136 Namu Village
Pelian as a nation was naturally vast. The second largest among the three human nations in Aigas.
It had four large cities scattered across the geological landscape, each, save for two, being in different regions.
Four ecological regions could be found in Aigas with the one that Red Rage had just entered being one of the them, coming out of the one where Eofel was settled in.
Skill hadn’t put too much thought into it, but the Tremur Forest as also located in the same region as Eofel, being a few hundred miles away from the small city.
Ecological regions in any nation or continent in Aigas represented something significant. The more fierce the conditions tended to be, the more energies there were in the regions.
Except for old and ancient places that already existed, basically nothing new would usually grace the lands from mana as if there was a moderate ecological state, the mana would more than likely be docile and bland.
The Discount Human on Red Rage’s armoured back opened his eyes as his cosmetic body reacted to the vicious heat that bore down from the sun.
‘This again!’ Skullius thought.
He was confused on why he was suddenly waking up after blacking out but the heaviness he was feeling along with the distant representations of the intense heat in his vision stole the show.
Also, within his body, something was urging him to find food. Particularly something to drink.
This was naturally something he wasn’t used to but his body didn’t seem to want to back down from the issue.
Several spots that were villages and towns could be seen scattered around the landscape ahead.
Shockingly, despite the heat, plants and trees grew quite well, having not the yellow colouring of malnutrition but the green hue of health instead.
Grass adorned the ground under Red Rage’s racing feet, making Skullius remember the first time he appeared in Aigas. The repulsion he had felt on seeing the greenery.
‘Such fond memories,’ he thought.
Despite the heat, Skullius didn’t lose sight of what he wanted to accomplish. There were obviously human civilizations ahead and he wanted to be prepared for anything.
“Red bro, slow down,” he said, the Pelvis Boar-Man heeding his order as he reduced his pace considerably.
“It’s better that we take our time. Besides, I would rather not let myself get caught in my Penetrator form.”
Unlike last time, Skullius was wholly devoted to checking how much time he had before reverting back to his original body.
It wasn’t too far off.
He wanted to give himself enough time for the three hour cooldown before getting closer to the human settlements.
In the meantime, after making sure there wasn’t anyone nearby, Skullius began condensing mana and using it to cast [Bitter-Sweet Hell’s Inferno].
The heat produced by the flame at this level was extremely hot, burning the plants even if they weren’t touched by the tendrils of purplish orange flame.
Skullius flung the ball of fire a distance away, watching it smash into a bald spot of land with a booming explosion that left a large and deep crater.
He continued to do this, making sure to throw the fireballs in different directions, mainly those that wouldn’t start a forest fire.
By the time the skill was ready to evolve, the sun had risen considerably high since the process was slow, Skullius not using the armour to boost himself in fear of reducing their mobility.
Red Rage couldn’t carry him while he was in that armour and Skillius didn’t intend to stop moving.
[‘Bitter-Sweet Hell’s Inferno’ has reached LV10. Would you like to evolve it into its next form?]
“Yes bro.”
[‘Bitter-Sweet Hell’s Inferno’ has evolved into ‘Revenant Flames of Ecstasy’]
~~~
[Revenant Flames of Ecstasy | Lv.1]
Summon a special flame that causes profound destruction, burning its targets horribly while giving them an unbridled sense of erotic Ecstasy that turns them into allies who fight for you until they burn out.
<Current Limit – 5 targets>
Mana Requirements: 300 Mana Points
Duration: —
Cooldown: 1 hour
~~~
“Hooo… looks like this was really worth it,” Skullius said with relief scribbled across his fake face.
He lazed on Red Rage’s back while taking a rest for a few minutes, waiting for the inevitable to happen.
Twenty three minutes later…
[The skill ‘Flesh It Like You Mean It’ has timed out – 00:00:00]
Skullius reverted back to the tall Null Lifeform he was, gaining his dark blue bony image with four burning sockets.
“That’s the stuff,” he said as he proceeded to sit down after donning his armour.
The only reason he was comfortable changing his appearance so openly was because there was a lot of vegetative cover and with his [Advanced Mana Manipulation], he could sense that there was no one watching.
Even if there was, he hoped his speed in wearing the Null Devil’s Aegis of Damnation would help somewhat.
Looking in the direction that he was supposed to go, Skullius saw a small village.
There many other similar settlements around and he didn’t think he could just ignore them.
“Well… I’ll need to stock up on some things like clothes anyway. Might as well begin to travel around this world seriously,” he said.
Of course, Skullius had to wait for [Flesh It Like You Mean It] to come off cooldown, meaning… he had three hours to kill.
“I have the perfect thing to pass the time.”
***
Namu Village.
The day was perfect.
Perfectly normal at least.
The weather was angry as usual but the crops grew and the rain would grace the lands.
A cluster of wooden houses packed closely with clean streets in between that held chattering figures and playing children could be seen.
Standard life was always so different from the more complicated living where money was the central focus above the actual standard of living.
One could see on the faces of the many within the village that this was more of a community than an establishment meant to raise crooks and merchants.
Even with such a happy atmosphere roaming around the small settlement though, a little bit of unrest could be felt in the atmosphere.
Two men who donned simple linen shirts and pants along with standard leather sandals walked while addressing the issue that had everyone in a reverse tizzy.
“Dear Quintess. I wonder where the Idea Ark has gone? I don’t feel safe without seeing at least one of them doing a routine patrol. Hasn’t it been a few days since anyone has seen them around?” one of the men said with a concerned look on his face.
“I do not have the faintest idea. Maybe there are off somewhere else dealing with more dangerous requests. Everyone is getting nervous though. The Cluster that opened up in Santhi hasn’t been dealt with yet. What if it breaks before those other no-good Guilds deal with it?” the other man said while trying to keep his voice down when the two reached a rather congested part of the street.
“I don’t know. We can only pray for the Deities to send someone to deliver us. My prayers surely can’t be going to waste.”
“Yeah. I hope the same. Hey… who is that?” the first man suddenly asked as he pointed ahead where the figure of a strange black-robed man was walking unsteadily while entering the village.