Chapter 7: The First Fight
Kael crashed face-first into dirt.
Not the cool kind of dramatic teleportation where you land on one knee with wind blowing your cloak...
No. This was face-to-soil, ass-in-the-air, full humiliation.
"Ugh... why did that ancient bastard throw me like this?" he muttered, pushing himself up with a groan. "Well, he did warn me."
Draven's last words echoed in his mind, making him grin. "Heh, that's even better. I'll deal with it here."
He then began to look at his surroundings, and the first thing he noticed was the silence, even though it was noon.
The second was the towering, sky-piercing tree ahead of him. It looked like the world's spinal column—massive, ancient, and pulsing with raw mana. Its roots stretched across the land like veins, glowing faintly beneath the mossy ground.
This place... wasn't normal.
The mana was dense and heavy.
It clung to his skin and coiled around his limbs like mist. Every breath was like inhaling storm-charged air.
But Kael didn't even flinch.