep breath and drew my aura and killing intent as deep into myself as I could manage. I wasn't sure if it still had a lock on my soul or if it would have to search for me again. Part of me wished the portal wouldn't open again or that I could find myself stepping back into the cave system. I knew that wasn't going to happen. The portal reopened, and I stepped through. I felt the strange sensation pass over the battlefield, only this time nothing locked on me. I stood completely still as if the eye in the sky worked based on motion. After what felt like an eternity, the sensation passed and I could breathe again. I dropped to my knees and wiped the sweat off my brow.

"What the fuck was that?" I waited a moment for my heart to stop trying to force its way out of my chest before I considered what the fuck I should do now. I had no way of knowing if that thing was searching the middle of this realm or if there would be more of them. I also had no way to find the entrance. Even if I opened a portal to the spot I left, it wouldn't guarantee I would find the spot I used to get here. Hell, for all I knew, the thin spot was a one-and-done thing. The only chance at survival I had was to reach the center. I couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle at the absurdity of the situation.

I somehow managed to stumble into some insane Demi-plane housed with multiple monsters that could kill me. On top of that, I didn't get any spiritual energy for killing them. If it wasn't so insane, I could laugh about it. Still, none of that would help me now. If I wanted to survive, I needed to reach the center and complete the quest. My energy reserves were limited and most of my spells were on cool down so I decided to take a break. I sat under a tree that was slightly larger than the rest and started cultivating. I held two spirit stones in my hands to speed up the process. The extra help wasn't necessary. The energy in this place was already as pure as what the crystal held. A new idea sprouted in the back of my mind as I cultivated. Wasn't this place just what I needed? A literal cultivation holy land? If I stayed here for a few days, I could gain a level. Even if I didn't fight anything. Of course, the murderous zombies would make the whole thing incredibly dangerous.

But what if I could claim it? What if I could make it so the puppets worked for me? Or at least wouldn't just kill everyone that entered? I tried to ignore the idea and remind myself that I was just barely surviving in here, but it didn't work. By the time I was back in fighting shape, the greed had won out. I got to my feet and rolled both shoulders. I wasn't sure how long it would take, how long I would be the prey in this world, but it wouldn't last. I would claim it all. I activated Apportation and stepped through the portal.

I stepped out of the portal and found myself in the middle of a crater. The corpse of the warrior I fought was gone. I wasn't sure if the stronger puppet had destroyed it or if it had taken the body away. Nor did I care. I couldn't sense anything and my danger sense didn't warn me so I figured I was safe. I pulled out the armor and put my makeshift plan into motion. I pulled the corpse's robes on over my own along with the rest of the armor. Strangely enough, the robes refit to match my body with the robes, so it fit fine, although it felt weird. The helmet wasn't as good. The last owner was close enough to my size but my hair didn't fit properly. It forced me to tie my locs and then slip them into the robe. It added to the pressure on my neck, but it was better than being killed.

I wasn't sure if the puppets needed to see me or if they could all touch my soul but on the off chance, they couldn't. Maybe they would take me as one of them. Once I was ready, I placed its sword and scabbard on my hip. I then started walking in the direction the other puppet came from. I only walked for half an hour when I encountered a trio of warriors. They were around one hundred yards away but that did nothing for the passive sense of danger they exuded. I felt one of them look in my direction and I released some of my aura. I did what I could to match their output and then reduced it just enough. My breath caught in my throat as I waited to see if my trick would work. When the puppet continued with the others, I let out a sigh of relief.

I had three more near misses from squads like that before I came across another solo warrior. Part of me wanted to ignore it but it had another ring on. The potential loot was a siren's song. The disguise helped me in other ways. It allowed me to get close enough to attack before it realized something was wrong. I activated Psionic Rain and Psychic Blast before it had drawn its sword. Unfortunately, both mental attacks weren't enough to kill the thing. It drew its sword and rushed toward me. It wasn't as fast as the one I fought earlier. I was able to draw my blade and counter. We exchanged sword slashes for several seconds before I was forced to disengage. I had no idea how to use a sword and my opponent did. I summoned four blades of psychic energy and shot them like bullets. The puppet's blade emitted a hardness that made me think of an unbreakable mountain before slashing through the first two of my blades. The third caught in its chest. The fourth clipped its shoulder.

I resisted the urge to activate my domain spell, since I couldn't be sure other puppets wouldn't notice. Instead, I imbued my blade with the strand of adamance and condensed my tao field as much as I could. I held my blade at the ready as four more mental attacks appeared above me. The world slowed to a crawl as the puppet warrior rushed me. The gentle caress filled the back of my mind and I knew what to do. My eyes widened as I imbued all four psychic blades with the strand of lucidity. My mental energy drained like a damn had burst but the four blades became less concentrated. I still wasn't done. The warrior raised its blade, and I raised mine to meet it. All four of my mental blades moved to surround him, one for each of the four directions. The puppet's sword fell like a meteor as I released all four blades.