Time blurred as Vincent and his companion lost any semblance of meaning outside of deciphering the ancient languages and training with Zar-Rhah. Every few days he would take a break to eat and refine the basics of his other skills so they didn't dull. His progress was noticeable as each and every day he found himself able to fair just a tiny bit better against his grayed Orc master who so pitifully outclassed him.
These days when Zar-Rhah blocked a strike from Vincent, the Orc braced himself rather than lazily raising his blade like he had done in prior engagements. So caught up in training was he that Vincent likely wouldn't even have noticed the second four weeks fly by, except for a fleeting curiosity and thus, a quick activation of his Absolute timing.
At the exact same moment that their training eclipsed their 60th day, he and his companion decided to stop for a while and head back home. For one thing Vincent was beginning to feel a great deal of apprehension from his pack through his Network of souls. Guiltily he realized they hadn't seen their Alpha in a month now, as he had stopped checking on them at some point during his obsessive labors.
The pack understood his need for acclimating power as quickly as possible but they still felt akin to children missing their father who had embarked on leave of absence for work. Leaving most of his training related equipment behind, Vincent summoned the portal representing his inventory and stored what he would take for the road. Moving at an extremely leisurely pace, it would take them approximately six hours to reach their destination.
This may seem like a long trip for super human beings that could make the journey in less than an hour, but Vincent enjoyed communing with nature and studying the country that had been his home for three years and a few months now.
The changes in the general population and the ever growing plant life comprising the jungle were the only real indication that any time had passed at all since leaving their cave. While they traversed the dark and ominous terrain, countless dark red eyes traced their movements from the shadows.
The environment still went out of its way to kill him, of course. Poisonous thorns that were practically sentient, and any manner of traps from quick sand to carnivorous plants were scattered throughout the jungle of Garkan. But when he ran into sentient creatures like packs of Hellspawn these days, the birds eyed him as cautiously as he once did them. They instinctively felt the shift in the dynamic of their relationship as Vincent had long since clearly overtaken them as individuals.
His stats alone would make it difficult for them to overwhelm him even if it were a large murder of the crow-like birds. Add in his skills and even the dimwitted birds knew he was the predator in this situation and they would be the prey.
It was incredibly satisfying in many ways but at the same time some days it all felt sort of surreal. He also had to resist the urge to hunt the birds to extinction... It probably wasn't possible and they didn't grant any experience anyways. Their material wasn't eeally worth shit either.
Whenever Vincent moved deliberately like this, studying everything around him, he could never help but note with a small amount of concern that the jungle seemed to expand just a tiny bit each year...
Monsters mostly only spawned within the jungle, meaning civilized societies often founded homes away from it's immediate vicinity. The Orcs and other various civilized factions, of which there consisted minotaurs, centaurs, and spriggins (as well as many others) did a good job keeping monster populations within check in the open landscape and surrounding lands outside the jungle.
But even still, based on how fast the thing grew continously, Vincent had the sneaking suspicion that some day.. maybe even 100 years from now.. The entirety of this country would be a hostile, hazardous jungle. Amd destroying it simply wasn't an option for most people.
When one cut down a tree it had a tendency to be fully replaced within a week which was absolutely outrageous compared to the growth of plants before the system. Not to mention these trees were incredibly large and sturdy. Your average tree on the earth could take anywhere from 10-100 years to reach full maturity depending on species and climate. But here, it took less than a month for large swaths of the jungle to reappear and spread even farther than before.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
It seemed over the course of a few years the planet and its populace tended to grow stronger naturally as the system slowly injected raw Nectar into the air. Or perhaps it was the other way around and as the planet's population rose in power, so too did a planet's concentration of ambient energies in the atmosphere. He wasn't 100% sure how it all worked, but underneath it all, it was still just a self sustaining cycle of growth that required life to devour others for strength.
Upon their arrival to their home turf, Vincent approached the sentient wall that served as the gateway to his pack's sanctuary. Frowning, the man wondered why he hadn't considered the fact that the massive hole in the jungle wall caused by the meteor would have closed naturally on its own within a week.
Instead he had panicked and more or less created a deus ex machina ability that put him in the dirt for a week... He supposed it was probably because of sheer desperation and he just didn't want to wait that long. He was afraid powerful entities would be drawn to his home. Plus he loved doing things the hard way. It was more fun that way.
The man shuddered realizing he had been shaking in anticipation as he walked through the parting vines. Truthfully Vincent couldn't wait to try out the exorbitant power granted to him by the goddess in a real fight. Preferably with an intelligent being who communicated with spoken words.. One that could appreciate the full totality of his glorious awesomeness when harnessing that energy. At the same time.. he hoped he'd never face a situation so dangerous that he was using the last resort ability merely to survive and not just as a way to flex and show off his incredible awesomeness.
He snorted as he was absolutely sure he would be put in a situation just like that… Eventually. It was only a matter of time in this place, as Vincent was still nowhere near the top.
Another thing he decided was that it was probably best not to use that kind of power in 'friendly' fights, unless it was against the likes of Gildarts. Based on how difficult it had been for him to control his raging emotions and desire for violence when he used the skill to replace the damaged wall... He could only imagine the intensity of fighting for an extended period of time against an actual living creature.
Would he lose himself to his more primal instincts? Would he kill someone because he couldn't control how much mana he pumped into an ability? Or an even worse concept.. just to prove that he could? He shuddered once more and pushed the thoughts out of his head.
His pack was awaiting his orders and affection. He spread his arms wide and grinned, hearing them howl their joy and excitement to the moon high above as he approached the central hub of their dens.
"Hello my pups.. sorry I've been gone so long. I'm home at last. Let's celebrate with a hunt." He finished with a predatory smirk and a burst of his Aura. The wolves howled in agreement and respect before their leader.
15 minutes later in the jungle of Garkan…
Vincent and Dawn led the pack as they darted through the trees, sticking mainly to the shadows. Dawn spear headed the group while Vincent moved in all directions as needed. It had been a full month since they had been on a hunt so they needed something challenging. The average pack level had risen while he was away, with Dawn being a remarkable level 50 and the others being around 40.
With a small twinge of sadness and perhaps envy he realized his pack no longer truly needed him to prosper. But more than that he felt pride. They had all grown strong, together. Multiple different groups and packs had come together under his banner and now they were an indistinguishable family. Well indistinguishable to most people anyways..
Vincent chuckled. "I can always tell which wolves came from which tribe based on the color of their energy.. Almost all the wolves have one element or another they're more familiar with." He landed roughly on a massive branch overlooking a flat, grassy valley that span miles across. The sun was beginning to set, painting everything in a beautiful fiery-orange.
The branch they had landed on jutted out over a drop off that was easily fifty feet down. Upon seeing their leader stop, the entire pack of nearly thirty wolves fanned out on either side of him on the branch. It really was quite a large branch.
Looking down into the valley he couldn't help but continue his line of private conversation with himself. "Even if I can see them now… If the pack flourishes long enough.. then in a few generations they would likely all have a very uniform and incredibly powerful energy unlike the ones I've seen up until now. Even I might not understand it.." He admitted to himself, lost in thought. Evolution happened so quickly here. Especially with a little push.. He himself was proof of that. Sometimes it was hard to truly feel like you belonged in one place for too long.
'Master?..' Vincent jumped in shock, starled from his run away thoughts. It was more of an emotional message than an actual word, but due to his soul connection with Dawn he understood it. Vincent shook his head and chuckled. "Sorry. I swear I'm worse than a child when it comes to staying focused." He laughed. Dawn merely frowned in response as if to say, 'Your orders?'
'Tough crowd..' Vincent thought. "Ahem well.. Anyways. See that creature? Down there in the very center of that valley near the waterfall?" He asked, pointing. Dawn squinted before shaking his head. "You know I can't see that far.. That's at least three miles away.." He answered in exasperation.
Vincent sweat dropped. "Errm.. right. Well I can only see it because there's nothing obscuring my view to be honest. But yeah I can make him out pretty clearly… Huh.. That's odd?.." Vincent paused.
Dawn growled low. "What is it?"
"Not sure.." Vincent mumbled. "Could just be my imagination. It looks like he's sleeping. The Nemian lion has never slept, as far as I'm aware... And call me crazy.. but what really gets me is that he looks smaller and less.. vibrant than before. We need to get a closer look." He said honestly.
Dawn growled, this time in a loud, challenging manner. "You said closer is dangerous!" He accused. Vincent scratched the back of his head, noting how wild his hair was getting and looked at his adopted brother sheepishly. "Sorry! Haha.." He laughed. "It is dangerous.." He admitted, turning back to the valley.
"But it's also what we have to do if we're going to push ourselves and become stronger." He said with eyes narrowed in determination.
Beside him, Dawn sighed and sat back on all fours. "Why be strongest?" He asked simply.
Vincent blinked several times in surprise and turned just his head in order to look at his friend. "Well.. Why not?" He shrugged. Dawn shrugged as well and the two shared a light hearted laugh before turning back ahead. Silently they leapt off of the large branch in unison.
End of chapter 32