Chapter 479 - Taming the Platinum Ring - 3
Zhao observed his surroundings with new eyes. The clearing, the medicinal grass, the Carrion Sprouts waiting patiently beneath the surface, the claw tree guarding its secrets in an almost closed "hand".
"What would you do here, boy?" Zhao asked aloud, studying the landscape with a new perspective.
The answer came gradually, like pieces of a puzzle fitting into place. It wasn’t about brute force or perfect stealth. It was about understanding the ecosystem well enough to become part of it.
Zhao thought about his options
The underground route was even worse than the sky.
He had considered entering the tunnels in previous rings for barely a few minutes before completely discarding the idea. There were 200 meters in Silver, 350 meters depth from Gold rank, and 500 meters in Platinum from which 50 meters would be dominated by beasts of the same rank as those on the surface.
The underground had some residual mana from the surface before reducing the mana level to 0 for around 100 meters and recovering it again doubled every 25 meters in depth...
All those beasts before resurging to the surface would be specialized in vibrations. Without earth beasts of his own, every step he took would be like ringing a giant bell announcing his presence. The Gold sprouts had already been dangerous, and dealing with the platinum version for the last 150 meters to the surface in Platinum 3 would be suicide.
"The Gold sprouts will detect me even before I reach 300 meters," he murmured, discarding the underground route. "Worse than the sky..."
He found himself sitting in the clearing next to the claw tree, observing the medicinal grass growing on the giant corpse. His mind spun, searching for options that simply didn’t exist.