A streak of lightning flew through the trees as William looked for a safe place to land.
Soon, his gaze landed on an area that he deemed to have no wild beasts laying in wait in order to ambush them. Although he wasn't sure if his hunch was correct, he could only try it for now. Flying randomly around the Forbidden Ground was not the best choice that they could make right now.
William sighed as the effect of the Lightning Strider skill faded. This was one of the trump cards that he could use to escape, and travel across the land with the speed of lightning.
Although it wasn't as convenient as Soleil for instant transmission, it was more than enough to escape the pursuit of five Myriad Beasts who intended to kill them without mercy.
"Are the two of you alright?" William asked as he looked at the two ladies, whose complexion had turned pale.
"I feel dizzy, Will," Chiffon said as she held her head with both hands.
William pulled the pink-haired girl against him and gently patted her head. "Sorry, I didn't have the time to warn the two of you about my plan."
Lilith, on the other hand, weakly leaned on a tree and puked. Unlike William who was already used to instantaneous movement, the Amazon Princess felt nauseous, and was unable to stop herself from emptying her stomach, due to the discomfort that she was feeling.
Fortunately, as the sin of gluttony, puking was not an option for Chiffon. Even so, Chiffon still leaned weakly against William's body as she allowed the dizzy sensation to pass.
While the two girls tried to get-over their discomfort, William extended his senses throughout their surroundings. The ambush of the Green Mantises made him realize how dangerous the Forbidden Ground really was.
Although he could have used his Heroic Avatar to deal with their enemies, it had a very long cooldown. William didn't plan to use it unless it was a last resort.
After a quarter of an hour, the two girls were able to recover enough to continue their exploration of the Seventh Sanctum with William.
As they walked, the Half-Elf asked the Amazon Princess if she could feel any treasure near their surroundings.
"Actually, I've been sensing a very rare treasure in that direction," Lilith said as she pointed towards the Northwest. "Although I don't know what kind of treasure it is, I'm pretty sure that it is extraordinary. My only concern is that there is a possibility that this treasure might be guarded by a powerful beast.
"At the very least, the Beast protecting it should be at the peak of the Millennial Rank. there is also a possibility that the one guarding it is a Myriad Beast."
William weighed his options, whether they should go in the direction of the treasure or continue to wander around their location.
'With Optimus' mapping system weakened, we will have a hard time finding the Hall of Thunder,' William thought. 'The only thing we can rely on is Lilith's ability to find treasures. If the Hall of Thunder has treasures inside it, there is a high chance that we will stumble upon it as we go treasure hunting.'
After weighing the pros and cons of his decision, WIlliam decided to give it a try.
'Optimus, place trackers on Chiffon and Lilith,' William ordered. He was afraid that they would get separated if something unexpected happened as they journeyed towards their destination.
< Understood. Trackers have been placed. >
After the trackers had been successfully placed on the two girls, William asked Lilith to lead the way. However, as an extra precaution, William decided to summon B1, and B2, to scout ahead.
When the two dumb bird appeared, both of them instinctively felt that they were in a very dangerous place. Because of this, they decided to be extra cautious and kept each other within eyesight.
With Lilith leading the way, and the two birds telling William about the dangers in their path, they were able to detour around the powerful Beasts that lived in groups.
After two hours of walking, William, Chiffon, and Lilith came upon a small clearing.
At its center was a blood-red tree that was three meters tall. A single golden fruit could be seen hanging from one of its branches. Even from his hiding place, WIlliam could sense the powerful life force that was coming from the fruit.
He had a feeling that if ordinary beasts were to eat it, their ranks would immediately sky rocket to the Peak of the Millennial Rank.
William would have definitely taken the fruit if not for the four beasts that were sleeping beside the tree.
The Half-Elf cursed internally after he saw the information of the Beasts after using his Appraisal Skill.
—-
< Black-Striped Terror Rat >
– Vengeful Rat Beast
– Threat Level: SSR (Low)
– Myriad Beast
– Cannot be added to the herd
– The Black-Striped Terror Rat is known for its vengeful attitude. If anyone were to offend it, this beast would not rest until it had killed those who antagonized it.
– This Beast usually form groups with other Black-Striped Terror Rats. When more than five individuals form a group, they will be able to trigger their Racial Ability, Primal Rend, which is strong enough to severely injure a Myriad Beast of a higher tier.
– This race also had the special ability called "Trace". Once they have planted this skill on their target's body, they would be able to find their location without fail for the duration of a month. Unless you don't want to be hunted down by these savage, and vengeful creatures, stay as far as you can from them.
—–
William could feel a headache about to descend on him after he realized that all four of the giant rats in front of him were Myriad Beasts.
Even Lilith who liked treasures had a grim expression on her face as she watched the rats from afar.
Chiffon, on the other hand, had a more simplistic attitude when it came to the golden fruit on the tree. The little glutton was thinking about what the fruit would taste like when it was eaten.
The Half-Elf then shifted his attention to the fruit and used his appraisal skill. He was very curious about what kind of fruit would entice four Myriad Beasts to guard it.
—
< Golden Blood Fruit >
(95% Ripe)
– This fruit will automatically detach itself from the tree once it has reached maturity.
– When this fruit is eaten by a creature when it is 100% Ripe, it will allow that creature to undergo a special transformation.
– If this is eaten by a Beast, it would gain a massive upgrade in its overall strength, and undergo Beast Evolution. If that Beast has a special bloodline then their bloodline powers will be fully unlocked after their evolution.
– if this fruit is eaten by a Human, it will allow that person to break through one tier in their ranking. Meaning, if this was eaten by a Saint in his or her initial stages, he or she would have the strength of a Myriad Beast in its Middle Stages.
Those with special bloodlines will get their bloodline abilities enhanced by 100%
– If this fruit is eaten by a creature when it is still not fully mature, it will only give them a strong boost in their physique, but they will not undergo evolution. They will also not be able to unlock the hidden bloodlines in their bodies due to the fruit's immaturity.
—-
'I see, that explains it,' William thought. 'These Giant Rats are aware that the fruit is not yet fully ripe, so they decided to guard it in turns to prevent others from snatching it.'
With Optimus' help, William was able to detect at least a dozen more beasts that were lurking around the clearing.
The Half-Elf was sure that when the fruit dropped off from its branch, a bloodbath would occur.
"Should we snatch it?" Lilith inquired. "I am confident that I will be able to take the fruit if I am at least ten meters away from the tree. The problem is that I'll probably be torn to shreds once those rats discover me."
William shook his head. "The fruit is still not ripe. It will detach itself from the tree when it reaches maturity. Also, there are some opportunists like us that are aiming for the fruit as well. Aside from those four rats, there are other beasts that are lurking around it. If we do something funny, all of those beasts will become our enemy.
"Also, those rats will be able to trace you if you try to steal the fruit from them. If you don't mind being chased by four crazed and vengeful Myriad Beasts then feel free to give it a try."
Lilith sighed as she looked at the fruit with regret. Treasures were good, but what good would they be once you're dead?
William was about to tell the two girls to leave the beasts to fight against each other, when he felt a familiar presence headed in his direction.
The Half-Elf became confused because it had been a very long time since he had met this creature. Also, from the looks of things, this creature had finally crossed that threshold and stepped into the Myriad Rank.
William stood in front of the two girls and made a gesture for them to not do anything.
Before they could even ask what was going on, they heard a pair of footsteps walking in their direction. A minute later, a young man, who seemed to be in mid-twenties appeared in front of William's group.
"Fancy meeting you here," the young man with brown hair and eyes said with a smile. "This is truly unexpected, don't you think?"
William was still unsure of the young man's identity so he decided to test the waters to confirm if his hunch was right.
"Are you His Excellency, the Diabolical Hell Ape?" William inquired.
The young man smiled and nodded his head.
When the Half-Elf last saw the Diabolical Hell Ape, it was still in the Southern Continent. Also, back then, the powerful beast didn't have the capability to take human form. Seeing this old acquaintance of his inside the Seventh Sanctum made William both happy and worried at the same time.
"Are you now human, Your Excellency?" William asked another question. The Half-Elf could still remember that when he asked the Diabolical Hell Ape for help, it said that it would only help him if he helped it become human.
This time, the young man shook his head.
"Not yet," the Diabolical Hell Ape replied.. "However, if I get that fruit, I will be one step closer to reaching my goal. Will you help me, William?"
