Golden Squirrels were generally very cautious. Fortunately, Ben had their preferred food since he had studied this fruit for more than three thousand years. And he even knew how to leave Spirit imprints on it, like they usually do.

Those Golden Nuts were one of the few things he valued from within the payment list.

He found himself always requiring more of them to analyze them further. However, he couldn't get them in large quantities due to high usage and low production.

Ben's long-term interest in this fruit was because they were one of the core triggers for those squirrels' strange mutations. While this variety of nuts was well-known for its analgesic property, those little things ate them without going numb.

Ben inferred from the data collected that high resistance and high consumption were requirements for the specific change. However, the success rate was still low, and he wasn't sure what else had a critical role in the process.

Later, Ben noticed that the analgesic substance directly influenced the genetic coding when they failed at their primary purpose. And such a crucial study helped Ben advance his ability to apply genetic manipulation. As a result, he never quit investigating them further.

While Ben was contemplating the past, the squirrel focused entirely on being angry at how slow it could eat.

"Do you want to come with me, little fellow?" Ben asked as he took a box and placed it on the ground before the squirrel.

The little animal looked at Ben with inquiring eyes.

"I need to leave. Do you want to come with me?" He asked and motioned at the box.

After hesitating, the squirrel placed the fruits on the container before entering it. Despite not fully comprehending the stranger talking, the squirrel felt a familiar aura radiating from Ben.

After checking that the little fellow was alright, Ben moved northwest. Initially, he walked fast, but soon he sped up and started to run. A sense of urgency filled his body.

While Ben nervously ran for his life, the little squirrel, still covered in blood, kept eating non-stop while staying calmly in the container.

---

Around the ritual, two members of the Eclipse Sect had a conversation.

Their white eyes, white and straight hair, and deep-blue dark skin were the traits that showed the defining visual characteristics of their Sect.

"Carol, how is it?" A man asked.

"No luck. The surface damage was well covered. And the rest of the system is untouched." Carol Solimare answered.

"The area of effect is quite wide, and I only found life a few kilometers from the center. While I didn't find long tracks, I did encounter a few broken ones. Perhaps, it is an intentional sign left, telling us they were searching for this." Lucas Grand commented.

"Signs... I'm unsure if they were enemies of the ritual builders or a random passerby. Everything points to the last, but I found traces that something left the pit of dead bodies, and a strong attack hit a spatial treasure. However, the signs are inconsistent. Identifying the source of the attack may be a dead-end, and I am not sure if they removed something or, instead, it got out of the pit alone."

"Something survived the sacrifice?" He asked, interested.

"Perhaps fabricated," she shook her head.

"Ah, also, I got some news. Our master will come to uproot this."

"She will come, herself? Why?"

"I am not sure. Things seem to be more complicated than we estimated. I felt a sense of worry from the Sect's upper rank."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Do you think there are more of those around our land?" She tried to guess.

"Maybe, but she only told me this might be a few signs of greed."

"Signs of greed?"

"She didn't explain the details."

"Nothing we can do then. Anyway, I need to do my job ten times better, or else I'll hear from our master later." She said as she went back to work.

Lucas waved goodbye and moved towards the edges, joining the others from his Sect to do a more detailed investigation.

---

While the local Sect troubled themselves about the dangerous endeavor within their premises, Ben continually ran for three days and three nights.

At this moment, Ben was at a small waterfall, as he had finally stopped and begun to analyze his troubled mind.

'I'm not being followed. Why am I so anxious?'

The water dropped from around 20 meters high. The top stream was flanked on both sides by black rocks. A greenery veil covered the cliff, and a dense forest surrounded the area.

In addition, the crystal clear water and its small river created a calm and beautiful ambiance.

While the squirrel was in the shallow part of the river, Ben sat aside, resting.

The little creature did nothing but eat, drink, poop, and sleep during the whole traveling. It didn't even mind how dirty it was.

Although Ben tried to remove some filth, only so much could be done since they were moving. However, once they arrived at the body of water, the squirrel immediately jumped in to clean itself, showing that its recovery had been quite fast.

'What is this feeling?'

Ever since he left the ritual area, Ben had this feeling that something was wrong. Yet, he couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was.

While sitting down at the side of the river and reflecting, Ben took a shallow cup and filled it with a yellow drink. He put it on the table. Next, the squirrel appeared at his left and began to shake itself dry.

"Here," Ben said as he pointed at the cup above the marble table.

The squirrel jumped up and looked at the yellow drink. The animal smelled the liquid for a dozen seconds before finally drinking it.

Ben looked at the slightly wet creature, but his focus was elsewhere.

At this moment, a low sound came from the path leading into this isolated area. Hence, Ben looked towards it. Soon, a couple appeared at the turn. They were walking and talking in a friendly manner.

Ben took a sip of the cup he had placed on the table before turning away again. Outwardly, he was acting normal, but deep down, he was nervous.

Once the couple reached the clearance, he said: "Good evening."

"Good evening, Sir." They responded together.

The two seemed to be locals coming here to harvest some plants around the waterfall. Since their actions fit Ben's acknowledgment of the region, he kept acting calm.

At first sight, they worked ordinarily, but Ben kept his attention high, monitoring if anything was amiss with their actions.

"Clara, a master." The guy whispered excitedly.

"Shh, he may hear you. Don't disturb his peace." She whispered and pulled the guy closer.

At the marble table, Ben sipped his drink again, like he was savoring the tranquility of nature.

'What did I do wrong? I've analyzed everything before going underground, so this must be from the last few days. But what? Was I wrong to bet? No. Was I wrong to steal? It's not that, either. Neither was the explosion, running away, or this little fella. Was I wrong to break it? Or was it my decision to warn the kids later? The kids. I see...'

While Ben divided his attention between having his guard up and dealing with the unknown seed of annoyance deep in his mind, the couple finished their work. When they were leaving, they nodded to Ben as a sign of respect and goodbye.

Ben found no issue with the visitors. The sound of water falling was calming. The weather was fresh, and the birds distantly singing was lovely. However, despite the natural and calm environment, Ben couldn't relax.

'Do I think warning them isn't enough? Am I looking down on them somehow? Perhaps, could it be that I fear no one will see the ritual? That the people from that region are the ones doing it? What do I fear?'

Ben wasn't sure exactly what was bothering him, but he found a lead. As a result, he took a note from his chest.

The squirrel stopped drinking and stared at the creature's chest before it, curious.

With the paper in his hand, Ben snapped it. He separated two pieces of notes and stored one of them away. At the table, the squirrel returned to drink only after the signs from Ben's chest disappeared.

Noticing the shallow cup was almost empty, Ben filled it back up. Next, Ben wrote down the events on the paper after a pen appeared in his hand.

---

All-encompassing harvesting ritual. Highest level.

Hurriedly done. Advanced spatial connection.

Place: Forest, north of Grimhorn Plateau. Near the hill.

Status: Partially completed. Broken by me.

Note: Involves transference using Lord of Space remains.

Theory: SIGNS OF GREED.

---

The paper was quite simple and only had three hollow circles on the top initially, the one in the middle slightly bigger.

However, the paper wasn't simple. The note was an anonymous SOS artifact. Specifically, it sent information to a powerhouse's specialized unit.

Most middle-sized and above organizations produced and distributed such artifacts since intelligence gathering was crucial.

The right circle on this artifact identified the sender's willingness to leave their personal mark. And the one on the left determined if the coordinates were stored.

After finishing the note, Ben revised it. He considered if he should report something else to this unit in Qhechan Empire. After deciding that this much information was sufficient, he filled in the central circle while leaving the others two empty. As a result, suddenly, the note folded and flew off his hand at an extreme speed.

Ben sighed as the anxiety quickly left his body.