Chapter 71: Rainfall Forest
[A/N: Day 1(2/3)]
________
Cael walked out of the alchemy store.
The Karyal City buzzed with people and noise.
The scent of brewed potions lingered faintly on his clothes, mixing with the smell of street food drifting from nearby stalls, while merchants called out their wares under colorful banners swaying lazily in the wind.
Cael wore a full black outfit and a simple white mask that covered his nose and lips.
Well, not to hide or anything, it’s just that whenever a girl came across him, they stopped him and asked for his contact.
So, he wore the mask to avoid those bold girls. Because it’s annoying to say the same answer again and again, which is...
"I have a girlfriend."
If Edwin were here, he might have been shocked to his core.
Imagining Edwin’s face in that kind of situation, Cael couldn’t help but chuckle.
Then suddenly, Cael received a message from his Black Lightning clone.
He lost track of the dark green-haired girl.
Cael sighed; he had already expected this situation.
After all, she wasn’t a normal girl at all.
’How the hell was I supposed to bring this monstrous girl to Seraphina?’
Cael paused and shook his head.
If it came to the worst, he might have to fight her.
But Cael wasn’t that afraid.
If he wanted to escape, except for high rankers, nobody could catch him.
That wouldn’t change even if he became [Gold], after all, the gap between late mid-ranker [Diamond] and low high-ranker [Mythril] was too vast.
But Cael was damn sure that once he achieved [Gold], he could fight [Diamond] rankers without much problem.
The only two issues were... Mana and his Body.
And his previous attempt to copy mana breathing and mana enhancement had failed as he resonated with his class.
But unlike last time, when he got Mana Sovereignty, this time he got nothing.
All he saw was a glimpse of the True Iridescent Monarch’s life. And saw her finding a strange ring. That’s all.
Cael entered a narrow alley and stopped, while shaking his head.
The alley was damp and shadowed, the walls stained with time and neglect, while droplets from above fell in uneven rhythms, echoing softly in the confined space.
Now isn’t the time to ponder these questions.
"Swap."
Instantly, the surroundings changed.
...
The forest trees shook slightly as the wind passed, followed by a thunderous sound.
The slowly pouring rain gradually began to increase in intensity.
Cold droplets struck against leaves and bark, forming thin streams that ran down twisted roots, while distant thunder rolled across the sky like a warning that never quite ended.
Cael opened his eyes and found himself in the Rainfall Forest.
He cautiously looked around and said nothing.
Using the wind, Cael jumped into the air and settled on the top tree branch.
Cael surveyed the area; strangely, he wasn’t able to see even a single creature.
He instantly found it suspicious.
Taking a deep breath, Cael searched for less muddy areas where he could find any good shelter from the continuous rain.
Soon, he found a cave on a nearby mountain.
Cael didn’t land on the ground as he jumped from branch to branch of the trees.
He always wanted to do this.
That said, he was using Black Lightning Steps to conceal his presence and noise.
Each step was silent despite the wet branches, his figure blending with shadows as wind guided his movement, preventing even the slightest rustle that might reveal him.
But...
-WHOOSH
Suddenly, yet seamlessly, out of nowhere, a snake jumped at him.
But Cael didn’t turn back as he continued to move forward without looking at the snake whose head was cut off by a wind blade.
Cael’s wind mastery had finally reached [50%] after the battle with [Captain] rank Wraith.
And wind continued to become Cael’s most useful and versatile element out of all.
Naturally, second was Black Lightning.
But Cael already knew that once his unique element reached the same mastery as his wind, they would make wind look weak.
Cael stopped in front of the cave.
With slow and steady steps, he walked inside.
It was just an empty cave, nothing inside.
Cael raised an eyebrow; the feeling of something wrong increased further.
The cave walls were damp and cold, with faint droplets falling from above, creating small ripples in shallow puddles on the ground, while the air carried an unnatural stillness.
’Where are the beasts and animals?’
’Is someone controlling them?’
But he denied that idea; there was no way.
There was a limit to how many beasts could be controlled or tamed by beast tamers.
In this place, even animals without mana were nowhere to be seen.
And there were no signs of fights or struggle.
As if beasts and animals deliberately or voluntarily chose to leave.
Led by someone.
...An Alpha.
Cael felt this conclusion was very plausible.
After all, it was the way of nature, or to be precise, the law of nature.
The weak depend on the strong to survive.
And the strong fight others to feed their followers.
But that still doesn’t explain why even normal animals were nowhere to be seen.
Except that snake.
’Wait...’
’If there were no animals here, then why was the snake...’
More and more questions crept into Cael.
’Goddamn it, just give me a break.’
The forest beyond the cave seemed unnaturally quiet despite the storm, as if the rain itself was swallowing all sound.
No rustling leaves, no distant howls, not even the faintest movement of life.
Only the steady drip of water and the distant rumble of thunder remained, pressing against the silence.
Cael had a feeling that if he wanted to find the dark green-haired girl, he needed to find the cause of those beasts’ and animals’ disappearance.
’Why did this girl come here? Was she the cause of this phenomenon?’
It was reasonable to doubt her.
After all, coincidence is not something Cael was willing to count on.
"I need to find a clue."