Garet and Korona learned that they were both the Wild Awakened. This did not have any crucial impact on their journey, but it did influence two things.
Besides running away from home, this was another thing they both shared. Reaching the Zenith in the wild and in the Thornspire were two completely different things.
Also, now they both knew that their urge was different from that of most Awakened.
Fear or pain? That was not their option.
'I wonder what her urge is?' Garet thought as he followed Korona. 'She doesn't seem like someone who would be afraid of a monster, though... I don't know at what age she became an Awakened.'
After their conversation, they continued on their way to the cleaved hill. But, they weren't heading straight for the hill, but rather to its foot.
"Do you think the Stone Groug that stole the bracelet is there?" Garet asked.
She nodded deeply as she made her way through the forest grove.
"I've been in this forest since yesterday, and I haven't noticed any large-scale battles. I mean, if the Stone Groug stole that bracelet, a Natural Artifact, then he must have some purpose for it, right?"
Garet nodded in response without interrupting.
"Maybe he needed the power to defeat his enemy, but I would have noticed because the theft happened this morning. So, either the Stone Groug fled the forest or he needs the artifact's energy for something important."
Garet raised an eyebrow.
"And that important thing is going to happen very soon on this hill?"
Korona grinned and waved her hand.
"Exactly. See the moon? In another thirty minutes, it will reach its highest point. That's when the Spiky Moon Flower will bloom."
"Hmm? What's that? Are we hunting for a flower?"
Korona wiggled her fingers to show he was wrong.
"Not us, but the Stone Groug, presumably, and not for the flower, but for its fruit."
Scratch.
"Alright, let's say he wants the fruit of this flower. What does that have to do with him stealing the artifact?"
"Because the Spiky Moon Flower blooms in the moonlight on every cloudless night, but it has no fruit. Anyone who wants to obtain the fruits must give the flower enough energy to grow them in a short period of time."
Then, Garet's eyes widened as he finally began to understand what was going on.
"Wait... Are you saying that the Stone Groug stole this artifact to use it as a source of energy, and that's it?"
Korona shrugged.
"Most likely, yes. Don't forget that this is all theory and I could be wrong, although that's unlikely." She smirked. "Just because the Stone Groug stole this bracelet doesn't mean he knows how to use it, and even if he does, it's not a given that this bracelet is useful to him. But, in this world, there are always places where energy can be used profitably."
Garet scratched his chin thoughtfully.
'Hmm, she's right. Melisa said that monsters attacked the caravan and quickly stole the supplies. The Stone Groug grabbed what he could and returned to the forest. It wasn't his plan, it was a lucky opportunity that he took advantage of and can now use for the Spiky Moon Flower. '
People used money to easily exchange valuable and necessary items with each other, but for monsters and the Awakened, there was another currency available: energy. Perhaps Korona was right and the Green Flower Bracelet was useless to the Stone Groug, but he could use its energy to his advantage anyway.
Energy was necessary for monsters to evolve, and to some extent, Garet was in the same situation.
He learned to use his Zenith and obtained the Blank, but he was still at the Initial Anchor. He grew stronger as a fighter, but not as an Awakened.
'I don't know if the same thing will happen to the Iron Gate as happened to the Pit, but I have to be ready for anything. I must have the strength to protect not only my home but, first and foremost, myself.' Garet clenched his fist tightly as he approached the foot of the hill with Korona.
His black eyes flashed in the light of the blue moon.
'This time I was lucky to escape, but what will happen in the next crisis? If it weren't for Konrad and Xir, I would have joined a gang like Korona at best, and that's if I were lucky.'
Crack.
With a broken branch, Korona and Garet stopped, directing their gazes forward.
At the foot of the cleaved hill, a large bud the size of a house lay dormant on the ground, its blue petals trembling from time to time, waiting for the moonlight that would soon give them all the attention.
The roots running across the ground from the Spiky Moon Flower moved toward a pond on the side, which was why many monsters came to the cleaved hill to satisfy their thirst, but not on this night.
However... That doesn't mean that no monsters visited the cleaved hill, there was just another reason for that.
'It's... It's him!' Garet exclaimed inwardly as his eyes widened at the sight of the figure in the distance.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
With heavy strides, the monster over five meters tall walked among the cleaved hill, moving straight towards the Spiky Moon Flower. A thick layer of stone covered its body like armored skin, seemingly leaving no weak spots. Its broad back blocked the moonlight, leaving a shadow ahead, amidst which its two bright, amber eyes were clearly visible, burning like coals in an old bonfire.
It was definitely a Stone Groug, but was it the one Garet was looking for?
As Garet's gaze fell on the monster's right arm, he saw a green glow emanating from a crystal on a metal bracelet that should have fit on the wrist, firmly held on the Stone Groug's fingertip.
In the silence, Korona glanced at him with a confident smirk, as if to say:
'You see? I told you we'd find it!'
Garet gulped with a slight nod.
'Yeah, we actually found it. Now it's just a matter of... How am I supposed to defeat this enormous thing? It'll crush me like a bug...'
No matter how, but Garet had to do it, and he wasn't the only one who wanted to.
His Genesis Core trembled once with an electric discharge, wanting to take the first step toward power right now.