Soul of the Warrior

The rolling hills near the outpost continued into the distance all the way to the foot of the mountain. Each wave seemed to be a bit taller than the last until it finally turned into the huge range in the distance. It was reminiscent of a water drop rippling outward. Even though the mountain range loomed over the landscape, it was still many days’ journey away.

The distant mountain range wasn’t their initial destination. They would continue their journey some ways up the first ridge eventually, but the natural treasures they were searching for were more likely to be found in open, grassy areas than rocky, mountainous regions.

That wasn’t to say they couldn’t stumble across any on the mountain. It wasn’t like the whole thing was a block of stone jutting out of the ground. There was plenty of vegetation greenery quite a ways up the mountainside. The edge of the treeline was the border they had decided upon for their first foray into the true Tier 5 Region.

So far everything up to the Outpost could only be considered the outskirts of the Region. Even though it had taken many days’ travel from the Wilderness to the Outpost, it was still only the fringe of the Region. The constant fighting goblins for hours and hours everyday made it seem like the distance was further than it actually was. If they hadn’t suffered such delays, Reivyn estimated that the time of travel would have taken a quarter as long or less.

The constant goblin encounters didn’t resume as Reivyn and his Party traveled further into the Region. It wasn’t just that the area around the Outpost was kept clear by the patrolling volunteer Adventurers. There was a fundamental difference.

The random pockets of goblins simply didn’t exist. Reivyn didn’t know if it was because of the traffic of other Adventurers or if the Outpost had been strategically located on the edge of the swarm of wild goblins. It didn’t change the outcome at all, so Reivyn didn’t dwell on it.

The absence of constant little groups of goblins didn’t mean it was completely safe, though. There were other creatures stalking the rolling hills after traveling half a day away from the Outpost. This time it was pretty obvious it was the work of the patrollers that kept them at bay.

Ferocious beasts were regular animals that absorbed the ambient mana of a Region and evolved from the large density of mana. Their features weren’t any different. There weren’t two-headed monstrosities roaming the wilds. They were just tougher and more aggressive than their weaker counterparts found in the lower density Regions.

The rolling hills were home to small beasts that weren’t necessarily aggressive. The difference between these variations of ferocious beasts and their more normal cousins was their propensity to defend their territory from intrusion. Most of the time, pretty much everyone in their Party could spot the animals before they entered the range of their territory, and for those that were a bit sneakier, Reivyn could sense them with his Divine Sense.