Ever since Rock ran away from this very special tree, hiding from the people who had almost caught him.
That tree obsessed his thoughts, even as he walked along the path, he saw himself standing in front of it, the dark surface attracting him, and he had to get back to it. But first he had to improve himself to become stronger.
He felt that, if his ability to see mana was anything to go by, these two people were the strongest Rock had ever seen, his own mana reserves paling in comparison.
As he recalled these people, energy surrounded them and at times jetted up and out across the ground. This resembled a kind of magical detection, for as soon as this energy came into contact with a monster, whether hidden or not and whatever its size, the Man's gaze turned in the direction of the beast before he pounced on it, weapon in hand.
Because of his affinity with the earth, he was able to pass through the detectors with disconcerting ease. Passing in front of the mana path and right under their noses, he took a safe route out of the situation.
--
Out of this predicament, a new goal appeared. But he will never forget his main goal: Evolve to become the strongest.
And to do this, he has to discover the different living beings that make up the world by exploring it, and today, seeing the techniques used by these two people, Rock realized that he lacked the appropriate training and skill.
That's why he wants to discover more techniques to better understand the energy that surrounds him and its different functions.
--
To achieve these goals, Rock must become even stronger so that he can travel without danger, leading him to restrict his journey to certain places, notably the cemetery where he learned his first offensive technique, or perhaps explore the cave where he carried out his first murder.
He decided to restrict his adventure because on the same day he met these two people, he discovered how dangerous the forest could be, leaving part of his body behind: his arm.
A feline-like creature leapt out of the tall grass, moving faster than Rock could detect. This same creature clawed at his arm, slicing it off before catching it in its jaws. He turned and looked at Rock before swallowing his arm in one gulp before spitting it out, vomiting and leaving, showing no sign of interest in him before leaving very quickly.
--
As he went deeper into the forest, the mana became purer and the monsters more powerful. The trees on this side are powerful and immence, quite the opposite of what he had seen around his home. Some of the trees have fruit growing on them, and some of the monsters fight to catch it.
Observing the animals in this area and comparing their mana, they are around 10 to 15 times more powerful than the Zombies, reminding him of his first adversaries: the Zombie Dog and the Mole.
Here before him, he activated his [Magic Sens] ability after detecting significant mana signatures. Using his eyesight, he observed black-spotted areas on their shells. Surrounded by a large wolf pack with giant birds in the sky.
He saw spiked turtles, with their strong shells, running swiftly towards a giant wolf that was threatening them, snarling and baring its teeth.
At the last moment, the turtles tucked their heads into their protective shells and the sharp spikes plunged into the wolf, severely wounding it. It was an impressive display of cunning and defense.
The wolf died quickly from blood loss before being eaten by the turtles.
However, this was only the beginning of the strange goings-on in this region. Flocks of sheep, numbering between 30 and 40 individuals, dared to confront a crocodile-like creature with a strange horn above its forehead. The crocodile was impressively large and appeared to be endowed with Herculean strength.
With a flick of its powerful tail, the crocodile swept up the sheep and violently slaughtered them. The poor beasts stood no chance against this merciless creature. After killing them, the crocodile devoured them one by one, leaving no trace of the herd except for a few bone fragments.
This was clearly a place where survival of the fittest prevailed. The amount of mana present in the region was extraordinary, allowing monsters to thrive and mutate. This increase in mana had given rise to creatures of unimaginable power and ferocity, engaged in a merciless struggle for survival.
*Ting*
[The mana capacity have increased]
The mana density present was stimulating Rock's mana reserves, boosting his energy even though Rock had only been present for a short time and was beginning to feel the effects of this high density.
The surrounding mana seemed to seep into him, binding with his own mana reserves. He felt a gradual increase in his magical power.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
--
With his reserves full and his mana rising, Rock emerges from his "hiding place" and heads for home.
Thanks to his new power, he's able to move much faster than before (pauses to recover his mana become rare), covering long distances in record time.
During his Rock journey, and also because of his difficulty in grasping objects delicately with his hands. He was able to observe some monkeys skilfully grasping fruit with their hands of just 3 fingers.
Using earth magic, he shaped a large part of his arm and divided his hand into 3 fingers of roughly the same size.
Using the humans he'd observed from afar as a reference, and because of his poor understanding of his own ability, he couldn't create things with too much detail.
Rock used his magic once more to pick up large rocks and attach them to his trunk, creating more or less a pair of short legs. His body is about 1.40 meters long with medium-sized legs.
--
With his new limbs. Rock's mana reserve has been reduced to maintain them.
Curious about the changes to his own body, he decided to stand up and use his "legs" for the first time.
In a semi-standing position, Rock starts to put strength into his legs to get up.
CCrrrr
As Rock began to stand up, a series of cracks began to appear in his legs. Feeling that his legs would collapse under his weight if he stood up, he decided to stop and absorb the cracks with his magic.
The damaged parts of Rock's leg left his body, and the dust and stone debris flew away, to be replaced by smaller stones.
Finishing repairing his body, he tried to stand up again.
This time conscious of the weight of his body and his previous summer.
He tried again and again to get up. Each time he tried, his legs suffered damage, only to become stronger after being repaired.
By continuing this cycle of destruction and repair, the amount of damage was gradually reduced. After several cycles, Rock managed to stand up.
He stood almost motionless, unable to walk.
The cracks this time were not as present and significant.
He applied force to his knees and managed to stand, putting one foot on the ground.
Boom, bam, crack
However, his balance was precarious, remaining upright for only a short time before he began to fall to the ground.
With this balance problem, Rock spent part of the night reusing magic while moving the rocks in his body around his legs to regulate his weight and create more stable surfaces to improve his balance.
During his falls as Rock rises and falls to the ground, he modifies and adjusts certain stones in his body with care, develloping him so that he can walk more easily, modifying his posture and making his "back" straighter and straighter. After a few tries, he managed to take a few steps and stay upright longer.
By dint of walking and observing how his feet held up, he reshaped his feet to adapt them to his environment, making them partially plastic and greatly facilitating his movements.
Taking advantage of his many adjustments, he raised his head and observed his surroundings in a new light. Rediscovering a new point of view.
--
It's been a while since Rock discovered this boundary in the forest. This frontier separates the weak monsters from the powerful, gigantic and devastating ones.
During these months, Rock has learned to walk more or less correctly, adjusting some parts of his body to walk more efficiently.
Since discovering this place, he has returned many times to increase his mana capacity.
He also went home to the cave, but since the last time his body had become too big, he decided to find himself and make another bigger one by searching deeper.
He entered the darkness, watching for the slightest movement without being blinded by shadows, because he could feel the slightest vibration through the ground, enabling him to avoid any mosnter. He can also detect them by their own mana. This allows him to assess their strength and change his path.
----
As he descends into the cave, the path becomes wider and higher, allowing Rock to stand up and scare off the little monsters that flee when they see him. The walls are adorned with climbing plants that light up the path, and on some of the branches are clusters of fruit, with little hamsters feeding on them as they watch Rock curiously.
As Rock entered another tunnel filled with verdant plants and small creatures, he continued to make his way, relying on his mana. Thanks to his mana-sensing abilities, he was able to quickly protect himself with his arms from a small rockfall.
Curious to know the cause of this event, he concentrated his mana and directed it towards the spot where the landslide had begun. As the information came to him in waves, he felt that special connection with the earth. He could feel the earth, the little creatures living under the rocks, the colony of ants bringing back prey for the queen, smell the half-eaten corpses of spiders buried in the ground.
On the way back from this wave of mana, Rock felt a resistance he shouldn't be feeling. This resistance is due to something interfering with his mana detection, blocking and removing certain information.
Curious to know what has caused this disturbance, Rock approaches the wall and observes it carefully, spotting some irregularities in the wall.
He remembers how small it was, and how it grew from shreds of rock and earth to its present imposing size. He remembers that with each integration, part of his mana is drained to maintain these new elements.
Can he do the opposite? That is, to separate himself from his body parts so that he can climb more easily. Ever since he was born, or rather created, he's moved around with just a pair of arms.
So he plans to climb in his simplest form to avoid any mistakes.
He places his hands along his body, preparing for the impact of the fall, bending his arms slightly to absorb the impact. Rock stops moving and concentrates on the mana in his body, seeing it glow blue in an endless cycle.
He concentrates on the mana running through his lower body, finding the start of the mana flow and concentrating to cut off the mana supply to his "legs".
His body carefully splits in two and he separates from the rest of his body, jumping carefully to avoid damaging his legs. Balancing himself with his hands, he approached the cave wall and began to climb it, bringing his hands forward and grasping the wall, exerting quite a lot of pressure, making a few cracks in the wall before continuing his advance.
Remembering where the information is missing, he arrives at the place in question. Rock releases his mana into the ground, observing and taking in the terrain.
A bunch of cracks here, a few rocks holding together with a different rock formation.
--------
Crr, crrrr
Another batch of falling rock caught his attention.
At this point, the mana flow awakens, becoming increasingly erratic. And Rock has found the culprit: a grey-looking corpse with some of its bones stuck in the rock, with bits of dirt and dust all over its body.
Suddenly, a pair of red lights appear in the skeleton's eye sockets, staring back at Rock with crimson eyes as his free hand tries to grab him.