The monster turned to look at Miles once again to check if he was following or not. When it noticed Miles was indeed following, it bounced further and further away jubilantly. Miles wondered if this monster was any different than any that invaded this world. Could it be a native creature? Miles thought, ‘I doubt though. Any living thing ceased to exist after monsters invaded Portal World. At least that was what Mother AI said.’
While the monster was leading Miles only gods knew where Miles activated his newest vision. ‘Elemental Vision!’
Miles used this ability after leaving the virtual world once and noticed unlike in the virtual world, this ability caused him a great deal of pressure, creating ever-increasing headaches. But now using it once again, Miles felt like it wasn’t as taxing as it was before. Most probably thanks to serum increasing his brain capacity.
Miles looked at the monster with the elemental vision but to his surprise, he saw nothing. It was a white blank silhouette on a canvas of different colors. Miles tried the ability before and knew that he was able to see the monster’s elements with the help of elemental vision. It didn’t work in Virtual Reality for some reason, but in the real world, it was working on humans as long as the said person wasn’t Form-Rank or higher.
Miles thought it to be related to the vampire he acquired the ability from. After all, the monster was high-tier, so he couldn’t use the eyes for any monster above this level. But why didn't it work on the jelly-like monster? Was it higher than Grunt-Rank? Miles doubted.
There was strict segregation between circles, and monsters wouldn’t pass through the barriers if they could. Rarely a few monsters would cross the border. At first, Miles didn’t know the reason, but after having the mind serum and classified information with it, he finally found the reason. The energy was much more abundant in inner circles, and higher beings felt uncomfortable in outer circles.
It was like getting used to a rich oxygen area, and when a person moved to the city with sparser oxygen, felt suffocating. Monsters from inner circles instinctively avoided outer circles, and humans did the same to avoid discomfort. But in some cases, both monsters and humans would travel to outer circles. That was what had happened when the eagle chased Miles. But the monster in front of Miles didn’t look in discomfort at all, it was bouncing happily luring Miles further and further away.
Miles looked around with his elemental vision still activated. Forest was abundant with life energy and green color covered his eyesight. There was the brown of the earth and the azure of the wind. The bright white light of the sun pierced all the colors to travel wherever it wished. Miles looked around and marveled at nature once again, but in endless green and brown, he spotted a pitch-black dot approaching his location. The dot was so dark Miles felt like staring at the abyss.
Miles stood on his track and canceled elemental vision to see what he was dealing with. He felt fear when he looked at the black silhouette even though he knew the monster couldn’t hurt him. His armor was pinnacle-tier double elemental armor. He tested its durability before and knew how strong it was, but when he looked at the monster with elemental vision, he couldn’t help but shiver.
The jelly-like monster looked at Miles and turned its bead-like eyes to the direction where Miles saw the monster. Between dense trees, a panther-like monster walked out. It was two and a half meters (8 feet) tall. Its body was pitch black like obsidian, and it had two giant tusks protruding out of its mouth. It looked like a mixture of a sabertooth and panther.
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The monster looked at Miles, then the jelly-like monster. He could feel the monster's strength and knew it was only a pinnacle-tier, but its eyes still gave him a shiver. It felt like the gargoyle monster Tian Ling was trying to hunt. Could this monster be like the gargoyle Tian Ling wasted millions on? It feels more dangerous than a Frenzy-Rank monster. Miles felt like running away as he keenly observed the monster.
Panther eyed the jelly-like monster and Miles after that turned around and left just as it came. Miles looked at the monster with his eyes wide open like saucers. He could feel the monster's breath and knew it was way stronger than the jelly-like monster. But for some reason, it didn’t attack either of them. Is it because of the little bouncer? Miles thought to himself.
He didn’t attack when he spotted the jelly-like monster. He didn’t think before, but now he realized that he must have gotten affected as well just like panther did. So, this monster removes the aggro from any creature it encounters. It is like there is a calming air around it, preventing monsters and humans from attacking each other. But I feel like I can attack it anytime I want. Is it because its ability isn’t strong enough to completely prevent me from attacking?
Miles felt like he could attack if he wanted to, but it didn’t mean he would. He was curious about the monster, and since it was well-mannered, Miles wouldn’t attack it without a reason.
The same scene happened over and over again, proving Miles’s hypothesis. The monster could somehow soothe monsters and prevent them from attacking them. They also didn’t attack Miles either. So jelly-like monsters and Miles ventured deep inside of the forest without any trouble. The forest was abundant with plants. So he collected a few he could make use of. He placed them in special bags to test later.
“Miles, it is too far from the stronghold. It might be better for us to stop.” Coin recommended for him to stop. They were walking for more than a week and encountered many strong monsters. All of them were getting closer to Frenzy-Rank.
Miles didn’t know where the path was going, but since they were walking further away from the stronghold and further away in the G-Circle, they shouldn’t have encountered any Frenzy-Rank monsters. But the monsters were getting stronger. It wasn’t making any sense. For all reasons, in the path to the outer circle of the G-Circle, monsters should have been getting weaker, but they were getting stronger.
“Let’s continue a little longer. I am curious about the monster and want to see why it wants me to follow it. If there is any problem, I am confident to run away.” Miles said. He was curious and wanted to find out.
“Alright.” Coin accepted helplessly. Miles was too curious and always gave the same excuse. But it was one of the things that made him special, so Coin wouldn’t change it.
After bouncing and walking half a day longer, the Jelly monster and Miles arrived at a cave. Miles looked at the interior and the monster.
“Did you draw me here for this cave?” Miles asked. They weren’t slow at all, but it still took them more than a week to travel where they were. Because no monster attacked them, Miles didn’t dare to start a fight either in case they turned violent once again. He could only consume the food he brought and the fruits he found in the way. Now they have arrived at a cave, Miles sighed with relief. At least they reached their destinations.
The monster looked at him when it wanted Miles to follow it. Miles walked at the cave and activated dark vision, he could see a little further but not the entire cave even after using the dark vision. Miles had a bad feeling about the place but was also curious. He left the cave’s entrance and looked at the mountain where the cave was opening. Mountain was so tall, Miles couldn’t see its tip. On both sides, the mountain’s end couldn’t be seen. It looked like a curtain separating the land.