Sensing immediate danger, the Deep Cult Tree unleashed everything it had!
It severed all its branches, transforming them into strange, wriggling tentacles.
The branches shot toward Zold, but he cut them down with ease.
Sshk! Sshk!
After being reforged, the sword had transformed into a genuine artifact—the very first in the world.
Although it was only the lowest rank of artifact, it was more than enough against Beast-class threats.
With the flame mark engraved upon it, the sword split apart the branches no matter how sturdy they were.
The flame mark's purpose was to passively absorb spiritual energy from the surroundings, converting it into reinforcement for the blade.
Every slash carried searing heat, easily tearing through most monsters' defenses.
Seeing that its attacks were useless, the Deep Cult Tree instantly spread a dark purple wave of energy!
'Already on its last legs?'
Zold's eyes sharpened as he stood his ground.
Sensing that his spiritual energy was running low, he removed the protection on his mind and body, activating all his skills at once.
[Mountainbreaker], [Muscle Tightening], [Extremely Tight Force], and [Prideful Flame]!
His speed doubled instantly.
The moment the tree entered his range, Zold reinforced his sword with his remaining spiritual energy, sharpening it with [Formlessness]!
Then, without hesitation, he hurled it toward the Deep Cult Tree!
Boom!
At the same time, Zold collided head-on with the dark purple wave released by the tree.
An overwhelming surge of foreign energy invaded his mind, slowing his thoughts and numbing his brain.
But at that very moment, his sword struck its target.
A massive flame erupted from the blade, igniting the Deep Cult Tree from the inside out!
"Ahhh…!"
The Deep Cult Tree could only scream in agony.
Tier III Beast Trees like the Deep Cult Tree possessed a fatal weakness.
Once an enemy entered their effective range, they were incredibly easy to kill, so long as the attacker had a powerful offensive skill.
Under the raging flames, its body was reduced to ashes, leaving behind a dark purplish Spirit Orb on the ground.
Zold landed heavily, his feet slamming into the earth with a loud thud.
His spiritual energy reserves were dangerously depleted, leaving his body trembling with weakness.
Suppressing the sensation, he walked forward and picked up the Spirit Orb.
Placing his hand on its surface, he began absorbing it in silence.
A short while later, Zold opened his eyes.
"Not bad."
On second thought, maybe this wasn't such a terrible welcome greeting after all.
He had obtained two skills: [Spiritual Lag] and [Bloody Life].
[Spiritual Lag — Releases a wave of unnatural spiritual energy that slows the thoughts of all targets within its radius. The range and intensity scale with the amount of spiritual energy channeled.]
The second skill, [Bloody Life], was far more abstract.
[Bloody Life — Infuses a non-living object with the user's blood, granting it temporary madness that compels it to relentlessly pursue a designated target. The power and duration scale with the amount of blood infused.]
Zold smiled faintly as he reviewed the two skills.
'Although I won't be able to match the Deep Cult Tree's level of potency with [Spiritual Lag], having a control-type skill is valuable nonetheless…'
Skills obtained from monsters were often tied to their biological nature, making many of them incompatible for humans.
The Deep Cult Tree's [Spiritual Lag] was a prime example.
As an awakened tree, it possessed enormous spiritual reserves and rapid regeneration, making such a skill effortless to maintain.
Humans, however, had limited reserves and slow recovery.
For Zold, affecting a wide area was impossible—at best, he could barely sustain a small radius before exhausting himself.
While [Limitless Potential] allowed him to acquire any skill, it did not automatically adapt them to his human body.
If he wanted a skill to truly suit him, he had to modify it himself.
And skill modification was notoriously difficult—borderline impossible.
'For others, at least.'
Zold smiled calmly. What was impossible to most was something he had done over a thousand times.
Still, it was far too early to think about that.
He turned his attention to the changes within his spiritual energy.
His reserves had increased significantly, and a dark purplish hue had joined his existing trifecta of elements.
This color represented Unnatural Energy—a special energy unique to evil corrupted monsters.
"Let's move on."
Feeling the chill of the night, Zold raised his hand, conjuring a small flame to light his path.
***
Deep within the jungle…
"Huu… huu…"
A young boy, around thirteen years old, panted heavily as he hid inside a large collapsed log.
He glanced to his right, where a young girl trembled in silence.
'Lia…'
He wanted to comfort her, but no words came.
Sshh…
A chilling sound echoed through the jungle, causing both of them to stiffen in terror.
Through the tangled vines covering the log, they saw the outline of a monster.
Its body was pitch-black, seamlessly blending into the surrounding darkness.
Activating his awakened power, the boy perceived what lay beyond the silhouette.
It was a spider.
A three-meter-tall arachnid with eight unblinking black eyes scanning the area for prey.
Its jointed legs glided soundlessly across the ground.
From beneath its shadow, dozens of smaller spiders emerged, crawling out of the darkness itself.
Sshh… Sshh…
The swarm spread outward, searching methodically.
The boy hurriedly raised his hand and silently gestured a number to the girl.
'10.'
She nodded and immediately activated her skill.
In that instant, the two of them "died."
The smaller spiders crawled through their bodies, sensing nothing.
1…
2…
3…
Seconds passed as the spiders continued to swarm around them.
But when the eighth second arrived, the massive spider suddenly twisted its head.
It paused, sensing something amiss.
After a brief hesitation, it crawled away, followed by the swarm.
When the tenth second elapsed, the boy and girl "returned to life."
"Haaa…"
They both gasped for air, faces pale and bodies weak.
Peering through the vines, the boy confirmed the spider was gone and let out a shaky sigh.
"We're saved…"
Overcome with emotion, he turned to his sister.
"Lia… are you alright?"
Lia's face was deathly pale, but she nodded.
"I'm alright, Leo…"
They were twins.
Just days ago, they had been traveling through the famous Dark Jungle of the Potanea region with their parents.
Then, without warning, nine mysterious beings appeared in the sky.
What followed became the most horrifying moment of their lives.
Their father exploded into a grotesque spray of blood before their eyes.
The jungle's animals mutated into massive, man-eating monsters.
To protect them, their mother stayed behind to stall one who had discovered them.
They fled, helpless, watching as she was devoured alive.
For days, they barely survived, relying entirely on their newly awakened powers.
All their supplies had been left behind.
Without the physical enhancement from awakening, they would have already died.
"Don't worry, Lia… just a little more…"
"And we'll escape this damned place."
Leo bit his fingernails, shaking with suppressed rage.
After a moment, he activated his skill and asked a question in his mind.
'The path to escape the jungle safely.'
An answer appeared instantly.
[North.]
The moment the information surfaced, Leo's brain overheated.
Blood streamed from his nose as his vision blurred.
"Brother…!"
Lia whispered urgently, snapping him back to reality.
"Let's go!"
Grabbing her hand, Leo pulled her out of the log and headed north without hesitation.
…The same direction the spider had gone.