Vine Forest, Vine Region:
The region derived its name from the Vine Forest.
This forest spanned almost five hundred miles. The tall trees rivaled skyscrapers and their canopy blocked off any natural light coming from the sky.
This great forest housed many beasts and plants.
The plants were all in the Plantae Morpher. That is, they could transform into another, higher version of their species.
The beasts were all Beast Morphers. They too could morph into a higher species above them in the evolutionary ladder.
For instance, a snake could morph into a half-dragon.
An ape could transform into a titan-ape.
A bird could tranform into a half-phoenix.
A horse could morph into a unicorn and so on.
The same went for plants and their deadly combination certainly didn’t make for a safe environment.
Unlike other areas that had relatively safe outer areas and more dangerous inner areas, Vine Forest was dangerous all over.
In fact, due to the continuous movements of plants and beasts, its dangers were unknown.
A place could be safe enough for level 4s to enter and hunt. But all of a sudden, a peak level 6 beast could come out and slaughter everything.
To enter this forest, one should not only be strong enough, but also be alert all the times.
With his strength, the Vine Forest would’ve been a cakewalk for Charles.
But right now, he was hiding his aura and holding his breath in a tree hollow.
There were injuries all over his body. However, the bleeding has long stopped. And the injuries themselves went from very severe to bearable.
That didn’t mean he recovered his combat power.
Charles was still weak.
‘I was careless.’ He lowered his head and thought back to the event. The siege, their cooperation and his escape.
With each thought, his fists tightened.
His green eyes were hidden behind his noble blonde hair—now a mess with twigs, leaves and dust.
Every time, he recalled his escape, his eyes shone with intense green light.
‘I will not make the same mistake again.’ He closed his eyes and affirmed to himself.
If the opposite party was Abyssals, then Charles would’ve died.
‘I can’t win against numbers…?’ He gritted his teeth. Was that the truth?
‘No!’ He was unwilling to accept that as a fact.
Numbers mean nothing!
‘I am just not strong enough. If I am a Sovereign and they’re level 9s, would their numbers matter?’ The moment he asked that question, Charles’ mind cooled down.
Yes. Once his strength crossed a threshold, it could no longer be confronted by weaker enemies.
Charles took out a emerald-colored fruit and ate in a bite. This was one of the many healing treasures he found inside the Vine Forest.
The fruit melted and he felt a coolness in his injuries. They were slowly healing.
‘I can hide from them…but that way, I won’t win.’ Charles would never accept that result.
He needed to win. It wasn’t just his choice. It was his obligation. As the most talented human of the federation, he needed to set the standards.
That was what he believed and adhered to.
He opened his comm and searched for the healing treasures inside the Vine Forest.
Most of them were of no use. The few that were very effective needed him to fight very strong enemies.
He could’ve slaughtered them in the past. He could kill them even now, but then he would risk exposing his position to the messengers.
The messengers of the four teams were cautiously scouting in the Vine Forest. They lost his trail, but they did know the approximate circle he was in.
Of course, none of them even tried to attack him. They didn’t even him see him. They just kept following his traces.
With his injuries, Charles had no way of completely hiding his tracks.
‘Annoying flies!’ Charles wanted to slap them into oblivion.
If not for them, he’d be free to hunt and gain healing treasures. But he couldn’t eliminate them.
Once their teams learned that he was actively hunting, then might judge that he has recovered enough strength and would besiege him again.
Charles didn’t want to repeat his mistake.
Thus, so far, he didn’t make any big battles and laid low. But this wouldn’t work forever.
Charles racked his brain. But he couldn’t find any solution.
He somehow needed to heal enough so that he can fight others and snatch the flags.
He could still deal one desperate blow to eliminate one of them.
‘At least for that reason, come to this place at last. By then, I’d have recovered.’ He thought, but didn’t plan to sit by.
Charles stood up and stretched his body.
He sneaked out of the hollow and cautiously wandered through the forest.
He sensed messengers at the edge of his perception range. They couldn’t sense him, however.
“Go!” Charles kicked the ground and shot forward.
As he ventured a few miles into the forest, his senses suddenly alerted him.
Charles rolled down and quickly glanced back at his previous position.
Boom!
A huge voilet branch slapped the ground, creating a huge crater. Its host, the tall Voilet tree sensed its prey had escaped.
Its huge body shook and it whipped him with another branch and at the same time, the first branch also followed.
“…” Charles gritted his teeth and flipped back, narrowly avoiding the branches that passed just above his head and below his feet.
But the tree didn’t stop and continued to attack him.
Charles managed to avoid any serious injuries, but he looked more and more dirty.
With torn clothes, disheveled hair and body with soil, dust and blood, he looked like a begger.
“High level 6…tsk.” Charles felt a burning rage in his chest. He could slap away even peak level 6s, but now he was forced into such a state by this weakling.
“Die!” He transformed into the werewolf form and caught the two branches. With a snort, he pulled the branches, uprooting the tree in the process.
Pa!
With a punch, he blew the tree into pieces.
“…I should keep going.” Shaking his head, Charles decided to hunt for another healing treasure.
“There he is!”
A loud voice interrupted him and Charles’ eyes narrowed at the sudden arrival of the young men and women.